Tilde…The Tasty Danforth Taco Restaurant
Quick, what is a Tilde? Bonus points if you knew that it is the mark placed especially over the letter n (in Spanish or Portuguese) to denote a different sound. We’re sure you knew that, right? You may be asking, what that has to do with a taco shop on the Danforth? Well, maybe it represents a location that is shaking things up and changing the language of food on a street dominated by Greek cuisine. Tilde is a taco restaurant, with some the best wings in the city, affordable drinks, and a small but creative menu that caters to every taste. How is that for being different?
The restaurant is owned and operated by Chef Gauravi, and her spouse, Ashwin (who we just happened to meet on one of our Foodies on Foot tours a while back….bonus points for them). It was created out of a love of food and the desire to have a location where the community can gather for a tasty, affordable meal. That was evident from the outset. During the building stages, they offered a free taco credit for every hour of work the public put in to help renovate the restaurant. Now there is creative crowdfunding! We visited during their soft opening and noticed the community feel as a blend of couples, families, and groups of friends come through.
Well, what about the food you ask? Dish after dish, we were blown away by the creativity and flavours. We started with wings that knocked our socks off. Totally unexpected from a restaurant that specializes in tacos. When you have one flavour this good, you only need one flavour.
Their Succulent Spicy Wings are fresh crispy wings tossed in a signature herby soy-butter sauce, and, have a ton of flavour with the percent amount of kick. They are served alongside a delicious crema (which we will take any day over a blue cheese or ranch dip), which was so perfect we just had to drink up the rest. Seriously!
Let’s talk about the tacos. If this were 2011, Black and Yellow would mean this to you:
BUT, it’s 2014, so Black and Yellow now means this:
With Black Bean, Corn, Smoked PDG, Herb Crema, and Cheese, this vegetarian taco is so delicious is would satisfy any carnivore.
We then moved on to Korean Chicken Tacos. See what we mean, creative right?
Another winner with Gochujang, Avocado Aioli, & Fresh Slaw.
We finished our taco trio with another creative choice, the Bengali Fish.
This one had Crispy Curried Fish, Raita, and Coconut Salsa.
Stepping away from the tacos, we also had a tasty Charred Shrimp Totstada with a Garlicky Marinade, Avocado, and Lime Crema.
At that point, we were way too stuffed for desert, even though it sounded delicious. Tilde definitely has a winning formula, great food, and fantastic people behind it. This is a restaurant that should be on every taco, beer, and wing lovers’ list.
Their official grand opening is taking place this week (October 14-18, 2014). Join them on Wednesday for 15% off all food, Thursday and Friday for free tacos and beer samples, and Saturday for 15% off drinks. You can check out their full press release at: www.tildetacos.ca/press.pdf.
CONTEST
Want to keep the party going? Check out our contest below to win a free dinner for 2 courtesy of the good folks at Tilde. The prize includes an appetizer to share, up to 3 tacos per person, and a dessert to share. After all, sharing is caring.