Many reviews describe Amaranto as a local Mexican gem with authentic flavors and welcoming service. Birria tacos stand out, along with tacos al pastor, fish tacos, and brisket soft tacos, complemented by shrimp quesadilla, guacamole, pico de gallo with fresh cilantro, nachos, churros, horchata, and homemade tortilla chips. Margaritas are noted as effective. The ambiance is generally pleasant and not too noisy, and the staff and owners are praised for warmth and attentiveness. Portions vary by dish with some described as generous while others feel small for the price. Service can be fast but on busy nights it can be slow and occasionally disorganized, with moments of waiting for the bill. A few practical concerns include a heavy door that is hard to pull and some menu items that were slightly dry or underseasoned, although the overall impression emphasizes authenticity and consistency. The restaurant is described as a local Mexican gem and many plan to return to try additional selections, including after the move to Monkland where the atmosphere and quality are said to be better than before.
It has been just over 10 years since I first visited their basement hole in the wall. Since then they have moved into a beautiful location, hoping to avoid the curse that has befallen so any restaurants before it in that location.
We were 3 people & 2 of us started out with a Margarita on the rocks. It was insanely good, tart, sweet, salt-rimmed, & boozy.
Their lunch specials paired each plate of tacos with their in-house guac & homemade tortilla chips, both of which are insanely good. The complimentary homemade salsas & tortilla chips were divine, though they waste time telling you which of the two is the spicy & which was the mild as both left me burning...though the flavors were insane.
The Suadero, or brisket tacos were delicious, tender, juicy, & a solid 8/10.
The chorizo with melted mozzarella tacos were amazing, cheesy, spicy, oily & perfect, 9/10.
The start of the show was the 10/10 birria tacos. The meat had a bit of caramelization & the birria broth was perfectly made. I may or may not have drank the rest down it was that good.
The lunch special saw us finish with a freshly fried churro that was perfect.
Platters are 3 tacos for about 15-20, which some can say is expensive but the quality of the food is worth the price, & as someone who usually eats a lot, three tacos with the chips, guac, salsa & churro were enough. Barely had room for dinner.
I'm fairly new to the area & I was told many times to check out this place. They just reopened in a larger location & the night we went it was packed. We were lucky to get a table for two, so be sure to reserve if you go. The menu is not huge, which I like, they specialize in a few things & they do it very well. They were actually out of a few items, I was quite pleased to see this local spot so busy. We had to switch one of our choices & the staff seemed a little overwhelmed, so we had the Birria & Baja tacos & I would say that the Birria were great & I need to go back to try the Al Pastor as they were out. The prices are very reasonable & I thought it was brilliant that they accept e-transfers instead of credit cards. I can totally understand that the fees from credit cards for a small business can really hit hard, so I'm happy to pay by e-transfer, I'm not sure why more places don't do this.
May 21, 2026
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Came for lunch with my friends; had a wonderful experience. The place was not too crowded & the one person was able to man the whole place down.
The food was amazing: tasty & full of flabor. The chips were to die for! The lunch menu was amazing: for 20$ you get 3 tacos, a small guac & chips, & a churro (no picture). The chip & salsa is complementary.
We went to this restaurant at 1pm, a groupe of 6. They brought the salsa & tomatillo salsa to the table, then brought the nachos to nibble on before ordering. The waitress took our orders & they had a lunch special which consists of either Guacamole or pico de gallo with nachos as an entrée with our meal, in addition to 1 Churro at the end for dessert. The ambiance is good, not noisy. The food was very good, typical of good quality food as in Mexico. The Birria tacos was so delicious! 3 tacos & I could only eat 2, very filling & lots of meat, slightly good spicy. The Tacos al pastor & the fish tacos were very good also. Tacos with cactus leaves also good. The horchata was good & refreshing. The pico de gallo was delicious with plenty fresh cilantro. The churro was good, but not fully fried, the inside was still not fully cooked. We will definitely return soon to try other choices. Good typical Mexican food. The only thing I have to mention is the black door, the entrance from the street to the restaurant. There is a black door & on it is written 5626 which is the address of the restaurant. It is very hard to pull & open that door! When I arrived, I tried to open it, there is no good grip on it to pull. For an instant, I thought this is not the entrance & I was going to leave. I waited till someone came out of that door so I entered. My friends had the same experience trying to open that door. I had to go myself to the door & opened it so they could enter!
To the Owner: please fix that door handle or change the handle to have a good grip to be able to pull it open to enter the restaurant.
We just got back from 3 weeks in Mexico & were thrilled to find the food here to be authentic & delicious. What a treat right here in NDG. Birria tacos were crazy good!
A super authentic Mexican gem. Everyone working was warm & welcoming. The food is excellent. No matter what you get, you won't be disappointed. We had the shrimp quesadilla, the birria tacos, fish tacos, & the chicken tacos. Everything was a 10/10.
Amazing! The best Mexican restaurant in town. The food is amazing. My husband & I had the chicken enchiladas, the birria tacos, & the refried beans & they were delicious. The staff & owners are super kind & welcoming. The restaurant is clean, comfortable with a vibrant decor. We are so happy that they came back to Monkland!!!
Dec 23, 2025
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Super authentic Mexican spot, with lovely owners & amazing food. They are so hospitable & are experts at what they do. Star of the show are the birria tacos, but nothing you get will disappoint.
Only tried their chicken pastor so far. It was fine but dry & lacked flavor a bit. Their tortillas chips however were really damn cripsy & quite enjoyable. I'm willing to give their tacos another chance, maybe the porc would be less dry.
I went with a friend around 6pm on a Friday. I recommend getting there early because it's gets very busy. By the time we left there was a line of people waiting for a table. The servers were great but since they were so slammed it did take them a while to come back around to us & then get us the bill. We ordered the guacamole & the beef & pork tacos. Food was great. We spent around $30 each.
