milagro

the craze in the food industry in the past year or two seems to be all about tacos. it could get a bit repetitive, but the milagro cantinas offer traditional mexican e ateries inspired by mexico city - so you're looking at thegoodold authentic stuff here! we were invited to a dinner at their toronto flagship on mercer st., opened by mexican city-born brothers, autoru and andres anhalt, and it was unlike any other mexican food we had in toronto. upon arrival, cocteles - a selection of mixed libations from the cantina were placed in our hand - can't complain as it was a long day at work ;)  the restaurant space on mercer pretty big with lots of seatings along the window as well as bigger tables for groups.  the staff were super friend, fun and lively - it felt like we were at a friend's party... a friend who knew how to make some damngoodmexican food, that is! after being seated, the food began to emerge from the kitchen - glorious sight, of course!   guacamole con totopos ($12.00) -

good. went here for lunch with my husband, my parents and my brother. we all had something different and everything was good. i had the tacos rosarito with shrimp, avocado, and crema. it was great. my dad had the pollo con mole. he said the mole was excellent - spicy and rich, a complex flavor. my husband had the barbacoa burrito and he said it was excellent. my mom had the fish tacos and "it was sogoodi couldn't believe it." my brother had the vegetarian burrito. service was a little slow but since the tortillas were made fresh, i can excuse that a bit. the wait staff wear blue and white plaid shirts which is a little odd for a mexican restaurant but whatever.

tip: free wifi available, just ask for the password!

the craze in the food industry in the past year or two seems to be all about tacos. it could get a bit repetitive, but the milagro cantinas offer traditional mexican eateries inspired by mexico city - so you're looking at thegoodold authentic stuff here! we were invited to a dinner at their toronto flagship on mercer st., opened by mexican city-born brothers, arturo and andres anhalt, and it was unlike any other mexican food we had in toronto.

upon arrival, cocteles - a selection of mixed libations from the cantina were placed in our hand - can't complain as it was a long day at work ;) the restaurant space on mercer pretty big with lots of seatings along the window as well as bigger tables for groups. the staff were super friend, fun and lively - it felt like we were at a friend's party... a friend who knew how to make some damngoodmexican food, that is!
after being seated, the food began to emerge from the kitchen - glorious sight, of course!

guacamole con totopos ($12.00) - tortilla chips with house-made guacamole (aguacate, cilantro, serrano chiles, tomato, onion & lime)
salsas de la casa - three of milagro's famous salsas: mile, medium and spicy
milagrito 'ven a mi' mezcal reposado, warm syrupy with a smoky mezcal

ensalada cesar ($9.00) - romaine, egg, anchovy, parmesan & garlic vinaigrette

tostadita de pulpo ($8.50) - crisp tortilla with octopus & chipotle ceviche
sope plazero ($9.00) - corn masa base, pork carnitas, warm tomatillo-serrano salsa & crema
michelada - negra modelo, fresh lime and salt rim
conchinita pibil ($21.00) - anchiote marinated pulled pork, pickled habanero onions & fried plantains
pierna de cordero ($19.50) - braised lamb shank in chile guajillo & mezcal sauce

mole poblano ($18.50) - roasted chicken with poblano style red mole

natilla de cajeta ($) - creamy custard with goat's milk cajeta & brûléed sugar - fell in love with this!
glan de queso al caramelo ($) - homestyle cheese flan with burnt sugar sauce
i did had high expectations as this is actually one of my friend' favourite restaurants in all of toronto - now i see why! the food is spectacular with an abundance of cocktails and wine to pair them with. add the lively environment and staff and i am in mexican heaven. milagro cantina definitely became one of my top 3 mexican restaurants in the city and i can't wait to go back for more.

ps. please make sure you try the dessert we had!

good food..bad service. milagro on mercer food is asgoodas the other location on queen street. however the service is a quite contrast. i went there with my significant other for a snack and drinks. the restaurant was 70% empty, yet the host would not let us sit on a 4 seatertable next to the window with the excuse that it was reserved. i thought this was an insult to our intelligence since the restaurant was almost empty.
another thing that bothered me most was that the host decided that we spent enough time at the restaurant and brought us the bill without anyone asking for it and then after 5 minutes he volunteered to bring the paying machine to our table.
the host was not hospitable to say the least....when we paid and he did not like his undeserved tip, he threw the receipt on the table.
bottom line is....we left feeling we 've been kicked out and we will not be going there again

nice spot with great atmosphere and friendly service. my meal was very tasty and agoodsized portion. great selection of beers including a few mexican brands.

milagros is conveniently located close to downtown entertainment district. attentive, courteous staff withgoodservice. food wise i am not sure if this is how the authentic mexican cuisine tastes like. i must admit the food authentic or not indeed tastes good. unlimited supply of nachos and salsa is very much enjoyable. we ordered couple of marghirita pictures they were delicious spiked enough to our liking .. but we thought they were little pricey being the highlight of our bill. we went there as group of 10 to celebrate my wifes birthday..the table was well laid..and we were promptly attended. our biggest grievance was the air-conditioner was turned off and their counter to this was to provide one table fan for a table of 10…which was lot of sweating and kind of dampened the whole event. please avoid that huge table for big groups we almost felt like we were sitting in a storage area where cartons of produce, beer etc.. were stacked besides our table… i hope restaurant takes this as an constructive feedback..

my friend and i stopped by milagro in the hunt forgoodmexican food and left feeling really impressed by the service. the food, on the other hand, was not spectacular. the fish taco and carnitas dishes were good, albeit on the under seasoned side, while the salt on my paloma milagro drink was a little heavy-handed.

our favourite dish of the night was the dessert (trufa maya).

always great food!goodservice. it is hard to find an authentic mexican place that doesn't look shabby. i've been here twice and never been disappointed. would highly recommend.

this restaurant has changed my perception of mexican food .. we thought mexican is all about salsa and beans .. but there is more to it after visiting this place .. loved food .. great service andgoodambience for a date .. fondue which is fondido here is liquid cheese with tossed mushroom served with flour tortillas.. hongos con queso- taco was diff with sauteed veggies, panela cheese is amazing.. suizas enchiladas- flavorful and yum.. complimented by a pitcher of margarita.. absolutely recommend

the food here is fantastic and quite different from fast food tacos and burritos. i highly recommend their happy hour from 3-6 on weekdays where you can get guacamole, some drinks, and select tacos for $5.50. the margaritas have a really nice flavor blend where the lime comes out and it's not excessively sweet. they have some other tequila cocktails with a hint of chili pepper. not cheap, but fair value for quality ingredients and preparation. conchinita pibil is a my favourite thing, and the goat milk flan is quite unique in agoodway. waiters are verygoodat reommending dishes and are passiomate about the menu. not a lot of vegetarian options, but perhaps that's an accurate representation of mexican cuisine? the ambience is great for a larger group or just dinner for two. i frequently see parties of 10, sometimes 20 people, dining there. they have a sidewalk patio in the summer too. my only complaint is that the service is fairly slow, which is no problem if you're hanging with friends, but kind of stressful if you have to make it to a show.

been there for lunch, tried pascado rodrigo, fish tacos and tamarindo in drink. all the foods was reallygoodand perfectly hot n spicy. enjoyed alot

awesome. not sure why people complained about the poor customer service because that certainly was not our experience. we arrived early for our reservation tonight by half an hour but that was not a problem. we started off with large margaritas and queso fundido - awesome drinks and melted cheese, not a bad start. we then ordered rosartio tacos - shrimp was cooked perfectly. really they are not to be missed. husband had the pierna de cordero, lamb fell off the bone and was amazing. i ordered tinga burrito which wasgoodbut i was so full i could only manage 3 bites. finally the customer service was fantastic, our drinks were never empty and the staff were super nice. my husband would like you to know he is presently in a food coma.

milagro is an authentic, cozy restaurant filled with beautiful mexican culture and décor. the restaurant is located in the middle of toronto between the financial and fashion districts. you’ll find that milagro is more than a restaurant that serves tacos, burritos and enchiladas. the family of milagro is passionate to bring together food, drink andgoodcompany.  we started of with cocktails, guacamole and a shot of tequila. fresh and addicting. i found myself snacking on this throughout the entire dinner. there were three dishes of appetizers. the first was a fresh cesar, the romaine was crisp and the vinaigrette was creamy and zesty. the next two items were served together. tostadita de pulpo and sope plazero. the octopus was poached to perfection, tossed in a beautifully seasoned crunchy salsa. it was fresh and light compared to the next savoury and creamy snack. the sope plazero had an interesting corn masa base and it soaked up all the delicious juices from the pork and salsa. the sweetness from the pork and the creaminess from the cheese balanced the heat from the tomatilla-serrano salsa. i could eat this all day, yum! and the food just kept coming, next were the entrees. all three dishes were served with steaming corn tortillas. first up was marinated pulled pork with pickled habanero onions, refried beans and fried plantain. the pulled pork was savoury and full of spices, the plantains were sweet and the onions were very spicy! three or four strands of those onions were more than enough in my tortilla, i couldn’t handle the heat! i was most excited about the lamb shank. it’s braised in chile guajillo, mezcal sauce with carrots and potatoes. my favourite dishes are usually braised meats with tons of spices and herbs. the meat always turns out tender and the flavours have a lot of time to mingle together to form something spectacular. the lamb shank was fall-off-the-bone tender and insanely flavourful. the next item that i got to dump over my corn tortilla was chicken mole. before this meal, i’ve never heard, seen or tasted mole. chef arturo informed us that mole is traditionally made with 20+ ingredients and it’s finished with cocoa at the end. although the sauce wasn’t sweet, i could taste the cocoa. i was really unfamiliar with the taste and texture of this sauce, so it didn’t stand out like some of the other dishes. i was afraid of not having enough room to eat dessert because i was stuffing my face with all the other dishes. no worries, i was able to consume the final dish of the night. the cheese flan was rich, creamy, slightly heavy with a slight bitter after-taste. i enjoyed the smooth creaminess of it though. the other dessert was a creamy custard that taste like melted caramel, yum.  

great mexican joint in the downtown core (entertainment district to be exact). though the place does give off the "commercial" vibes. expect to see a lot of suits, after hours, tequila... very tasty guacamole, i must say :-) and the tacos were delicious as well. they do have a small patio on john st. if you're lucky to catch somegoodweather. personally i prefer the more mom and pop shops (ie - el trompo in kensington). not sure if i'll be running back here anytime soon.

this is our second time at milagro in just a couple weeks. but when you’re craving mexican and looking for agoodmeeting spot in toronto’s entertainment district with variety (and prices!) to please everyone, you can’t do better than milagro.