Introducing: Seven Lives, the new Kensington Market location of the pop-up taco shop
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
Caroline Aksich, a National Magazine Award recipient, is an ex-Montrealer who writes about Toronto’s ever-evolving food scene, real estate and culture for Toronto Life, Fodor’s, Designlines, Canadian Business, Glory Media and Post City. Her work ranges from features on octopus-hunting in the Adriatic to celebrity profiles.
