Taco Fuego — Restaurant in Toronto

Disappointing

A very detailed account of today’s experience..

Order: went to line up at the counter to order, the guy was pleasant but you can tell he is still new working the system and familiarizing himself with the menu. He took our order and never gave me a receipt as he walked away? He did ask what table we are sitting at. This was confusing so I chose Table 9. Not sure if this is a sit down restaurant, order at counter or what..

Out of items: 10 minutes later a girl approaches us and my husband was the one who ordered (i paid) but he went to take a call outside. I said “my husband ordered tacos and i believe platter?”. She then said if i wanted to order dine in to scan the code? (What? You are holding our order chit). I had to remind her we ordered and i paid at the counter already. Then she says “oh you ordered already?” (While holding our order chit). She said they ran out of shrimp — i said to ask my husband so she went outside

Not busy when we got there: There were 2 tables occupied when we arrived. One couple inside and 2 ppl outside. AFTER WE ORDERED… A group of 3 ladies came, and a group of 8 (family) came after. Let me tell you — they got their order before us.

Lacks customer service: I approached the front asking for my order and noone could say anything. Clearly the silence meant noone knew when my order was coming out or if my order was even getting done. I asked for a refund. I informed the kitchen staff that I’ve been waiting for 25 minutes and they all simultaneously said “25 minutes is not a long wait”. And i said “it is”. WHY? Cause when i placed the order THERE WAS NO ONE - NO LINE UP, NO FULL TABLES. I said “this group (family of 8) got their food before us and you’re saying it’s not a long wait? Wheres my order?!”. Funny, AGAIN no one can say anything about where my order is.

POS: i asked rightfully for a refund as i no longer wanted to wait any longer for the food. The guy was going back and forth with me — but I explained my experience again. Why would the bigger groups after me get their order before me? (Make it make sense). And justifying 25 minutes is not a long wait. It’s not a long wait IF someone communicated that this was the case — but NO ONE knew where my order was. Anyways, i paid $37.05 but the guy didn’t know how to use the POS system and issue a refund (what?). He gave me $30 cash and i took it and walked away — trust me, not worth fighting $7.05 for.

OTHER: The guy in the black hat (backwards), black shirt, and jeans. He came out with dirty hands (cilantro pieces) on your hands leaning against the counter — you had a burn or cut on your left index finger — it was bright pink. You need to cover that with a finger cot/condom. Please be mindful of this.

Open kitchen: there’s no rule to wear hats or hair nets for All staff?

I hope you guys take this seriously because first impressions matter and experiences — listen to your customers and take feedback seriously.

EDIT: Response to Owner (May 5, 2025)

It is frustrating when I asked where my order was and NO ONE knew. I was not trying to be "abrasive" with your staff, your teams lack of communication with me indicated disorganization with the kitchen and clearly lost my order. Who wouldn't get frustrated with "silence" as a response. Your team never addressed my question as to why the larger group's order came BEFORE mine. My order of 3 tacos and some platter? while the big group got all theirs. Again, make it make sense. Your response didn't really address all the other issues that were brought up -- but I understand you guys are new but...

Just wanted to share some feedback with the owners. I don't generally like leaving poor reviews and would like to take this down and leave a more positive review after changes are implemented. I ordered 2 quesotacos --the Adobada pork taco and carne asada this evening which were quite good actually. Great flavor on both proteins and the exterior of both meats were nice and brown and crispy. Only issues I had was that the cheese on both tacos were crisped up completely---like a parmesan crisp. It would be much better with a crisp on the cheese (oaxaca if possible) towards the exterior of the taco and gooey stringiness towards the middle. The vegan chorizo quesadilla needs more seasoning and a bit more chorizo flavor but besides that, was a decent quesadilla.

The platters need alot of work: Very weak tasting Mexican rice. Not nearly enough flavor...stronger stock (or bouillon), more allium, herbs, tomato flavor, maybe Poblano peppers would amp the rice up alot.

The corn tasted like it was straight out of a can. Char it on the flat top. Pick it up with some butter, cotija cheese, cilantro, crema to finish, and dry guajillo pepper seasoning

The fish batter on the fried fish we ordered was soggy and the fish was mush. Maybe get a better beer batter recipe or purchase some pure cote starch to add into your mixture to keep the coating crisp - same for fried camarone. Also, cook for less time. I appreciate using cod for the platter though

Beans were good.

The rest of the playa cabana joints have always been in my top 5 joints for tacos in the city. Dave I know you are still working through the menu at this spot and Im sure you will get to the point where it will shine. The restaurant has a great atmosphere and has a real Mexican taqueria vibe. Really hope some changes are made and the place does well. I know how hard it is to operate a restaurant, especially if operating multiple locations.

Ill take this down after a response, I just wanted to share...

My friend and I came here for lunch, didn’t really know what to expect. The patio was opened, everyone seemed to be wanting to sit outside as opposed to inside.. mind you.. it was hot outside and inside wasn’t that cool either. They had some umbrellas for shade. You can either sit down and they take your order, or you can go up to the cash. We ended up ordering at the front and went to sit down. There was a bit of confusion when we ordered, it appears that we were charged too much for soemthing. They ended up giving us some extra stuff to compensate for the overcharge. They later brought out the drinks, hot sauces, and cucumbers. My favourite was the quesataco with shrimp. So so so good, I’d come back just for that. I also ended up getting a fish taco too. I always tend to order seafood over any meat options. My friend ended up ordering the steak quesataco, she said it was ok but she would also definitely get the shrimp quesataco again, as well. There was a bit of mix up when we ordered, they had brought out a pork taco for my friend. I know she wouldn’t have ordered that since she doesn’t eat pork. So with the mistake with drinks and the mistake with the order, service wasn’t the greatest. They did take it back right away and brought her the correct order. Also, the washrooms are downstairs but the stairs are a bit wonky and ceiling is very low. Overall, some hiccups but I would definitely come back cause I did...