where jess ate

I was a little worried about how spicy the Spicy Arbol Chicken Taco would be since I had read that this taco had a real kick to it. Maybe they had toned it down since they first opened because I didn’t find it too spicy at all. The taco consisted of tender chunks of chicken in a delicious sauce. The pickled red onions, cilantro and cheese were a nice addition to the taco. Another hit!

Last but not least was the Pigs Tail Taco. What can I say? This was another amazing taco – a close second to the fatty pork belly taco. Similar to the spicy chicken taco, this one was also topped with pickled red onions and cilantro. I can’t even begin to describe how fantastic this tasted… Just order it!

Hands down, some of the best tacos I’ve ever had! I enjoyed the ones here a lot more than the ones at the popular La Taqueria in Vancouver, which supposedly had some of the best tacos in the city. Be warned though, I wouldn’t recommend coming here on a first date since the tacos were ridiculously messy to eat. Luckily I was only here with Mike… and we’re way past that point (haha…).

The tacos all came really quickly so I was glad the next dish, the Chicken Fritto (aka fried chicken) took a little while longer to arrive. It gave us a little break from shovelling food into our mouths non-stop.

The fried chicken wings were topped with a generous portion of cilantro, jalapenos, lime and red chilli peppers which created a mouth-watering aroma. The wings were coated with a sweet and spicy sauce and were messy to eat, like the tacos. Overall, I thought they were quite tasty but paled in comparison to the other dishes.

The last dish that came was the Tuna Ceviche ($7.50). We were surprised that this was the last dish to arrive but the server told us she had originally forgotten to put the order in. If I had known this, I would have asked her to cancel the dish since we were pretty full after the fried chicken.

Similar to many of the other dishes, the tuna ceviche was served on a fried tortilla. The ceviche contained large chunks of fresh tuna and had a strong lime flavour. I’d recommend giving it a good mix before taking a bite out of it since there were some bites that were much saltier than others. The dish also came topped with a bit of slaw consisting of cucumbers, radishes, cilantro and onions which added some texture to the dish. A tasty ceviche overall… I just wish it was one of the first dishes to come. It would have been a nice way to start off the meal.

Grand Electric only has one dessert on the menu, a Key Lime Vaso ($5), which was simply key lime pie served in a cute little jar. It was a simple dessert consisting of three layers – whipped cream, key lime filling and a graham cracker crust (my favourite part!). It was the perfect serving size and a great way to end the meal.

The service was great – food came out quickly and the servers were really warm and friendly (like the restaurant). I enjoyed the casual atmosphere but if you’re looking for a quiet meal, you won’t get one here – the music is loud. Overall a fantastic experience and as you can tell, the food lived up to all the hype. Definitely worth the wait in the snow!

At a glance:
• Fantastic tacos – the pork belly and pigs tail were my favourites
• No reservations; notorious for long waits
• Cash and debit only
• Open from 6pm every day except Tuesdays
• Located in Parkdale

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4.5 stars
• Service: 4 stars
• Atmosphere: 4.5 stars

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