Snook's Ottawa Taco Reviews

Si Señor

2026-07-27T00:00:00Z

Si Señor sits on the south side of Carling near Woodroffe, making it a bit awkward to get into. Your maps app of choice should get you there—although I missed the sign and turned into the vet parking lot instead. Once inside, the location was quiet but the owner was very friendly and gave me the explanation of what happened to Que Pasa that was there before: he's consolidating the brands of the restaurant and the food truck under the new name.

I ordered the birria beef and the pastor pork tacos. The birria meat was tender and flavourful and the consomé for dipping was exactly what I was expecting. The pork was also tasty but not as tender. The meat appeared to be cut instead of shaved and the pineapple and salsa are recommended to really give it some oomph. Both tacos are light on garnish.

Ordered some chips and guac to go. The guac comes with no surprises. Chunks of tomatoes and onions and avocado. The chips could use a bit more salt, but they’re solid and hold well.

They have quesabirria on the menu, which I missed, since it's under a different section of the menu and I was only looking at the tacos section. I'll have to go back at some point to give those a try.

Rating: 3/5
Location: 2280 Carling Ave
Website

El Camino

2026-08-01T00:00:00Z

El Camino has two locations. I've been to their Elgin location a number of times but this is my first time to their more recently opened location in the Byward Market. It's a sizeable place including a rooftop patio, perfect for those summer days.

I ordered their pork belly taco which they call al pastor but like many other places calling their pork tacos al pastor, I'm almost positive these aren't being made on a trompo. With that said, the pork belly was fatty and flavourful. Good spice with sliced habanero. Definitely worth it.

I also ordered the crispy fish taco and it was...okay. Kinda fishy. Saucy. Mild spice. Still tasty, as most deep fried things are but I was disappointed. This used to be my go-to order when I'd hit up the old Elgin take-out window.

Ordered the churros for dessert and they were very crispy. Perhaps a little too crispy. The sugar and cinnamon overwhelmed any taste of the cooked batter. Caramel was good, though.

The higher rating is definitely due to the pork belly.

Rating: 4/5
Location: 81A Clarence St
Website

El Taco de Oro

2026-08-05T00:00:00Z

The restaurant sits on what I would consider just outside the northen edge of the Byward Market, east of Dalhousie, making it a quieter spot with room both in the restaurant and on their backyard patio.

Starting with my least favourite, the barbacoa lacked flavour and even adding some red salsa didn't save it. The chicken taco and the al pastor both were decent, middle of the road tacos: moist, tender, and with some flavour. The standout was definitely the chorizo and cheese taco.

The churros come with condensed milk instead of caramel and were definitely worth it.

They have an extensive menu beyond just tacos which I'd like to try.

Rating: 4/5
Location: 303 St. Patrick

Toro

2026-08-07T00:00:00Z

This place is just a couple short blocks away from my place in the heart of downtown. Which means that it's catering to the increasingly-ordered-back-to-the-office downtown workers with the hours to show for it: they're closed evenings and weekends. It's got more of a fast food vibe perhaps more akin to a Chipotle or Mucho Burrito.

The chicken was tender but bland. The carnitas was marinated and flavourful. They have a decent selection of toppings including queso fresco, which was nice. They also served up a good sized portion of meat.

Honestly, I was impressed because my expectations were low. If I'm in the area and just need a quick bite to eat, this would be worth it. But for the best taco in Ottawa, the search is elsewhere.

Rating: 2/5
Location: 150 Slater Street, suite 104
Website

Mi Amor

2026-08-19T00:00:00Z

Mi Amor sits in a shipping container just off Parkdale, a block south of Scott St. Plenty of parking. The service was very friendly with who I assume was the owner.

I started with my usual, the taco al pastor, which was decent but seems to fall victim to the same experience as all the other places that say they do al pastor: they're not doing it on a trompo. It's marinated pork with fresh pineapple. The cut of pork also wasn't the greatest, coming across as gristly.

The beef brisket, on the other hand, seems to be their specialty. It's at the top of the menu and for good reason. It's tender and flavourful and well worth the order.

Other quick notes:

I like that they double up on the shells.
Use the salsa fresca liberally if you want to get any of the flavour coming through. I do like that they had a salsa fresca, which most places don't.
The red salsa is okay and not overly spicy. It has a slow build to the heat.

Rating: 3/5
Location: 9 Bullman St
Website

z-teca

2026-08-20T00:00:00Z

This place is in a limited food court in an office building. I wasn't even sure if they had tacos but the sign said Mexican eatery, so I took a look. Sure enough, they have burritos and tacos.

The protein selection was rather limited so I got one chicken and one beef barbacoa. No pork on the menu. I was there so early that the barbacoa hadn't even been shredded yet. And honestly, it was fine. Tender but not exactly packed with flavour. And none of the toppings really lifted it. The chicken wasn't any better, unfortunately, which seems to be a bit of a trend where the chicken tacos are bland and flavourless.

Made worse is that I received flour shells instead of corn. They hot press the shells but I'm not sure if they just didn't have the machine hot enough or didn't leave it in long enough because they were chewy and doughy and really brought everything down a notch.

Rating: 1/5
Location: World Exchange Plaza
Website

Mexigo Cabana

2026-08-22T00:00:00Z

Mexigo Cabana is a food truck in a sizeable parking lot on the south side of Robertson, across the street from General Dynamics. My expectations kept bouncing around. The high rating on Google had my hopes up but upon arrival, the minimal taco menu lowered my expectations. Then the chicken tortilla soup before our tacos lifted expectations again. And then seeing the lettuce and hard shells lowered them again. I ordered the only two options I saw: chicken and beef. [They also currently do a quesabirria taco and have done fish tacos in the past.]

I might've been having a premonition when I mentioned that every chicken taco I've had so far has been bland because Mexigo came to prove me wrong and delivered in spades. While I didn't feel like the lettuce was really helping here, the rest of the toppings that was more like a pico de gallo definitely worked.

The beef taco was interesting. It was really rich and smoky. Like a mesquite liquid smoke. It wasn't my thing but I can see many people really enjoying this. I liked that it had an opinion.

I'd definitely go back here for the chicken tacos alone and really appreciated the service. The tacos are larger than your typical Mexican corn shells and they're loaded with toppings. If you find yourself out in Bells Corners, give Mexigo a try.

Rating: 4/5
Location: 1930 Robertson Rd

El Buen Pastor Taqueria

2026-08-24T00:00:00Z

El Buen Pastor sits on the south side of Rideau St. In checking out the website, they feature their trompo, so my expectations were high that I'd get the tacos al pastor that I love so much. Unfortunately, I went on a Monday, their slowest day. When I walked in, the trompo was empty. I talked to the owner and he was very upfront saying that they do the trompo the rest of the week and not on Monday because he doesn't like freezing the unused meat. I can respect that. I went ahead and ordered a chicken taco and an al pastor taco.

They served it with a tray of onions, cilantro, and limes, along with a salsa roja and salsa verde. Both salsas were spicy and tasty. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Both of the tacos were fantastic with tender meat and flavourful seasonings. The owner even brought out a third taco for me to try with the previous day's meat from the trompo, so I could compare, and there was definitely a difference. It had a richer flavour but a drier meat, understandably so. I definitely want to go back on a day when I can get the meat freshly shaved from the trompo.

While I was here, I figured I'd go ahead and order the quesabirria tacos, which come in threes with a side of consommé. Again, absolutely fantastic flavours with the beef. The consommé was a little lighter than others I've tried but still really good.

I don't want to focus on authenticity, but this place really felt like it nailed what I was looking for and expecting in a Mexican-style taco. I will absolutely be coming back.

Rating: 5/5
Location: 506 Rideau St
Website

Little Bones

2026-08-25T00:00:00Z

Little Bones sits on the south side of Richmond Rd, in Westboro. It's a hip joint with stylish interior and loud music. I ordered the al pastor and the featured taco of the evening, the pork belly.

I had a tough time deciding how to rate this place because while there was nothing wrong with the food, both tacos had a sour note that didn't quite work but both offered up bold flavours, which I like. The pork was okay but a bit gristly and the pineapple surprisingly disappeared, flavour-wise. The pork belly was on the verge of being really good and while I normally like pickled onions, they didn't quite work here. The corn shells were decent and held up well, which was nice.

My girlfriend ordered the brisket and said it was a bit dry. We also ordered the chips and guac (which were decent and nicely salted) and the ceviche (which was mushy and disappointing).

Overall, a middle of the road experience.

Rating: 3/5
Location: 342 Richmond Rd

Tortilla Maker

2026-09-04T00:00:00Z

Tortilla Maker is in Orleans, close to Jeanne d'Arc Blvd, making it fairly easy to get to off the highway. They make tortillas and I picked up a pack for when I make some carnitas at home. I ended up ordering three tacos: al pastor, carnitas, and quesabirria.

First one I tried was the al pastor and again, not a trompo in sight. The meat was flavourful but dry. The carnitas was decent but not as flavourful and equally as dry as the taco al pastor. If these were the only two tacos I got, I would've said this was a solid middle of the road taco place. Good thing I got the quesabirria because it's the best one I've had in the city so far. I wish it had a bit more cheese but I'd have no problem just buying a trio of these. Interestingly, they don't serve a side of the consommé with it—you have to pay extra for it.

The green salsa that came with the tacos was very fresh and lime forward, with no spice. They served a red salsa with the birria tacos that had a bit more kick to it but not a lot of complexity—more like a Frank's Red Hot.

All in all, a worthwhile trip to the burbs.

Rating: 4/5
Location: 2003 St Joseph Blvd
Website

Taco Boyz

2026-09-08T00:00:00Z

Taco Boyz is a chain restaurant with two locations in Ottawa, of which I went to the Bank Street location for lunch. The vibe is more like a Subway than a taqueria with all the food in metal tins. I ordered one taco al pastor and one chicken taco. They have a wide selection of toppings and everything looked fresh, which was nice. It looked like they were training a new employee and as such, a request for jalapenos resulted in banana peppers.

My expectations weren't high and perhaps because of that, I was pleasantly surprised. The chicken taco ended up being tasty with quality meat. They had a "holy mole" hot sauce that had some smokiness and good flavour that was almost like a spicy bbq sauce that I'd recommend. The pork, on the other hand, was a little chewy, albeit still pretty good.

I wasn't expecting the best but it's decent for a fast food chain and so far beats the other chains I've been to.

Rating: 3/5
Location: 255 Bank St
Website