La Bartola – 588 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 1B3
Country: Mexico (Vegan)
Seating: Beautiful interior with a back patio and small front street side tables.
Must-try dish: Braised Hibiscus Flowers, Caramelized Onions, and Salsa Macha Taco
Dinner Guests: Char(half of Charleith), Pornstar Sam, Young Matt
The high: Although vegan, the lack of animal products wasn’t missed.
The low: The guacamole and main dishes weren’t served with enough tortillas, which made it hard to share, and being a vegan restaurant, the extra carbs would have helped fill us up.

Happy Pride Month!!! 

Toronto has just celebrated its first in person pride since 2019 and we’re excited to end June by showcasing another LGBTQ+ owned restaurant in the city. La Bartola by Chef Ivan Castro, a Mexico City native, features sophisticated plant-based Mexican cuisine with specific influences from Oaxaca and Mexico City. La Bartola’s decor is chic and perfect for a night out with refined cocktails and delicious food. 

For any of you who may not know, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz as well as Judy Garland is quite the Gay icon, and La Bartola, being out and proud have a life size cut out of Dorothy as soon as you walk through the yellow door (front door). Also the term “A friend of Dorothy” was gay slang used to state or ask if someone was apart of the LGBTQ+ community to avoid hostility.

We dined on a Tuesday, and despite being early in the week, the place was packed with every table inside and out occupied. We began the evening with a pitcher of Sangria and an order of Herbed Guacamole as we glanced over the menu. 

The easiest part to narrow down was the taco section that consisted of three tacos, each different from one another. As we wanted to taste them all, we ordered one of each per person and ate them in unison so that we could critique each individually. After very little debate, the Braised Hibiscus Flowers, Caramelized Onions, and Salsa Macha Taco was the top choice of each guest. Even Char, our more picky guest who doesn’t tend to have a liking for mushrooms, was amazed at how perfectly they executed these tacos. We loved them so much we went on to order an additional platter of these at the end of the night. Dessert anyone? A close second were the Jackfruit & Mushrooms “Al Pastor” which were balanced and the pineapple added the ideal hint of sweetness. Although the Green Chorizo & Cactus tacos came out on the bottom, they were still loved, with the only explanation of why they were placed in the third position being that we enjoyed the other two a little bit more. 

Our recommendation is to order a platter of either six or ten tacos since you’ll save money. We also recommend trying each taco as there are only three on the menu, and they were all fresh, flavourful, and unique in their own way, though if we were to return we would likely order extra of the Braised Hibiscus tacos, obviously.

The final two dishes were chosen from the Del Comal Y La Olla section of the menu and took some help from our server to make decisions. Although he suggested that all of the dishes are fantastic, he pointed us in the direction of two dishes that would be best to share. The White Mole with Plantain, Toasted Pine Nuts, Almonds & Sesame Seeds, Mezcal, served with Parsnip & Maitake Mushroom, Savoury Cacao Butter Bonbon was like nothing we have ever tried before. The mole was rich, with a nutty flavour, super creamy and after layering a heaping portion of the white mole followed by the mushrooms and parsnips into a handmade tortilla, it made for a great little taco. 

The second dish recommended was the Pistachio Pipian, Roasted White Yams, Jerusalem Artichokes, Heirloom Carrots, very different yet very alike to the previous dish. Unlike the first dish, this one has a green coloured sauce and a strong pistachio flavour, without overpowering any of the other components of the recipe. Served with homemade tortillas, we recommend lathering some of the green sauce and veggies into the tortilla to eat it taco-style. These dishes were big enough to share among the five of us, though our only complaint was that they didn’t provide us with enough tortillas, not even enough for each of us to have one per dish. If we were to return, we would make sure to ask for extra as the food hits the table. 

All of these delicious tacos and platters were washed down with handcrafted cocktails, most of which were made with tequila or mezcal. If ordering cocktails, keep in mind that the bar gets busy and there might be a bit of a wait. We recommend ordering a cocktail as soon as you sit down and then maybe transitioning over to a Mexican pint.

Salud,

Eat with you soon,

Mandrea Bike
(Gay Mat & Andrea)