Toucan Tacos

This place is not good. I wanted to like it. I really wanted to find some way to give these guys 3 stars, but I just can’t.
I came on a Wednesday night during what should be the peak of the dinner rush. The restaurant was dead, however they do have the patio out back and the guy in the kitchen was cooking so there must have been some other people around somewhere. A few doors down, Prohibition was raucous so it’s not like there were a lack of people in the neighbourhood that night.
I went with the blackened fish taco plate. With the tacos you get some beans, rice, and a salad. The sides were bland. The tacos themselves were just not good. The tortilla was a cheap flour shell that you can probably buy at your regular grocer store. Except for the fish, the individual ingredients were pretty good. The problem though was that the tacos were drowning in sauce. I couldn’t really tell what was on the taco. The fish was bad. I actually thought they maybe put pork on my taco by accident until I pulled a piece out and tasted it on it’s own. Also, for the price, there is not near enough fish on the taco. There needs to be double the amount if you compare to other fish tacos in the city.

I drove past this place multiple times and had always wanted to try it, but sadlythere was much left to be desired.
the staff was nice, they explained the food well and were excited about the food. but the food was not as flavourful as i hoped and was a bit expensive for tacos.
the food took a while to come as well, despite there being no one in there besides us.
i had the chicken, which i thought would totally absorb all the flavours, but was a bit dry and did not have that much flavour. i had to keep putting that mild sauce that was on the table on pieces of my burrito to get some flavour.
the blackened fish tacos were a bit burnt too and there were only two pieces. again, not enough flavour.
the décor was nice, i like the coat hooks at the front! Apparently the patio has the sun shining onto it in the late afternoon, so beware of that depending what time you go.
i’ll take a pass next time for food in the area. wasn’t worth the money.

I’m so excited I found this place. Its 2 minutes from my place and the area definitely lacks any nice patios/restaurants.They have a very cute patio in the back. The place has been open only for 3 months so it’s still very quite and feels like not a lot of people know about it yet. I didn’t have food there but they all looked very yummy and the nachos was to die for.
The cocktail menu is mostly Tequila drinks. I tried three different kinds and they were all yummy. I’d definitely go back to try the food there.

**Maybe a 2 star, only because it’s the ONLY taco place around.
I’ve lived about a 5-​minute walk from here pretty much all my life, and I love tacos! My excitement sky-​rocketed when I noticed this little place opened up so close to home and finally came to check it out a couple weeks ago. The owner of Le Canard Mort closed down the former Le Resignol and opened this new little taco bar. I have never been to the other restaurants, but Le Canard Mort has definitely been on my radar, and I cross my finger it will be much better than this.
There were two of us when we came and thought it was closed because it was so dark and empty. It could have just been because it was late afternoon during down time, but I’ve never seen more than 2 people in here at a time anyway.
We were casually greeted, and we picked up a menu off the table. It consists of enchiladas ($ 13-​$ 16), burritos ($ 9-​$ 12), nachos, and a few salads. The tacos range from $ 4.50 to $ 9 each, or you can choose to get the platter of 2 which includes rice and salad. And so for a quick lunch:
Blackened Catfish Taco Platter: $ 14 (²⁄₅ stars)
The fish itself was cooked and seasoned well. However, it was not hot… warm at best. The yellow mole lacked flavour, and the mango salsa was… meh (I can make way better!). Overall, a bit dry and lacking in flavour… and heat. Very disappointed with the «platter» aspect since it was a tiny scoop of bland rice with what seemed like canned black beans heated in a microwave and poured on top. The salad was several lettuce leaves with… I forgot what else (not worth the mention anyway).
Shrimp Taco Platter: $ 14 (1.5/stars)
Shrimp was cooked well, but definitely lacked flavour, chipotle mole was inexistent according to my taste buds. The tomatillo salsa was alright, but missing the bold taste tomatillo salsas promise to deliver. Again, a bit dry and I wished I hadn’t gotten the platter… double disappointment.
Service: (²⁄₅ stars)
2.5 stars. The server was nice, but there was really nothing that was done to put her above the McDonald’s counter service. We originally asked to get the food to go, but decided to stay after we got the food. She brought some utensils, napkins, and bottled sauces, then she reached into our bag and took the packaged sauces back so we wouldn’t waste it. I mean, I hate to waste and would have probably given it back anyway… but SERIOUSLY?!
I am a forgiving person and I believe (almost) everyone deserves a second chance. Chef’s and restaurants have their bad days too, so yes, I will go back ONE DAY to get ONE taco and hope that it will make up for EVERYTHING. The concept is what I really admire, but the food, cooks, service, and atmosphere need to step it up BIG TIME!

Actual rating 2.5.
This place is in my hood. I really like tacos, so I was hyped. Despite the poor reviews, my good friend/​fellow foodie and I decided to try it ourselves. Both of us hoped to be pleasantly surprised — you know, let the underdog win. Alas, it was not so.
The atmosphere is dreary. No attention has been paid to creating any sense of ambiance. Honestly, it looks like a hodge-​podge of left-​overs from the previous restaurants that inhabited this space. I suppose because of that it has a sense of being transient. just thrown together with little thought.
Still, I can forgive weak décor if the food is stellar. Unfortunately, nothing we tried was even remotely interesting. We started with the chips and guacamole; the chips were decent but the serving size and complexity of the guacamole was pretty lame. We shared the catfish enchiladas and the pulled chicken soft tacos. Both were very boring. The rice and beans that accompanied were abysmal. The yellow «mole» was so lackluster I didn’t even register what it was until my friend pointed it out.
And the service? Forget it. Bottom line, I will not return. I would never recommend this place to anyone as it stands.

I was SO hesitant to come here since all of the reviews were saying that is was ho-​hum (or less than so). But my friend convinced me to come by so I obliged. I can’t say no to a taco. And low and behold, the tacos suck (more later). But don’t come here for the tacos. Come here for the nachos.
VIBE
Standard. I’d rather talk about the food. The owner, Lindsay, is really nice. She taught me what mole was (that red chile paste that you’ll see on your plate). It gives everything a bit of a kick.
WE ATE
Catfish taco — no flavour but nice soft fish
Pulled chicken taco — less flavour –quite a mess with a hard shell
Chorizo taco — pretty good flavour but not sure what they’re using as pineapple here. Let it ripen.
NOTE: do not get the hard shell if you can and ESPECIALLY if you are on a date. It is sooo messy and so awkward to eat.
We got guac. MEH. Too much cilantro and lime and it was chunky. It wasn’t mushed. I know avocado costs less than $ 1 Make it worth my while and mush, mush I say!
But the surprise was the nachos. The corn chips were really tasty (I like my salt!) and with the mix of ingredients they had on top of the chicken, was quite good. The small portion is more than enough and reasonable for the cost ($ 9).
The tacos were not worth it (except chorizo). My benchmark is Grand Electric. When Grand Electric is charging $ 3.50 for a cod cheek taco and you’re selling me bland chicken for $ 4 – 6.50 PER TACO it’s not worth my value.
DRINK my friend got the tequila, coke and I think sprite cocktail and it was quite good (and I don’t drink tequila). I was going to get the sangria but it seemed pricey at $ 9 for me.
Guac, 3 tacos, nachos, a coke and cocktail came out to $ 46 with tax, NOT including tip. I was filled but the tacos weren’t worth it.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
Not flying here for the tacos, but nachos yes. Get the nachos. Nice to have some Mexican in the Broadview/​Queen area.

I really wanted to love this new taco bar since there aren’t too many kick-​ass Mexican/​Taco places in the city, imo, especially in the east end. Sadly, this definitely does not hit the mark.
I’d give the food 3.5 stars, but the service was truly atrocious. I can’t give it more than 1 star, which leaves us at a 2 star average.
We had the chicken taco and veggie taco and the jicama salad. All seemed fresh and tasty, especially the veggie tacos. Portions left us wanting more, meaning the food was tasty, but the portions small.
Sadly, the service was literally the most awkward experience I’ve had in a long time. For starters, the server/​nobody greeted us when we came into the restaurant. Apparently it’s seat-​yourself, but there is no sign to tell you. We thought we were the only ones confused, but then observed everyone coming in waiting to be seated only to have the server ignore each new patron for an odd period of time. She was super patronizing in her responses to our question and made us feel dumb, which was extremely infuriating.
I think Toucan Taco needs to replace/​train their service staff, get a sign saying seat yourself (being casual does not imply seat yourself), and expand portion sizes. Without these fixes, this resto does nothing for our neighbourhood.
Eric

My idea of quick fast Mexican in Toronto is usually hitting Chino Locos for yum yum fish burritos but then Toucan Tacos opened.
My fiancée had already ventured to the forbidden Taco land when I was away on biz, so first weekend back I decided to hold out as long as possible to starve him and suggest Tacos for a late lunch/​early dinner. Taco mission success!
We went at an odd hour which meant we had the whole place to ourself, the décor is still in progress I think but at minimum was hoping for some cheesy Mexican music.
I was freezing and used that as an excuse to order the sangria, which I thought was pretty good, especially when i wasn’t expecting sangria as an option.
Given we had starved, we ordered guac and chips, the guac was fantastic and the chips once sprinkled with fresh squeezed lime were great as well.
The highlight was the catfish taco platter. The tacos were not too hard and perfect in density, the fish was fresh and seasoning great. This was all accompanied by jicama salad that looked like slaw but tasted like summer freshn

Tacos; I love them… and I have eaten a lot of them.
These were okay but not amazing… 2.5 to 3 out of 5.
I had the catfish and the pulled chicken tacos — the catfish was significantly better. If I had had 2 catfish and 0 chicken I would definitely rate this ³⁄₅. The meat portion in the tacos was small for the price, but I thought it was an okay value when you add in the salad and other items for the platter. $ 11 lunch with no drink. Meh… a bit too expensive, but not too obscene considering the neighbourhood.
There is a $ 9 chorizo taco on the menu that I did not get, because you know what… that is just way too expensive. I would go to Burger’s Priest with my $ 9 over that taco, every single time.
Details:
— semi-​hard shell tacos ($ 5-​$ 9[!] each)
— «platter» option comes with 2 tacos, rice, beans, cold salad and is about the same price as two tacos purchased separately
— interesting and good vegetable fillings, very fresh
— mexican beers @ $ 6 each
— large selection of tequila and other liquors
— not a very young/​cool ambiance — I wouldn’t be excited to actually eat here vs getting takeout
— good containers for takeout & well prepared for takeout orders
— good service
I’ll definitely get takeout again [and try other things]. Even though it’s just good and not outstanding, it’s still a welcome addition to this strip.