787 Fort St
Victoria, BC
Phone: (778) 406-1787

I think too many Mexican “taco” centric diners are located too close to one another in Victoria, BC. When one operation is busy, the hungry taco consumer can easily walk across the street to another to find a place to sit down for a bite. Located within the same city block is La Taquisa, Tacofino. La Taqueria and La Fiesta Cafe. In terms which operation stands out, none of them truly do. Well, maybe La Fiesta since they have Mexi-Fries (taters), and a condiment station with freshly made toppings (which range from mild to hot) but for the others, they all tout the same thing: locally sourced ingredients. Each of them have their own spin.

Tacofino began their operation in Tofino, the west coast of Vancouver Island and have broadened to a large franchise operation which includes Vancouver. The others have their own stories, but in brief Taqueria is from the mainland and Taquisa is family-owned. Each have their own range of goods. I simply rolled a dice to decide where I wanted to go and landed on ‘fino for bite.

Here, the noise levels are not terrible, but the space — it’s tough to navigate around without bumping into someone, especially by the doors. When doing take-out as I have done, it’s not a concern, but when this place is bustling, you better have good ears to hear your name being called to pick up your order.

In one visit, James and I were here to meet up with friends visiting from out of town. We dined in instead of doing take-out, and I snapped this mug shot of my buddy enjoying his meal. It’s tough to get this guy to smile, but he did! But we were not in review mode and the night was spent relaxing. Tacos are on average $6 each.

I did return another time to fully taste the variety. I had tacos in one visit and a burrito (averaging $11)  in another. The range of proteins offered here is great. There’s ling cod, tuna, crispy chicken and yam (cooked tempura style). The difference between a taco and burrito is volume, and I had the latter to go. I had the crispy chicken, rice, beans, black chili mayo, sriracha, cabbage, cilantro and guacamole all wrapped in a flour tortilla than corn. The explosion of flavours were certainly satisfying and I really have no criticisms. You really want to feast on the burrito while it’s fresh and hot, than taken to a park (Beacon Hill is a couple blocks away).

When I really want a different kind of Mexican, I’ll go to Norte (located on Douglas and Pembroke), but for fusion, ‘fino does the job very well.

3½ Blokes out of 5