There are few better signs that you’ve found the real deal than walking into a restaurant and immediately realizing you are probably the only person in the room who doesn’t speak Spanish.

That was the case when Sergio and I walked into Gorditas La Mexican, an unassuming little spot tucked into an industrial park on Stevenage Drive. Before we had even sat down, Sergio had already spotted Peso Pluma playing on the television. There was Topo Chico and Coke in glass bottles in the fridge. The tables were covered in red-and-white tablecloths. And every server greeted us with a big smile.

Legitimacy: confirmed.

Sergio, one of my best friends and a frequent accomplice on these Eat the Strip outings, is originally from Mexico by way of Winnipeg. I had told him about Gorditas La Mexican and brought him along for this Eat the Strip outing, figuring his Mexican palate would be a useful second opinion.

We took a seat by the window and started looking over the menu. Sergio immediately pointed us toward the gorditas, particularly the cochinita pibil, which he said was the specialty. A gordita, for anyone who hasn’t had one, is essentially a thick, handmade corn tortilla that is split open and stuffed with a filling — think of it as a much heartier cousin to the taco.

We ended up ordering a spread of gorditas filled with asado rojo, chicharrón, rajas and tinga, along with tacos de cochinita pibil.

The gorditas arrived on handmade, freshly cooked tortillas, and this was the kind of food I would expect to eat in Mexico. Nothing felt toned down for the sake of being approachable. The flavours were direct, the portions were generous and the meat brought plenty of the richness you want from this kind of food.

The chicharrón was excellent. Spicy, fatty and exactly what it should taste like — no less, no more. Sergio called it his favourite of the bunch, although he had also recommended the asado rojo.

As it turned out, the asado rojo was my favourite.

The potatoes had soaked up the sauce exceptionally well, while the pork added that glorious layer of fat that makes you forget, temporarily, that arteries exist. You could taste the pork rind in there, too, giving the gordita that combination of richness and texture that makes this sort of humble food so satisfying.

And the portions are generous enough that the value is almost absurd.

We also had a couple of the restaurant’s drinks, which were enormous and did a fine job of washing everything down. Sergio gave his seal of approval, saying the drink tasted as it should. It had the refreshing quality of something you’d want on a hot summer afternoon, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was made in-house.

Eventually, we caught up with Katherine, the owners’ daughter, who told us Gorditas La Mexican started with something much simpler than a restaurant.

Her family had been cooking for friends and relatives, making the same kind of gorditas her mother had learned to prepare when she was young while working with her aunt. Eventually, the word spread and the family decided to take the leap and open a restaurant, arriving at this industrial-park location around November 2024.

At first, most of the customers were Hispanic. But that has changed.

Now people from all walks of life are showing up, even though the restaurant is easy to miss if you don’t know it is there. Katherine thinks the atmosphere has a lot to do with it. The goal, she explained, was to make the restaurant feel like you were in Mexico.

That family feeling is not manufactured, either. Her parents work the floor, serve customers and strike up conversations with the people who come through the door. Cousins and other relatives help keep the restaurant running. The family is originally from Durango and came to Canada about 10 years ago, eventually making their way to Ottawa after spending time in Edmonton.

The restaurant remains very much a family affair.

Katherine told us some customers have become friends with her parents, to the point that they will sometimes stay after hours just hanging out and talking.

That, perhaps more than anything on the menu, explains why a restaurant hidden in an industrial park can keep drawing people through its doors.

She also told us the menudo is a nod to her family’s Sundays back in Durango, when they would go downtown to have the traditional Mexican soup together. It is the kind of small detail that makes the menu feel less like a collection of dishes and more like a collection of family memories.

Though, frankly, I don’t need much convincing to return.

Apart from the Sergio stamp of approval, I have to reiterate just how flavourful this place was. Everything that makes Mexican food unique was here: the heat, the peppers, the fatty meats and the sauces that make you want to mop up every last bit.

I could eat this food for days if my arteries permitted it.

Sergio and I were already plotting our return before we had finished eating.

And a special shoutout is deserved for the little bottle of fiery red chili oil sitting on the tables. For those of us who like our food with plenty of flavour, pepper and heat, that stuff was a welcome addition to an already flavour-packed meal. Sergio had warned me that nothing — from the salt to the heat — was lacking here, and he was right. The chili oil simply lets you take it a step further.

Most of the gorditas hover around the $6 mark, making them an absolute steal. More importantly, you will not walk away disappointed.

Gorditas La Mexican is exactly the kind of place Eat the Strip was made to find: tucked away, family-run, unfussy and serving food that feels like it has travelled a very long way without losing anything along the journey.

Magical.