Grand Electric

Grand Electric (@grandelectricTO) opened about 3 weeks ago by 2 Ex-Black Hoofer, chef de cuisine Colin Tooke and front of house manager Ian McGrenaghan. Black Hoof have been one of my fave restaurant so I just have to try it out. But sine I live and work uptown, it's really difficult to go there early enough (no reservation) on weekdays. So I waited for a few more days, arriving at 6:15pm Sunday and the place was already packed given that they open at 6:00pm... and lucky us, we took the last 2 seat available, sharing with 3 other people.

There was no "paper menu", everything from drink to food menu are on blackboards (^_^)

Good luck with that if it's packed and you have bad eyesight (aka Ben, had to read him the menu)

Salsa in tiny squeeze bottles

 Just love everything about this place, the casual decor and even the weird and loud playlist

Ben's Whiskey (they have a super long Whiskey and Bourbon Scotch list)

 My Grand Electric Sour ~ vanilla bourbon, agave, egg white & Lemon. This was perfect, very refreshing and goes perfectly with the spicy food here =D

Tuna Ceviche

This was good, the fish was marinated/cook just right without the overpowering vinegar / sour flavor but I would have to say it's really difficult to share. I would have prefer it to be served in a tiny bowl with a few nachos stuffed on the side (something like the one here). But did I mention how crispy and fresh the house-made taco was.

Tacos ($3.50/ea or 3 for $10)

We decided to order 3 to share at first but we end up eventually ordering another 3 =P

So given that there was 4 types, we have been able to try them all (evil laugh).

♥ the presentation here, with the cilantro, green onions etc sprinkled on top.

Beef Cheek Taco

We started with this one since it looks milder in flavor and it was very delicate with great subtle flavor which allow the yummy beef flavor to shine through.

Baja Fish Taco

This was Ben's fave out of all 4 and I understand why cause the soft taco shell with the crispy fried fish and the flaky moist inside will always be a winning combination especially when the fish and batter is done really well. But I have to say that this was good but didn't blew me away (you'll have the same opinion after tasting the one I had here)

Pork Belly Al Pastor Taco ♥

This is definitely my favorite, the pork belly was moist, juicy and fatty... together with the sauce and pineapple, it was just heavenly with the perfect flavors and textures (^_^)

We ordered a 2nd round of tacos at the end and we waited for quite a while... I'm not sure if it's to compensate our wait time or not but it had much more filling that the previous ones =P

This time we order pork belly (my fave), baja fish (his fave) and the chicken.

Spicy Arbol Chicken Taco

We were warn to eat this last since the flavor is stronger... my initial reaction was that it wasn't that spicy but the spiciness creep on you afterward. Love the spiciness of it and was surprise that the chicken wasn't as dry as I expected it to be.

Pollo Frito

Ok, I didn't know what it was from the menu and I had to ask since their menu is pretty simple (as seen above). The citrus and sweet sauce here are really nice and the glaze sort of reminded me of the one you'll get at Chinese restaurant. The dry chilli here is a bit misleading since it wasn't spicy at all.

Pozole Rojo (Small/Large)

The 2 of us order the small since we ordered so many food already but after the first taste we immediately regretted of not ordering the Large =( 

Just in case you are wondering what it is, it's a pork and tripe soup. This was definetly my favorite dish of the night, hot, warm, hearty and comforting... and not to mention that it came with a tiny jar of super spicy salsa on the side to be added to your liking (♥ spicy)

Shrimp Tostada

I was expecting this to arrive at the beginning together with the ceviche but this was the last dish.

It end up to be a great pallet cleanser, the shrimp was very fresh and crisp which was very refreshing

And somewhere in between we decided to order a beer and they carry one of my favorite beer, Montreal's brewer Dieu Du Ciel (@DieuduCielMtl)

Key Lime Vasa

Graham, key lime, whipped cream and lime zest

We manage to find room to share a dessert but this was so refreshing and delicious (expecially teh graham cracker crust) that we end up fighting over it =P

People that we are sharing our table with was curious as to why I was taking picture of everything and we started chating. The nice lady actually sell wine to Grand Electric and was even generous enough to let Ben try it... as per Ben, it was indeed a really nice match with tacos.

What a great way to end the night.

Verdict :

Love the decor, love the service and love their food even more.

Very affordable.... I will be back

♥♥♥