Playa Cabana

It’s a really tight space here but the food is to die for. Had the baha fish tacos and chicken burrito and I want to eat it all over again. Guaranteed food coma. Reservations are hard to get around peak hours so you’re looking at a 9:30 — 10:00 pm seating if you’re lucky. Music can be loud so it’s not the greatest place to have a conversation. Washroom cleanliness is alright; cleaned every hour. Pricing is fair and on par. Will return!!!

What you would expect from a mexican restaurant in this coty — good guac and fresh fish tacos. The ambiance is really cute and cozy, the staff was also very welcoming and kind.
Its small –they keep it packed.

Came here about a month ago on a Sunday afternoon. There was a big group of us and we all left very happy and satisfied.
The staff were great. They took really good care of our big group. Being such a large group, we just asked one of the servers to recommend/​order for us. Unfortunately, I forget his name… but he did an awesome job. We had a good variety of items.
The food was awesome! Lots of flavour. I don’t think there was anything we didn’t like. Some of the favorites amongst the group included the shrimp bucket, lobster taco, both types of fish taco, and braised short-​rib taco. They were all very tasty and served with a healthy portion of meat.
There was one mishap during the meal though… one of the sangrias came with a loooooooong strand of hair: S (It was stuck on the ice cube…) They were very apologetic and a fresh one was made right away.
Regardless, we had a wonderful experience and we’ll definitely be back.

Come here. Great tacos.

Best tacos in Toronto, hands down. I always get the chorizo queso tacos, al pastor and fish tacos. Way better than seven lives where they use thick store bought flour tortillas. All of the tacos are well crafted, with the perfect accompaniments to the meat — I hate having to top my own tacos (looking at you again, seven lives), surely certain toppings go better with certain meats! Be sure to make a reservation as its a small space that fills up quickly. There is also some limited street parking available.

I can’t say anything bad! Food was great, prices great, service great!
It’s a small little place so keep an eye open while driving by.
Gets busy quick so call ahead and make reservations.

It’s a very hidden place on Dupont street. It looks like a random quite house from the outside, but when you entered, it turns a very busy pub. I ordered the burrito and I like it! It’s full of juicy, good quality beef, black beans, and rice. I’ve never seen any burrito would give me that much beef though! And they drizzled two different sauces, gives the burrito two totally different taste. Very entertaining!

This is a great little restaurant! We almost missed it when we parked. My boyfriend and I showed up on a Saturday night without reservations, and luckily they had a table available immediately. I would recommend making reservations, as the dining area is small and always busy.
What it lacks in size, it makes up for in quality of food. Toronto isn’t known for their Mexican food, but this place breaks the mould. We ordered the guac and chips to start, baja fish tacos and steak burrito as mains, and the homemade lemonade to drink. The food was fresh and flavorful. The lemonade was on the sweet side, but good. We left full and happy and will be returning.

I am not much of fan of traditional North American Mexican fare; you know the plate bursting with cheese slathered wraps sided with refried beans, rice, and a non-​descript salad. Add the store-​bought chips and common tomato based salsa and a beer and you have your meal. This place is a bit different.
First of all there is little pretence to be a hacienda type restaurant, but I guess that would have been difficult in a tiny house in northern Toronto. The walls do have posters and mismatched paint swaths of bright colours. The tables are tiny and it is crowded and noisy. All this would make it average at best, but the food was a surprise.
We ordered jugs of margaritas and sangria (Guaca Fresca). The chips were freshly made and the 2 types of salsa were interesting and not too spicy. My companions spoke highly of the tostados, the Pollo Milanese and the grilled fish tacos. The beans and rice were more like a Costa Rican mix (which I prefer, the beans not being a mexican slurry), and in some cases came as a side dish so that the plates weren’t too big for the table. I order Poblano Chile Rellenos. The chilis were deep fried and the coating was a bit too thick for my liking, but the stuffing was very good, and I enjoyed them. I will agree with others about reservation problems. We booked a table for 5 people, arrived on time, and still had to wait 45 minutes. Fortunately, we had not seen our friends for a while and we didn’t mind waiting at the little bar in the front while we caught up.

Lobster tacos, need I say more? Decent portions of lobster in the tacos. We also had the beef and fish tacos. All great. It is nearby Dupont station so it is easy to get to on public transport. Make sure you don’t fill yourself up on the chips before the main course.

Oh man… what an outstanding meal! Family and I showed up without a reservation (early) on a Saturday night and they were extremely accommodating. Wife started off with a margarita cocktail that she loved so much she had a second.
We started the table off with some appetizers… homemade chips, salsa and guacamole were all flavorful (especially the salsa with its slight kick). Chips had just been fried so they were pillowy yet crisp.
For dinner, we ordered several dished for the four of us to share. The ancho beef short rib tacos were hearty and oily-​saucy but our favorite dish on the table. The chorizo burrito was spicy and had two great sauces (one red and one green) and an over-​easy egg on top. My wife loves fish tacos, so that was dish #3…she loved them!
Fun (intimate) atmosphere in a lively setting. Given the chance we will definitely be back.

This place is a little gem, and is actually a special destination for us given that it isn’t in our neighborhood. If you’re considering going, I have one word for you: go.
It gets very packed, even late at night (I think their kitchen closes at 11 on weeknights), but it’s worth the fifteen minute wait at the door.
I’ve never traveled to Mexico, so I can’t give you an opinion on the authenticity of the food. What I can tell you is that everything they serve is fresh and delicious. You can basically point at the menu at random and be satisfied with what comes to your table.
The place is boisterous and lovely, with a lot of life. The service is attentive and great. And the cocktails… (again, refer to the random pointing at the menu technique).
WORDS OF WARNING: Now, I’m a fan of spicy heat. But I was stupid enough to go b-​deep into a hot paste that was on the table. Call me stupid or call me cocky; whatever. But I was dying, left gargling a glass of cold milk for a half an hour. …stupid.
TL;DR Great value, great food, great service. Watch out for the habanero paste in the jar unless you’re cooler than me.

Been here a couple of times — I have friends that live in the neighbourhood. The restaurant is indeed small but intimate in a fun way — dining at night is the best. In nice weather, the patio adds some needed extra room. No AC in the summer, just open windows.
Service was amazing on my first visit and average on my second.
Food isn’t bad — I thought it was decent but not outstanding. I think it’s a little overpriced considering the portions; ie: the chips and salsa isn’t huge but costs you $ 5 each time even for a refill.
Overall, this is really just a place of convenience for me to go to. I have a few other preferred places in the city for the same type of food. But for a snack and a few drinks, it’s a pretty good option.

It was mediocre at best. Cramped space with average service. This is far from anything authentic which they don’t claim to be. Server said guacamole was their most popular app and it tasted good but nothing outstanding. Mains forgetful. The churro was the highlight of the meal.
I was in on a Friday night with reservations for 2. Told we only had the table until 9pm. Kinda odd but worked for us.
Good luck finding parking anywhere close on a Friday night.

We had very high expectations about this restaurant. Me and my hubby are Mexicans, lived in Toronto for many years always looking for a Mexican restaurant that can take us back home in our full five senses. We’ve heard incredible things about playa cabana from our Mexicans friend and from our none Mexican friends, we’ve also been in «hacienda playa cabana» which is one block away from this restaurant and from
the same owner and we really really like hacienda.
Anyways, here is why 3 stars.
We sat in a corner inside, the inside was pretty empty everyone was seating in the patio (30* degrees outside) we were biking so it was too hot for us, starting with the service, it wasn’t bad, although I thought specially because it wasn’t really full there was going to be more special attention, the service isn’t knocking stars, the service was fine.
We ordered a few items tacos de carnitas, tacos al pastor, short ribs tacos, elotes, agua de jamaica and guacamole.
Guacamole– home-​made with the choice of mild medium or hot, with home made chips, the guac was great.
Agua de jamaica — it was extremely sweet and from the dark red color and the really sweet taste we knew it was fake jamaica (the syrup comes in a bottle and you just add water) that was a downer, we didn’t like it.
Elotes– the elotes were amazing 5 stars for sure, a little spice with cheese and the crema and mayo. We both enjoyed this a lot.
All the tacos took a long time, like a looong time.
Tacos de pastor– this were not pastor, they didn’t look like pastor or tasted pastor, the meat was thick and lacked flavour, we didn’t like them.
Tacos de carnitas– to me they were ok nothing great, came with some chicharrón (deep fried crispy pork meat) I’m not a chicharrón fan, and also the tacos had lots of topping, onion jalapeños etc but I wanted meat, I wanted carnitas, if you are gonna charge about $ 5 per taco, they have to be full tacos (that’s why I love seven lives). My hubby liked this ones, he wasn’t crazy about it but he enjoyed them.
Short ribs tacos — in My opinion this were the better ones, I like the hacienda playa cabana better but I liked them.
For dessert we had churros con cajeta and flan
The churros — were really well done almost burnt with not much cajeta… It was ok but man, churros, you have to give me more cajeta!
Flan — do not order the flan, I don’t know what was this, I know what flan is and how it looks like and how it tastes like, and I love flan! This is not flan, it was hard, like really hard almost like trying to scoop hard ice-cream…mexican flan it’s soft, almost like Jello. We couldn’t eat it, it also had a funny taste. Sorry playa but this «flan» of yours sucks):
Overall… I don’t think we are coming back, we will for sure go to –hacienda– but not here, if we were ever coming back, it would only be for the elotes.

The short rib tacos are the bomb diggity! Never knew you could put rib meat into tacos, but I’m glad they invented it. Perfectly sweet with a nice tangy finish. Rich and diverse. Excellent mouthfeel too — that short rib was tender and moist.
The fish tacos sucked though. It’s a catch of the day dish, and today’s was baja. We got grilled (as opposed to battered) at the recommendation of our server. It looked kinda bland, tasted bland (reminiscent of overlooked and browned scrambled eggs) and was soggy to the point where the soft tortilla fell apart in my hands and I had to eat the taco ashamedly with a fork and knife. Save your fish taco cravings for seven lives in Kensington.
The guac and chips appetizer was real nice. The guac comes in a nice stone mortar (great looking touch), and comes in three spicy levels: mild medium spicy. The spicy level has the perfect kick to it — spicy, but not overbearing. The chips are homemade and fried — hint of egg, and real tasty, although some –very few– were a bit too oily).
A friend’s recommended the Mexican iced tea. Apparently delicious and strong. Gonna have to get next time.

Had the Octopus Taco (Tacos de Pulpo)
Very fresh and delicious octopus taco. The combination of ingredients (corn, guacamole, and the special sauce) gives a unique taste to this taco.
Space in the restaurant is pretty small and tight though.

Went for my sister’s birthday with a group of her friends, note: this is not a place for large group (ie. anything more than 2 people).
The food was good. Fresh ingredients, good size portions, flavourful, simple and made with love.
The service was attentive, polite and helpful.
This is a tequila bar, so don’t expect a wide selection of scotch or vodka. Their cocktails are creative and bring out the different tequila flavours.
The space is where they lack and the «intimate» setting just gets annoying. Because of proximity to everything else in the restaurant, it gets loud and it was hard to maneuver around especially since there was a group of us. So if you’re claustrophobic, wait till you get a seat on the patio.
Also, it’s a bit pricey, but affordable considering the area. It’s about $ 8 for a plentiful side of guacamole and chips and $ 13 for tacos. Which as I’ll say again and again in my review of taco places– is too much for street food.
Parking is difficult, street parking only, but the subway is about 2 blocks away.

Ever the fan of this small Toronto chain, and only ever experiencing the Junction location on Dundas before I jumped at the opportunity to try out the place where it all started last weekend.
If you’re looking to try any of the 4 Playa Cabanas out, I recommend you make resos and make them early in the week. We were lucky when trying to make a reso for 4 on a Friday at the last minute that they were able to fit us in for a set amount of time.
Parking is a bit wonky here so I’d recommend you also hail a cab to get here as I’m not sure that taking the TTC to get here is possible later on in the evenings/​weekends.
We grabbed our table and hunkered down for what I anticipated would be an equally amazing meal to what I’ve come to expect.
It’s a small place, and when packed you’d be hard pressed to back your chair up without backing into someone so if you like your space then maybe pick a less busy night. That said, if you like a cozy lively dining experience then this is your jimmy-​jam friendo!
What I liked:
— Three choices in guacamole (mild medium and hot), we ordered a hot for the fellas and a mild for our ladies who weren’t as fond as the spice. I’m no master spice connoisseur but the hot was a 2 alarm at best (our of 5) so I think even someone with spice sensitivity can handle it. Came out quick with amazing tortilla chips as expected. Always a winner
— Tacos, the short rib tacos are the house speciality and they certainly deliver in taste and in presentation. The meat was tender the fillings were excellent and the tortillas were a lovely cross between soft and crispy.
— service, friendly, helpful and attentive. Despire beign slammed, we never waited too long for anything including re-​ups on drinks and/​or asking questions
What I didn’t like:
— Tacos, yes I know I said I liked them, and I definitely do, but unlike the Hacienda and Cantina locations, you’re only allowed to order 3 of the same kind of tacos, where the other locations you can order singles. To get a fourth of the same kind will run you and extra $ 4. Just my preference but I like my choice when I’m splurging my calories on a taco night out
— Space, As i mentioned, it’s a tight fit, I like a little more room, not much but a little.
Overall a good experience, but I’m definitely more partial to Cantina and I’m looking forward to trying Hacienda soon as well as their new Annex location which is a Korean fusion style joint!
Eatcrest Out!
PS — even saw titan of Canadian grocery business Gaelan Weston doing taco take-​away while we were eating. Not a big sighting, but cool to know a multi-​billionaire still enjoys good tacos at the same spot the rest of us do.

We came here on a Sat night with no reservations and got a seat quickly at the bar. This place is pretty small so it’s recommended that you make a reservation. They do have walk-​ins for the bar, but the seating isn’t very comfortable.
Ambience: Reminded me of an authentic Mexican dive. They played Mexican music throughout the night.
Bartender: He was super nice and told us that each drink had 2.5 shots of hard liquor in it — definitely worth it!
Food:
Guaca Fresca: This guac was definitely better than the one we had at Barrio Coreano (one of their sister restaurants). You can pick the spice level and it’s served in a cool molcajete. ⁴⁄₅
Tacos De Pulpo: Grilled octopus tacos. There were only a few pieces of octopus and the charred jalapeño salsa sauce too spicy for my liking (I know this would be spicy though). This wasn’t anything special. ³⁄₅
Tacos Al Pastor: Adobo-​marinated pork roasted on a Trompo with pineapple. The slice of orange/​tangerine gave the taco a nice flavour and texture. The pineapple wasn’t very sweet, but the pork was nicely marinated. 3.5÷5
Toluca Choriza Burrito: Homemade Mexician chorizo (sausage) topped with an egg. This was my fave dish of the night. I think Cabana’s speciality are their burritos. It was a big dish, which for $ 16 was great value. The flavours were amazing and the egg on top gave it a nice touch. ⁵⁄₅
I would definitely come back for the Burritos, but prefer Barrio Coreano for their tacos. This place is on the pricer side — we spent about $ 80 including tax and tip for 4 dishes, 1 alcoholic and 1 non-​alcoholic drink.