Gotta say they certainly travel well!…read more I got 12 tacos pork steak brisket and fish They're all so delish, flavorful, FRESH and a great take and go food!! The salsa is hot but not too hot and the guac is the bomb dot com! Will definitely definitely order again, but as always.... They will taste better if you're sitting in the restaurant on a hot day with a cold Corona .... *beer *

Take Loko sounds very promising on paper. However, we were quite surprised at the lack of any…read moreflavor. The guac was just mediocre if not bland, and the tacos were oily without the depth of flavor. The saving grace was the service and the nachos.

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!

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

WOW!! This was a first time experience... The staff is great, and accommodating, especially if…read moreyou want something extra put in...or taken out! And if you're in a hurry, it is FAST... We only tried the Burrito's... and as far as Burrito's go, This place has it "nailed"... I like things on the plain side... So I ordered a Burrito with just Meat and Cheese... It is a "Two Hand" operation eating it, and every bite is delicious! And the Salsa I chose was what we call "Rocket Fuel"... Spicy, but great!! Sad to say, there are NO "Habanero" Taco Bars out West... Too bad, they would make a killing there! We lovingly refer to this sort of delicacy as a super "Gut Bomb" of the highest order... It doesn't get any better than this!

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

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.

The waterfront has changed for the better in the past several years, and the Salt Yard food shacks…read moreare a big part of that placemaking, with mainly non-chain businesses setting up to sell their wares. It was a big win for local and tourist taste buds that Verano set up at the Salt Yard last year, going the interesting route of rebranding to Salt + Sol. The menu has many of Verano's favourites, including tacos, empanadas, patacones and some sides. One day when spending a day downtown with my family, we made the trek down the boardwalk to refuel. I ate at Salt + Sol last year, but was neglectful in my food notes, so here I am, falling on a delicious sword to keep the people informed. I opted for the beef patacon, a sandwich of sorts which uses plantains which are flattened and then fried for its "bread". My wife and I also got an order of chips and guac to split. Beeper in hand, it was a short wait for the inevitably-startling flash and buzz of the device to announce that our food was ready. My patacon was a sight to behold, with the thin pieces of fried plantains having golden brown edges, and displaying the shreds of juicy beef, queso fresco and pico de gallo. The mix of flavours was spot-on, with the savoury, rich beef combining with the salty cheese, bright pico and pops of vegetal freshness of cilantro to become something more than the sum of its parts. It was only manageable to eat like a sandwich by utilizing the wrapper to keep everything together, but it worked! The guac and chips were perfection as well, with the guac somehow being both chunky and smooth, with no bits of rubbery, underripe avocado in sight. It was noticeably very lime-forward, which I was into. My next visit had me coming by for lunch on a workday, when the bracing wind kept most others in their offices and crowds were at a minimum. I felt like I needed to re-familiarize myself with their tacos, so I got their chicharron tacos, and tacked on a beef empanada. When I had my food in hand and plunked down on a (mostly) dry bench to dig in, the tacos were a sight to behold. In both tacos, there was a thick slab of pork belly, topped with pico de gallo and an avocado crema. The pork belly still had a bit of crispness on the skin, and the unctuous fat and tender meat easily broke apart with each bite. The bright pico and crema made for a much-needed counterpoint to the decadent pork. It's also worth mention that the all-corn tortillas held up impressively well, despite only having one layer and their hefty cargo, and had a great flavour to boot! The empanada was beefy and cheesy, with crisp edges and a flaky pastry. Salt + Sol puts Verano's delicious offerings within easy reach for work lunches for me, and my taste buds, if not my wallet, are much better off for it.

It's a nice location with a friendly host but my benny was slightly overcooked and my server…read morechanged halfway through my meal so it was a fiasco trying to get the bill to leave because three people said I wasn't their table.

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)

Conveniently located on my route home, this quickly became my go to spot when I'm hankering for veg…read moreand meat wrapped up in a burrito or filling a bowl. I find the staff always friendly and the food fresh and filling. I go for the bowl when I'm in a hurry and the burrito if I'm willing to wait the extra 6 minutes it takes on the grill. I get every topping, salsa and sauce and even splurge for the guac every now and then. My favourite meat is the peppercorn steak. Have also tried the chicken and the pork and a mixture of both and been happy with those choices as well. I think I'd find it satisfying without the meat.The small burrito or bowl makes a nice lunch and the large usually leaves me full and rolling away from the table. I see many more visits to Burrito Jax in my future.

Couldn't be any better. Service was stellar. They certainly know who to hire and train. Food is…read moreexceptional. Locals just don't know what mexician food is. I have been to Mexico many times and this place rocks. Thanks.

I was very happy with my experience at Bar Sofia. Great tacos and papa bravas. You won't be…read moredisappointed. Great service too!

Our first time at Bar Sofia had us swinging by for a friend's birthday. There was a good dinner…read morecrowd although it ebbed before a switchover to the late night crowd. The interior design is fun and bright, with splashes of colour and fake plants, and on-brand for their target audience of millennial and Gen-Z women. The fully open kitchen is a nice touch, and I regret not having a view of it, but that's what happens when you show up last! The menu has an assortment of Latin American dishes like yucca fries, empanadas and tacos, as well as local/contemporary fare that gets a Latin touch like aguachile oysters, bravas Brussels sprouts and adobo-roasted cauliflower. My wife and I went for a mix of big and small plates, ordering the beef empanadas, Brussels sprouts, and the cauliflower. For an adult beverage, I had the Oaxaca old fashioned. It was adequate cocktail, although a smokier mezcal would have made it more memorable. Someone who I assume was a manager had spotted the gifts on the table and not only brought over a shot for the birthday girl and her partner, but for the whole table! While it was a low ABV liqueur, it was a lovely gesture and savvy business move. We must have arrived in between seatings, as despite a fairly full dining room, all our dishes came out surprisingly quickly and all together. I started out with the smaller plates. Some variation of fried Brussels sprouts has been a common sight on restaurant menus for a decade, but hey, it works! Bar Sofia's iteration gets a dose of savoury and tomato-y bravas sauce, and also gets topped with a colourful assortment of thinly sliced veg - radish, carrot, pickled red onion, jalapeno, and some sprigs of cilantro. The sauced-up sprouts lost a good bit of their crispness, but the bravas sauce was undeniably tasty, with a balance of richness and acidity. The veg accoutrements added welcome splashes of colour and texture. The empanadas come two to an order, so perfect for sharing with my wife! The hearty beef was cooked to perfection, and the olives and egg completed the traditional filling. The pastry itself was supple and flaky, with a golden brown and crisp exterior. When we swapped dishes, I was glad to get my hands on the cauliflower. The generous portion of half a head of roasted brassica came with rice, a cashew crema and the aforementioned veg toppings. The char of the cauliflower played well with the nutty sauce, and although a bit repetitive, the veg accoutrements brightened up the flavour profile. While Bar Sofia's origins as a Toronto-based restaurant company's idea to fill the commercial space at Queen's Marque isn't exactly a stamp of authenticity, they are bringing some dishes that aren't common in Halifax (other than the Brussels sprouts). I enjoyed my meal there and it's a fun vibe, but there was no 'wow' factor for me. I'm sure I'll tackle more of the menu and patio some day, but as I continue to catch up on the Halifax food scene, I'm not rushing back either.