Luis Hernandez Restaurant — Restaurant in Toronto

I grew up working at an authentic Mexican restaurant operated by best friend's parents so I know a few things when it comes to Mexican food.

Fast forward 20 years and I've travelled extensively through the best and worst parts of Mexico, eating countless numbers of tacos from the west coast of Puerto Vallarta, to Guadalajara, Mexico city, Oaxaca, and the Yucatan province.

That's why when I'm home in Toronto, I always keep an eye out for new Mexican restaurants, hoping that I can find one that can take me back to a taco I've once eaten roadside, on some dreamy humid night, lost in hustle and bustle of the city.

I wish I could say that about Luis H.

At best, the satisfying contents of the carne asada and barbacoa tacos invoke a momentary sense of nostalgia, before you are jolted awake by the unpleasant and unsettling feeling that something is not quite right. It's like having a dream of a loved ones face, and being startled once you realize that up close, their nose is crooked and they are missing a few teeth.

In the case of the tacos, it is the tortillas, when you take first bite, that make you realize that you're in fact not in the heart of mexico city, but that you are just in another disappointing mexican restaurant in the equally slummy neighbourhood of cabbagetown toronto.

Some restaurants like Luis H, I suspect, label themselves as small plates, fine dining, to limit the size of their mistakes - better to make a small mess than a big one. As a perfectionist, I can accept such a philosophy. But please for the love of God, give some consideration to the ratio of your constructions - don't give me only 14 chips for a $12 chips & salsa and then mock me by giving me runny contents equal to half a bottle of salsa.

I will finally leave one last comment about the service. I really don't care about service at restaurants to be honest. I don't need to be chatted up, romanced, checked-in on. As a Chinese person, I'm used to the swift and robotic service of dim sum busboy who quickly scribbles an order and throws some hargow on my table.

But oh my --- the asian server who waited our table. It was as if Luis H was the place chinese restaurant waiter rejects went to die. She could not count how many people were in party and match us up with the appropriate amount of plates. She mixed up our orders when there were only 15 or so items on the menu. My 55 year old aunt who doesn't speak english can memorize a 20 item order on a menu with 300 items. Maybe she should try to work in...

I truly hate giving spots like this, which I had such high hopes for, such a low rating, but such was our experience at Luis Hernandez (which I was very excited to eat at after the facade piqued my interest recently and reviews seemed to follow suit). On entering the restaurant, it looked a lot different to what I had expected; more barren, bordering on austere, with seemingly no real mind paid to furnishings, presentation, or cleanliness. That said, we hoped that this was a sign that they were "all-in" on the food, but sadly, our optimistic speculation was quickly proven wrong. The tortillas here are some of the most sad and mundane I've experienced anywhere, made worse only by the unbothered and indifferent staff, and awful, way-overcooked, toppings/fillings. For starters, the birria tacos we had here are probably the worst representation of the dish I've had anywhere over the years- just a gloopy (not in a typical birria way) mess of flavourless cheese and significantly overcooked protein (a common denominator among all dishes we had) doused in a similarly forgettable consomé. I mean, the birria tacos were "fine" in the same way that even bad pizza is always fine or good enough- it's greasy, cheesy, meaty... what's not to like? So, on that level, with the bar that low, they are of course edible and fine, but just the poorest representation of the otherwise flavour-packed dish I've had. Tragically, all other tacos we had, with all assorted proteins, were somehow even more overcooked, to the point we couldn't stomach more than a bite of each- and the accompanying sauces, including their hot sauce, were just extremely strange/unusual... I've eaten a great deal of Mexican food all over Canada, the USA, and Mexico, over the past 30+ years, with it being one of my all-time favourite cuisines, and I had much higher hopes for this joint, which sadly proved to be one of the poorest representations of the national fare; a really lazy, watered-down, "cosplay" (or, rather, caricature) of what and how these dishes are supposed to be. Truly, even the countless 60 cent tacos I've had out the back of pickup trucks in LA best these by a significant margin. For as scathing as I've maybe been here of our experience at Luis Hernandez, focused primarily on the food, I have to seriously question all of the patrons to have scored this place so highly- just goes to show, can't trust these reviews; people with busted palates not to be trusted, friendly regulars, friends, family... So...

Live in the area, first time here. I've tried a good few Mexican places in Toronto. This place is top notch.

Atmosphere; Chill lounge tunes. Nice, modern decor, great lighting. Small and intimate, there aren't more than maybe 8 tables, so this is fantastic for a date.

Service/plating; Very attentive server and nice plating. Even the cutlery and napkins are nice.

Food; These are genuine home-style tacos and Mexican food with some upscale. Everything we tried was delicious and authentic. The meats are stewed and cooked to perfection. Everything tasted incredibly fresh.

Only slight negative (for me personally) was the Carne Asada taco which was a bit chewy. If you're not into fatty/chewy beef, skip this. I still finished it though. The Quessabirria absolutely made up for it and I highly recommend it as a main. The Al Pastor was awesome as well. Both pulled meats were stewed to perfection with the right flavors and all sides and ingredients were just right. The mild salsa was perfect (for someone that can't handle spicy!).

Dessert was a mindblowing Pastel de Tres Leches (Three milk) cake. Fresh fluffy cake soaked in tasty vanilla cream with strawberry preserve and blueberries. We scarfed this down. Make sure to try it!

Cocktails were excellent as well.

Will def come back here in...