Amaranto

Bison Stew

10 Reviews

4.5

I've been a customer at Amaranto since 2007 which is pretty much the beginning & I have never been disappointed. The couple that runs it is super friendly & the food speaks for itself, yes at times service can be on the slow side but they have clearly taken steps to correct this as there is a lot more help in both the kitchen & the front of the house. The gringa is my favourite, the enchiladas with tomatillo sauce are also excellent. They had a beef tinga tostada on the menu a few weeks ago that was out of this world, order it if you see it on their daily specials next time. Their carnitas which are also not on the menu but appear frequently as a daily special are also very good.

Prices are also very reasonable especially for the quaility you are getting.

I'm convinced some of these poor reviews on this site are from the competition, I always get suspicious when I see a person has only given "1 review". There's a reason they have been open for nearly 10 years.

Foodie

1 Review

1.5

Hello,
I only want to share with you that my visit to this restaurant was not good. The place has a very small open kitchen & it is located in a bassement, it means that the smell of food is everywhere & you can feel that you are into an oven. The food is not great but could be better, I would say that is normal for a reasonable cost but the service, OMG is one of the worst that I have found in Montreal; too slow & rude. I never go back, but if you want to try be sure that you like cold food & the must important, don't complain if so, the owner will schold you.

What are you talking about, you make no sense.

Bison Stew

Feb 22, 2016

If tou don't want smell of food, then don't eat warm food and don't eat traditional meals. Yes It's a small place, but you are sure that you have only fresh, good quality and the most importan the REAL MEXICAN food, not burritos or hard corn chips that people dare to call it 'tacos'.

MarinaTi-804

Oct 6, 2017

Foodie

1 Review

5.0

First of all I must say that I almost never write reviews of any kind. But after reading some of the comments & ratings for Amaranto on this website, I felt compelled to do Amaranto some justice. I find it hard to believe that somebody would wait 2.5 to 3 hours for their meal to be served. I think those reviewers are either grossly exaggerating or they are simply not telling the whole story. My experience was that of a fair time for meals to be served, great authentic mexican dishes & a professional & friendly service. You have to take into account that this is a small family-run restaurant. Owners do most of the work & I think they do it to the best of their abilities. Do they have the fastest service in town? Probably not, but there are some ways to get around this: you can order in advance, order for take out or simply enjoy an entrée while waiting for the main course (I´ve heard that their guacamole is one of the best, in town). The place is small, 4 to 5 tables but I think it is safe to say that in this case the size of the restaurant is inversely proportional to the taste & authenticity of the dishes. I haven't really tried other mexican joints in Montreal, but as a mexican myself, I can say without any hesitation, that the dishes are as authentic & tasteful as can be, outside of Mexico. I tried the Sopa de Aguacate (Avocado soup), Tacos de Pastor, Tacos de Carnitas, Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus tea), Agua de Chía (very refreshing kind of lemonade) & they were all very well prepared, delicious & brought to our table in a timely manner. The menu is rather small, but what they offer is made at the moment (even their chips & salsas, which by the way are also excellent), which gives it even more taste & freshness (both of these elements are essential to mexican cuisine). It is true that they have an open kitchen & the smell of food might find it´s way to your clothes, but I wouldn't say this is overwhelming. Besides, many food joints in Mexico have open kitchens. We mexicans like to see what's going on with the food we're about to be served!! They also play authentic mexican folk music at Amaranto making it so much more enjoyable!!

So, in a nutshell, take the poor reviews with a grain of salt, give Amaranto a try & not only will you not regret it, I´m pretty sure you'll keep coming for more. If TASTY & AUTHENTIC mexican food is what you're looking for with a good & friendly service, then go to Amaranto.