Torontonians love patios during the summer and El Catrin, located in the Distillery District, has one of the best patios. It’s cheery and spacious, but best of all away from any automobile traffic given its location in the middle of the Distillery compound.

To really get the good times started, a bowl of guacamole ($12.95) works wonders. The menu notes it’s “made” tableside, but in reality it’s just a quick crushing of halved avocados with a pestle in front of you. It’s not exactly an extravagant tableside experience, but nonetheless the fruits resist browning.

The guacamole includes plenty of creamy avocado that’s simply flavoured with cilantro, onion, a bit of Serrano chili, and tomatoes. Dip a chip into the creamy concoction while you sip on a cold drink… what else do you need on a nice day?

Weekday lunches are a good time to visit as El Catrin’s not overly busy and they offer a special lunch menu ($16.95) with a choice of soup or salad and two tacos. It also includes a non-alcoholic juice of the day, which was watermelon during my visit, sweet and refreshing.

With my love of shrimp tacos, I had to try their camarones en adobo. Although small in size, the shrimp were cooked well and being tiny there were more to spread out across the taco. The hand-made corn tortilla was a key ingredient for creating an authentic taste and there were plenty of flavours from the salsa verde, pineapple chipotle adobo sauce, and pineapple pico de gallo. Despite all the condiments, I had to add on some of the habanero hot sauce, which made it even better.

The accompanying bowl of ensalada de kiko is a quinoa based salad topped with diced cucumber, tomato, avocado, and queso fresco cheese. The smoked corn aioli dressing was more citrus than smoke and could have been saltier. Luckily, with the complimentary salsas, a few spoonful of the roasted tomatillo salsa helped give the salad interest.

In hindsight, I’d forgo the lunch special for another taco as they were the best part of the meal. The Baja fish tacos ($16.95) were your typical fried battered version with coleslaw wrapped in a soft flour tortilla. Despite there being nothing unique about El Catrin’s version, there’s nothing disappointing either: the fried fish was crispy and not overly oily; the coleslaw nice and crunchy; the tortilla fresh and soft; and the chipotle lime mayo providing sufficient flavours.

When the sun is shining in Toronto, it’s difficult not to be in a great mood. Get outside and enjoy it while it lasts! With El Catrin’s colourful décor and cobblestone flooring, for a moment you feel like you’re transported somewhere foreign and exotic.