As a vegetarian person I would say this is the best place to have a tasty and filling meal, their cactus burrito is delicious. I also recommend the dulce de leche empanadas they are just great!
Nate's Rating: 4 Stars |
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They have the best chicken burrito in town, the avocado salsa they put is unbelievably good. Food is fantastic in this place!
Aaron's Rating: 4 Stars |
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I love this place, and have become hooked on their steak burritos.
A great little local spot, which I highly recommend!
Nelia's Rating: 4 Stars |
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Best burritos in town! I cannot believe I didn't know about this little oasis in Toronto. Great food, excellent ambience so different to other burrito places. Get the mole burrito is a mouthwatering experience.
Michael's Rating: 4 Stars |
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The food at this place is amazing, I lived in California for some years and I haven't had such an authentic burrito since I came back. The chorizo burrito was delicious and their guac is fresh and chunky. Nice place to have lunch or dinner. Great music by the way.
Allen's Rating: 4 Stars |
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I noticed that Johny Banana was doing lunch, so I decided to give it a try, and WOW I have to say it's great! They have mouth watering burritos. The chicken with mole one is awesome the perfect combination of spices. Queen West has the best new lunch spot!
David's Rating: 4 Stars |
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I just found that Johny Banana changed their concept, at the beginning I was kind of upset because I really liked this restaurant but when they told me they kept the best sellers of their menu and lower their prices I was more than happy to give it a try. Yeah, less options, but less money to pay... I have to say that now the burrito is better! I don't know if it's because is so cheap but it was PERFECT! They also have the pork tacos which I love and the cookies with dulce de leche, so I could say they still are authentic. Thumbs up!
Tim's Rating: 4 Stars |
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It's so funny that you are saying that because I am a frequent customer at Johny Banana and they don't have any type of fajitas in the menu and they don't do the classic Tex-Mex chips and salsa appetizer. As far as I know, the chips are made at the restaurant, one can easily tell. You are probably confused and talking about another restaurant in the city but not this one...
Anne's Rating: 4 Stars |
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We went last night because it looked new, and we had never seen it before. We should have known walking in the door and smelling pine cleaner instead of chiles, lard, and meat that it was not going to be good...though the menu sounded enticing. We both ordered the fajita combo platter, thinking we'd get a big plate of sizzing fajitas. Wrong. The chips and salsa were good, but those obviously came from a box/bottle. The fajitas were not only NOT sizzling, they were lukewarm and looked warmed-over and limp. The beans were cold and were whole beans not cooked in anything besides water. No salt, no seasoning, nothing. The rice was the color of Mexican rice but was cold, hard, and tasteless. I guess I should say if you're looking for low-fat Mexican food, this is the place; there wasn't an ounce of cheese or grease on anything. My husband's steak fajitas were worse than my chicken--cold and tough and no seasoning. We could see into the kitchen and have the sneaking suspicion everything is on a plate and is microwaved. We didn't see OR hear much kitchen action, and there was definitely nothing sizzling. We left hungry. I have to say, though, the decor is cheap just like the food. We'll never go here again.
"Worst "Mexican" Food Eve's Rating: 1 Stars |
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I was told that this place was a little oasis on Bathurst St. and I have to say they were right! I tried these mole enchiladas that were amazing (who would think enchiladas could be served with this chocolate sauce? Delicious combination!). We also had a hibiscus and a tamarind margaritas that were really good.
Karl's Rating: 3 Stars |
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worst restaurant eating experience
First they sat us near the area that was being cleaned and it smelled like chlorox. Took our order, and when ready, they practically dropped it on the table. I went to an adjoining table to get napkins and utensils since they never gave us any. They brought us the wrong order, but we ate it anyway since we could not get the waiter's attention (too busy talking to friends). Never brought the oj we ordered. No coffee refill. When we paid the bill, I asked for the manager and was told there was none there at that time. Wrote to the company and never got a response. STAY AWAY from this place.
Arti's Rating: 1 Stars |
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The most authentic Mexican food I've tried in Toronto so far, reasonably priced for the service, loungy ambiance and quality of the food.
I'm definitely coming back! The churros with hot chocolate was an amazing dessert and their mojitos are probably the best outside of Cuba. Being there was like a trip to South America, I swear!
Thomas's Rating: 4 Stars |
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I went to Johny Banana last Saturday with my boyfriend and a couple of friends and I have to say we were impressed with the restaurant. Everything was outstanding! The food was delicious and flavourful and the service and ambiance were excellent but there were 2 things that I really loved over all: the drinks and the music. I had the best mojito I've ever had, my boyfriend had a cocktail made with orange and vanilla vodka which was delicious and my friend had a strawbery margarita which was also very good and the best I've tried in Toronto so far. This place is really worth the try. Highly recommendable...
Ashley's Rating: 4 Stars |
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I was very excited to check out Johny Banana and was nothing but dissapointed with my experience there. With exception of our great server it was a waste of my money and time. From the moment we got there I noticed the clouds of smoke in the restaurant. There bad venhilation made my eyes burn for hours after I left. The most dissapointing aspect was, of course, the food. Our appetizers and main courses were cold. When I sent back my enchiladas they brought them back out on the same plate. It had clearly been thrown in the microwave for a few minutes and was soggy and unedible. I commented to the server who asked the owner about the situation. The owner told the server to tell us that microwaving enchiladas is the proper way to make them (honestly!!). Anyone who knows anything about Mexican food should know that almost everything is cooked with a great deal of attention and it takes time to put together a dish, especially enchiladas. While they did offer us free desert the situation was mishandled and the owner was unprofessional (the point was not that we wanted to get anything for free). I would not go back and will not recommend this restaraunt.
Vanessa's Rating: 1 Stars |
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I would like to be very honest. The food and service in general at Johny Banana are simply excellent. I must say on the other hand that it was impossible for me to enjoy my dining experience due to the vibe that was evident in the dining room. It was a busy night and when me and my husband walked in, the room was almost full. At the door, the hostess seemed very hostile and made us feel ulmost unwelcomed by the way she indicated our choices for seating. While I was eating, I couldn't help but noticing unpleasent eye contact and just rude chitchating from this same hostess that was now working behind the bar.Even our server and the other bartender seemed disturbed by her behaviour. Regardless of the situation, I just think that management should pay careful attention to employee behaviour, it can really ruin the whole experience.
Celina's Rating: 2 Stars |
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This is definitely one of my favourite restaurants of all time. As a onetime resident of Mexico, I tend to find most Mexican food in this city inauthentic and boring, but Johny Banana is a great find. It totally reminds me of some of the bistros in Mexico City. The Aztec lasagna is great, and so are the cactus tostadas (available sometimes as a special). They don't lie on the menu when they mark some items as spicy -- beware. (they're still really good, but hotter than most Mexican food available up here) Even the burritos (which often, I think, fall into the inauthentic/boring/not worth eating category) are great.
Amy's Rating: 4 Stars |
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What a great drinks menu! It doesn't matter what do you like or not you'll find the perfect one for you. This is the paradise for everyone, they have really good Latin American wines and their cocktails are sooo original. Try "La Sirena" martini or "El diablito" tequilini that comes with Valentina hot sauce, boom! I just found out that now you can have the spicy hot chocolate with Grand Marnier or Kahlua it was the best of the night, so delicious! If you are into drinks and appetizers this is THE place.
Andy's Rating: 4 Stars |
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I'm Mexican and I have to say that Johny Banana is the best Mexican restaurant I've ever been in Toronto, the flavours are authentic, the drinks amazing and the decor and music awesome and totally reflective of what modern Mexican culture is about. This is the first Mexican restaurant I feel proud of showing to my Canadian friends every time they want to try authentic Mexican food (which was lacking in Toronto until now). By the way, I know for sure that they DON'T TAKE RESERVATIONS.
Alejandra Fernandez's Rating: 4 Stars |
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I was very happy to see that the menu offers many gluten free choices - including dessert! - for those who are gluten-intolerant or live with Celiac disease. This was the first time in a long time I actually took a while to decide what to have because there were so many choices! The menu doesn't specify GF, so read carefully and ask questions. Also, lactose can be an issue in some of the dishes. Overall, very enjoyable night out with great food. The Ramba, Samba, Mambo juice if great for cooling tongues-on-fire - these dishes really have some kick! Good stuff :)
Jeanette Marie's Rating: 3 Stars |
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Overall, the food was decent. No major complaints there. Good sized portion for the price. The main issue we had was the fact that we asked for water and they brought us bottled water at $2.50 per bottle. I guess we should have emphasized tap water...didn't think we had to.
The decor is very ecletic and funky but the music too pop-like...for a latin bistro/restaurant.
I do recommend their version of hot chocolate. Very spicy!
LK's Rating: 3 Stars |
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When I first arrived in Toronto, I kept hearing that this is the best Mexican in Toronto. How wrong. Closer to the truth is that this is some of the worst Mexican we've had in our lives. If I were the Mexican government, I would sue to have the name Mexican removed from this restaurant. It is, without doubt, the worst Mexican food you could ever be subjected to and pretty close to the worst food period. Greasy, bland, pseudo burritos swimming in a pool of fast food nacho cheese, the worst tamales in the world. We made reservations one night at the restaurant (hard for them to screw that up right?) and they told us to come back in 40 minutes for no apparent reason.The food was a catastrophe, i had never seen anything like it in my life. Receiving a bare dish even when you've had a few drinks is quite disapointing. johny banana is terrible, the food, The service is fast, which is good, because you'll want to get out of there as quickly as possible before the nausea hits.
Ashley Laher's Rating: 1 Stars |
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Congratulations for this new concept of latinamerican food!!!! I am sure that you will grow very fast!
Brizia Aguilar's Rating: 4 Stars |
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Johny Banana definitely tops my list for new Toronto restaurants.
Their menu is authentic and their specials are fabulous. I tried grilled cactus burritos and couldn't believe how delicious it was!
S. M.'s Rating: 4 Stars |
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MBO Toronto :: User Reviews
