What do you get when you combine some of the most popular dishes from the cuisines of Mexico and Japan?
Well, in Vancouver you get Miso Taco, a new restaurant that recently opened up at 219 Union St after The Darkside went dark in the same space.
The room has definite hangout vibes, with a mix of high-top and low tables, including lots of spaces ideal for small groups.
The menu mashes up familiar items and flavours from Mexican and Japanese dining, which means you can tuck into dishes like tacos loaded with fried cod chunks with a miso dressing or chicken karaage with tonkotsu sauce, or burrito-style wraps with ramen noodles.
While the latter may sound like "stunt food," as it so happens, it works quite well, especially with the addition of shreds of birria (slow-braised beef) and a dollop of Miso Taco's house avocado salsa. Lettuce, pickled red onion and jalapeños offer a nice crunchy balance to the softer strands of those powerfully nostalgic curly instant ramen noodles.
Other options include tempura-fried enoki mushrooms, kimchi fries, and edamame warmed and tossed with lime juice and Tajin seasoning. Though Miso Taco predominantly fuses its Mexican staples with Japanese flavours, there is a little wiggle room for them to work in other pan-Asian aspects here and there, so not everything is purely Mexican-Japanese.
Unfortunately, some sections of the menu were not available when I visited, like the "raw bar" offerings that take things more into the sushi bar zone (with some Mexican twists). Though Miso Taco has paper menus, they are apparently not up-to-date, so you'll have to stick to the pandemic-era QR code routine to see what is available if you visit, and you'll find the drinks menu online, too.
In addition to a few brunch dishes available on the weekends, Miso Taco also rocks a happy hour, which features a pretty great deal - a trio of tacos and a sleeve of beer for $15.
Miso Taco is still getting its footing; on my visit, they had some service issues that hopefully will get ironed out so they be a little more consistent in the kitchen and in the dining room. However, the food's playful mash-up rule-bending ended up delivering on taste, which makes this spot promising as a fun spot for casual eats and drinks.
Video: Take a look at Miso Taco, a new Vancouver restaurant
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