Always amazing here! Their pupusas are fantastic the owners, husband is Mexican and wife is from El Salvador. It's the perfect marriage of their cultures, in food. I come here so often and I even brought my picky parents and they loved it! Highly recommend!!! read more

I ordered a chicken taco and a cheese pupusa. The chicken in the taco was dry and super small. I didn't like the taste of the pupusa. The servers ignored me because I don't speak Spanish, meanwhile they paid full attention to my friend (who speaks fluent Spanish). The servers also got out orders mixed up (see, that's what happens when you ignore your paying customer). I won't come back to a restaurant where my presence is ignored. Plus, the restaurant is super dark and in need of better lighting. read more

Carmelitas Restaurant - Chicken taco and cheese pupusa. - Mexican Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

FOOD Este lugar está increíble, la comida es fresca, caliente y bien servida. Sabor exquisito. SERVICE El servicio es excelente, los meseros muy atentos y amables. AMBIANCE El ambiente es muy acogedor, agradable, y el lugar es muy limpio y tranquilo. read more

Carmelitas Restaurant - Menú - Mexican Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Tried out this place on the Junction strip on north side. Heard good things about it from others. Mexican/Salvadorian mix of food. Food (3.25/5) - Guacamole and Chips (3.75/5) - tasty guac mix with good balance and flavour. Chips were kinda average overall. Good but not Playa Cabana level. - Plato Mixto (3/5) - sounded good but was kinda average. Steak was a bit too fatty, chicken was average moist and shrimp ok. Just overall lacked taste for seasoning too. - Grilled Steak, Carnitas Tacos (3/5) - once again a bit on the bland side and the shells were like pupusas so on the dry side. Service (4.5/5) - very friendly, attentive and cheerful. Checked in multiple times on drinks, water, satisfaction. Atmosphere (3.5/5) - it's got this authentic salvadorian diner feel to it... spartan with charm. Average cleanliness feel to it. Overall (3.75/5) - I was excited to try it out and wanted it to be higher based on the service but found the food pretty average, even if cheaper than Playa. read more

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FOOD: I've been craving quesa-birria tacos for a while and I finally had the opportunity to try them at Carmelitas. They not only met but exceeded my expectations. The tacos were delicious and the birria dip was tasty and flavourful. My only complaint is pulled beef - something I'm not a fan of. I would have preferred beef strips or chicken. SERVICE: Fantastic service. No complaints whatsoever. The ladies working there are courteous and friendly. If you like their service, please consider leaving a tip. AMBIANCE: This place is in need of a reno, I'll be honest. The interior looks extremely dated. I get it, the restaurant business is a low-margin business and after all the overhead expenses, there isn't much left for a reno. Let's put it this way, this place is great for a quick bite, but not ideal for a date. read more

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Food was excellent! I've come here on my birthday and multiple times after! Just gave a refreshing sense of back home nostalgia! Service was great! The decor is very beautiful and decently lit to enjoy your time with guests! Immaculate time change nothing !!! read more

lingua tacos..must must must. so tender , the meat literally disintegrates in your mouth. the house salad was huge and freah and light...great accomaniment pupusas wetr very large forbl the price point bu thry need to come up witha system to idebtify different filling tyoes in take out orders...was a but of a guessing game as we tried 5 different kinds in our order. tamale was large..portions in general are super generous..hotchata sremed mote floral than ive ever had and almost...peanut forward? never had that flavour before, but thankful for the leak proof container it came in! read more

Carmelitas Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Our group of 5 wanted brunch, but it was hard to find a table on Sunday at noon. Carmelita's had space and we decided a Mexi-brunch would suit us fine. The restaurant offers both Mexican and Salvaorean favorites (tacos, burritos, chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, tamales, pupusas, etc.). I went with the pupusas - one pork and cheese, and one pork and beans. They were great - not as greasy as some I've had. The corn flavour was on point and there was a generous amount of filling. The pupusas came with the usual coleslaw and tomato sauce, plus a slightly spicier sauce. I needed more coleslaw and we were given some extra. Prices are great for pupusas, between $3.75 and $4.75 each, depending on how many fillings. Others tried the chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, and tacos (plates were around $12-$15 each). Everyone enjoyed their meal. While we waited for breakfast, we ordered one Canadian Coke and one Mexican Coke for the table, got several glasses and did a blind taste test (Mexican Coke is sweetened with cane sugar - it's worth trying to detect the difference). It was fun - I recommend it. There are Mexican beers available, Mexican Coke, Jarritos pops and other drinks, plus coffee. The interior is relaxed, cheerful, low-key, and so are the staff. Recommend this place! read more

Carmelitas Restaurant - 2 pupusas! - Mexican Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Absolutely Delicious + very authentic feel (and taste!) After a long day of photo shoots (who knew they'd make you so hungry!) we stopped in here for an early dinner. Everything looked amazing and a huge bonus for most of the options available with corn tortillas. The service was amazing .. attentive, pleasant and overall a great experience. The ceviche was fresh (we had the mix of fish and shrimp), the guacamole was SO good and we were also as impressed with the quesadillas and tacos. We will definitely revisit this spot and wouldn't hesitate to recommend!! read more

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Got skip the dishes and I always want leftovers, so I got my favs. Pozole soup with homemade tortillas, side guac, pupusas with cheese and bean, and chorizo tacos. So amazing and can't wait to reorder. Support small business! read more

Carmelitas Restaurant - Delicious!!! Pozole soup with homemade tortillas, chorizo tacos, guacamole,pupusas with bean & cheese. Gracias Carmelitas - Mexican Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I tried Carmelita's for the first time today, I was really excited but left really disappointed. They have chips and guacamole on the menu but I don't like guacamole so I asked to switch it to salsa and the lady said of course. I was a little surprised because it was a tiny amount of salsa but the price did not change at all. I confirmed with her as I was leaving that it was just salsa and she said yes, but when I got to work I realized I was given salsa AND guacamole, which is nice I guess but not what I wanted and not really fair for the price since I'm not going to touch that guac. the bag of chips was good but almost empty when I got it. I was charged almost $16. I will add the pic if I can but I'm not sure how (I added the pic, that is literally how empty it was when I got it.) The salsa was kinda odd too... I spent 2x what I would have at the Junction Grill and am still hungry. :( It would have been one star if not for the nice staff, crazy price for a very small amount of food. I won't be going there again. read more

Carmelitas Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I finally went here after months of eyeing it on my occasional morning walk in the junction neighbourhood. It definitely has some appeal, El Savadorian and Mexican, who wouldn't wanna eat here? Unfortunately, my experience was soured, by the overly sweetened Tamarindo beverage I got. Thinking this place would be more traditional in their beverage making style, I was very disappointed. And that was my third impression. My first impression was phoning about a half hour earlier to confirm the restaurant's location only to be met with a lack of understanding from the person to whom I was speaking. Their English wasn't good so they didn't really understand what I was saying. They got help from someone else and then we were on the same page. I promptly hung up shortly thereafter. My second impression was when we got there and I am pretty certain we had the same server as I had spoken with on the phone earlier. Her English wasn't so good. Thankfully I was dining with people who spoke Spanish, different dialect yet allowing more fluidity in communicating with our server. This was for sure helpful. The papusas I ordered were good. I prefered the bean and cheese one over the chicken one. There is a slight difference in pricing for a single filling vs a double filling. $3.50 to $4.25 or thereabouts. The salsa the papusas came with wasnt really a salsa to me. Perhaps that's the style from El Salvador or Mexico, not too sure. It was very liquidy and came in individual baggies per papusa, again this might be a commonality with the how they serve food in those cultures in their countries. I can't speak on that, as I haven't visited those places. The fact of adding all the salsa, to provide moisture to a pretty dry composition of corn mill and filling, and having my papusa get soggy in doing that was very displeasing. The coleslaw that also accompanied the papusas was fairly standard, cut cabbage and onion. Nothing spectacular. The hot sauce was my favourite. The soup my dad & aunt ordered did not look appetizing at all. Although it wasn't, it gave the appearance of a can of beans being opened and poured into a bowl. The toppings came later, apparently it tasted alright, yet again just to look at it, I was turned off. The omettas, savoury corn flour looking cake with fillings (of your choosing: chicken or pork), wrapped in a banana leaf was pretty good. After a papusa and a half I was stuffed yet managed to have a few bites of the chicken ometta. It was pretty tasty. Overall I'd give the food 2.5- 3/5 at best. Service was okay. It was nice my dad, aunt and brother got to practice their Spanish. It was okay I was the odd one out. Toward the end of our dinner, our server was no where in sight. She must have been off tending to her serving duties. Being the only ones in the restuarant it was almost insulting to have to wait so long to get our bill. The ambiance is where they score high for me. Walking into their restaurant, I was definitely transported to El Savador or Mexico for the duration of my meal. They have art on the walls, colourful decor and furniture. For those dining outside they also have a patio although with all the car fumes, the best option for us was to eat inside. They have disco- esque lights in the kitchen on the ceiling, which was nice because to me, it implied an aspect of enjoyment in making the food, which is always a plus when you put good energy into the food you prepare. I would maybe try this place again... read more

Carmelitas Restaurant - Soup, looking plain as day, minus the added toppings of avocado and cilantro. - Mexican Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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After pottery class, my friends and I were looking for a lunch spot. We stumbled onto this mexican restaurant. Looking at the menu, it offered a number of options from breakfast being served until 4pm, tacos, pupusas, appetizers to much more. I ordered the spicy margarita and 4 tacos (steak, caramelized pork, tongue and fish). These tacos were pretty authentic focusing on the seasoned meat. Each taco was about $5 and my favorite one was tongue. The spicy margarita had a nice jalapeno kick to it which was great. read more

Everything was bland. Guacamole, fish tacos and El Pastor and brisket burritos. Nothing bad; but nothing memorable. If you like Mexican food, you know it doesn't take this boring read more

This is just very ordinary. Nothing special. Food is bland. Service was ok but server couldn't answer any questions about the menu or the food. Not worth the time or money. Sorry; I really wanted to like it read more

Delicious! Everything came out great. Would definitely recommend and will bring friends

Absolutely horrible. Ordered through Uber eats. Asked for no guac and received extra guac. My bean soup was literally just a can of beans dumped into a bowl without even being cooked 0 onions 0 garlic 0 rice literally just a can of black beans! What ?! And i forced myself to eat one taco and i felt like i couldn't dare eat another one in fear of food poisoning. I don't know if they hired a new cook or just a lazy one. read more

Delicious food and great value! Ordered chicken tamales and bean/cheese pupusas through UberEats - super yummy, good portions, well packed. I'm now a repeat customer :-) read more

First time in Canada, and this has been a delightful taste of authenticity. As a Salvadoran, most places (99% of the time) the place is absolutely god awful and to my surprise, this really felt like home. Oh and the tacos?? Top tier especially the Lengua ones read more

I also do not know what the below reviewer is going on about. My brother and I ordered a chicken burrito, a vegetarian burrito, and chips & guacamole through UberEats. The food was so delicious; we ate the meal fervently, savouring every bite. It was evidently made with a lot of care and love! They were also very accommodating to our dietary restrictions (no dairy). We will definitely be visiting the restaurant in the future when permitted. Thank you to all the staff for all your hard work. I hope you continue to stay safe! read more

I don't know what the reviewer below me is going on about, because my experience with Carmelitas Restaurant was absolutely wonderful. It's such a delight to find a new favourite restaurant, and during quarantine it's an even more special joy! We got two burritos (one veggie and one steak), a pupusa filled with pork, and an order of chips and guac. Thank you to the staff for drawing hearts on our takeout boxes because it really brightened our day. The food was authentic and fresh. The guacamole was everything you want it to be, and it was not at all like the stale store-bought guacamole we've gotten from so many other restaurants. The sauces that came with the pupusa were great. Thank you for your attention to detail! Hope you and your staff stay safe. read more