Review: Playa Cabana Cantina, the Junction’s raucous new taco bar

Proof that the Junction is the next hot neighbourhood: it now has the city’s best tacos. Playa Cabana, the crammed Annex cantina, has opened a raucous, tacky new location at Dundas and Keele. The kitchen dispenses food you’ll crave for weeks after, like the grilled octopus in a smoky charred jalapeño salsa, or the al pastor, which brings a soft, fresh tortilla full of juicy adobo-marinated pork and sweet, crunchy pineapple cubes. Traditional Mexican corn—charred cobs rubbed in pequin chili, lime and queso fresco—makes the dead of winter feel like a summer barbecue. Chilies rellenos, a seared poblano pepper oozing with a river of Oaxacan cheese, tastes uncannily like a pizza pocket. That’s not a complaint—it’s awesome junk food. A soft tres leches cake exudes a heavenly hit of vanilla. Online reservations are mandatory.