el cortez mexican kitchen + tequila bar

easily best tacos and guac i've had. i ordered the "redneck" had some sort of fantastic cheese and a sweet/tangy sauce. will be going back for more!

bland and boring!

delish!. was here over the long weekend for my first time. loved the décor and atmosphere. the food was fantastic! best mexican i've had in a long time. we had the fried queso tacos and the veggie enchilada. so good. will be back for sure!

came for a friend's birthday, we had the entire basement to accommodate our large group. it's quite a large space that you can reserve until 9pm when it opens to the public. the décor is pretty cool, dawn of the dead theme, neon signs, and graffiti like artwork. the chairs might have added to the theme but were very uncomfortable. the service was good considering everyone was ordering food and drinks sporadically.

the food: we had 3 or 4 orders of guacamole, it's $12 per but you get quite a lot of it. chips that came with were good, crispy not greasy. unfortunately the guac was as quite acidic so i wouldn't reccomend unless you really like lime.
most everyone oredered tacos afterwards, i had the chance to try the cinnamon braised pork and the coconut pescado. the pork was tender and had alot of cinnamon flavour but that's all you could taste, the corn salsa was lost. the fish tacos were better but very messy, they loaded the sauce on thick which made the tortillas quite soggy. the fish was cooked well but the portion sizes were horrendously varried between the two tacos. one could hardly fit in the tortilla where as the other was hardly the size of a fish stick.

the drinks: they have a large selection of tequila to which the servers are very familiar with (they can tell you all about the agave and how long each is aged etc.)
margarita's were basically just tequila and whole lot of lime juice, definitely not worth the $12. i'd suggest trying some tequilas and washing down with a mexican beer, avoid the cocktails.

if you're looking for authentic mexican this is not the place to be, honestly i wouldn't return unless it was for a group event again and just grab some food from a nearby restaurant before hand.

establishment has a cool vibe, nice decoration. staff is friendly, food is too expensive and not mexican at all!

good for drinks but if you're craving authentic mexican food this is definitely not the place!

cool atmosphere, decent food.. the tacos and the cauliflower appetizer are delicious!

el cortez, a mexican restaurant just off of whyte ave, has invited me to join their cinco de mayo celebrations on may 5. it was quite a coincidence actually, as i had just dined there the week before. at the time, i did notice the food was a bit different. it turns out the restaurant has just released a new food menu, as well as a reinvented craft cocktail menu (based on tequilas of course, since el cortez is a tequila bar). and this cinco de mayo event was the perfect chance to showcase the new offerings. it was a bit cold that evening, and as the event was held outside in the patio, i was pleased to find that the heat was on and blankets had been thoughtfully laid out for guests. on one side of the patio, staff from calgary's rodney's oyster house were busy shucking away for a good portion of the evening. the el cortez folk really know how to throw a party. all-you-can-eat raw oysters? i'm in. i didn't realize how much i missed rodney's , or any good oyster place really. there is definitely a shortage of oyster bars in edmonton. west coast - smaller but sweet, the more popular choice east coast - fat and juicy, but more brine in addition to raw oysters, there were also free cigars. my friend convinced me to try it, but can't say i'm hooked. as the early comers sat and indulged in oysters and cigars, the appetizers started making their rounds. the first was ceviche, with a choice of tuna or swordfish. i found the tuna too mushy, but the swordfish was nice and firm with good flavour and a complementing accompaniment of avocado and tomatoes. next up were spicy chorizo meatballs and pork tenderloin served with salsa. el cortez did a good job with the sauces and seasoning. flavours were intense, but not overwhelmingly so. tacos are usually the main focus of a mexican restaurant, and el cortez serves up a variety of different fillings. i tried the beef and fish, and as previously mentioned, the meat was seasoned perfectly with just the right amount of sauce and garnishe

a couple of weeks ago, i went to el cortez for the first time and was really impressed! i had heard really good things about el cortez from a few of my friends, and when i was lucky enough to be invited to their cinco de mayo party, i was definitely interested!. el cortez is small building right off whyte. it offers a mexican kitchen and tequila bar. they specialize in modern latin food and tequila. chef lindsay porter has created a menu which encompasses everything from tapas, to latin entrées, to gourmet street foods & tacos, to nuevo latino fusion dishes. interesting fact : they are one of only 9 establishments in the world certified by the consejo regulador del tequila (the tequila regulatory council)!

as a place i frequent for tasty tacos and guacamole on the patio in the summer time, i was excited to see el cortez offer brunch starting the weekend of march 19 & 20. every weekend from 11am - 2pm the restaurant offers five brunch dishes at a great price of $14.

i don't recommend this restaurant. first of all they don't sanitize the tables. i know this because we were seated at a table that had food from the last customer on it. that put my safety at risk as i'm immune compromised.

secondly we booked for a special 18th birthday. we were told there would be a churro birthday dessert but in fact there were no desserts available including churros.

the menu online is not the actual menu at the restaurant which was not explained.

we went on a sunday at 6 pm. it was super quiet but they ran out of many items we wanted to order like mussels, mexican street corn - 2 of our favorites. some drink choices were also not available. a very special occasion was ruined. i called the manager to discuss this very politely because i didn't want to do a negative review. he promised to investigate and get back to me but he didn't. so i will now review everywhere i can find. so disappointed. do not dine here!

very unique and hip environment, disappointed with the size of the tacos vs the price. tacos were still excellent.

a great place to stop in for a drink! great atmosphere great service and a lot of fun. food, were all wonderful. we will definitely be going back.

great service, enjoyable atmosphere and flavorful food. a bit cold in the booth by the back door in winter, and kitchen ran a bit long for our mains after the appieswere served, but we had a good time and enjoyed our experience. again, great service!

wanted to like this place. sat at the front of the restaurant by the window, feet were cold. 

ordered a sangria, just average. ordered guacamole and chicken enchilada. it was ok but pricey. friend took a raisin out of her rice and asked "whats that?'

won't be hurrying back.

worst experience ever!!! my husband and i went to the blues on whyte block party on july 1st. enjoyed watching some bands playing at the park. it was a great day ..... until we popped into el cortez. sat at the bar chatted with the awesome bartender while we enjoyed a beer and a mescal. a nice couple sat next to us and we were all enjoying ourselves. my husband ordered two more mescals and walked away. when he returned i asked him what he did with the drinks. he told me that a band (mike mackenzie band) that we saw earlier was there so he had a drink with them. a server was at the bar and yelled at my husband that he wasn't allowed to do that. my husband thought that he must have misheard him so he tried to explain what he did saying he bought a drink for the lead guitarist of a band we saw earlier. the server says that he plays guitar too. ???? ok so now we're really confused. then the server tells us we're cut off. we look at the bartender and he says that there's nothing he can do. my husband says that he would like to speak to the manager. the server says he is the manager. ok .... guess we'll take our bill. the couple beside us were so appalled by what happened that they asked for their bill as well.
i let a few days pass before i called to make a complaint about our bizarre experience. we were only seeking an apology from the server. after a week or so of trying to clear things up we were offered dinner and drinks on them. i asked why the server/manager cut us off and was told that he was having a bad day. i asked if they had some policy about buying drinks for other patrons, he said no. i told him that we can buy our own dinner and really just wanted an apology (we were totally embarrassed) .... crickets!!!
never have we been treated so badly. ☹️️ wow!!