Escondite West Island — Restaurant in Dollard-des-Ormeaux

After spending 2 weeks in Merida where we ate amazing authenthic Mexican food and drunk very tasty margaritas, we were happy to hear that a new Mexican restaurants was open now in DDO. Escondite.... We went to try it tonight. We reserved a table for 2 for 6pm. We were told we need to be out of the place by 8.15 pm. When we arrived there they told us the same thing again.. We arrived there on time. The place got packed in about 15 minutes. With larger groups. Amazing atmosphere. Colorful like Mexico is. Cheery. Waiters and waitresses are great. Wonderful for your party gatherings. We ordered 2 different specialty drinks.$ 11.00 each. Mine felt like juice filled with ice. No tequila taste whatsoever. My husband's was a bit better. We ordered several plates.5 different one's. None of them were packed with flavors. They were bland. Tostadas had some heat which we don't mind but not much other distinct Mexican flavours. They were falling apart. Too hard to eat. Tacos were very mild not much flavour. El pastor had small.pieces of pineapples. That's all. A bit disappointed. If you can't eat Mexican food because you hate flavourful food and spices, most of the items on the menu is perfect for you.

They have several of them in town. It seems the menu is not necessarily the same at each one.

Great atmosphere at the DDO one. But we don't...

I often went to Escondite in downtown Montreal, and was super stocked they opened one in the west-island. It took me a few years before I got to try it out. I loved that the restaurant atmosphere is very similar to those in Montréal, but with some unique touches. It's the same food and the food.was pretty good. We had the a Mango salad which was good, but the mango wasn't as juicy and the salad wasn't as spicy as I had remembered, so I was a little bit disappointed, but it was still very good. We had some General Chappo chicken, very spicy and tasty. Also took the tuna tordata I think it was called, that was my favorite, very fresh and tasty. Then we had some El Pastor, Coliflower and Fish tacos. Again, from memory I felt they were better / fresher at the Montreal locations. Everything was still good, but I didn't taste the pineapple in the El Pastor and the Porc was a bit dried. Coliflower was good and also the fish Taco, but the frying of the fish made it heavy. Still all enjoyable, but we were quite full afterwards! We still took one of each desserts (churro and lime dessert). Churros were fresh and warm, the lime dessert was served in a bowl. Both were good. Nothing special to say about the service, it was good but I can't say it was amazing lol It was what I'd expect.

Overall, still a good place to go, we will be...

TLDR: Service and vibe was fantastic, food was bad.

Let's start with the good. This place is very beautiful. The vibes are great and the staff is very kind. Couldn't ask for better.

But... But the food was pretty bad. We were a large group. I got to sample the chips & guac, al pastor and the churros.

The chips were cold and unseasoned. The guac was nothing special, also lacking seasoning. I think the cooks are scared of a bit of salt.

The al pastor was extremely disappointing. At $10.95 for 2 tacos, you expect decent tacos. But no. The meat was cold, chewy and overall had no flavor. They also charge $1 for salsa verde on the side. Having been to many other taquerias in Montreal, this is a first. It just gives the resto an appearance of being cheap. Btw, the salsa verde was not good either. Tasted like canned/bottled salsa verde.

Lastly, churros were overcooked. Wouldn't recommend.

Would I recommend this place? Yes, if you're here to have some drinks with friends, as the vibe was great with good music. Our waitress Jess was phenomenal. Would I eat here again? Nope. The food lacked authenticity and flavor. Definitely eat elsewhere.

For actual delicious tacos, I would recommend La Matraca, La Capital Tacos or Impact Tacos. A bit far if you're in the West, but much cheaper prices for way...