La Capital Tacos: Chinatown’s Mexican spot

La Capital Tacos is a taqueria located on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, in the heart of Montreal’s Chinatown. Opened in March 2015, it’s a long and beautiful story for a restaurant that has practically not changed its menu since day one. Behind this project are three friends: Paulino Martinez, Geoffrey Moreau, and Rafael Hernandez. The restaurant’s name pays homage to Mexico City, the capital of Mexico.

At Capital Tacos, the menu remains true to its origins and offers five taco choices: Carnitas (braised pork served with onions, cilantro, and fresh radish), Pastor (marinated pork cooked on a vertical grill, onions, cilantro, and pineapple), Rib-eye (grilled AAA beef served with cilantro and shallots), Cochinita Pibil (pulled pork, pickled red onions, and escabeche sauce), and Rosarito (breaded shrimp topped with pico de gallo, red cabbage, chipotle mayo, and avocado sauce). Two vegetarian options complete the offering: Hongos Al Ajillo (mushrooms with garlic and chili, cheese, cilantro, and radish) and Tinga Vegan (tofu, tinga mix, cashew cream, cilantro, and black beans). They also serve quesadillas, guacamole, refried beans, and other appetizers.

Homemade tortillas: nixtamal at the heart of the process The most significant change at Capital Tacos since opening has been tortilla production. The team now purchases whole corn, sourced from Mexico or Canada, which they transform into dough using an ancestral process called nixtamalization. The corn is first cooked, then ground using a stone mill, before being shaped into tortillas directly in the restaurant. This process, still rare in Montreal restaurants but increasingly common in the United States, completely transforms the base product. In Mexico, nixtamalization is common in taquerias and represents a return to traditions—a way to reconnect with farms and ancestral methods that were once practiced even in homes, before industrialization replaced them. At Capital, this process has been in place since 2018.

A commitment to ingredient quality For wheat tortillas—used notably for the Rosarito taco and quesadillas—the team uses lard rather than vegetable oils, in the purest tradition of northern Mexico. Geoffrey Moreau, himself from northern Mexico, explains that wheat flour tortillas are a typical specialty of this region—Monterrey, Sonora, Tijuana—while the south of the country remains faithful to corn. This philosophy extends to all the cooking. The team extracts its own beef fat from marrow to cook the rib-eye and other dishes, avoiding vegetable oils as much as possible. Same goes for hot sauces: no artificial flavor enhancers, no coloring—just natural ingredients. Geoffrey emphasizes that several taquerias, even in Mexico, use food coloring and glutamate, but that’s not Capital Tacos’ approach.

Barrio: the new concept right next door For some time now, Capital Tacos has opened a second space right next to the original restaurant: Barrio. The name, which means “neighborhood” in Spanish, also nods to the Barrio Chino (Chinatown). Originally, this space was meant to serve as an extension to Capital’s kitchen, to accommodate the equipment needed for tortillas and ovens. But the project evolved. Barrio became a more experimental place, where the team explores corn and wheat flour in all their forms. At lunch, you’ll find an extensive selection of guisados-style tacos—homestyle, braised tacos, like those prepared at home in Mexico, whether from the north or south of the country. In the evening, the menu changes completely and focuses on seafood and fish tacos, in a style inspired by Mexico and Southern California.

The team calls these rotating menus the Masa Stories. Since launch, they’re already on the ninth edition: flautas, sopes, tostadas… each iteration is an opportunity to experiment. The space also hosts collaborations, like the one with Melissa, former owner of Santa Barbara restaurant, who offers a cocktail menu with part of the profits donated to her dog sterilization foundation in Mexico, Club Wouf.

Barrio is a smaller space than Capital. The atmosphere aims to be warm, friendly, and a bit more mature than Capital. Unlike Capital Tacos, Barrio now accepts reservations.

A team affair At both Capital and Barrio, there’s no chef in the traditional sense. Geoffrey handles creative direction and inspiration, but it’s the team members—from different regions of Mexico—who develop the recipes together. Half the staff has been there since the beginning, which speaks to the restaurant’s culture. Everyone brings their regional traditions, and the result is a meeting point between northern and southern Mexico.

Note that Capital Tacos, with its good dishes at small prices, now counts among our good addresses for eating well and affordably in Montreal and our suggestions for gourmet spots near UQAM!

For all these reasons, this establishment appears on our list of Montreal’s must-visit addresses!

Written by Sophie Monkman


Updated on April 16, 2026

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