Campechano Adelaide — Restaurant in Toronto

I'm putting this down as a 5 star review so it gets the visibility it deserves but Campechano actually deserves a 0 star. Service is horrendous and prepared to have your night ruined. Just go look at the 1 star reviews here AND THE RUDE RESTAURANT REPLIES. The food was totally mid, and $12 for a single taco is objectively overpriced. But what really stood out was the shockingly poor service we experienced.

We were seated on the back patio on a Saturday night. When our server first came by to take drink orders, we hadn’t looked at the menu yet as we were still catching up. When one of my friends tried to ask a question about the drinks, the server cut her off and told us to review the menu and that she’d come back later. Okay, whatever. Another friend tried to ask about the mezcalita, but again the response was rushed, with no effort to explain the drink options. Still, we tried to be patient. It was the end of the night, and we understand that service jobs can be tough.

Throughout the evening, we were consistently polite, saying our pleases and thank yous, but the service continued to feel cold, forced, and rushed. At one point, our server seemed visibly irritated when she had to wait a moment to set down food while my friend reached for a chip. Each interaction felt increasingly uncomfortable.

When it came time to pay, my friend was holding her phone while reviewing the card machine, and the server interjected with a somewhat snarky remark about clicking through prompts, something we’re all clearly familiar with. My friend accidentally hit the wrong button, and the server had to reenter the payment, again commenting in a tone that felt unnecessarily condescending. When our third friend paid, the server closed with a passive-aggressive “thank you for tipping,” presumably because one of us didn’t tip and I only tipped 10 percent, which frankly reflected the service we received.

Tipping is not automatic. It is earned. When service is this uncomfortable, awkward, and unpleasant, you don’t get to act entitled to a tip or give attitude about not receiving one. That final moment sealed the experience for me. I won’t be coming back. It was a disappointing end to what should have been an easy, enjoyable dinner. Do...

My review is specifically regarding the treatment of the staff towards patrons with service animals. The staff is extremely poorly trained and how to handle service animals, first the host who seated us asked for service animal documentation, which is not legally required in Ontario, and illegal to ask, but we were willing to provide it.

However, my reason for getting online and writing this review is for the miserable old bartender that lunged from across the bar to come to our table and scream at us that this is not a service animal because her sister is blind and has a service animal, which thus makes this bartender an expert on service animals? He is a miniature dachshund, but he is a certified service animal. I’ve never seen someone take it upon themselves to stop what they were doing to go over and scream at someone for having a dog with them. She then screamed that he had to be put on the floor, he is a small dog and I keep him in my bag, so I said no, and then she said we have to leave. Again, she was not the host or the manager to my knowledge, just a bartender who left a full bar to take out her personal family issues on us. This woman was so nasty, we could have fought it, but she honestly ruined our appetite. She was screaming and she was extremely disrespectful. If you’re reading this, I am truly sorry that your sister is blind, but I am not responsible for that ,and clearly it’s caused you a lot of emotional distress that you want to take it out on other people.

I would say that you probably could benefit from a service animal for emotional or psychiatric support because you were foaming at the mouth at the opportunity to scream and ruin someone else’s dinner. I really hope that this woman gets the help she needs, she has absolutely no business serving people in a public place. Also, we’ve been here before and the tacos are not that great, definitely not worth getting screamed at. It’s Canada, no one’s coming here for the tacos. Chill out, just because you are miserable from your own life doesn’t mean you have to ruin other...

Campechano is a great place for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. Their menu contains options for both and items are sold by piece, so everyone can order whatever they want.

Most tables start with the guacamole ($8) where it arrives with two cups brimming with thin crispy chips, which they refill if you finish the tortilla before the dips. The salsa roja is great, with just a bit of spice and plenty of zest. It leaves the guacamole feeling fairly neutral, jazzed up with pomegranate - an interesting twist, though personally I do enjoy my dip without fruit.

If you’re feeling hungry than order a sencillo sopes ($6) for yourself; otherwise, it’s hearty enough to share. The tortilla is thicker and soft, almost like naan but not oily. A layer of refried beans is spread on top with lettuce, cheese, and two types of sauce covering the pillowy tortilla. A different alternative to Campechano’s tacos, but not nearly as exciting.

If you can handle spice, the hongo ahumado ($6) has a healthy kick of fiery sauce drizzled on top. This heat was unexpected as the taco’s description made it sound earthy tasting, from the smoked mushroom base, with a hearty finish, thanks to the white bean puree. In reality, aside from the spice, it's rather fresh with plenty of herbs sprinkled over top and very tasty, despite all the water you’ll have afterwards.

On the other hand, the healthy sprinkling of cotija cheese on the rajas ($5) makes the roasted poblano peppers taco richer than you'd expect. Additionally, the peppers aren’t spicy at all, instead having a deep earthiness. With little bits of corn added for bite, this was another tasty taco.

Campechano’s dining room is small and cozy, so try to make a reservation. Regardless, there seems to be plenty of walk-ins and on our weekday dinner visit, the wait wasn’t long… their service is friendly and efficient so most tables turn...