Valdez

The food was tasty, service was good, and vibe of the restaurant was spot on. I would probably come back here every so often if I was actually a local.
Chaufa was really good. The tobiko gave it a mild seafood flavor.

Not sure why Unilocal shows this as closed. Definitely still exists — right across the street from LEE.
Food is great, try the chaufa you won’t be disappointed. We got all of the happy hour appetizers and most were delicious.
The ceviche was incredible — highly recommend it. Wish they had a corn cotija dish!

I am very disappointed with this place. I have been here before and really enjoyed it, until today. I was rejected because of my Venezuelan ID, the bouncer claimed they had changed their policy two months. Ironically I was there two weeks before and had no problem at all. Which seems very ridiculous. They claimed you need a Canadian ID or your passport, which seems ridiculous because it’s not safe to go clubbing with your passport.

Very good tapas menu. Could use a bit more fish and veg on the menu. All food was delish. Especially the chips and guacamole. Nom nom.
Nice semi covered roof patio.
We enjoyed and will be back.
Make reservations to avoid disappointment.

I am a BIG fan of Valdez! So much that I went twice within a week. Seriously.
The vibe is really fun, great for a late date night or a night out with friends. The music is great and the crowd just feels good, you know?
The servers are super on top of things, they’re friendly and conversational and make lots of great informed recommendations from their menu. The first time I tried a bunch of shared items, all of which were excellent, and the next time I tried the chefs tasting menu (YUM!). Everything was fresh and so flavourful. Also, they are super gluten free friendly, if you need it!
The cocktails are also so delicious, and I am certainly a sucker for margaritas by the pitcher. Nothing is better!
What’s even better is that you can finish up your night in their speakeasy, Escobar. On Saturday’s there is a line, be ready! Friday is more my speed — a little less crowded and music I really appreciate.
What are you waiting for?!

Solid ⁴⁄₅ for Valdez
We got the Tiradito and Mixto ceviche and chips and guac for food. For drinks we tried the Tormenta Oscura and Palomero.
I really enjoyed the Tiradito ceviche. Large pieces of albacore tuna, fish roe, and chunks of guac. TIP: Order the full size if you are hungry, as the smaller portion will not be filling.
Mixto was a mix of octopus, calamari, mussels, and sweet potato with squid ink. This dish was pretty mediocre, we didn’t taste the mussel and the flavour was very light for a ceviche.
I do enjoy the chips and guac here, the chips include a mix plantain, yucca, taro, potato, which is a nice change from the traditional nachos. However only thing is some of the chips tasted a bit stale.
Staff is very friendly from the bartenders, greeter, and waiter. Waiter consistently came to check up on us. However, what I enjoy most about Valdez is the atmosphere, it was bustling on Friday night and luckily we came right when the patio opened.

Great ambiance, tasty street food, not too expensive for the big portions.

What a great experience.
1. We ordered the fish and chips, muzzarela sticks, calamari, ahi tuna and layer dip to share amongst friends. Everything had good flavour and taste.
2. Loved the atmosphere. There is a hidden bar in the back which you need a secret code for. Kinda cool but the bouncer didn’t even ask us the code just opened the door for us. I kinda wanted to say the code to make it exciting. But it’s okay. There was music and a DJ. Some ppl danced while others lounged.
3. Lots of young professionals and twenty somethings. Great for meeting friends and chilling.

A Friday night dinner walk-​in party of four got seated immediately luckily, on their cool second floor. The downstairs featured bar-​style tables and stools, with bar seats facing the open concept kitchen to watch the action. The upstairs is a patio-​style lounge area with its own bar. The roof is covered but still lets natural light in, and hipster string lightbulbs provide lighting as the sun sets. For a cool ambiance, I definitely recommend asking for seating upstairs.
The menu features Latino tapas, mostly meat items with a few vegetarian options. There’s a tasters menu available at a fixed price, and «mains» that feature a variety of the tapas presented on one platter-​great for sharing among 2 – 3 people alongside a few extra items. My table ordered the Picada, which had chorizo sausage, wings, a cutlet-​like beef item, a fried pork item, empanadas, and another non-​meat item or two. All the food items were interesting combinations of different flavours and textures, with simple yet pleasing presentation.
Drinks come in a decent variety, and for non-​alcoholics there’s a selection of Latino-​style sodas. If you’re a fan of cream soda, definitely try the Inca Kola!

Very authentic and service was awesome! My boyfriend and I celebrated his birthday there and ordered the 3 course set menu for $ 39pp. We were sooo full by the end with the drinks we ordered!
First course: ceviche 2 ways
Second course: Meat platter and rice w/​beans and avocado
Third course: Tres leche and coconut ice cream
Check in for a free margarita!
If we came during warmer weather, we would be up on the rooftop patio.

Service was awesome, they know their stuff. If you ask them questions they will generally point you in the right direction with your meals. The food was amazing, if you’re looking to stuff your face, definitely go with the steak dishes, because the tapas are for light eating and sharing. The taste and quality is perfect for a steeper price, the portions not so much. Although the portions weren’t a qualm at all.
Also loved it in the summer and winter. The summer tends to be more breezy on the upper patio, and if you’re into people watching, it’s perfect. TIP: Also you can see down King Street if you snag the corner south east booth. Amazing atmosphere in general, love how it transforms from Latin Street Food to Latin Street Party!!!

This place got a nice vibe. And good for small group to hang out. The music does get a little loud if you try to chat.
The fried rice is our favorite. We also tried the platter.
. The platter is good for sharing but combination is a bit dry overall.

The seating seems to be zoned based on sound level. My group was seated near the back of the restaurant which is considerably more spacious and quiet, so it was easier to chat. Near the front of the restaurant seems to be more rowdy and energetic, and the seating in front of the open kitchen/​bar is great too if you want to see the cooks in action.
No one in my group had been to Valdez before, so we went with most of the helpful suggestions of our server. We ordered the mo-​tio litre cocktail, tiradito ceviche, matambre, maduro, and chaufa. For dessert, we shared arroz con coco, and helado de coco. The tiradito ceviche was very interesting because it was salty and sweet at the same time. The matambre was standard fare, nice and pink on the inside. You can skip the maduro, it wasn’t anything to write home about. What you need to get for sure though is the chaufa, because it was an explosion in flavour and aroma. Both desserts were a nice cool down to balance the spiciness of the mains.
Overall, service is excellent, and the food choices and quality was quite good. Some dishes are a bit expensive, resulting in lower value than ideal, but I guess that’s to be expected on King Street. There’s also a tasting menu and a rooftop patio that I would like to try in the summer.

Fantastic Latin music, rooftop patio lounge on King west, and a not-​so-​secret speakeasy lounge hidden by a freezer door (called Escobar)… what’s not to like?!
Not exactly a quiet place for conversation, but that’s not why you’re here. The atmosphere is electric, and it’s a great place to start a good night out with friends. You can even bust out a few dance moves upstairs if you’re up for it.
Food is average, but doesn’t hit any home runs in my books. I wouldn’t come here to seek anything specific on the menu, but if you must, the BBQ menu upstairs is good to snack on.
The only drawback is that it can get really busy at times, and drinks can get pretty expensive. Service can be slow as well, so be prepared to make trips to the bar.

i did not get to try their food as i ate across the street at lee’s!
HOWEVER i will be coming back for sure. its everything i look for when going out in toronto on a friday night. a chill vibe, good music, nice bartenders and a happy crowd. they have an upstairs patio area which was empty when i first arrived but quickly filled up by 11:30 ish. we headed downstairs to sit at the bar to chill on our drinks. you could still hear the music throughout.
we then find out about the escobar-​after finding out the password (thanks nice thor-​looking bartender) we got to hang out in there for awhile. SO COOL. they played everything i wanna hear when im wine buzzed (drake obviously.) a good mix of old and new hip hop
we went back upstairs to the patio and found it to be packed with the dj spinning latin music mixed with top 40 hits. couples were salsa’ing, friends were jamming it was perfect for a night out.
cant wait to come back

Great food and perfect for sharing with a group of friends. Tapas at its best. Like many Unilocalers here, I would also recommend the Chori Papa and Chaufa.
Service was great. Our waiter was attentive and gave us many recommendations on what to order. I would definitely come back again.

Came here with a friend for A casual hangout out. The rooftop patio is really nice but the lines without a reservation can get long at times, but depends on when you come. Was here for a few drinks and the usual guac, salsa, tortilla and sweet corn. It’s was alright… nothing authentic or special. The drinks were the usual cocktails.
A nice place to hangout on a lazy afternoon. Wouldn’t come back here for food but I do like the patio. So I would give it a 2.5 but apparently we can’t give half a on Unilocal lol.

Awesome food, venue, location! Definitely recommended by Toronto locals. Great place for a date, celebration or starting your night. Rooftop can be fun as well but doesn’t include the full menu. Everything is tasty!

Stopped off on a bit of a whim and sat at their beautiful upstairs patio. The walk up the stairs from inside was poorly lit and fairly dangerous as a result.
We started with 2 caesars and a pitcher of sangria. All were good but the amount of alcohol in the $ 28 pitcher of sangria was questionable as neither of us could taste /​feel much.
We had the chips and salsa/​guac, which was pretty basic, nothing to write home about. The chicken wings, which were unbelievably good. The swordfish which was again very good. And the tostadas with smoked chicken, I found the smoked chicken bits to be extremely good but there was far too much guacamole on it as a whole which kind of just took over and turned the dish into a bit of a mess.
The service was not memorable.
Overall, some hits, some misses, but I doubt I would return.

Latino street party any day of the night, why the heck not?!
Came here for a birthday. You can make reservations quick and easy on their website. When we got there, we wanted to check out the patio to see if we should eat there, but it was super cold so we dined in the main dinner area at the far end of the restaurant instead. The place was packed. It’s a very casual atmosphere. Our waitress was very friendly and nice. She recommended that we try the «street party» 3 course meal for $ 45 per person. We were feeling lazy to order our own stuff and decided to give this a try since it had a bit of everything. This was the chef’s pick so everything was a surprise! I did, however asked if we could get ceviche for one of the dishes since this was their signature dish. The waitress said she would look into this, which was great, because we did get a small dish of ceviche each!
First course:
Chips & Guac & Salsa plantain + yucca + taro + corn chips + potato + guacamole + tomato — My second fave dish. loved the gauc and the different chips that it came with.
Atún Japonés ahí tuna + watermelon + radish + ponzu — Nice and light, but not a lot of taste
Bay scallops cocktail — Very nice and light
Second course:
Empanadas — Didn’t like this because it was very bready
Beef skewers — This was dry. I would skip this dish
Tortillas with chicken, veggies, and potatoes — Very saucy. It was good, but very greasy. The tortillas wraps were a bit dry, but we toasted it the next day and it tasted good
Fried Chicken Wings guava BBQ sauce — This was awesome! My fave thing!
Short ribs in a variety of sauces — My boyfriend really liked this. It was tender, but I didn’t like the sauce
Third course:
A frozen popsicle — Refreshing
Rice pudding — Really liked this!
We also order a pitcher of mo-​tio (mojito) and sangria. They were okay. I found it a bit watered down. Nothing really compared to the free margarita that we had as a result of checking in on the Unilocal app. It was super strong!
We were all super full from the dinner and had to get take away. We ate the food the next day and it tasted good, with the exception of the empanadas. The food is pretty greasy though. I’m not sure if it was worth $ 45 a person as I think you can order individual dishes and get more variety. However, this was easily two meals because we took a lot of leftovers home. I say get this if you are lazy and want to try a little bit of everything on the menu.
We went back up to the patio after dinner and it was beautiful because it was overlooking the CN tower. It’s a small patio, but I’m sure it’s a good scene during the summer. We were there last week, but it was still cold.
The service was really good here and I loved the freebie drink. The food wasn’t bad, but there’s definitely room for improvements. I see a lot of potential with this restaurant!