El Gordo is a friendly and welcoming neighbourhood taqueria where simplicity rhymes with savoury. Come try one of our delicious tacos, offered at a very affordable price. There is something for everyone; meat, fish or vegetables. Our Mexican-inspired cuisine is bursting with flavour and goes well with one of our exotic cocktails such as margaritas or mojitos! In addition to tacos, you will also find Latin cuisine classics such as quesadillas, burritos and fajitas plates to share. If you want to bring the Mexican Fiesta home, our catering service will delight you!
Overall, diners describe El Gordo as a warm, welcoming Mexican spot with a relaxed vibe, where attentive service, a friendly staff and solid value set the tone. The menu is praised for variety and notes of vegetarian options, with many praising generous portions and flavors on staples like tacos, burritos, fajitas and quesadillas, plus standout desserts such as churros. The atmosphere, including a cozy interior and a pleasant terrace, earns consistent compliments, and live music or jazz nights are often described as a bonus, though some guests find the volume a bit high on busy evenings. While the food is repeatedly highlighted for freshness and quality, a few visits mention occasional delays, uneven timing between courses, or items arriving cooler than expected, and there are occasional comments about seasoning being too salty by some diners. Overall, El Gordo emerges as a reliable favorite for gatherings with friends or family, good value for money, and a welcoming environment that many say they would return to again and again.
We stopped by this place on a last minute reservation & loved it ! Really gorgeous decor on the walls 😍 It was super crowded but the staff was super nice & friendly with excellent service ☺? We had the Barbacoa / Lamb tacos & the Barbacoa / Lamb burrito & it was really delicious ❤? Cannot wait to go back to this awesome 11/10 Mexican restaurant & try other items on the menu ! UPDATE: Went for brunch & had coffee, mimosas, nachos, quesadillas, avocado toast, Huevosrancheros & it was super delicious !
Food was mid. Nachos were overpriced in my opinion for almost no cheese & a bunch of pickled onions. Charged me 6 DOLLARS for some guacamole on the side... dehumanizing. Waitress was extremely nice though. Didn't take picture of my nachos because they weren't photo worthy either. Will not come back.
I went there on a very warm day to sit at a table on the terrace with two friends & we shared two dishes (nachos & quesadillas) with absolutely refreshing cocktails. We were greeted & served by a pleasant & courteous hostess who was very attentive to our needs & caring. I recommend this place.
I have had mexican food for over two years now & I have never seen a restaurant serving two tacos per plate. The cheese in the nachos wasn't melted & had a very weird taste to it. I ordered a chicken burrito bowl & I was surprised to find that the rice was not very good. Overall, I wouldn't say this is one of the best mexican joints to have food. The servers forgot giving us water although multiple requests were made. However, the atmosphere is very nice.
Jul 7, 2024
on Google
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Nice, cozy Mexican restaurant blocks away from the Atwater market. I had the avocado tempura 🥑 🌮 tacos which were delicious. The marinated onions were just perfect, not too spicy. The guacamole & salsa with nachos was good too, salsa has a smoky flavour. Can get a little loud with the trucks on Notre-Dame, but overall nice vibe & was satisfied with the service.
Le menu midi sur leur site Web est inexistant sur place. Donc ne vous fiez pas aux prix sur internet. Les nachos & les tacos aux poulet sont vraiment super. Mais les calmars frit ont déjà été meilleurs. Meilleurs tacos que j'ai mangé à date.
El Gordo is a great Mexican restaurant to grab taco. Went there for dinner on weekday. Wasn't crowded & had plenty of seats. We ordered nachos, drinks & tacos. The food was delicious & good portion size too. However just a point to note, all the dishes has plenty of vinegar soaked onion making the dish tangy which we enjoyed a lot but might not be for everyone.
While taking my dog for a walk, we felt a little "snacky"
We ordered a guacamole & salsa nachos, $12 (cheapest thing that caught my eye)
Well, was I disappointed!
The prompt & polite service brought me a "meal"
It hit the spot, more than I intended.
Dog friendly sidewalk service, such a delight.
Très bon service, belle ambiance. Les margaritas sont vraiment bons. On a pu profiter du spécial 2 margaritas & l'entrée de nachos. Les portions des repas étaient un peu petites. Un peu trop de sauce dans le tacos PFG. Celui au boeuf était meilleur.
Great little Mexican restaurant. Met a friend for drinks at 5:30 pm, had a pitcher of margaritas along with a platter of nachos. Friend had the beef bol & I gobbled up the tacos with shrimp & chorizo. We both really enjoyed our meals. Glad we had nachos before hand as my dinner was 2 small tacos with one shrimp on each on a bed of quacamole sprinkled with fried chorizo - delicious, but not much for what they charged for it - more of an appetizer. By 7pm the place was packed, lots of noise, recommend reservation, & this was a Wednesday night! Wait staff were marvelous - friendly, checking to see if we needed anything. Definitely recommend this place.
We chose to celebrate my birthday at El Gordo because of the food, the service & the atmosphere of the place. We were not disappointed & the margaritas were fab! Get the nachos to start...the best!
Sep 7, 2021
🍽️
Know where to eat in Montreal before everyone else.
Get the first look at the hottest openings, secret menus, and RestoMontreal.ca's weekly top picks. Join 50,000+ foodies.
Absolument déçus. Le serveur ne savait même pas la signification de "El Gordo". Il servait l'eau en prenant les verres par la partie toute en haut du verre. Une ambiance très québécoise. Personne ne parle un espagnol minimal.
La cuisine est le plus décevant. Une chose est de s'inspirer d'une cuisine & une autre de la transformer, comme ça, à son gré. Pourquoi dans ce restaurant ils osent appeler des plats avec des noms mexicains quand ces plats n'ont rien à voir avec la cuisine mexicaine ?
Tout le monde doit savoir que la cuisine mexicaine est classée, après la française, comme patrimoine de l'humanité. Elle a une âme, une odeur, des couleurs harmonieuses, un savoir-faire unique, des saveurs fantastiques.
C'est une tristesse qu'au Canada, pays si attaché au Mexique, dans un restaurant 100% québécois on profite des signes : le nom du restaurant, le dessin de la "Catrina", les noms des plats?pour attirer une clientèle ignorante de la vraie cuisine mexicaine & qui se contente d'un bric & brac de quelques ingrédients mexicains mélangés à une diversité désordonnée de légumes dont le tout manque de goût & de beauté.
Aucun plat ne fait penser à un autre pays latino-américain & pourtant la cuisine latino-américaine (qui n'existe pas comme telle) est annoncée sur la carte.
Bref, qu'est-ce qu'un Québécois penserait s'il trouvait à Mexico, Guadalajara ou Monterrey un restaurant appelé "Le chum" & qu'on serve la "poutine" avec des "nachos", tomate, fromage "manchego", aubergine & carottes ?
Il faudrait commencer par montrer un peu de respect pour le Mexique & sa cuisine, en embauchant un vrai cuisinier mexicain. Il est certain que vous le trouverez au Québec. Montrons une approche & une solidarité entre les pays avec ce genre de « détails ».
Excellent food & service. We had the nachos which were smothered in delicious toppings, followed by taquitos & tacos. Everything was surperb...best of all was the pitcher of Margaritas!
Très bonne ambiance, service attentionné, bon cocktails mais les saveurs tombent un peu à plat dans la majorité des plats ou du moins les végétariens (nous avons pris les tacos au choux-fleurs & au champignons suite à une entrée de nachos végé). La salade el gordo par contre est excellente.
Even though it was a Monday evening, El Gordo was bustling - it was a beautiful, warm day & the atmosphere was lively & happy. We loved everything about this restaurant ....the food, the vibe, the pleasant staff. The nachos were delicious & we thanked the waitress several times for guiding us to the "small" portion that definitely was not small. Our mains (colflor taco & quesadilla) were also scrumptious. We will definitely be back.
