El Pocho Antojitos Bar — Restaurant in Toronto

I’m actually really sad about this whole experience and wanted to cry after.

I never leave reviews but I went to this place twice. First time was good. Second time we waited 15 minutes to get our menus, my tacos we’re stuck to the paper so when I picked them up the tortilla ripped and fell apart, and my boyfriend found a piece of plastic in his taco because it poked the inside of his mouth...

he gave to the waiter and the waiter didn’t say sorry just said he’ll go find out what happened. Then the waiter came back out and ignored us, twice. Then we finally asked him over to our table and he was like Oh they said it must have been plastic from the container of lettuce .... his taco didn’t even come with Lettuce.

After all this my boyfriend was still charged for the food and was told that no one put the plastic in there on purpose .....

Yes we know it wasn’t on purpose but that doesn’t change the fact it was in there.

Keep in mind when we brought all this up to the waiter we were really kind and spoke quietly.

We complained (which we hate doing because we both have anxiety) then they removed the tacos from my boyfriend’s bill. We felt bad because we know it’s the kitchens fault not the waiter but the fact he didn’t say sorry, the fact I came into the restaurant, was told to sit outside and then made to wait for 15-20 minutes for a menu only to be told “sorry You sat in the one place I can’t see you” ...

Everyone around us seemed to get their food first even though they came later.

I saw a review here about racial profiling and now I’m starting to think that it is something that happens here. That and when I went the first time the staff was different.

This time I was with my boyfriend and we POC. and first time I was at a table With 5 of white friends .

I dunno, racial profiling or not, to have a foreign object in someone’s food and not apologize on behalf of the kitchen, and IGNORE us after we bring it to your attention, and then tell us it wasn’t on purpose, after making us wait 20 minutes to get a menu and telling us it’s because you didn’t see us even after you knew we went outside to sit

We were so gentle with our complaints and soft spoken so that the restaurant didn’t hear. We didn’t deserve to be ignored or to have someone say it wasn’t on purpose as if we were yelling and causing a scene.

We left feeling like we did something wrong when we didn’t. And I felt really sad because I really wanted to bring my bf to this place after the first...

Bottom line. Food I ate was flawless. Freshness, quality ingredients, texture, plating, aroma, mouth feel - you name it, it was excellent. Now the breakdown.

A smallish Annex located establishment with adequate seating that has a cozy local vibe. Pricing is reasonable given to quality and so forth for the Toronto market. Service is personable and the owner is sociable and takes a lot of pride in everything they make - nothing is bought and everything is house made. Even the dulce de leche, the dip accompanied with the generous portion of 4 churro stocks is homemade. Their tortilla chips are the best I’ve ever had as they are homemade and perfectly crunchy as well as seasoned and not greasy. The salsa is a perfect mild aromatic dip that I could have drink from the dipping bowl. The sales verde was also the best I have ever had containing cilantro , onion, salt, green tomatoes as some key ingredients. The flavour was perfectly balanced and this too you could inhale. They’re clean and simply guacamole with perfectly ripened avocados, salt, onion, some salsa Verdi, lime juice and cilantro. This is one of the best in the world as I’m concerned. The fish tacos were stunning at the least. Perfectly cooked with an excellent crunch, moist inner texture, zero fishy smell or taste, and the seasoning was spot on. Set on a nice small corn tortilla and covered with a light dressing and red slaw making it crunchier and complimenting the whole taco. The corn appetizer was also amazingly simple yet perfectly balanced starting with a nicely charred Cobb covered in cheese flakes, cilantro, and what seemed to be a spiced mayo mix drizzled over the corn made an exception mouth experience. Thought they have an excellent alcohol program that they are quite famous for, we opted out of this but other patron claimed great reviews of all their mixed drinks. I’m not a sweet nut, but a must to finish the meal are the churros. Perfectly cooked without a greasy texture, crunch is excellent and the perfect ratio of cinnamon and sugar coating. The bonus is the home made dip mentioned earlier. By the way, all this great food is gluten free. Yes you read correctly. The entire menu is gluten free and is a haven for those seeking quality food in the GTA. Bottom line go and do make reservations as they boom up really fast or...

I’m celiac and just being able to go to a restaurant was a treat. I was a bit hesitant at first, but the wonderful server reassured me that they serve a large celiac community in Toronto. I was almost in tears…

The service was 6/5 The atmosphere was nice warm and cozy 5/5

We ordered the following and reviews of each beside them:

Apps:

TORTILLAS Y SALSA (4/5): chips were hot, crunchy and just right. The three salsas were small which was fine because we ordered a lot but outside of the gauc the other two felt (verde and picante) are more like topping sauces vs eating them with chips.

POLLO FRITO (5/5): juicy dark meat, deep fried goodness. Not sure if they have this but, this chicken in a taco would be amazing.

TOSTADA DE ATUN (6/5): loved this. Flavour was amazing, crunch was great. I will get 5 of these next time

ELOTES (5/5): these were done just right

Tacos/tostadas:

TACOS DE PESCADO (3/5): I really wanted to love this. The fish and batter was fluffy and crispy(especially since it wasn’t flour based), but I’m sorry to say that outside of the cabbage slaw, the fish itself didn’t have much taste.

CARNITAS (3/5): the meat was a bit dry and again lacked a bit of flavour. You could get the Smokey notes but nothing past the cilantro and pickled onions

TACOS DE BARBACOA (3/5): this one was apparently on the spicier side and again lacked flavour. Tortilla was a bit soggy

CARNE ASADA + side of queso (3/5): the meat sometimes felt chewy and overly charred. Again lacked a bit of flavour. It was really spicy at points too.

TOSTADA DE TINGA (no rating): we ordered this but we’re too full to try it. Looked really beautiful though with the pomegranate topping.

Churro (5/5): doesn’t taste like the real thing but it’s definitely worth every yummy bite.

Overall the appetizer were fantastic and as someone who hasn’t been able to enjoy deep fried foods or restaurants, it was really nice to have the options.

Unfortunately the tacos fell a little short in flavour across the board, with them either having no real flavour or a tad bit spicy. They also didn’t come with any sauces, so we used the sauces from the trio dip we ordered.

I definitely will be going back but likely ordering more apps than...