Introducing: Tilde, the taqueria it took a neighbourhood to build (in exchange for tacos)
Name: Tilde
Contact Info: Tilde, 699 Danforth Ave., 416-469-8226, tildetaco.ca, @tildetaco
Previously: Bistro 699
Owner/Chef: Gauravi Shah, who co-owns Tilde with her husband
The Food: After working as a nuclear engineer for five years, Shah dropped everything to enrol in culinary school at George Brown. Her debut restaurant is technically a taqueria, but the menu is hardly traditional—tortillas come topped with gochujang-spiced chicken and curried Bengali fish in addition to more familiar options, like pork with mole sauce. Appetizers include chicken wings, nopal (cactus fritters) and, of course, chips and guac.
The Drinks: There are seven Ontario beers on draught, including Beau’s, Flying Monkeys and Wellington, plus wine on tap for $1 per ounce.
The Place: The small room has a distinctly DIY vibe (not entirely surprising, considering that neighbourhood volunteers were recruited to help renovate it, in exchange for tacos). The dark-walled space is livened up with orange and purple chairs and a matching mural of the Toronto skyline at sunset.
