Pancho Y Emiliano

200 Agusta St.

So good, the man and I went last week and this week! Most everything was gluten-free, aside from a few obvious choices. The staff was very helpful and knowledgable about their food.

Started with some "corn inception" aka a Tamale. Got a simple cheese and jalapeno version and it was tasty!


Next up for me was tacos! 100% corn tortillas. I tried the Chicken Tinga and Chicken Pibil this time. Both were really great! The photo, not so much. But, the last time, I had the Chicken Tinga, Chorizo, and Chicharrón tacos (all awesome) and the photo wasn't blurry!


All in all, really happy with what I ate and would absolutely go again!

El Catrin

Located in the Distillery District, I took my sweetie here for his birthday. I've found authentic Mexican food to be pretty celiac-friendly if I go to a good place and use my words and ask questions. This one happened to have their menu visible online, and much to my delight, items containing gluten were clearly labeled! At least that was a win.



Here are some tips for this place:
-To avoid waiting in a potentially very long line, make reservations.

-If you like your Mexican food spicy, bring your own condiments.

Although this place was really nice looking, and got some great write-ups, I could easily take a picky child or an elderly parent that hated spicy food here. Now, I will attest, I don't like really spicy food, but this was blander than bland (which might be ok if you like that sort of thing).

Started with the "spicy" guac (honestly, the spiciest thing I had- and it barely had the heat of a supermarket mild salsa). They had the option to add crickets. I did not. I've had them before. I don't like them. I was afraid to ruin my guacamole.



Next, had some black beans and cheese. Came with chips. It was nice and creamy- basically what I'd expect from refried beans.

Finished with some tacos. They were tasty, though I wish I had brought some hot sauce or something with me. The 3 tiny cups of salsa that were brought to the table might as well have been 3 flavors of tomato sauce.



My hubby enjoyed his tequila sampler platter, so at least one thing was great.

All-in-all, a SAFE place to eat if you are gluten-challenged, but definitely geared towards those who don't eat spicy food (at least the items I ordered were that way). I'd bring my own hot sauce if I had to eat there again. I've had way more memorable Mexican food in Toronto.

Bario Coriano

This small, loud (sometimes very crowded) bar/restaurant is located in the Koreatown area of Toronto (on Bloor Street, between Christie and Bathurst subway stations). It's a fun, Mexican/Korean fusion which works quite well.

Most of the staff in the past have been great in regards to guiding me towards and away from food containing gluten ingredients, and now it's even easier because they have actual menus instead of their daily choices being up on a (sometimes difficult to see) chalkboard on the wall. Items with gluten ingredients are labeled as such, and they now have a seperate fryer for their gluten-free items! Yay!

Their menu changes often, and though they seem to have some "standards", don't be surprised if a favorite item isn't there next time you go.

The hubby and I started with a half dozen oysters- a nice selection of some daily specials. Served on ice with some freshly shaved horseradish and lemon wedges. They were great.

Though I was hoping to get 2 of my fave kobe beef tacos for my main, I ended up trying some others as they were not on the menu this time. Chose a Chicken Karaage taco, and a Ribeye with Shitake Mushrooms.

The chicken was fried in rice flour and covered with scallions and a salty teriyaki-style sauce. Really crunchy and awesome because I have not enjoyed fried chicken in ages, but easily tore through the corn tortilla, so it ended up being a fork and knife taco. Most of their tacos end up beginning like that though, as they are very full!

The other taco I enjoyed was sliced ribeye with mushrooms. Another tasty taco, even though the meat was very rare. I like my beef med-rare and this one was closer to "black and blue", but I suppose that could get chalked up to personal taste.

I've been there before, and I'd go there again. My only wish was for consistency. Feels like things taste differently on different nights, but not to the point that I'd never go back. Enjoyed it overall, and the hubby loved their tequila selection.
It's a fun little place.

La Mexicana

So, after walking around the city with the hubby, we stopped at a few places so we could "try" to eat. This place had no gluten-free options, that place wasn't sure, the other place couldn't be bothered seating us, so we left each of them and moved on.
We decided to wander into some rarely-charted territory. By that, I mean that maybe one a year we're in that area. Anyway, we stumbled upon "La Mexicana" restaurant. They had baja fish tacos (which are no good for me, but sealed the deal for the hubby)!
I tell you, there is no better feeling than looking at a menu and seeing "gluten-free" icons on it! The best part, ALMOST THE WHOLE MENU was gluten-free!! Score! That sealed the deal for me!
It was $5 margarita night, so I got a mango one. It was pretty tasty. We got some nachos (no photo- sorry, we were starving and ate them before I thought about a photo). Hubby got his tacos, I got some lobster tacos. There was nothing on them in the way of spicy, which was nice. I like putting my own on, and happily used the salsa verde from the table chips on them. I'd totally be happy visiting again!
Location: just North of Bloor on Yonge this location closed as of March 7th 2015 due to condos, but there are two other sister restaurants