Written by Tania Schiliro on 18.06.14

Armed with all the necessary ingredients for a multifarious culinary experience, Cartel Street Food Bar brings you straight to the streets of Mexico, Peru, Chile, India, and Thailand—home to some of the world’s most delicious street foods. Forget fancy restaurants; according to the people at Cartel, the real deal is served at charming, albeit often sketchy, sidewalk carts, roadside shacks, and neighborhood bars. Luckily, you don’t need to travel outside city limits to get a taste of these local delicacies; Cartel prepares fresh street food-inspired dishes served right at your table.

Cartel Street Food Bar prides itself on using sustainable and organic products when available, offering several gluten-free options as well. Tacos with homemade corn tortillas, guacamoles, quesadillas, lobster rolls, and made-to-order ceviches prepared in leche de tigre (a citrus-based marinade) are only a glimpse of this spot’s diversified menu. Their menu also boasts a variety of Chifa specialties—a unique type of cuisine in which Peruvian and Chinese ingredients come together to create mouth-watering dishes, such as pollo muay thai, blackened grilled chicken with spices and sweet chili guava sauce, or bok choy y champiñones, sauteed bok choy and shiitake mushrooms in a chifa black bean sauce. The bar selection is the perfect addition to the already varied menu, offering anything from tequilas and wines to sakes and classic cocktails, such as pisco sours, margaritas, mojitos, or caïpirinhas.

Look at their chalkboard for occasional off-the-menu treats, such as causasthink sushi with a twist: a silky potato puree infused with Peruvian yellow chili pepper and lime, stuffed with seafood, avocado and assorted sauces. As one of Peru’s most popular dishes, this bar food-inspired snack is served cold and makes for the perfect summer bite.

Among other things to look out for are their special evenings, held from 5:00pm to 11:00pm. Every Monday is industry night and Cartel does it right by offering 2 for 1 specials on speed rail drinks, as well as one feature beer at a lower cost. Tuesdays are all about serving some of the tastiest tacos in town for only $2 each with a drink purchase. Their specialty baja fried fish tacos are a definite must-have—yum. On Wednesdays, you can stop by and enjoy $1 oysters (first dozen $1/each, second dozen $1.50/each, third dozen $2/each) with a $5 glass of bubbly. Thursdays are great if you plan on having dinner with some friends. They offer 7 drinks and 7 bite-size tapas, all for $5-7.

To cap off your meal just right, order up a glass of private import Legendario Elixir de Cuba—a blend of aged rum and macerated grapes with a velvety smooth porto-like taste. Have it on ice: this stuff is just too good to be mixed.

101 Avenue Fairmount Ouest, Montréal, QC H2T 2M4
(514) 564-9996

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