Tres Carnales Taqueria

If you live in Edmonton, chances are you've heard of Tres Carnales Taqueria (http://trescarnales.com/), an authentic Mexican restaurant located in the heart of Downtown. Inspired by the sights and sounds of all the regions of Mexico, Tres Carnales offers tacos, tortas, and quesadillas, along with a couple sides and drinks. This restaurant is quite popular - I've seen several reviews and countless photos pop up on my Instagram and Twitter feeds. That being said, I was determined to check this place out. But here's the thing... CJ has something against Mexican food. He'll eat the food of course, but he just doesn't find it memorable for some reason. I, on the other end, absolutely love the bold and fresh flavours of Mexican food. So when one of my friends suggested we all check out Tres Carnales together, I obviously couldn't refuse her offer! Group dates are the perfect way to try restaurants that CJ or myself would otherwise not go to on our own. 

The interior.

One thing I liked about Tres Carnales is that it is easily accessible by public transportation. It is right across the stairs that will take you underground to Central LRT Station. Very convenient if you ask me. The inside of the restaurant isn't too big, and there aren't a lot of seats either. I enjoyed the unique and colourful light fixtures, and the decorations on the wall were great at highlighting Mexican culture. Overall, very fun and hipster vibes! 

The menu.

Hmmm what should we try? That's the question CJ and I would ask each other while we waited for an open table. There were 4 of us, but one of our friends was late. Even then, we still couldn't be seated and they wouldn't take our order until all of us were present. I understand that they want to serve the food fresh, but I didn't really like having to stand up against the wall. Not to mention people who had smaller parties lined up behind us got to be served first. Eventually our friend showed up and we ordered our food *sigh of relief*. 

Guacamole y Totopos.

To start our lunch, we got Guacamole y Totopos ($7.38). The crunch of the chips was so good and paired nicely with the fresh guacamole. Perfect to snack on while we waited for our tacos! 

Jarritos Soda.

For our drinks, CJ and I got matching Jarritos Soda in Mango ($2.86). I don't usually go for carbonated drinks, but this was the best option for me. Jarritos uses 100% natural sugar in their drinks, so I did enjoy how sweet and fruity the mango flavour was. 

Our food.

Yum! Everything looked so good. Bright red, green, purple... the colours on our food were gorgeous. Tres Carnales believes in sustainability and farm to table: all their proteins except for the fish are farmed within 1 hour of the city. The bread and tortillas are also made fresh locally. Awesome!

Tacos de Pescado.

My friend and I decided to get their Tacos de Pescado ($10.48). This comes with lightly battered and fried Pacific Red Snapper with a fresh slaw on top. The crispy exterior of the fish was delicious and the combination of vegetables on top were the perfect accompaniment. However, I found that eating these tacos was a bit messy! The tortilla itself would fall apart as I ate, and I just found that there was too much slaw in some of the tacos. Even though there were only 3 tacos, I got full right away - don't be fooled by the small size of these, especially if you have a smaller stomach like I do! I've heard a lot of positive things about these fish tacos, and while I did enjoy it, I personally wouldn't call it a favourite or something I would come back for. 

Quesadillas Al Pastor.

CJ's pick: Quesadillas Al Pastor ($12.14). These quesadillas are filled with marinated and slow roasted pork. CJ ate all his food and said he enjoyed it, but he was still hungry afterwards! For him, 3 quesadillas weren't enough to fill him up. I gave him one of my fish tacos so he wouldn't be grumpy. Thank you CJ for being willing to try something new with me! 

Tacos de Pollo.

Finally, my other friend ordered Tacos de Pollo ($10.48). These tacos consist of marinated and locally farmed chicken. I probably would've chosen this dish, but I knew I wanted to try the super popular fish tacos first. 

So good!

I'm definitely glad that I finally got to check this place out! I recommend everyone in Edmonton to give Tres Carnales a try at least once in your life. The food is served fresh, and everything tasted like authentic Mexican street food. The fish tacos I got were good but not a favourite of mine, so I would love to order their other tacos sometime in the future. I'm happy that CJ agreed to come here and share the experience with me along with my friends! If you can't get enough of Tres Carnales, perhaps check out their second restaurant: Rostizado (http://www.rostizado.com/), located in Mercer Warehouse on 104th Street.