Restaurants › Mexican
Cocina Lucero
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- 523 Yonge St. (at Maitland St.) • View on map »
- 416-923-4545
Members of the motley crowd that finds its way into this warmly lit, Puebla-style Mexican eatery, after passing a gaggle of sex shops along Yonge, look comforted by the tiled tables and the brightly patterned woven cushions on the banquette that runs the length of the restaurant. But the food and drink aren’t as enticing as the room: cocktails, such as a mojito, are made to order with all the right ingredients, but are oversized and under-potent. Shrimp tacos arrive with perfectly cooked crustaceans—skip the stale corn tortillas, sautéed green peppers, grated cheese and chipotle sauce, which detract from the flavours of the shrimp. The Chiles en Nogada, a dish said to have been invented by Pueblan nuns, is wonderfully unusual—a green poblano pepper stuffed with cinnamon and clove-laced ground meat, pine nuts and dried fruit, dredged through flour and egg, fried and topped with walnut sauce and fresh pomegranate seeds. The baked lamb, or Barbacoa de Borrego Teotihuacan, comes apart with the touch of a fork and is topped with dark, rich ancho-pasilla-guajillo pepper sauce (it would be even better if it came out hot, not lukewarm). Churros arrive with crispy cinnamon- and sugar-crusted exteriors but raw centres. The fried ice cream is a delicious scoop of vanilla coated in graham crumbs and corn flakes and served with sweet whipped cream. Mains $8–$22.
523 Yonge St. (at Maitland St.) | This location is wheelchair accessible
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