Carne Asada Mexican Taqueria — Restaurant in Central Core

I'd been having the kind of bad day that only delicious tacos can make right, so I decided to finally try Carne Asada and they did not disappoint!

If you've spent time in Mexico and are missing your local taquería (like me) or just want an authentic experience downtown, this is your go-to. The tacos are simple, well-made and tasty af. Today I tried the asada and pastor tacos and both were great and very reasonably portioned for the price.

The thing I really loved was that all the veggies were super fresh and they had everything you could want for whichever kind of tacos you order. Pineapple for your pastor, grilled onions and peppers for your asada, fresh onion, cilantro, lime for... everything. Choose whichever combination you want, and they'll load your tacos up right.

Additionally, have you ever ordered tacos and been given like, one single lime wedge to cover several tacos? Like it's a garnish? A tragedy that happens all too frequently. This will not happen here. You will have ample limes.

Three salsas for your tacos: red, green, and the somewhat elusive guacamole taquero (not guacamole like smashed avocado, this is the bright green one that's usually deceptively spicy, but here was very nice), again all super fresh and delicious and just as you would find at any central Mexican taqueria.

Lastly (but definitely not leastly), the atmosphere is pleasant with some nice tables outside to enjoy the afternoon and the staff is friendly and lovely to chat with.

Looking forward to...

It was Downtown Dining Week in Edmonton, which provides an opportunity to try new places with a set/reduced cist menu items. I had heard of Carne Asada and thought it was a good time to try....reviews are great and photos present portions as generous. Unfortunately I was underwhelmed... the taco fillings are pre-made in a steam table like a chain mexican "fastfood" restaurant and the quality a.d portion size was definitely less than expected. I forgot to take a picture...sorry. The flour tortilla wrap had grease stains on it and the filling was sparse and did not have a lit of flavour. Pics I see show much larger portions and I wonder if they downgraded for the Dining Week special. The fact yhe fillings came from a steam table and weren't made fresh per order like most other similar places was very disappointing. This was an opportunity to bring in new customers, although if what I received was standard, they likely failed in this respect. If the 3 heat levels of sauces are made in-house then this was the one great aspect. Toppings for the tacos are...

Not gonna lie I was very disappointed I walked in pretty excited for some good food and walked away $30 lighter and still hungry. Now here’s the thing, the tacos are small and that’s fine, I got 3 tacos, one chicken one pork one steak which was about 17, with a Jarritos it was 24 and after taxes and tip it was 28. Once again, when it comes to food size isn’t everything, but when you’re given cold soggy tacos with the presentation of a garbage truck at the end of a Wednesday, you’d wish they were a little bit bigger. Atmosphere is very touristy, small not a lot of decor, and once again, atmosphere is part of the experience, so I wouldn’t say $28 was worth the atmosphere either. However, the service was fast, the cook and cashier were both super friendly and clearly passionate about their jobs and did excellent, regardless of how good the tacos actually were. Regardless I wouldn’t recommend it unless you just got paid and have...