A tip from friends who were in the west end the other day caught us off guard.

We thought we had a pretty good pulse of Mexican restaurants tucked away in strip malls in Ottawa and Gatineau. Clearly there was a slip up in our intel about Que pasa? Tacos, which opened around two months ago in a strip mall on Carling Avenue near the new Canadian Tire.

“We just ate here and it was great! And the owner was so welcoming!” Jessica, our friend, wrote to us after eating at the taco spot earlier this month. “They just opened a month ago and before she was just cooking from home.”

Huge fans of Mexican food that we are, we knew we had to go as soon as possible. After completing some chores in the area, we made a beeline to the restaurant on Saturday for a late lunch.

We were greeted by owners Donaldo and Diana with their signature Latin American warmth. We took a seat by the cash till and looked over the relatively small menu. The philosophy here is to do a few things and do them well. In the taco department we ordered two al pastors, a lengua and a quesabirria. We also ordered a horchata to help wash down the food.

The Mexican-Colombian couple’s tryst with the restaurant business has humble beginnings. Noticing a dearth of authentic Mexican food in the region, they would cook meals for their Latin American friends, sometimes preparing up to six kilograms of food, for folks as far afield as Cornwall. In May, they decided to take the plunge and open a brick-and-mortar restaurant to bring their food to the city at large. Boy, oh, boy how lucky we are that they did.

The tacos arrived in colourful plates that matched the décor of the small but, cozy, restaurant. The melt-in-your-mouth meat in the quesabirria and lengua elicited immediate “ooh and ahs” from us both. The al pastor came with double layered tortillas to help scoop up the tender bits of pork which we topped with a generous amount of onions, cilantro and lime. The quesabirria came with a birria broth which we slurped up like a soup after our meal.

Craving more, we ordered another round of the pastor and quesabirria.

We got chatting with the couple while waiting for our food. People in the industry had warned them business would be slow the first few weeks. But they were in for a surprise. The restaurant was packed on the first weekend following opening. Dozens of people filed into the little restaurant standing room only style, with those at the front helping the couple by passing food along to folks at the back.

On another occasion a few Mexican clients told the couple they wanted to eat their tacos while they were still warm. They wanted to dine in. At that point the couple was operating the restaurant as a takeout-only spot. Not wanting to disappoint, Diana played host while Donaldo ran over to the Canadian Tire and bought a few tables and chairs on the spot so their customers could eat at the restaurant. Those tables are still there today.

While they originally pulled an all-Latin American crowd, today the restaurant is buzzing with people of all backgrounds, reflecting Ottawa’s multicultural makeup. They close late so revellers can come enjoy their food like its done back home. Who need a night czar when you have people like Donaldo and Diana throwing a fiesta we all can get behind?

Sign me up for late-night tacos.