The food, speed and prices are awesome. So glad we found this place! Very flavourful and the…read moreportion size is perfect.

WOW! The little hole in the wall that leads you straight into the streets of Mexico! Everything at…read moreEl Este is fresh and delicious and served with the passion of good food rooted in true authentic Mexican cooking. Just a tiny likely shop tucked away in Dartmouth, a few high top seats and a menu that nails the essentials. The burrito was AMAZING and the tacos will knock your socks off. Definitely try the pork! Awesome service and great vibe. Worth the stop!

Obviously no attention to detail as ordered tacos with cheese- no cheese/ ordered salsa on the…read moreburrito bowl- where's the salsa? Seriously

I love the chicken Burrito so much and the mango sour cream. Their burritos are jam packed with the…read moregoods. Great portions and service.

Cute little casual spot, and the food reminded us of our favourite little Mexican place in Phoenix,…read moreArizona. Delish! It was a Monday, so there were only a few other tables seated. Service was fast and friendly.

No its was really really bad..the beef meat was unchewable..the meal is completely…read moreflavourless...worst mexican food we have ever had..the place is very nicely decorated and the waitress was very good and the refunded my meal because it was basically unedible...so strange was here a year ago had pork and its just ok but worth a second try..this time definitely won't be returning

The best arepa I've ever had. WOW! The arepa itself is not too mealy, the "bun" is thin and…read morenicely grilled/crisped on the outside but still soft and moist enough on the inside. And both the beef and the pork fillings were oozing with flavor. The beef almost tasted like a french reduction or something, very rich. The pork was more traditionally flavored garlic, etc., but all the spices, sauces and such complemented each other and elevated the overall dish. GO HERE! Fast casual system is great, and prices are reasonable, especially considering the quality of what you get.

The Short Version: Venezuelan restaurant with tasty but…read moreexpensive food. Lunch cost $70 and we were still hungry. The Long Version: This place is highly rated and raved about on many platforms. It's only open for breakfast and lunch and is very popular with locals. We tried to go the last time we were in Halifax but they were closed for vacation or something we didn't expect. Anyway, I was excited to try it this time around for lunch. I got the Pabellon plate ($24.50) and my husband got 2 empanadas, a pork one ($9.25) and a beef one ($9.50). I got a bottle of water and my husband got a Jarritos (the mandarin flavour). I'm not sure how much the drinks were but with taxes and tip our lunch came out to $70, which I thought was expensive for what we got. So I later saw locals asking for a pre-chilled bottles of tap water behind the counter and they had clean empty glasses near the hot sauce bar. I wish I knew this before I paid for bottled water :/ Anyway, my plate looked like a lot of food, but it didn't really fill me up. It was white rice, black beans, queso, 4 pieces of plantain, 3 triangles of a cut up arepa and a pile of shredded beef. The beef was tender and full of flavour. The plantains were crunchy on the outside and a bit softer on the inside. The arepa pieces were a bit crispy on the outside. The rice was soft, as were the beans. I mixed the beans and cheese with the rice and it tasted good. My husband's empanadas were good (I had a bite). The outside was crispy and the inside had tender meat and melted cheese. They were small for the price. I'm used to paying up to $6-7 an empanada, which I thought was pricey already, so I found $9+ for an empanada very expensive. I'm guessing the drinks totalled $7-8, which is a high mark-up. I suppose the meal would have been more affordable if I got the bottled tapped water like the locals did. Wish I had known. You order at the counter and pay. They give you a sign with a number on it. You seat yourself and put your numbered sign on your table. When your food is ready, they bring it out to you. The place was packed. I know it was all locals because everyone was in business casual attire and had their work badges on, lol. (It was a Thursday lunch and the place is surrounded by office buildings) Service was pleasant and the wait for the food wasn't too long considering how busy they were. Street parking only. Review #125 (2026)

One of the first meals that my wife and I had in Dartmouth when we were doing some AirBnB-based…read morerecon on the neighbourhood we would eventually move to, was El Este. Their tacos made for top tier takeout while watching The Roast of Tom Brady, and in subsequent visits as well. As quaint as their small shop on Albro is, I was excited for both them and my taste buds when I heard that they'd be opening a second restaurant in downtown Halifax in the old Starbucks location on Barrington. My wife and I stopped in with some friends after Curated's cider festival for more substantial sustenance than what we'd had that afternoon. The space is an order of magnitude larger than the OG spot, but it's just as colourful and lively, if not more, with a La Catrina mural taking a place of prominence behind the bar (yes, they're licensed!). This location has a slightly bigger menu than the Dartmouth location, so I opted for something that isn't a regular menu option on my side of the harbour - a torta. These hearty Mexican sandwiches are essentially taco ingredients with more veg that are thrown in a supple bun, and if you're thinking "That sounds friggin' delicious!", then you'd be absolutely correct! The plentiful shreds of brisket were moist and tender without being mushy, and packed a deep, earthy flavour. Shredduce and pickled red onion brightened up the picture, as did a layer of spice from the habanero salsa. I don't know if it was baked in-house or not, but the bulilo bun was pleasantly chewy and held up well against its precious cargo. A return visit had me diving into the taco section of the menu. I had a light lunch so I doubled down on taco orders - one of the Baja-style fish, and then mix and matched the next two, getting shrimp for one and barbacoa for the second. Each plate of tacos comes with a side (this isn't well advertised on the menu), so instead of getting a ridiculous amount of corn chips, I got rice and beans for one of the plates. When my food arrived, I quickly dug into the fish before the batter had a chance to soften. The beer batter was light and crisp, and not too bulky - this was a fish taco, not a batter taco. The fish itself flaked easily and wasn't at all mushy. Shredded lettuce, pickled red onion and a crema made for a light, but flavourful taco. The side of house-made nacho chips were wonderfully crunchy, with a nice little dusting of seasoning to give them a little pep. My second batch of tacos did not disappoint either! The shrimp were plump and had a pleasant snap, without being rubbery. Their chipotle sauce was deeply rich and savoury, with a little bit of spicy bite to it. The barbacoa was equally well-executed, with the moist bits of beefs still maintaining crispy edges. Both tacos were minimally-topped, with traditional toppings of diced onion, cilantro and salsa roja. The rice and beans which came with my second duo of tacos were solid if somewhat forgettable, although some strands of pickled red onion brought more flavour to the show. I also had a house-made iced tea, which had a light fruity edge to the tea, without being too sweet, which I really enjoyed. It was a much-needed balance to those extra doses of Valentina's that I was adding to my food! I've been an advocate for El Este's tacos since my first bite, and now that they've expanded, I'm sure there will be many more bites to come.

Very good food and service was very good. Even had recommendations for my picky 12 year old that…read moredoesn't like spice. Very casual but delicious option.

I used to always come here to get a pulled pork burrito- love it- all the options n saucesread more

@jasonsalwayshungThis big ass burrito cured my hungry problems big time! As I watched the creation…read moreof this beast the ingredient and sauce game kept getting more complementary and complex, the large whole wheat tortilla wrapped up Canadian Pulled Pork with a secret Jax Sauce a mix of warm south western flavours next the lettuce, spinach, smashed and black beans on Mexican rice mixed in with marble cheese and pickled onions as the sweet potato and corn joined i was in awe..guacamole, diced tomato and jalapeño the picante cranberry-pico, finished with mole and mango sour cream this was a certified banger 9.3#halifax #novascotia #canada #alwayshungry #foodcritic #foodie #worldjuniors

Oh so good and fresh. The Gecko bus has been parking outside of my work in Bayers Lake for awhile…read morenow and I finally made it down and boy was it worth the wait. It can get pretty busy at lunchtimes so it may not be a great choice if you're on a 30 minute break, but I lucked out the other day and only had one person ahead of me. Considering they make everything fresh to order service was pretty quick. It was also very helpful and friendly. I ordered the 3 tacos for 8ish$ plus tax. You get a choice of chicken, beef or pork. I just chose all three. There is quite a selection for toppings and I had cheese, pico de gallo, green onions and cilantro on everthing. I tried the corn salsa on the chicken and medium on the other two. The staff is great at recommending pairings and I wisely took their advice on the sour cream sauces and had a different sauce to match each taco. All in all it was a great experience and fantastic lunch for about 10$. My chief complaint was having to wolf it down on a break, I would have liked the time to enjoy it. I will definitely be going back. I haven't tried them yet, but I hear the pickled red onions are a must have.

Took the family and all three of us had Burrito bowls, the large ones! Wow, everything is just so…read moregood. I can't believe even my 14 year old finished hers..... Did I mention they are huge? I never thought a mobile restaurant could ever be this good, and there are so many options I doubt you could get the same bowl twice even if you were trying to. Just guessing what you had the last time to eat is all but impossible with all these options. Everything is so fresh! Love it!

Obviously, I love this city. Are we Toronto or Vancouver? No, but that's okay. We've got just about…read moreanything you could need or want but with better harbour views and less traffic. Suck on *that*, big cities. But, every now and then I'm reminded of one thing that we lack that hurts me to my very core: great Mexican food that isn't North-Americanized to death. Short of moving into Mexico Lindo in Fairview, I often times find myself in great need of a Mexican feed. And that's why the folks at El Gallo at the Seaport Market deserve a big giant hug. Their tostadas and tamales bring me to a whole new level of happiness every time I decide to indulge and a healthy selection of fresh salsas and sauces take my vision from black-and-white to rainbows of peppers, tomatos, avocados, and more. I'm serious about my love for Mexican, you guys. Can't find 'em? They're upstairs in their own lovely little corner so that you can enjoy your feast in peace without having to worry about someone knocking your tostada on the ground. Because, let's face it, that should be a punishable offense.

One of my favorite Farmers Market vendors…read more Not only will they make you a delicious burrito to eat while you're out - you can also buy their products to take home! I really like their corn tortillas and I can't get enough of their guacamole and cilantro sour cream. Actually, I think it was their sour cream that finally turned me on to cilantro. While I'm still a huge fan of Burrito Jax - I think El Gallo is giving them a good run for their money.