Mexican restaurant Chipotle & Jalapeño takes Montrealers off the taco train

Chipotle & Jalapeño is a first step towards remedying the abyss that is Montreal Mexican food. Based out of the Village, they specialize in cazuelas, meaty dishes which are eaten with rice and beans, wrapped up in tortillas. The good news is quite good: all of the food is wonderfully flavourful, and the mole sauce is neither too sweet nor too chocolatey nor too anything, which says a lot.

The menu is moderately pricier than the Latin American places you’ll find near Beaubien, but the decor is clean and bright without being sterile or campy, the service quick, and each meal comes with a delicious soup (chicken tortilla soup) or daily salad (the day we went, it was mango, avocado and mesclun greens, with a raspberry vinaigrette and some pickled red onions). Our only complaint was that sometimes it seemed like they were cutting corners: tortillas were warmed in the microwave and some of the meat dishes were too chewy, as if they hadn’t been cooked in their sauces quite long enough. That said, a stand-out lamb cazuela was both juicy and tender.

The space is divided almost evenly between a small dining room (in the basement) and a cute Mexican food boutique (on the slightly raised first floor) with home-baked Mexican pastries. Between the restaurant’s fine dining and the great selection of Mexican candies, hot sauces, and specialty foods, Chipotle & Jalapeño is a great destination for Mexophiles, hungry humans, or anyone looking to sip a coffee and munch on a cookie.