Quetzal — Restaurant in Toronto

Quetzal: Birthed in Fire

Found on the cusp of little Italy in Toronto is Quetzal a Mexican-inspired restaurant that has been gathering its fair share of accolades. We visited in mid-July on one of the hottest days of the year, barely preparing us for what awaited. Not only does Quetzal want you to enjoy the flavors of Mexico with a world-wide twist, but they want you to feel like you were in Mexico while eating…because it is hot, and I am not speaking of spice.

As always, we chose the chef’s counter which kept us a few feet from a wall of wood-burning fire, a primary ingredient of many of their dishes. Upon seating, seeing our pleasant neighbors rave about the food whilst sweating profusely foreshadowed our evening. I blame the low ceilings which created a gorgeous buildout of the space, but trapped in all the heat. In fairness to the restaurant, and their gracious staff, we were given the opportunity to move to a window seat, but for our initial visit we obviously chose to tough it out for the experience. Hours later, being drenched, we left this sweat lodge completely inspired…yet, not by the food.

Receiving a Michelin star for three years running is no small feat in such a steamy environment. The cuisine certainly deserves such acclaim, and I will add nothing further towards that. Here, it was the beverages that inspired.

Not since our visit to Nashville’s Catbird Seat have we focused on such a unique beverage pairing. Normally, the pairing is a wine-heavy accoutrement, careful not the step on the food, and when excellent, the food transforms the beverage, coaxing out new notes. It is rare when the beverage actually transforms the food. Yet, this was exactly what happened when a Barbadillo Oloroso sherry was paired with a course of steak tartare draped with a brown butter sabayon. Sherry was a bold move as it transformed the flavor of the dish, which would send a large ego’ed chef into a tailspin. It was glorious. The rich butter, and meat turned in the direction of a Thanksgiving stuffing. In Japan, there is a technique called ajihen, or changing the flavor. It is taking a bite of something, then adding something else to give what you are eating a new direction. This was an extremely bold application of ajihen, that did not go un-noticed by the Otaku.

Later, we were presented with a roasted bone marrow, glazed with wildflower honey, grilled shrimp, and lime to make tacos with their fresh masa tortillas. The pairing was a Brittany cider with skin contact; almost bone dry and elegant with a taste of castelvetrano olives. The honey on the marrow turned the cidar sweet, while the cider added a lightly salinated olive to the taco.

One of our favorite courses of the evening was the memela; a Mexican pizza by any other name. Here, a masa crust was layered with an Oaxacan quesillo, a morita (small dried jalapeño) chili salsa, bitter mizuna, morel mushrooms, and chicharron. It was as good as it sounds. So, what would you pair with this? They went with an unfiltered junmai sake from Nara with a creamy mouthfeel, and deep mushroom umami notes. He doubled-down on the mushroom, bringing the morels to the forefront of this incredible dish.

I could go on and on about the Pearl Morrisette petrol-rich reisling paired with scallop ceviche, and hiramasa aguachile, or a red wine made of many small Portuguese varietals with a finish reminiscent of menthol paired with hanger steak au poivre—here, the poivre being Cambodian kampot transforming this twist on classic into a curry. But, the point has been made. The beverage pairing was inspired, and should be saluted for its boldness, breadth, and curation.

However, next time…I’m...

It was good. This is not my first Michelin star restaurant. I have been to several ones and two of them had 2 Michelin stars (Maido and Belcanto being two of them, both were in the top 50 in the World, I think Maido was top 7 back in 2021), but this is my first one in Toronto (I am from Toronto). I wanted Alo to be my first Toronto based Michelin restaurant, even before they got awarded one last year I wanted to go there but scheduling has not aligned for a couple of years now.

Sorry for digressing! The food was great, my wife and I liked the Al Pastor the best and the Octopus was great, my wife loved the Empanada, they were the best among the dishes we ordered; we ordered 6 dishes including the delicious Scallop Ceviche (Not the best ceviche we had, obviously the ones in Lima were better and we had a good one in LIsboa.I was debating to try their Curated Tasting Menu but the main person serving us was kind of short of words or not that much energetic, and she failed to describe why should we should try the Tasting menu, so we decided on deciding our own dishes instead. On the other table there was this server who was able to energetically explain what their Curated Tasting Menu was and what it has to offer. (Obviously by what the name is, I have an idea what it is, kind of like Omakase but at least I want some more in depth details about it and how it is)

The ambience was good but there were actually small fruit flies I think they were fruit flies, at least it is not the normal flies, lol, and a spider on the wall near us.

The service was good overall but not a 5 star good. There were some very friendly members of the staff, you can feel they are genuine in their service and work. It was not bad but it was not consistent among the staff, which you expect in a Michelin Restaurant. I will give you this, water/drinks was refilled as it should be. They wipe the table after every dish has been cleared out as expected in a restaurant of this stature. They took care of our coats (Cold season is back and winter is near!). Some of the dishes brought to us was explained in a clear way by the staff but 2 of them was not, not all were served by the same person so one of them was not really clear on the explanation of the dish. Our server was attentive and did ask us frequently how the food was but as mentioned it was not perfect. I did give 20% tip still and that was the most energetic our main server was the whole night.

It was still a good experience. Our goal is to, God willing, to eat in all the Michelin restaurants in Toronto, and let us see how this compares to the others. But among Michelin restaurants I have been, this was not obviously not on top, especially two of them was in the Top 50 in the world. I would even kind of give Osteria Giulia a slight edge over Quetzal even though Giulia does not have a Michelin star, although it's sister restaurant has one!

I would probably still come back, I want to try their Seabream and their Scallop (the main dish variety) but probably coming back is not high in the list since I need go to the other ones first!

Overall, I would give 4.5 to 4.6 stars, which is close to what the average rating of this restaurant is right...

My first experience with Mexican fine dining.

Came here for dinner on a Sunday evening. Quetzal is one of the toughest res to snag in Toronto, so I had high hopes. Chef Steven Molnar and his team cook exclusively over open flames (20ft grill in the kitchen). In an era where industrial convection ovens dominate high-end kitchens, their choice to rely entirely on traditional fire felt both radical and honest. Personally, I’ve had a lot of disappointing experiences with elevated Latin American cuisine, but this was different.

Dry aged Hiramasa Aguachile - Mexican-Japanese fusion. Instead of focusing on the typical chili-lime heat, it leaned more into sour-sweet territory. A tad too sour for my palate, but the layered textures from jicama and amaranth was enjoyable.

Scallop Ceviche - Served cold, but the Leche sauce added burnt aromatics from vegetables. Inky, briny punch with a subtle bitterness and depth, which enhanced the scallop’s natural sweetness while anchoring the dish with a savory backbone.

Mushroom & Shishito - Just a well-grilled mushroom & peppers. Went really well with the steaks. Memela - Looked more like a Mexican pizza. Traditional Mexican memela elevated with unconventional toppings. Fat, earth, smoke, heat, and green freshness was there, but something felt off. In simpler memelas, where the base plays a subtle, toasty foil to melty cheese or salsa, the masa carries its weight without struggle. But here, under the load of chicharron, smoky morita, earthy mushroom, and bitter greens, it became more structural than synergistic. Sort of dampened the dish’s clarity rather than unifying it.

Newfoundland Scallop - Full throttle into indulgence. The pool of green garlic butter blanketed everything with a silky, herbaceous umami, and the plush scallops melted right in. Popcorn and tajin added both crunch and a playful, citrusy jolt. Not the most dynamic plate of the night, but definitely the most satisfying.

Bone Marrow & Wild Argentinian Shrimp - The bone marrow and the shrimp were obviously great, but what I loved the most about this dish was the Pasilla and wildflower honey. Grilled over open fire, the glaze caramelized onto the edges of the bone, creating these burnished, sticky pockets of flavor that reminded me oddly and wonderfully of Shin Ramyun powder fused with honey. Smoky, sweet, salty, and just a little funky. Completely addictive.

Pork Secreto Al Pastor - Insanely tender. To the point where it was almost impossible to distinguish between meat and fat. They seemed to melt into each other in perfect proportion. The caramelized onion salsa on the side tasted like a softer, less savory echo of the pasilla and honey glaze from the marrow dish.

Prime Hangar - Relatively straightforward dish. No unnecessary flourishes, just a robust cut of hangar steak perfectly cooked paired with a creamy pepper sauce that provided a slow bloom of heat and umami (like an upgraded version of au...