Ace Mercado

The good: the drinks are excellent. The bar staff took the time to explain their tequila flights, which was awesome. The food was plentiful and tasty (maybe some more sauces with the bbq plate would be in order).
The bad: We went on Valentines day. After booking online, I was called for confirmation. I missed the call and apparently didn’t get back to them fast enough the next day and they called again, so I confirmed then. We were 5 minutes late and we were called AGAIN and told our table was ready. We weren’t even seated when the hostess told us we needed to leave by 8, this was at 6. We were seated at a very exposed table so I was disappointed — not romantic at all. Be sure to book a booth if you want to have a quiet time. I get it, you think you’re going to have a busy night (they didn’t — not by 8 pm that we saw). But a little finesse goes a long way. We were planning to have a nice and rare evening out and they sort of ruined it for us right off the bat by making us feel rushed. We ended up going to the pub after which was a few doors down where we knew we wouldn’t feel so «handled».
Seriously, guys, I’ve had better and more comfortable evenings in hole-​in-​the-​wall Mexican places in Toronto. They NEED to fix their public relations.

The food was fine… Aside from the cocktails this place is not very much of anything. They claim to be ‘Mexican’ but their menu is really far from that. Key words: Pretentious, expensive, meh!

I come here for two things: the half price tacos on tuesdays ($ 11 for four!), and the churros which are out of this world. One of the staff told me that the chef went to mexico and coaxed the recipe out of a village grandmother who had been making churros for the last 50 years. I am forever grateful to that abuela.
Ace Mercado is conveniently situated in the market on the corner of Clarence and Dalhousie. They have a delicious list of cocktails, and a sangria that is dangerously delicious (I’m barely joking; one time my girlfriend and I had 2 Liters of the juice-​like nectar, it was a messy night). The food here is authentic and the staff, in general, is very friendly. I’ve had a few off experiences — I find the female staff to be much more attentive and helpful than the men. But if you make a reservation you will be treated well. This place is also great for crowds, and if you’re a group of ten or more they’ll throw in a free bottle of champagne.

Over-​priced tacos, not great quality, fine atmosphere.

I arrived after my friends had left. I would have stuck around to sample a drink but I was treated with a fair bit of attitude and the music was wayyyyy loud even though the place was essentially empty.
Do note, I chose to arrive late, when I figured my friends would have been finishing up their meals since I had other friends who had gotten very sick after eating at Ace.
I considered *maybe* coming back on a Tuesday when their tacos are cheaper but…
#SaveMellos.
Never going to eat here on principal.

We went on a Saturday night. The place was nice — good music and ambiance. But the food was expensive, cold, no flavour, small portions, and slow service.
Drinks were good but some were expensive for what you get (e.g. Margarita with Don Julio for $ 15). Basically you’re ordering a glass of ice for $ 15 — 3 sips and your drink is done.
The manager/​owner apologised and gave us a few things on the house. But other than that, my experience at Ace wasn’t good at all.
Next time I want tacos, I’ll be going to El Camino — much better food, bigger portions, slightly cheaper, and quicker service.

We were a party of 8 looking for a new place to try on Saturday night. Reviews/​pics looked good, nice décor, and the place was packed… good start!
Waited aprox 40 min for the food before speaking with the owner/​manager. He apologized and got us appetizers and promised to take care of us. Unfortunately after we got our order some of it was cold, so they had to remake it. I wanted to review the quality/​flavour of the food so I’m not going to let the above affect my review because the owner/​manager was very nice and quick to compensate us for the mistakes.
Below is a list of what we ordered and how they rate.
Drinks:
BARREL AGED OLD FASHIONED $ 12 (4 stars; my favourite)
ACE MARGARITA with Don Julio $ 15 (4 stars; tasted good but portion is small for Margarita)
SLUM BEAUTIFUL $ 14 (2 stars; too much mint, felt like a Mediterranean salad dressing)
Food:
VILMA’S GUACAMOLE $ 10 (3 stars; not a lot of flavour)
FRIED PEANUTS $ 3 (2 stars; spicy peanuts)
MEXICAN POPCORN $ 3 (2 stars; no flavour)
Tacos (small portions)
BC SNAPPER $ 6 (1 star; not a lot of flavour)
ACHIOTE CHICKEN $ 5 (1 star; not a lot of flavour)
ROASTED TAJIN EGGPLANT $ 5 (0 star; NO flavour)…honestly just skip this taco completely
BRAISED LAMB $ 6 (3 stars; this had the most flavour between all of them)
CORN HUSK CHICKEN TAMALE $ 26 (2 stars; nice presentation but low on flavour)
Dessert:
CHURROS (4 stars; good flavour, but the inside was still a little under cooked)
In conclusion the drinks are pretty good, but the food lacked a lot of flavour and size. If you’re looking for tacos stick to El Camino (better taste, larger portions, and slightly cheaper).
Maybe the chef was having a bad night, or it was too busy for the kitchen staff to handle, but if it wasn’t for the way the owner/​manager handled the situation the review would’ve been a 1 star.

I had high hopes given the good reviews I’ve read online. The restaurant had a nice atmosphere but there was much left to be desired. We ordered the guacamole, tuna tartar and the flight of tacos. We also had a few cocktails — cocktails and guacamole were good. Tuna did not taste well seasoned and the tacos were nothing to write home about: I was particularly disappointed in the fish taco — my dining companion and I agreed that the fish did not taste fresh or have a firm, crispy texture. On top of this, despite the fact that the restaurant was not overly busy, the service was incredibly slow. Glad I had a great friend to share a meal with, but disappointed in the food and service. I might come back for a cocktail but definitely not to eat.

Good food… Had some kick and if not they have some nice sauces to spice it up. Had the Taco Table Plate… Chicken, lamb, veggie and fish fresh ingredients and decent portions. The server was great she was attentive and nice to my 5 year old.

Absolutely love this place. The food is delicious and the staff is extremely nice. Especially love Jason, the best server in the world. The guy is extremely attentive and he completely anticipates guest needs. But back to the food, it is all delicious. We have tried many things on the menu and they are consistently tasty, fresh, and of high-​quality. Tuesday is half-​price taco night, which is a great night to go if you want to try a variety of amazing tacos. We like to sit and enjoy the food and it’s nice that we never feel rushed to leave. The restaurant offers a great ambience with both inside and outside seating. Jason really is an awesome server but the entire team is strong and they work well together to provide an outstanding dining experience.

I’m not impressed there was a lot of hype over this restaurant and all I can say is that it was extremely overrated locally, my cocktail was more of a watered down salsa texture than a cocktail, it took way too long for our server to come by to ask us for drinks/​order and the staff really failed to explain menu items or show much if any enthusiasm for items. one thing that may bother some is that you must order a minimum of two tacos, it seems everywhere else in this city you can order a single taco except here. wheel chair access to the bathrooms is not possible and the tables are probably too high for people with disabilities or small children. for the meal it wasn’t exciting or eventful it was more on the line of trying too hard. some items are not knife and fork friendly so prepare to eat with your hands and be prepared to wipe them on a napkin made from blue denim jean material. food quality is good but it just doesn’t pop with flavor or making you want more it does however make for an interesting instagram photograph but not exciting for the hungry foodie palette who just wants a good light evening meal accompanied with a tasty beverage. menu pricing is a bit weird most items under $ 14 and only a couple of items are over $ 27 most expensive being $ 42 for beef tenderloin which size or quantity were not listed or told. the bricklayer dip was more whole cooked beans than dip. tuna tostada is an item that should be ordered when here. a side order item I ordered was over salted on one quarter of the dish, I was never offered to return it as the 3 servers attending 8 not so busy tables could not be bothered to check on its quality or if we’d like to pay for our meal. as for payment… cash or credit only! its 2015 places need to accept debit/​interac card transactions and not rely on an ATM machine not easily accessible or in working order. they do however accept forms of credit not sure about discover card or American express users since most places that don’t accept debit payment probably don’t accept American express

The bar staff here is great. They know how to suggest a good drink for you and then make it right. Excellent spot for late drinks. The patio is right out on the street which is great for people watching.

I am writing from a vegan point of view.
After looking ar the menu on line, we decided to have dinner there (i am the only vegan out of party of four). Unfortunately the vegan selection is practically nonexistent. I had eggplant tacos app, then ordered sweet potatoes and mushroom sides for my main course.
The sides were so greasy and had pork in them so they probably were swimming in pork fat. The menu should mention meat presence I think… Just looking at them made me lose my appetite — I could not eat them. The tacos were just as greasy.
I agree with other reviewers portions are very small for the money.
Having said that, the service was great and the whole atmosphere was pleasant — just need to refine the menu and go easy on grease!

Went for dinner with a group of 5 for a celebration.
The first round of drinks (margaritas and Beer) took about half an hour to come out. The food came out in waves… At one point we waited 40 minutes between «courses», with no attention from the waitress (so, our drinks were also empty for more than half the meal).
When we complained, they comped dessert (Churros — pretty good, but some were still very doughy)
The food is excellent, but there are clearly some kitchen/​service issues to work out. If our waitress has been more attentive, we would have had more drinks (and then not noticed how long the food was taking)
The most disappointing thing was how good the food was — we really wanted to give this place 1 start, but it’s delicious, so we’re giving it a 2. With better wait staff, this place would easily be a 4 or 5.

Good food. But portions are small for the money. And the menu is very confusing. It reads as if an order of tacos is 2 tacos. But it is in fact just one. Order accordingly.

Went for BBQ Sunday dinner. Was a good feast. Started with the Red Snapper fish tacos. All the dokd was define. Lovely full flavoured and perfectly seasoned. Cocktails are delicious, black magic woman and cucumber sour both went down way too easy.
Highly recommend it. I’m going back just to grab another taco!

Stopped by for a quick drink. Service was slow. Drinks were just ok and were extremely expensive. Bathrooms were dark with no hand towels. Could be a good spot as the décor was cool but needs someone to better manage it. There are other places that would serve better for a quick refreshment close by

This place is so tasty and fun!
It’s easy to find. The Decour is funky. And the people are super friendly. My bartender Isaac recommended food and drinks that were original and delicious. My favorite dish were the red snapper taco special. And I’ll be honest, it was hard to choose a favorite drink out of the three that I had: mezcal tequila with Ace’s tequila accompaniment; a green smoothie of cilantro, lime, Serrano and pineapple. The Mercado had a Curtis sea salt rim that made the drink. And then a bartender’s choice of; grapefruit negroni, which was a delicious combo of smoky fabulousness.
The Westin Ottawa concierge recommended Ace and its recommendations like this that keep me coming back.
Thank u Ace!!!

Went a few times for lunch, overall I don’t think I would be opposed to going back but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back.
Pros: great fresh food and good drink menu. We had a few of the different type of tacos and they were all great and fresh. The wait staff was also friendly.
Cons: missing Mexican basics– had to ask for chips and salsa and no rice or bean on side of
while the food was good– left being a little hungry still for the price that would have bought me a full lunch somewhere else.

Ok, let’s talk about a few things they have Aced: drinks, dining and décor!
The sugar skulls and creepy miniature scene under the stairs is just the beginning to the adventure that awaits in the washroom (barn) stalls.
The flavours are so fresh, you can taste them from the moment you bite into your food. I haven’t had anything that I wasn’t of fan of. The guacamole is to DIE for (Day of the dead pun!) haha.
The tuna tartar, also amazing for raw carnivores like me.
They have a very high-​end selection of tequila, which normally I would avoid like the plague. The handsome owner forced me to try a top shelf tequila brand accompanied by a green shot of a magical cilantro, pineapple, lime concoction which helped it all go down so smoothly. I no longer hate tequila, I hate cheap tequila. I tried my sister’s cucumber drink that tasted like summer… something I could never reproduce at home.
The vibe is so much fun. The bartender pours elaborate molecular gastronomy type drinks which adds to the environment for sure.
Then they have warm, fresh, mouth-​watering churros for dessert… the end.