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    La Carnita

    3.7 (581 reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Open 5:00 pm - 11:00 PM

    La Carnita Photos

    LA CARNITA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Hipster
    Loud
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - La Carnita

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    Navya J.

    Tried out this place when I was in Toronto earlier this year, and it did not disappoint! I got the lunch prix fixe which was a great deal. The chips themselves were not the best, but the guac was delicious, although I wish the portion was a bit bigger. The shrimp taco was AMAZING - super juicy and flavorful, as well the carnitas taco which was a close second. -Navya J @nyconthetable Note: I don't know how this place has been affected since COVID.

    Best place for tacos and tequila! Matt is an awesome bartender! Food comes out so fast!

    a plate of meat with sauce
    Greg V.

    Food was fantastic! Cocktails were great too. We were there on a Saturday night, the music was terrible but clearly for the bulk of patrons who were all under thirty. Order the short ribs!

    Mushroom Tacos
    Lynn Z.

    Their mushroom tacos are amazing mushrooms are in the hard shelled tacos. The taco shells themselves are served with a fresh corn aroma. The sauce is authentic Latin American spicy, given a great punch of excitement to the sautéed mushrooms. The protein tacos are served in soft shells, great too.

    Pollo frito
    Gokul M.

    Been to this location in the past. John street location as well, and since I've moved to new neighborhood the location near eglinton as well. We drove out to college st location specifically since we knew it would be better, and sure enough it was. Fish and chicken are our go to. But the shrimp is excellent as well. Margaritas consistently great. More importantly staff is super polite and provide great service. They missed one taco in the order and was kind enough to provide a little package to go as an apology. Quality of food and thoughtfulness of staff did not go unnoticed and we'll be back even if it's further. Also since los colibris has closed near king and John a whole back, there's been a Mexican cuisine void in Toronto and carnita fills this gap well.

    the interior of a bar

    Food was very good we ordered tuna ceviche, pork belly taco, pollo frito , baja shrimp , carne asado and honey mushroom quasadilla thyre all very good. Pork belly , pollo frito and mushroom quasilla was exceptional but it took 1 hour before we got to order. Price in menu for tacos are per taco, but thyre filling. Music was loud theres speaker right above our table and our table was so dark unlike other tables and we were placed in front of kitchen door when light keeps interupting our talk everytime someone open and close because we are beside our table that that have uneven legs. We asked to be moved to a better lighting quieter table and the staff helped us move places. Our new waitress was really nice and attentive . Veryyyy nice. Overall its a cute place food are good and good service Just the first tablenwhere we sat kinda threw us off and the waiting time for orders. But i recommend ths place!

    Neon sign and seating
    Samuel A.

    The service was speedy and food came out very quickly. It was all very good, we did visit late at night so it felt like the food may have been prepped for a while. There also were a lot of fruit flies around the bar (a sign of the freshness of their juices and fruit) other wise extremely clean. Aside from that the eight spice tiger shrimp is awesome! Great cocktails and atmosphere.

    Menus

    This restaurant hit the spot before a long flight back to Cali. It opened at 4pm so we made a reservation online to stay on schedule. We arrived early and were able to choose our table. The water was served in a tequila bottle. Cool touch! Highly recommend the tortilla chips with 3 dips: corn, salsa and beans. Amazing! The tiger shrimp was nicely marinated and served with small tortillas. The carne asada and al pastor tacos were flavorful. Service was great and staff was friendly. Get here!

    Mexican meatballs
    Shakira H.

    If you want to add some hip to your taco then this is the place to go! You've got a pretty edgy menu that's packed with fantastic flavour. I've had their Mexican Street Corn and Mexican Meatballs. The street corn is not worth $8 and off-putting with the cream. However, the Mexican meatballs are a winner! Definitely loved scooping up the beef with the chip they provided. Their tacos are also generally delicious. They do a mean Chicken Taco aka Pollo Frito. If you're feeling something fishy go for the Squid the Kid Taco (Tuesday) which has calamari in it. Hands down my favorite was the special Arctic Char Tostada - holy heavens! However, I wasn't a fan of the Cripsy Oxtail Taco (Friday), which seemed very bland. My most favourite part was desert. Pick up one of their many available flavors of Paletas (Popsicles). For $4 you can have a frozen version of a Nanaimo bar in your mouth - you just can't beat that! My only complaint is the setup of the place. It's cramped due to the communal seating. However, very necessary for when you need shout to your neighbour over the blaring hip hop. At least the music is good.

    Tacos
    Tim R.

    This place is dope. Tasty Mexican food, cool vibe, and real hip hop blasting. We started with the Mexican Street Corn before we hit the tacos. For the tacos we got the Voltron Cod, Pollo Frito, Beef Cheek, and Moke Rojo. All of the food was great, creative, and lived up to the hype from the locals. They had a decent bar selection with of course a focus on tequila and Mexican beer. They even have 40oz, keep it OG. I tried the margarita on tap and it was whatever but a few Pacificos later, I was a happy camper.

    Strawberry Margarita and So Fresh, So Clean (clean)
    Cherrie T.

    I was first attracted to La Carnita when I was researching about unique frozen treats in Toronto and came across Frozen Bogins. The creator serves her signature paletas (frozen popsicles made from real fruits and other creamy variations) at this particular restaurant, and I was highly anticipating to try :D I came here on a late Sunday night. It was a full house, had to wait a bit and got seated at the bar. Ordered 2 margaritas and they were delicious. The Mexican street corn was very flavourful (a bit messy but you must order lol). Rice & corn frituras were spicy but I loveeeee rice balls lol. And I thought the pork confit tacos really stood out compared to the popular cod tacos. As for dessert, I had to order paletas... and then I saw churros, and I had to order that too :D! The cookies & cream paleta was very creamy and it had a whole oreo in there! The key lime pie paleta was quite tart for me, but I know a lot people would love that. The flavours change all the time... I do want to come back to try more hehe :3 Churros, on the other side, was quite chewy. I enjoyed the ones I had in Mexico early this year (they were much softer). I would definitely come back for drinks and the tapas :) Service is A+... very efficient and attentive. La Carnita also had a warm, moody and welcoming environment... makes you just want to kick back your heels and wind down for a great night out!

    Chorizo sausage taco ($4.75)- spicy maple syrup, crema, confit tomato, and cotija cheese

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    1 year ago

    The restaurant cancelled my reservation without any explanation. Not sure why? Trying to find a place last minute now for a large party.

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    Portions are small service was a bit off here sorry was not impressed. Seven out 10 food was tasty.

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    Quetzal
    Quetzal - Bone marrow & wild Argentinian shrimp

    Bone marrow & wild Argentinian shrimp

    Quetzal - Coconut Nicuatole

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    La Carnita - mexican - Updated September 2026

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