LA CAPITAL (MEXICAN) ★★★★★

1096 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, QC H2Z 1J5

(514) 873-5255

I was shocked to find a taco restaurant in the heart of Chinatown. It seemed so out of place for me and I knew that I needed to check it out. La Capital Tacos are probably not the most authentic Mexican restaurant that you will find in Montreal but the fact that you could find a Mexican restaurant in Chinatown blew me away. Regardless of its authenticity, the food was still amazing and it showed how diverse we really are.

MENU

La Capitals tacos menu is very much taco centered. As appetizers, they have plenty of different options and stuff that I hadn't had before as well. They had crispy cheese, refried beans with tortillas and etc. The menu goes on to tacos which are served on corn tortillas and there's three per plate the names themselves are mostly Mexican. They also have three different quesadilla options when you get one per plate. They then have a vegetarian option and you can ask for desserts and drinks.

APPETIZERS

BLACK BEAN PASTE

The first appetizer we got was the refried beans, this was more like a dipping sauce for the tortilla chips and had the same consistency as guacamole. The beans themselves were a little bit spicy, they were warm and they have a lot of flavors. The cheese on top really didn't overpower the entire dip. The beans went really well with both the chips and by themselves. You could even incorporate them, if you want to, into the tacos or the other dishes that you get.

CRISPY CHEESE ROLL

The second appetizer we decided to get was the crispy cheese roll. Basically, it was a rolled up crunchy piece of broiled cheese. There must have been a lot of other flavors that were incorporated into this because you could taste a hint more than just cheese. Although it was crunchy, it didn't break apart easily what I mean by this is that you have to work with it for the pieces to break off rather than a chip or something where it cracks easily. It was really cheesy and tasted sort of like broiled cheese on top of lasagna. It was a lot thicker than a chip and it was very savory. I really enjoyed it and will definitely have it again

TACOS

​​There were plenty of different tacos to choose from and each plate came with three palm-sized tacos. So far on this journey, I've been to quite a few different restaurants that serve tacos and these ones were also very good. I would even compare them to the ones I had at Escondido. The pulled pork taco was very greasy but not to the point where it was leaking all over your plates. It was a soft taco and the meat was very juicy, tender and well seasoned. I would expect that from pulled pork obviously. The meat itself was seasoned properly and the sauces that it came in enhanced the flavor of the meat, the tortilla and the vegetables that came with it. Speaking of the vegetables they added a distinct slightly sweet taste to the taco while at the same time added more crunch. It had a different variety of textures and flavors that I enjoyed.

QUESADILLAS

This beef quesadilla was by far my favorite meal of the night. They had super chard but tender beef and because it chard on the grill it was very smoky and had a strong flavor. At the same time, it also had a lot of seasoning to the meat which added another layer to the flavors that were introduced. The meat itself is very juicy and tender, there was a lot of cheese in this quesadilla as well and it had a super homemade crunchy tortilla. Quesadillas have to be one of my favorite parts of Mexican cuisine and these ones were amazing and different than anyone's I've had before.

I also got two quesadillas the first one being pork in the second one being beef. As for the pork one, the meat was super tender and juicy, was very well seasoned but still simple it was nice and warm. As I've said before in previous posts, I really do enjoy mixing pineapple with warm spicy meals. They added a little piece of pineapple on the top which mixed well with all the different flavors. The tortilla itself was very crunchy and caramelized but still stayed together somehow, more than an Americanized taco but obviously less than a normal soft tortilla. It tasted really homemade and because of the slight flavors of the tortillas, all the other flavors of the pork, the pineapple, and the seasonings were enhanced. It also had caramelized onions that added a different texture and flavor to the entire meal.

OVERALL

Overall I really enjoyed La Capital and definitely need to return to try the different tacos that I hadn't tried. The atmosphere was amazing there were so many people and I even made friends throughout my dinner with the people that were sitting across from us. This little Mexican restaurant in the heart of Chinatown is one that you would not expect to be so good, but I would definitely recommend checking it out.