Tacos Moras – 523 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4K 1P7
Country: Mexico       
Must-try dish: Birria on any base
Seating: Indoor seating only. 
Dinner guests: Sandbagger 
The high: There’s a counter with unlimited sauces, chillies, limes, and onions to deck your food out with. 
The low: Don’t be turned off by the bright lights. 

Of the two Tacos Moras locations in Toronto, we crushed tacos and horchatas at the one on the Danforth. Upon stepping in, you get the impression of being in one of Mexico City’s terrific tacos restaurants with the music, the “Day of the Dead” mural, and of course, the tacos. 

The menu gets straight to the point – base, protein, toppings, which you add yourself at the hot sauce bar. Obviously we all go for the tacos, but the quesadillas, tortas, and burritos are also excellent. It depends what mood you’re in when deciding what base to pick. From there, it’s really up to your palate as to what protein you order at the front counter where a big sign welcomes you in Spanish saying: “Bienvenidos.” 

On this particular evening, the plan was to get three tacos and one quesadilla each, all with our personal choice of fillings. The proteins of choice amongst our group included: Birria, Asada, Costilla, Pastor, Baja, Camaron, and Nopal. 

Let’s make something very clear – you can’t go to Tacos Moras and not order the Birria. It’s what they’re famous for, and you get a bonus cup of consomme soup to go with it. If that’s not a win then I don’t know what is. It’s common knowledge that the Birria Burrito is the favourite item in the house. 

The menu is beef heavy with the Asada – barbecued pieces of beef that pair terrifically in a quesadilla that comes with cheese, onion, and cilantro. The tortilla is flipped in half and cooked, making it crispy on the outside, and the inside warm with melted cheese to dress the rest of the ingredients. If you want to get a little fancier, there’s the slow-cooked short ribs that are called Costilla on the menu. 

A Pastor taco is a thing of beauty, especially when you roam the streets of Mexico and see the large shawarma-esque apparatuses with a hunk of pork slowly spinning and cooking all day. Then to counteract the savoury meat, a grilled piece of pineapple is added to the mix making it one of the most mouth-watering dishes in Mexican cuisine. At Tacos Moras, you’ll love a Pastor in any of their bases, so don’t shy away. 

The Baja and the Camaron are what we went with for from the sea. All fish and seafood options can be grilled or breaded then fried before being dropped in one of the bases. They all pair well with the green salsa, which has a dominant cilantro flavour. 

The most exciting protein on the menu is the cactus (Nopal). It’s a vegetarian option but we still recommend it for meat enthusiasts. The thin and long pieces of cactus are pickled, so they have a fresh flavour profile unique to the other options. The subtle taste of vinegar stands out when hot sauce is added to this open-faced taco. 

For those guacamole lovers in the house, you can order it at an additional cost. However, the toppings are already great on their own, and there’s always hot sauce to heat things up! 

The majority of the tacos with meat and fish proteins have toasted corn tortillas giving them a hearty crunch with each bite, while the Nopal is served open and cold. All of the quesadillas are made with slightly larger flour tortillas that are folded over and cooked until crispy. As for the tortas, these hefty Mexican sandwiches are a meal in themselves so you’ll just need one to get full. The last option is a burrito, which is also an ambitious choice but the outside is cooked and the inside ingredients are warm, so it’s delicious despite being large. 

If tacos at a party are your thing, then Tacos Moras has a catering business to serve their specialitiy Mexican food to your hungry guests. 

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)