Hacienda Las Americas – 424 College St, Toronto, ON M5T 1T3Country: Mexico   
Seating: Only inside seating is available. 
Must-try dish: Sopes (go for the protein of your choice)
Dinner guests: Curly Guy, Pornstar Sam & Suited Sebastien
The high: This menu offers a number of traditional Mexican dishes that don’t include tacos. 
The low: The service was atrocious – it felt like the staff didn’t want to be there. 

This dinner was much anticipated for a few reasons – the first is that Mexican dinner is a night that many people look forward to, and the second is that our group was celebrating Cinco de Mayo a night early. Finally, the third and most important reason is that Hacienda Las Americas has a varied menu of classic Mexican dishes that are rarely seen on other menus across Toronto. 

After a round of Modelo Especials, decisions were made on the night’s dinner. The starters included Guacamole and corn chips alongside a refried bean dip topped with cheese simply called Frijoles. Although the Guacamole was standard in taste, the Frijoles were served hot and had a little more punch in flavour. 

The main dishes included Enmoladas and Flautas. The Enmoladas are chicken tacos that are rolled up and then drenched in mole sauce, which is a traditional sauce from the Oaxaca state in Mexico that’s made with a combination of chili peppers, chocolate, fruit, nuts, and spices. The recipe can vary depending on the chef. The Flautas are a crispy shell stuffed with chicken and cheese topped with lettuce. A green and a red salsa were available to give these dishes a little kick, but neither was too hot for comfort. 

The hit of the evening were the Sopes. This is typically a food found on the street in Mexico that’s made with a thicker tortilla base, with a small barrier around it creating a ledge, and dressed with your choice of meat, lettuce and cheese. Ours were a variety that included beef tongue, al pastor, and chorizo. The first rule of Mexican food is that there’s no going wrong with beef and pork. 

Unfortunately the night that we had dinner at Hacienda Las Americas, the staff appeared to be distracted when taking our order, getting the table ready, and clearing the table at the end. We ordered a dish called the Alambre, which never came despite being on our bill, and we also ordered a couple of rounds of Tacos that were mysteriously never recorded in the order at all. The staff seemed to be more interested in each other than in the customers in this particular experience. 

This being said, Mandrea Bike still thinks the restaurant deserves another chance because the food was tasty, the menu unique, and it’s one of the only spots in the city serving Pozole, a Mexican soup that will make you happy after eating a bowl. Hopefully all the customers get a little more love next time.  

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)