Review: Seven Lives, a bustling takeout taqueria in Kensington Market
Review: Seven Lives, a bustling takeout taqueria in Kensington Market
Seven Lives ★
69 Kensington Ave., @SevenLivesTO
Just when we thought Toronto had reached the maximum municipal quota of taquerias, Seven Lives opened in Kensington Market. The 10-seat, mostly takeout shop is packed, the staff is often overwhelmed and the meat tacos routinely sell out. The fish tacos, however, are excellent. Options include smoked marlin, spicy grilled shrimp and fried mahi mahi, all expertly cooked and zestily seasoned. The best of the bunch is an incredible octopus version in a nutty pepita mole. A self-serve condiment station is stocked with top-notch house-made sauces, including a sweet blend of dried pasilla chilies and roasted tomatoes.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/review-seven-lives/&title=Review: Seven Lives, a bustling takeout taqueria in Kensington Market&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/review-seven-lives-toronto-restaurant-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_229162" align="aligncenter" width="656"] (Image: Emma McIntyre)[/caption]
Seven Lives ★
69 Kensington Ave., @SevenLivesTO
We've updated our star ratings system since this article was first published.
Read more about the change here, and
find the up-to-date rating in our restaurant listings.
Just when we thought Toronto had reached the maximum municipal quota of taquerias, Seven Lives opened in Kensington Market. The 10-seat, mostly takeout shop is packed, the staff is often overwhelmed and the meat tacos routinely sell out. The fish tacos, however, are excellent. Options include smoked marlin, spicy grilled shrimp and fried mahi mahi, all expertly cooked and zestily seasoned. The best of the bunch is an incredible octopus version in a nutty pepita mole. A self-serve condiment station is stocked with top-notch house-made sauces, including a sweet blend of dried pasilla chilies and roasted tomatoes.){kind=link}
Uh, in fairness to Seven Lives it’s been open for about a year and a half and only recently moved to its current location, so I wouldn’t accuse it of only now jumping on the bandwagon.
Also, their tacos are actually *good*, even if inauthentic.
it could very well also be a 5* spot .. I used to go the the Burrito (kidz) boyz , on lakeshore near the GO statn and after they got comfy let kids take over production and quality and service went to the you know what… toilet. Its all how you stack the thing.
So there are words like “excellent” and “incredible” in the review, but they only got 1 star???????
3 stars at least. cheap&cheerful, big portions, nice spices and shrimp and octopus are fenomenal.
I recieved incredibly rude, absolutely terrible arrogant service from this place when it first opened in the market. I was disgusted and appalled that the staff had the attitude they did being 1. they were a brand new restaurant 2. shouldnt small business owners have more of a personal connection with their restaurant and the guests 3. do I need to remind you that you sell TACOS along with 4 other places in the market. So guess what. I wont be back, and often recommend other taco places to friends and the like. Hopefully they see this posting and invest in a little customer service training to go along with their so-so tacos. (To be honest, even if the service was decent, I found these tacos nothing special, not worth the wait, and not authentic).