Latin Night

Saturday night, I had dinner at El Rancho. This Latin American has been at Bathurst and Bloor since 1979. Its age combined with the typical Latino sign gave it a kitschy feel, not something I look for in restaurants. At first, things didn't seem promising. The 2nd floor restaurant had Spanish-style decorations with filigreed metal doors and hacienda arches illuminated with LED filaments. One wall was festooned with old celebrity-signed photos. And the entire place was empty.

But after 8:00 pm, the restaurant filled up to capacity, including several tables of 10. A Mariachi singer serenaded (loudly) to the oblivious and raucous crowd. The menu was typically South American: meat heavy, some seafood dishes, and no vegetarian options. I chose the Empanaditas De Maiz ($6) for appetizers and Cazuela De Mariscos, a seafood chowder ($19.95), for my entree.

The first thing you noticed was that the portion sizes were quite large for all items. My more-soup-than-thick-chowder arrived still hot in its pot and jam-packed with a generous amount of clams, shrimps, octopus, and jumbo shrimps. The flavoured rice side-dish was almost superfluous. The seafood had a good chew and was not over-cooked. It was filling main. The empanaditas, mini deep-fried corn fritters stuffed with beef and potato, were over-kill and too greasy.

This spot won't win any culinary titles. But with cheap prices, large portions, and a lively atmosphere (with a salsa nightclub in the back), El Rancho made a good case for its 35-year existence.