La Casita gets a good amount of business during the day, but you’ll find long lines of hungry customers when the sun goes down: chic clubbers, stoned teenagers, ostentatious drag queens, dazed junkies and fresh-faced hipsters all looking for some open-flame grilled quesadillas. Let’s face it, Gastown may be a happening place until last call, but finding a good bite to eat – let alone authentic Mexican dishes - is a bit of a task.

At the corner of Cordova and Abbott streets, La Casita offers an alternative to greasy fast food and inadvertently serves as a cultural cross-section of all of Gastown’s amusing characters. Owner Caz De La Torre and his girlfriend April Andrews has put together a nicely-designed room that creates a slightly retro feel; the custom-made cactus chairs seals the deal. Tables are small, so be warned, this could be a cozier dining experience than you might have anticipated.

La Casita is a model of restraint compared to the hip Davie Street space, Lolita’s South of the Border Cantina. Still, La Casita is a cheap and convenient way to end (or start?) an evening. But the food hits the spot for your after-hours munchies, with the likes of chile rellenos, beef or chicken chimichangas to potato and onion stuffed flautas. Or try the quesadillas stuffed with chorizo or the chicken flautas.

Much of this food is available in small, medium, or large, and not surprisingly, some dishes are more successful than others. Caz De La Torre’s superior chorizo quesadilla is spiced with chili rajas, stuffed with potatoes and hot chorizo. The flautas are the authentic variety; as tightly rolled as a Romeo y Julieta cigar, these flavourful beauties positively shatter upon the first bite, with their seasoned potato-and-onion filling. But the restaurant’s other dishes tended to be a little bland; the bean burrito, and the aggressively gourmet chicken mole enchiladas could have been dressed with something more vigorous.

Not that the boisterous crowd at La Casita seemed to notice. The little spot was mobbed on the evenings I staggered in, packed to the brim with eager, chattering Mexican-food aficionados. For dessert, they dined on sweet churros, filled with chocolate. Order a round and pass them around the table. Or just skip the desserts altogether. Take a little nap, visit one of the ATMs down the street, and order another margarita. - R.B.