Approaching summer makes me think of tacos and salsa and, ok, margaritas, so on a sunny day last week when I met a friend for lunch, I found myself suggesting Mexican. Specifically, La Casita in Gastown.
A cute little hole in the wall with kitschy decor (check out the chairs-as-cacti, below), La Casita has been around for a while, but never seems to make it onto the radar of top Mexican restaurants in the city. And, while we had a tasty and festive lunch, I would say that there’s a good reason for that.
It was a little soon after my morning coffee for tequila, so I started with a Horchata, an iced rice drink infused with flavours of cinnamon and vanilla and we munched on the chips and salsa that arrived with it.
For lunch I chose something that the waitress said was a “popular combo” and that was probably not a great idea. Because first of all, popularity does not mean quality and secondly, because I don’t particularly like chimichanga’s. My fault entirely. Combo #5 comprised 1 beef chimichanga, 1 chorizo quesadilla, rice, beans and salad, for $14. There was nothing wrong with it, but the quesadilla was a little dry and then the other half of it was a chimichanga. The beans and rice and salad were excellent, however, which leads me to believe that I would have been very happy with a veggie burrito. Ah well, next time.
The main advantage here is that with a huge space and an off-Water Street location, you can get decent food before a night out without waiting around for very long. There’s no patio, but a summer lunch is also a nice option because it’s quiet and light and again, not that busy. Service is polite but not outstanding.
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La Casita
101 West Cordova, Vancouver
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Hm, I’ve been to La Casita before and had a good experience…didn’t have the combo plate so maybe that’s why? Where would you suggest going for good mexican?
oh i had a good experience. I just chose badly considering my personal taste. my own fault entirely.
i like tio pepe’s on the drive but apparently dona cata is far and away the best mexican in the city. shamelessly, i’ve never been, but i’m going to rectify that soon. wanna come?
Never been to La Casita but so far (I haven’t been to Doña Cata either) my favorite is Salsa and Agave in Yaletown. I guest-blogged a post on Mexican food in Miss604′s blog and have a couple of Mexican food places reviewed on my blog (or on my UrbanSpoon)
Raul