BARRIO14 — Restaurant in Dollard-des-Ormeaux

We were a party of 6. Heard so much about Barrio 14 we decided to give it a try. Althought the server did his best, being the only server there (the other called in sick on that day), he had no support from the manager/owner. Drinks were not offered. We had to ask for water refills. Two of us ordered the shrimp tacos. Two minutes after five of us were served, the waiter came to say that they ran out of shrimp. He said that there was an order of steak tacos ready as an alternative at no charge. The staek must have been sitting in the kitchen for a while. Bland and cold and the taco shells were chewy. We brough our own birthday cake for dessert to surprise someone in our group. It was put on our table the same way we brought it to the restaurant - in the box in the bag and put on the table. no plates, no cutlery. We had to cut the cake ourselves and serve it to ourselves. We asked for coffee to go with the cake and was told that the coffe machine was broken. And finally when the bill came, we were charged for the substituted taco meal after being told we wouldn't be. When we adressed this, they took $5.00 off. This decision came from the owner. As I wrote earlier, this was not the server's fault. He was alone and probaly not properly trained....

I had the tuna tostadas and octopus tostadas followed by the fish tacos. So yummy! I was not expecting such fresh and authentic Mexican on the West Island.... My kids had the sopas and flautas. Best margaritas I have EVER had. Wow. We spoke to the owner and the chef is from Mexico and formally trained. The owner’s parents are from a small town in Mexico. We went on a Saturday night and it was packed. Funny tongue-in-cheek decor. Cozy banquettes. They don’t take themselves too seriously. Not pretentious..the staff were super friendly and very sweet. We waited a little bit to get our food, but it was reasonable considering how busy the place was. The drinks and guacamole and chips came fast and there was lively salsa music playing so we were happy. For dessert, our kids gobbled up the mango flambe and churros while we sipped on mescal and an exquisite tequila (served with a spiced oranges). It is casual and family-friendly. Come as you are! We will be regulars at this special neighborhood...

Tried this new place tonight. I'll start with the bad: we waited nearly 40 minutes to receive our entrees and then another 15 to get our main dish. The price to serving size ratio wasn't great. I would be pleased if either the portion sizes were a little larger (or include a side with each dish maybe) or simply drop a dollar off the price of every menu item. Now for the good: the staff was friendly if a little "new" to working in a restaurant environment. And the food was DELICIOUS!!!!! It doesn't seem like anyone working there is actually mexican but the food tasted authentic and certainly better than the other west island options.

I plan to try this place again in the future and I hope they will make some adjustments like those mentioned above and fix their tardiness...