Tenoch Restaurant

My favorite Mexican spot in Toronto. Authentic dishes and drinks. If you get the Tenoch Tortas you will need a nap afterwards. The tacos and guacamole are fantastic as well. Service is a bit slow but if you’re looking for great Mexican, You’ve come to the right spot.

Sunday barbacoa tacos are king in my agenda! Perfect for a hangover… The service comes with a lamb, rice, chickpeas soup/​broth (garnish with finely chopped onion, cilantro, lime and choice of green or red salsa)… Moist tender morsel of lamb tacos. Its Non fatty, garlicky yet so delicate in taste. A stack of yellow tortillas soft and fresh…
This plate is so worth the wait as service can be a hit or miss as there is only one person attending the restaurant. Also try a chelada with ice. I. Its a beer _​modelo or corona_​with lime, the glass rimmed with salt. Perfect combination. Now Im sure there are perfect tacos out there. But i hate greasy tacos or overly spiced.
This taco (barbacoa) are served only on Sunday. But they are light and rich in taste. My mouth is watering just thinking about them, me, this Sunday coming.

Look, if you want great Mexican food, come here!!! It’s NOT tex-​mex! The only problem is the waiting time after ordering. Be prepared to wait. The Tenoch Tortas is awesome!!! Get it, eat it, and go to sleep… It will fill you up!!!
After a great meal, it’s been like 30 min since a waiter came by. I think we can just walk out and they wouldn’t even notice that we didn’t pay. (Of course we paid)

This place has been on my radar for a while to check out. We were not disappointed!
The Hubster and I came in for dinner with a craving for Mexican food. We got a couple of beers and he had the Tenoch torta, which was basically every meat in the place stuffed between two giant buns. I had the enchiladas verde, which was chicken breast on a bed of spicy, incredibly fresh tasting sauce and corn tortillas. No problem getting this without dairy. Each of us were only able to eat half of our meals before tapping out. They were just as good the next day.
The prices are really good for the quality and quantity. Service was a bit more relaxed than I like and it took a while to get our meals, but once we did, all was forgiven. I even left my car keys there and on the way back, ran into our server coming after us on the street.
This place has found a pair of fans for life!

The food is quite good. It feels like home cooked Mexican food. That’s a good thing. However, it sparked a debate amongst the diners what makes for authentic Mexican food. I made the argument that even if the place seemed more like Mexican home cooking than many other places in the city, it was still not as authentic as I hoped it to be. I was missing the traditional Mexican flavours and ingredients. I was expecting bigger, deeper flavours with more heat.
The decore leaves much to be desired. The drink menu is limited.

***This review is about service, not food.
Called this place two times to make a reservation. 1^st time I called at 8pm on a Monday night no one picked up so I was ready to leave a voicemail message. The voicemail was in Spanish and I was waiting for them to either switch to English or mention the name of the restaurant in the Spanish voicemail (wanted to confirm that I called the right place) – which I guess I should have known it was since they were speaking in Spanish.
2^nd time I called was on a Wednesday at 7pm, and this time someone picked up the phone and they told me that they do not speak English (they were speaking Spanish). I actually speak Spanish, so I asked for a reservation. At that point I was told that the person in charge of reservations would be in the next day so to call back the following night.
Are you kidding me?! On their website they ask you to call in for a reservation!
Not worth the hassle.

If you’re craving *AUTHENTIC* Mexican food, this is your go-​to spot. My Mexican hairdresser recommended Tenoch and I’m glad I listened to her recommendation. I’ve only visited Tenoch once, but I was left with a full tummy and a good impression of the place. It was full of Mexican people, which is a good sign when it comes to ethnic restaurants. Doesn’t matter which item on the menu you go with, you will not be disappointed. Your wallet will be thankful too :)
In all honesty, I can’t wait to go back and try something else. Their sandwiches look delicious. Hmm, I think I know what I’m gonna order next time.

I’ve never seen so many Mexican people in one room in Toronto, which was a good sign from the get go. Their menu has authenticity up the wazoo, with some added fun favours like the *Muppet shot.
The tacos, the quesadillas, the pambazo, the sauces and the beers are all exactly what you’d get at a casual restaurant in Mexico, and it’s so. darn. delicious. I can’t do it justice with descriptors, so I suggest you peep my pics and let your mouth water and then come on in and give it a try.
If you have a big group, I recommend ordering family style, and be prepared for it to take a while. It’s a small place with only a few employees and it’s always packed, so it’s not their fault, but it can be a little annoying when you’re starving.
*The Muppet Shot is tequila and 7up. They smash it on the bar for you and order you to chug. It’s warm, weird and I will be serving them at my next party.

I go there every time I feel home sick…
I spoil myself with some guacamole and totopos.
Cry remembering my mom’s cook with their pozole and a tecate. On weekends, I can’t stop thinking on fixing my hangover with that tender barbacoa. And feel like home with every bite of those authentic cochinita tacos…
On the other hand, my husband is a big eater, so he’s put himself in the challenge of finishing the «Tenoch torta». He has succeeded, but with a food coma, followed by a «never again» (he has ordered it several times). Regular people would be satisfied with half of that specialty!
One of the only things that could be a minus for the place is that you need to be patient, really patient. The place is run by few people that take their time to give the cooker enough space to accomplish the taste for the food to be «al dente».
My advice for a partied Saturday: Call the place when you wake up and you feel your tongue is kind of sticking to your palate, order the barbacoa consome (mmmm), and depending how many of you are dealing with the same situation, order a ½ or a 1 k of barbacoa to go. You won’t have to wait, just pay and get your hangover potion.
Cheers and happy Holidays!!!