El Azteca Modern Tequila Lounge

Okay, so the margaritas are good but weak and a little overpriced if you don’t go when on special. The guac is sooo yummy. Camarones tacos are soooo good, yum! Carne asada is good but only comes with meat, beans, rice and tortilla… And for $ 18? Where are the veggies, salsa, sour cream etc? When I go to a Mexican restaurant I want chips’n’salsa… Not having that here really let us down. Overall it has a decent vibe, amazing flavour but needs improvement.

My friends and I ordered 5 different types of tacos (2 for $ 7) and were rewarded with great carnitas, chicken, shrimp etc and extraordinary house made corn tortillas.
The Guacamole was amongst the best I’ve had.
I had a pint of draft for $ 3.
My only complaint might be that the chorizo was a bit salty. Great value

Pre First Impression:
Website broken. No menus on Unilocal or Urbanspoon… Nothing but bad reviews… had hope though as it was my friends birthday and she really wanted to go there
First impression:
I would have given one star but the drink it ordered was good (the one with the cucumber and ginger beer). Menus were dirty, and dogeared loose pages, while the drink menus were coil bound and high quality. Ugly menus with way too little detail of the dishes, specifically the salads… The fire at the entrance was cool. The magic door was a nice touch. Surprisingly less busy that expected for Yaletown on a Saturday night. Our server was super nice and spoke Spanish…
Ambiance:
Old Chilean man and his creepy older friend turned out to be the entertainment playing Latin inspired lounge tunes. Could have sworn I felt I was at a bar mitzvah… Guitar, trombone… The setup was painful to watch a man on a ladder feeding cables through the ceiling tiles… Sang our friend happy birthday, but got her name wrong… Then it got weird, he kept asking her to dance on a table… The whole thing felt disjointed to have random lounge act.
Food:
Chicharon tacos… Cheap quality chicharon tasted like chewy hard old stinky meat… Tortilla was decent… No sauce to accompany the tacos, just raw minced red onion and cilantro.
Chorizo tacos… Grossest thing I’ve ever put in my mouth… Didn’t taste like chorizo. Tasted like a grosser version of Cincinnati style chili (you know the fine ground meat chili with cloves and cinnamon?) one bite and I returned it.
Ensalata Regia… I may have messed up the name but this is the one with Chihuahua cheese and avocado dressing. Supposedly. Lettuce was oily, tomatoes, onions, etc were flavourless and watery. Avocado dressing was actually a scoop of unseasoned flavourless guacamole in the centre of the bowl. The chihuahua cheese was actually old dry shredded mozzarella. I shared this with two other people… We still left behind two thirds. No flavour.
Bathroom:
Taps don’t work… Super cold from the hot tap. Random chairs right by the toilet (gross fecal matter much?) and the door handle was installed too close to the edge of the door resulting in a very painful feeling when you close the door. The door lock is under not over the handle, FYI. Reusable towels were a nice touch.
Overall:
If you’re going to have a Mexican restaurant, make fresh food with flavour and spice… A pinch of salt, a blast of lime or chili would go a long way! If you’re going to charge big money, serve fresh food with fresh ingredients… If you’re going to have a restaurant in the prime Yaletown Mainland area, you’re gonna have to really bring your A game and i felt this place fell short in a major way!

Great flavour and spin on Mexican dishes. Go for the tacos or chicken mole and peanut sauce.
I’ve been here twice. The first time was on my anniversary earlier this year. We tried about half the menu, and just about each thing was better than the last. We each had a few drinks as well. I lean towards the fruity, sweet n sour side; my fiancé prefers everything else. I found my drink was the Yellow Panther.
The service was also very good both times. The first time our waiter/​bar tender was Moises and he made some killer cocktails. It was fairly slow that night (a rainy Tuesday early evening), so we ended up chatting a bit. The second time my waitress was Marjorie – good service again (the drinks weren’t as top-​notch as when Moises made them). I also really appreciated the fire-​pit.
This is definitely on my go-​to list when I want something a bit higher-​end.

They have the best margaritas and micheladas in Vancouver hands down!!! Their appetizers are also delightful most of the time it’s all I eat. Main courses are great as all very authentic and modern. Their tequila selection is grand and their at atmosphere is very friendly. Staff is glad to chat with you and explain all the dishes.

Two stars is generous for this place. I’m assuming a few things: that the miserable service is the result of a trainee server, that it doesn’t take quite so long to get basic items like menus and forks if you’re not with a group, that the two-​man latin band playing that night was actually fun to listen to if you weren’t seated six inches from the one guy’s drum.
I hadn’t heard fantastic things about this place, but I was willing to give it a chance. After a few years in Vancouver, I’ve learned to temper my expectations when it comes to Mexican food: there will be no enormous, delicious, authentic $ 4 Mission burritos this far north. Fair enough.
With that in mind, the food was still enormously disappointing. People who’d ordered earlier were receiving their food by the time I was actually given a menu, and what was showing up at the table looked… sad. Portions were small, and what little there was looked limp and visually unappealing. Not unlike prison or airplane food. Taking a taste, my suspicions as to its quality were confirmed.
I decided to just get the guacamole. It’s hard to screw up a small cup of guacamole (most likely fresh from the Sysco truck) and some chips. Unfortunately, they managed: there’s a single solitary pork crackling on top.
As I chewed my hard, unpleasant pork crackling, the band began to play directly behind my head. I was suddenly unable to hear anything but the rhythmic thumping of a hand drum – certainly not a conversation with the people at my table. I spent another fifteen minutes staring straight ahead at the wall, eating my unpleasantly porcine guacamole, and then left.
Attempting to pay my bill separately was very, very difficult for the poor server, who I have nothing but sympathy for. I can only imagine that she was new, and maybe not very bright, and that serving is something she’s doing because she needs to make rent and maybe pay tuition so she can pursue her dream career of something totally unrelated to bringing people food and accepting money in return. Still, it would have been nice if she’d at least attempted to fake a smile before handing me a $ 16 bill for chips, guacamole and water with an 18% tip automatically tacked on.

It didn’t matter that I had little experience with mexican food. If it’s good, it’s good. And in this case, if it’s bad… it’s bad.
Since nothing on the menu looked appetizing to me, I asked our nice waitress to pick her favourite. She suggested the prawn tacos. Sounded just fine to me.
My plate arrived with 4 tacos, a small dish of cilantro and onions and a slice of lemon. I thought it was extremely underwhelming. No sides? First few bites didn’t help either. The prawns were cooked in some sauce, which tasted mildly like watery ketchup. The soft taco shells were also cold and dry. If this is the impression they plan to make, so be it.
It was very quiet that night. I didn’t care for the dark interior of the restaurant. The word «modern» is right. When I think mexican, I think bright colours everywhere! The dim lights and dark walls only made me sleepy.
Finally, I ended up paying almost $ 4 per taco. What a lousy deal. Safe to say I will not recommend this place, neither will I revisit.

I came here for a gathering.
This place has been on my bucket list for some time ’cause it looked pretty on the outside, very trendy. By glance you would have no idea that it was a Mexican Place, however, the buck stops here.
The company was great, however, something was clearly off with the service judging by the other reviews. Funny since we were only 4 at the time and the place didn’t start filling until 7 pm.
The waitress was cute and sweet, however, clearly she has a lot to learn and years of experience ahead of her which is somewhat excusable given her age and learning curb. I feel that there still needs to be a little more proper training involved and perhaps development of a little more confidence when speaking with tables.
We were offered Mushroom soup, however, I like to nurse mine as it offsetted the spiciness for me. The soup was good. Our waitress took my soup, still full, away from me without asking if I had been finished with it.
I ordered just the steak taco, no fixings to save on the WW points. I was tempted at dessert, however, was left underwhelmed that I SKIPPED it entirely which is unusual for me.
Their drink and dessert menu is horrible and hard to read. I strongly urge them to consider re-​printing these as white small italic font on black background with heavy glossy pages in a dark room is not user friendly. Their dessert menu is really small on the last page and was missed by me at least 3 times. A Simple adjustment like this can increase their business.
The beef was flavorless, no spices, no marinades.
The crispy pork rind tacos for some reason had hard bones in them… very odd.
After all was said and done, it took them 25 minutes to just bring the cheque to us. Luckily I was in good company. There was barely anyone at the eatery so no reason why we had to wait 25 minutes just to receive our cheque.

So maybe I’m a New York City snob that has really experienced delicious authentic Mexican food but I wasn’t wowed by this place at all!
I ordered the shrimp tacos and my wife ordered the steak tacos. My shrimp looked flavorful but somehow was bland and tasteless. My wife’s steak tacos where overcooked/​dry. Neither tacos had anything else in the taco except the meat… no cilantro, onions or anything. I could have made a better taco at home.
The owner (I think) was nice and welcoming when he took our orders but neither him or the waitress cared to check up on us. A simple thing like giving us water took 1.5 hrs to get. The place wasn’t even busy. We finally got our water when we were ready to pay the bill. Wtf?! Maybe the owner and waitress were too busy hanging out with their friends taking tequila shots at the table next to us instead of doing their jobs.
I’m done ranting… I wouldn’t recommend this place but I guess this is the only Mexican place in downtown Van so I’m sure it will still do fine.

I liked it, not the tipical burritos, tacos, and nacho place
They have dishes that are only available down south
The taste was good to
A bit pricey though but I still go back

I have a weakness for pork… especially crispy pork and this place has amazing crispy pork tacos. But that is not all, the food here is great, very authentic flavours yet refined dishes. The mole is one of the best I have ever had and that is no easy task. I have been back several times and have yet to be disappointed. The biggest surprise is that it is reasonable priced for Yaletown.
However, recently these delicious pork tacos have been hit or miss. If the chef cooks them properly you are in for a treat, if not you will not want to come back. Hopefully the chef will get back to severing up these crispy bits of pork heaven how they should be, but in the mean time the other tacos are still amazing.

This place was ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ for me. I really enjoyed my entrée, which was the Pollo en Mole. Though it could have used a bit more heat. The Guacamole… umm yeah, not my fav. My party and I also shared the Queso Fundido, which was good but too oily from the chorizo. My biggest complaint was the service. Our waiter just seemed like he didn’t want to be there. We asked for recommendations and he looked at us with a blank stare and said, he didn’t have any. Then once we were done with our food, it literally took him 30 mins to grab our dishes and bring us a check. He seemed more interested in his convo with the bartender in the back of the restaurant. I’m giving El Azteca 3 stars b/​c I DID enjoy my cocktail and the mole. They definitely need to work on their service in order for me to return.

Good food, I loved the fact that they made me a ceviche although it wasn’t on the menu, because I wanted something light. Nice service, we had nothing to complain about, and we went there several times, both weekday & weekend. But the greatest thing about it is their super large selection of tequilas. I’m a fan! And you get to sip different kinds and savour it with fresh fruit, it’s so good!

This establishment is actually a very unique and refreshing change from the usual chain restaurants that have taken over Yaletown. They have a great selection of speciality tequilas, and the service is fast and very attentive. The décor is exceptional and the outdoor fireplace is a very nice touch. It is a tad on the pricey side, but it is definitely a cozy spot for a date night or just to hang out with some friends. Overall, I would recommend it as a cool place to check out.

Got a social shopper for this place to try. Read all the reviews and it sounded worth trying. We loved it. Atmosphere is cool. We took our four year old son, and even though they didnt have a child’s menu, the waiter immediately offered to fry up my son a kids quesadilla, and only charged us $ 3.50. Brought it out right after my husband and I ordered!!! I highly recommend the tacos Camarron! They are dynamite. Portion size was perfect, 4 medium sized soft shell corn tortillas loaded with grilled shrimp, bacon, cheese and grilled veggies. I would order same thing! Service was great! Just try this place. A nice twist on classic items, taste was unreal! We will be back with guests! It’s now our Yaletown diamond in the ruff!

Decided to stop by here last night for tequila and winded up eating a full dinner. What a fantastic new spot. Fresh and tasty food with tons of flavour. Our waitress was informative with the menu selections and the tacos are killer! Gotta go here!

Great Mexican restaurant with a cozy atmosphere. I’m not a tequila drinker by any means but I shared a tequila tasting flight with my girlfriend who is Mexican and thoroughly enjoyed it. We sat at the bar and had helpful input from the bartender.
We also shared an artichoke appetizer and fish tacos that were as close to perfect as I have had. I will be back soon for more. I have posted a picture of the menu that may or may not help.

YES or should I say Si. They now have a new sign and the place is packed. Well done guys. Yaletown needed somewhere new. Two words «Shrimp Tacos «yum.

I had been wanting to try El Azteca from the moment they showed up on the Unilocal Radar. I was not disappointed by the food. Hands down, the best mole sauce I’ve had. I was helpfully informed by our lovely server that they make it from scratch, and boy, this shows. Rich, chocolatey, savoury. Just the way mole should be. This alone is 5 stars. The chicharron tacos (crispy pork rind) were nicely portioned. You will be in blissful pork heaven. I was slightly heartbroken to find out you can’t mix and match. Such a tragedy, not being able to sample the other flavours. For this reason, I would still go to Taqueria Pinche Taco on Cambie for tacos. They have upped the ante for taco fillings but nothing I would trade my mix-​and-​match options for. I strongly urge going to El Azteca for their entrees (and tequila cocktails!) as taquerias have sprouted all over the city in recent times. It will make your dining experience that much better.
They do need to get a regular door. Seriously. Get rid of the grocery store sliding door. If the motion sensor door from the old Regional Tasting Lounge blasts my back with cold air one more time, I may stab the standing-​by-​the-​door patrons with my fork. I genuinely feel they need to put a more personal touch on ambience. It is way too reminiscent of RTL, which I was never a fan of. Together with the offending sliding door, the old open air fireplace did not do us any favours. We were inhaling cigarette smoke from bystanders while trying to have dinner.
Spaces can get quite cramped as well. A server almost dropped a water glass on my head trying to squeeze by so he can set up the table for new patrons. No offense taken but it’s an accurate depiction of space constraints here. Ironically, it was primarily filled by mid-​to-​large sized family and friends groups on a Friday night. Go early to grab prime seating or no-​social-​filter conversations will be off the table. So far, the only thing they got right with the ambience is the nice washroom with the awesome faucet and the sleek yet comfortable seating. I generally dont pay much attention to ambience in my reviews unless they bother me to a degree, which it did.
Their prices are pretty much right where they should be; one of the more affordable dining options in Yaletown but a titch spendy for Latin food. I hope the five star food continues to make up for logistical challenges.

I was meeting a friend for dinner in Yaletown and she mentioned she had passed by this new Mexican place down the street where the Tasting Lounge had been. Immediately, my interest was piqued as I’m dying for some good authentic Mexican food in the downtown area. We had some time before our dinner reservations elsewhere so we came here for a cocktail and sat at the bar. We expressed our interest in just checking out the menu and hopefully returning soon. Chatted a bit with the bartenders and learned the place had just opened a couple days earlier. We were served complimentary soup of the day in these cute little clay pots. It was a shrimp broth which was excellent. We perused the menu and immediately felt there was good variety in options and prices. The cocktails we each had were great, also. I promised to come back a couple days later for dinner with another girlfriend.
And I did. Danielle B and I came on Sunday evening at 7pm and opted to order a few things off the menu which we could sample and share, and we ended up having a fantastic dinner over a few hours. First we were served the soup of the day, this time a tortilla soup which was heartier than the soup I had tried my first night. I personally had really loved that shrimp broth soup, but the tortilla was nice. I didn’t notice if it was an option on their menu but it should be.
We then tried the guacamole with crispy chunks of pork. The guacamole was probably the best I’ve had in Vancouver yet — chunky, lots of onions and tomatoes, and good flavors. The pork pieces in there were quite crunchy but there wasn’t very much — it would have been overpowering and taken away from the wholesome quality of the good guacamole.
Then we had the grilled artichokes with the smoky mayo dip which was a winner, and we also had the mushroom ceviche. I was surprised how good this was. The mushrooms did not get soggy, the ceviche had really great flavors, and there was plenty to share. Lastly, we ordered a plate of tacos to share. The tacos come 4 to a serving, and unfortunately, flavors can’t be mixed. Although I understand how much it would tax the kitchen to dish out smaller portions, I’d much prefer to choose one fish, one shrimp, one beef, and one pork taco. Instead, we got four of the pork chicharron tacos with salsa verde. We both loved the flavor combos but I couldn’t eat more than one. It just was too rich for me, personally. I would love to try some of the other tacos, but that salsa verde was just so good, I might have to ask for it as a side.
Of course, we saved room for dessert. I had the rice pudding and she had the cornmeal cake. Both were excellent, with my preference leaning toward the rice pudding. They also have a flan which I’ll try next time, and CHURROS! Unfortunately, they were sold out of churros. I can’t wait to try them.
As the restaurant is also a tequila lounge, I opted to try a $ 15 tequila flight. Three great tequilas ranging from silver, to gold, to reposado. All were smooth and very sippable. Loved this.
The prices for everything were very reasonable. Entrees ranged from about $ 12 – 20 which in Yaletown is great. For authentic flavors, even better. This restaurant hasn’t even been open for a week and they have a lot of great potential already. The food is solid and I’m sure the menu will evolve over time as they’re figuring out what resonates with people. Service was sweet and friendly.