Introducing: Seven Lives, the new Kensington Market location of the pop-up taco shop

Introducing: Seven Lives, the new Kensington Market location of the pop-up taco shop

Introducing: Seven Lives

Name: Seven Lives
Neighbourhood: Kensington Market
Contact Info: 69 Kensington Ave., sevenlives.ca, @SevenLivesTO
Owner and chef: Sean Riehl, a former San Diegan who worked in high-end California restaurants before manning a table under the Seven Lives name at the Toronto Underground Market last year.

The food: Tijuana–style tacos, with an emphasis on seafood, like blackened mahi mahi ($5) and octopus with pumpkin seed mole ($5). The few non-taco dishes include a smoked fish plate ($8) and carne asada fries ($7).

The drinks: Agua frescas in flavours like mango-orange and strawberry-lychee, as well as Jarritos sodas and Mexican coke, which is made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup (all drinks, $2).

The place: After a few months in a stall at the El Gordo food court on Augusta Avenue, Seven Lives has taken over the space previously occupied by Miss Cora’s Kitchen. The seating is confined to a few barstools and outdoor café tables, as well as a cosy pillowed nook along one window. A new serving counter is topped with a rough slab of Ontario maple, and the room is decorated with pieces Riehl made himself, like mason jar light fixtures and a light-up “TACOS” sign.

By the numbers:
• 300 tacos sold on the first day
• 12 seats, if you include the four outdoor spots
• 9 tacos on the regular menu
• $4–$8, the price range of the food
• 3 weeks, the time spent renovating the space