el camino's

latitude now el camino. same place, new name, new menu, more veggie options, yay!

we ended up at what was then latitude, but is now called el camino, and that was lucky for us.

if you're into easy parking,  service with a personal touch, handcrafted margs with a shot of fresh green zap-juice that you won't find anywhere else, and snacking on tacos that taste like the person who made them actually cared that you got a little bit of everything delicious in each bite  - then go here. the best people already do.

i had plans to meet mac-n-cheese for lunch but no actual destination in mind. after some back and forth over text i suggested el caminos as i’ve walked by a number of times while exploring main street and always seen it as being quite busy. i had no idea what to expect for the lunch rush on a saturday, so we agreed to meet around 1:30 hoping that most people would have cleared out by then. as you approach the entrance you you walk passed an interesting little green house-like patio, a glass room with a swinging door to enter. if you enter the main part of the restaurant you’ll find yourself standing directly in front of the bar boasting an impressive variety of tequilas. we found the place was packed full, not a single table available inside or out. thankfully a table was just settling up outside and only had to wait a few minutes to get a table. looking around, the food on everyone’s table looked fantastic and made us even hungrier. they have a special brunch menu on weekends from 10am-2pm so we were just in time for that. looking at their website it also seems they have a dinner, late night, and even a siesta menu. the siesta menu is offered between 3-4pm and is a subset of the dinner menu with identical prices, and then a short closing before dinner starts back up at 5pm. it’s an interesting idea, but seems a little odd to only close for 1 hour. something else i noticed while looking at their website is that these guys are owned by the same group that does cascade room, the union, and charlie’s little italian, all except the union in very close proximity though very different in style from one another. i had quite a few drinks the night prior with oracle and blue coat so i wasn’t quite in the m

totally disappointed. heard about a cool mexican place on main, so tried it out for a sunday lunch with friends. at 2pm, the only choices were brunch or tacos, so we went with tacos. don't be excited - they weren't much bigger than a toonie, and didn't come with anything else. worst part was that our waitress, who explained to us how nothing else was available from the kitchen, sat at the bar eating a big sandwich that the kitchen apparently made special for her. won't go again.

brilliant. i just discovered this place and i'm sold. the food was top notch. as were the drinks. i found the portions small, but filling. the price is right, however. i think they could get away with raising the price and giving you bigger portions...

went on a sunny evening and really liked it. we had a few tasty margaritas and each had a bocadillo (i had the fish
one and my hubby the beef) and it was delicious! simple, well priced food in a cool environment. the staff is a bit slow but it's main street! it's nothing to complain about if you are there to relax and enjoy the scene.

got some takeout from this place yesterday. be warned it is a bit of a wait for takeout so i'd call it in first next time.

the vibe of the restaurant having waited there for quite some time is pretty cool and i'd love to try their cocktails. the bartender really looked like he made a mean drink.

so we got the fish , chorizo and steak tacos, pao de queijo, gambas and guacamole and chips.

my absolute favorite dish was the pao (brazilian cheese bread with stir fired veg on top) this was amazing and i could have eaten like 2 of them. just such well blended flavors. then i loved the gambas, the shrimp really worked well with the paprika aioli. the tacos were decent, steak was the best in my opinion. guacamole was okay not a traditional gauc but good and the chips were crisp.

all in all i will for sure be giving this place another go. i'd love to try breakfast here and have many cocktails as i think this place could be a blast.

i've been wanting to try this place out for a while now but never got around to it. this time though, i was in the neighborhood delivering some things to a friend and we decided to head out to grab something to eat. 

el camino's was pretty packed for a wednesday at 7 pm, but taking to the waitress she told us the wait was never too long. true, since we only had to wait about 20 mins to get a seat. pretty good. 

the ambiance was what you would expect from a place that tries to sell their mexican or latin american look in my opinion. while the drinks were great, i was a little bit let down by the meat. while i was expecting traditional mexican with good carnitas, i ended up getting something more tex-mex. the vibe and service was great though, so i'd def come back for the ambiance and drinks.

yummy brunch. i came here with a few friends on saturday early afternoon and this place was packed for brunch. there was three of us and we sat at a two person table, no problem just a bit snug. i tried the vegetarian eggs benedict with a side of their special guacamole - yum yum! the beans, avocado and tomato with the runny egg was delicious and a bed of nicely done hashbrowns toasty and yummy.

i was exhausted from working and furniture shopping, but we couldn’t miss this chance to catch up with j, who was leaving in another week. we met up with j along main street, intending to go to burgoo, but because of the 1.5 hour long wait, we went over to el camino’s instead for a quick bite. i ordered their drink special, because ginger beer was in it. it was too sour for me, which really masked the alcohol.

i’ve had an overload of asian eats lately so i wanted to change things up and eat something different. b’s been to el camino’s sister restaurant, the cascade room, before so that fit the bill. it’s located beside don’t argue! pizzeria. we dropped in on a busy sunday afternoon for brunch. the heated, covered patio outside is a nice alternative but we were able to snag a table inside by the windows.

mount pleasant is probably the most hip part of town, so of course that’s where you’ll find a hip latin american street food joint called el camino's. they were featured on season 2 of you gotta eat here! and were named as the #1 best south american 2017 in westender’s best of the city dining issue.

we visited on a friday night and it’s good to note that they don’t take reservations. you’ll know that you’re in the right place when you see their logo, which is, of course of an el camino. it can be a busy and happening place, so if you don’t want to wait getting there early might be useful. the vibe of the room is very cool, with cinder block walls and spray painted lettering across them. the lights are dim and the bar is busy. we were seated at a booth and began to peruse their clipboard menu. we were also given a bowl of lime-seasoned popcorn to munch on as we did so, which always scores incredibly high in my book! who isn’t happy when they see that popcorn is coming their way?

but first, i excitedly noticed their special drink feature on the chalkboard near the front: hot buttered rum ($10.00). my all-time favourite cold weather beverage! i asked for one of those. this was absolutely perfect and exactly the way that i like it, cinnamon stick and all! hot, sweet, and butterscotchy, it’s the perfect thing to enjoy on a cold day. it’s like a comforting hug in beverage form. maybe not the most latin american of choices like all of their fun margaritas, but i didn’t care.

i like that they specify that their food has been crafted to be enjoyed as is. they do not allow any substitutions, which is a policy that i can appreciate. we began with a sharing dish, and while several sounded very good (atun, pao de queijo) we went with the bolinho de bacalao (four salt cod croquettes with dill lime yoghurt aioli, dressed cabbage - $12.00). these were nice. the salt cod was prepared very well and was fried to a crispy perfection. inside each golden orb, the fish was flavourful and delicious. i liked the aioli a lot and it acted as a great cooling dip. the dill matched the cod very well. the cabbage was supposedly “dressed,” but i couldn’t discern any type of dressing. that being said, i enjoyed the crunchy cabbage strands because they tasted very fresh. the cabbage tasted great in the dill lime aioli as well.

for my main dish, i decided to order an arepa; a grilled & stuffed corn pocket, garnished with cilantro & onion, served with house salsas. i chose the gambas (prawns sautéed with coconut & chipotle, cabbage - $8.00) from the seven types available. while this was supposed to be served with housemade salsas, and the menu lists six different salsa types, we were never offered any of these. there was one bottle of housemade hot sauce on our table and that was it. i added cheese to my arepa for $1. i also got a side dish of mexican corn ($5.00) expecting that it would be elote (mexican corn on the cob), but it was not. so a few disappointments there. the arepa was very good though, packed full of delicious goodness. i especially loved the plump and juicy shrimp which were super flavourful. spicy and sweet from the chipolte and coconut, such a wonderful combo. the corn pocket itself was very toothsome and provided a great texture. the cheese was the right choice.

while the corn wasn’t exactly what i had hoped for, it was actually very tasty. it was super juicy and there were other vegetables and even some cheese mixed in. i was pleasantly surprised with this.

we had to have dessert because they serve one of our favourites! pastel de tres leches (spongecake drenched with three milks, maple chantilly, dulce de leche, crushed pecan praline - $8.00). this was an excellent version of this delicious cake!! so creamy and soft and amazing! tres leches is kind of like a south american version of an italian tiramisu, except i think that it’s the better of the two. the pecans were extra good. the whole thing was incredible and you should order it. order it now.

overall, the food at el camino’s was very good, albeit a bit expensive for what you get (isn’t street food supposed to be cheap?). their flavours are expertly created and if you want great south american food this is a solid bet. they also offer weekend brunch, which sounds like something worth going to try.

my first time having pisco sour, it was deeeelish. there's eggwhites, does this mean i will be buff? only time will tell . vegetarian tacos w poblano peppers. greaaat with sauces. rly enjoyed them. other vegetarian one w black beans. also very good, more hearty. again, good w sauces.

stale chips..............................................manager still charged and said they're made fresh even though 10 servings were sitting in the back, not even under a heat lamp