Una Visita A Tres Carnales

On a frigid winter day in Edmonton, what could be better than some tasty Mexican food to warm you up? This was exactly our thought pattern when we headed to Tres Carnales Taqueria for a late lunch on a blustery Monday. Located in a revitalized section of downtown, Tres Carnales burst on to the Edmonton food scene in 2011 and have been feeding the good people of Edmonton amazing tacos ever since!
They pride themselves on serving locally sourced food, with many items being made in-house or sourced from bakeries and greenhouses around the city. Even all their meat (except fish of course) comes from within two hours of Edmonton. This commitment to creating authentic Mexican flavours from local ingredients is one of the main reasons they have become a beloved downtown eatery!


Ambiance and Service

Steph:  Knowing that Tres Carnales is inundated with hungry office workers at lunch time, we arrived at 2pm to avoid the rush and found a blissfully quiet and calm space. A single open room filled with light from the wall of windows is scattered with different seating configurations, from comfy leather couches, to tall bar style seating and small 4-tops with stools for seats. We had our pick of tables but I can imagine that during busier times you may get stuck with a table that doesn't suit your party (we had to sit on some pretty hard stools because Jackie was dealing with an injury)! The vibe is pretty casual, as you order from the counter and your food is brought to you by a smiling server. Every staff member we interacted with was quick, outgoing, and professional.

I especially loved the Mexican decor that added flair to the somewhat industrial space. There was plenty of unique items, from tiny luchador masks, to huge sparkling murals and skeleton dolls bringing to mind Dia De Los Muertos. Inspired by the food and decor, Jackie and I enjoyed reminiscing about our own trip to Mexico several years ago!
Rating 4/5

Jackie: "What was that you said?" This is the question that you will be asking your dining buddy for the majority of the meal. While I love Spanish music, the big band instruments fill the room without the volume being turned up to a ridiculous level. The decor is awesome here, I love the day of the dead masks on the wall and the fact that they have tried really hard to be modern but have traditional Mexican decor! However, they need comfier seats at the tables because sitting on small wooden stools doesn't make for a pleasant feeling after!

The lady that greeted us at the counter was exceptional. She quickly noticed that we looked bewildered by the menu, asked if this was our first time there and explained everything. She was friendly, sassy, and knowledgeable.
Rating 3.5/5

Taste and Presentation

Steph: We started with the Guacamole Y Totopos ($7) which were excellent. The chips were obviously made in house and were just the right amount of crispy and not too salty. I could have eaten a ton of them! We were given a very generous bowl of guac, which we ended up taking home about half to enjoy later.

We decided to try some imported Mexican soda with our meal; Jackie had lime and I had the mandarin flavour. We both thoroughly enjoyed the drinks and could almost picture ourselves sipping them in a sunny little Mexican cafe (if you didn't look out the window at the snow!)

One of the great things about Tres Carnales is that you choose your filling and then either tacos, quesadillas, or a torta to put it in ($10, $11, and $12 respectively, regardless of filling). Out of the two vegetarian/vegan options, I chose the Vegetariano tacos ($10), which consisted of four small tacos filled with poblanos, zucchini and beans in adobo, topped with guacamole. I did like these, they were a great portion size and well presented, but honestly I didn't love them. The flavour didn't wow me and though they were filling and tasty, I wouldn't rush back for them.
Rating 4/5

Jackie: The Guacamole and Chips here is truly something worthy of induction into the snack hall of excellence. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something different about their guac in a good way! The chips were amazing, not what one would expect to be served but wonderfully crunchy and perfectly salted. I ordered the Pescado tacos ($10), which come as an order of three, and cannot be ordered as a torta. 

The lightly breaded snapper was piping hot and the heat to crunch ratio was sublime, however the first bite wasn't quite as good as the last. Unfortunately, this is the type of food that is messy and will get soggy quickly. My last bite wasn't atrocious, but I am still wishing that my final taste wasn't of soggy lukewarm tortilla!
Rating 4.5/5

Overall Value

Jackie: While the overall cost of the meal was far from steep, I did feel that paying $17 for chips and dip, 3 tacos and a traditional Mexican lime soda was a bit pricey. The portion sizes are good and the food was great. Overall, a decent value for sure.
Rating 3.5/5 

Steph: Although I would never consider this a cheap meal, catering as it does to mostly downtown workers, the quality of the food is in line with the prices. Finding a good taco or guacamole in Edmonton is not an easy feat, and especially considering how much care goes into the prep and the great local ingredients, I think Tres Carnales succeeds at providing good value.
Rating 4/5

The Verdict Unless you work downtown, avoid the weekday lunch rush at all costs, otherwise by all means get yourself to Tres Carnales! The hip vibe, tasty food, and great staff has us wanting to go back and try more dishes! A dessert option or two would be nice to finish off a spicy or salty meal on a sweet note. (Caramel flan? Churros? Tres leches cake? All amazing options in our opinion!) And of course we love any restaurant where the server, upon seeing Steph taking food pictures, encourages her to post them to their Instagram!

Final Rating 23.5/30

And the winner is... Meat! While we both enjoyed our dishes, Jackie certainly got more bang for her buck and was more thrilled with her meal than Steph.