Amaranto Montreal

Delicious Mexican food!! They greet you with a big plate of tortilla chips, and everything is authentic and tasty. The cactus salad is a must.

Place was hard to find but the food was very authentic. Very quaint family run place. We had the beef tacos and the chicken tacos. Along with the guacamole. Guacamole was great. The beef tacos were a bit dry and needs a bit more seasoning. But overall, a place you should check out.

Very good service . Food was a little bland . The meat required better seasoning . The guacamole was tasty and so was the horchata. I wouldn't go back due to the meat issue .

This restaurant is a diamond in the ruff. A charming little basement location, situated in the trendy neighbourhood of Monkland Village, on Monkland Avenue.
Walking in the restaurant you can see that it is a family run (style) restaurant with a very intimate yet simple atmosphere. Wood tables and chairs, place mats and even mini mats for glasses.
The menu is simple and focused - a good thing in this era of too many restaurants with menus filled with too much variety and often serving many dishes that are not up to par. The old expression "better to be great at something than average at everything" applies here. This restaurant has focus. The food is authentic Mexican street style and there is nothing fancy. Prices are reasonable and the portions are great. The chef himself waited on me and my guest and was very accommodating as he allowed (without charge) for me to mix two dishes to have two different types of tacos. The tacos I had were beef and the equivalent of a pulled pork. The soft tacos were excellent, the texture was slightly crisp, smelled awesome without too much of the typical corn taco scent and the taste was spot on. The taco dishes were $10.50 for 4 tacos and included a tiny picketed salad, more like decorations, of thinly sliced radishes and cucumber. I forgot to take photos, but it was great. Sadly there were no real sides with the meal as it felt a little empty. My guest order (3 to an order) cactus and cheese soft tacos. A great vegetarian (not vegan) dish, came with a side of beans and topped off with a small chopped small, salad of tomato, cucumber, onion, cilantro and mint. It was wonderful. Oh, I forgot our fabulous starter. We ordered the guacamole worth home made tortilla chips. The guac was the best tasting and best aroma of any I have ever had thus far in my 46 years. There was a slight bit of beautiful smokey flavour in the guac, and the portion was plentiful for two. It came with two little bowls of hot sauce. One was a tomato base, tangy and slightly hot on the backend and the other was a green salsa with a little more range and heat. Both were great on everything! I could have drank the sauces alone. We did not drink any of the imported Mexican beverages as they were all containing sugar, however, if you are into beverages of this sort I suggest you to try them as they do look awesome.
Their fried and sweetened plantain looked and smelled great, but we were just too full to order desert. Save room for this if you go.
The meal ended up costing $33.68 with tax, plus a tip. I can say that dinner for two with an appetizer, no alcohols served nor is there BYOB offered , is a great deal. But what was exceptional was that everything was exceptionally fresh and was prepared "a la minute". Service is pleasant and sincere.

So go and try a little Mexico in Montreal, in the Monkland village on Monkland street. A lot of M's, but they really go well with this restaurant as the food is really yummmmmy.

"The foodie"

Quelque chose en plus. Pour essayer de la bonne bouffe mexicaine qui n'est pas fast food, Amaranto est un excellent choix. On retrouve les soupes traditionnelles savoureuses en plus des plats classiques. Le décor reprend des éléments qu'on retrouve dans les beaux restos du Mexique. Menu court, sans alcool, ni churros malheureusement. Mais une bonne place pour des mets traditionnels, pas américanisés, et piquants à souhait!