Ottawa Foodies

Thought I would try ahora after reading all the positive reviews on this site. They were all right! I had the chicken burrito with side salad, and it was so so tasty. I like the way the guacamole, sour cream and salsa is all mixed right in and not served on the side. Not sure what they marinate their meat in, but it was just perfect. I wish I could figure it out so I wouldn't have to trek downtown everytime I have a craving for one now...which is a lot.

Not that this cafeteria style slice of mexicana needs anymore good publicity, but I'm going to give it some anyway.
I've never had a bad meal here and I've been on several occasions. I always try to order something different, not because I didn't like my selection from the previous visit, but because I'm always excited to try something new from the kitchen. The food is usually cooked well and never takes long to be delivered to your table.
The service is friendly and welcoming, the price is very affordable and the margaritas are great! Throw in the good food and it's a winner everytime. If you haven't been to Ahora yet, make sure to pencil it in sometime in th next few weeks, even if it's just for a quick lunch.

Not bad, but I'm not sure it belongs on top of the restaurant list.

Ordered a beef quesadilla, it tasted good but there were parts of it that were tough (i.e. inedibly so). It's not a big complaint, but judging from the high rating, I was expecting better.

I stopped in at Ahora last week for a quick lunch, and it reminded me yet again of how much I love this place. Cheap, authentic, and unpretentious. It's great to see that this place is top ranked on this site. I just got back from a week in Mexico last month, and I can honestly say I'd rather eat here any day than the "mexican food" at the 5-star resort we stayed at.

I went on Monday after seeing it recommended here and after a friend raved about it. I had the chicken burrito with chips and salad (paid the extra $1) with a Sol to drink. The four of us dined with beers for $50 since we used the Entertainment book coupon. We thought that was good value and the food was excellent.

Yes the decor is a little kitsch, but I think it really adds to the charm of the place.

I absolutely love Ahora, just as a casual place to go for misc. events (I dunno... a blind date, or a place to chill when you can't think of anything else). I'm a little biased in that I always get the tostada when I'm really hungry, or the Taco y quesadilla when I'm not. The portion sizes are good... and yes it does seem a tad overpriced, but that's because they raised there prices not too long ago. I still visit, I just try to make it less of a habit.

we took friends here for the first time tonight. i have been @ 6 times and try something different each time.

tonight i went light and had the veg burrito with salad. the burrito was great with a few of the salsa's on it. it was loaded with avocado and black beans. i found the salad really bland. we shared an order of the pear cactus salad. it was the same basic salad but with corn, cactus and avocado. it was more interesting, but i think the corn was from frozen.

other orders were the ahora platter, with rice and beans. as always, the rice and bean combination (with hot green salsa on top) was wonderful. the dish as a whole was very good and the plate was cleaned. one order was the vegetarian enchiladas which were also a big hit. again, the salad was bland, but the beans were good.

i like this place for the comfort food factor. our friends really liked that they paid upfront and then were free to stay or leave whenever they wanted. i find the prices very reasonable for the quality of the food and the sizes. i have never left hungry! plus, there are some good mexican beers that other places don't have.

My latin american friends raves this place - it is as close as home cooked food, according to them. Hubby loves it too. Been there a couple of times and never been disappointed.

Food was pretty good but I felt like it was a tiny bit overpriced for the level of service, presentation and decor. I had the burrito grande and a margarita. The burrito was enjoyable but the margarita was sub-par. I would possibly return in the future but I would likely try out some other places first.

What can I say I love this place! I've eaten here over 20 times (I used to work in the market), and for the market this is the best bang for the buck. Food is filling, service friendly, decor is a bit cheap but the feeling I get here is so casual and unpretentious unlike most of the sub-par "upscale" restaurants in the market. For me I always start off with the nachos when with a friend, they are heaped with beans, sour cream, salsa and guacamole, I don't think I can ever order pub nachos again. I then go with the burrito grande or quesadilla supreme which both come in big portions and great sides of nachos, rice or salad. Salsa bar is great, I always load up on fresh cilantro and the chunky salsa. I think this is the first place I've ever been to where you pay at the cash when you order, and then they bring the food at your table, which I think is pretty efficient for a place like this, especially when your hungry and impatient which I seam to be almost constantly. Definitely check this place out!

After so much 'enchiladas vegetariana' abuse I finally branched out and got a take-away vegetarian burrito. The 'ranchero vegitariano.'

And, yum.

One thing stands out: Ahora is a great value. It's an awful lot of high-quality food for relatively little cash. Size-wise, it reminded me of something called a "Macho Burrito" from the US "Del Taco" chain, which was -- when I was there -- advertised with the not terribly appealing slogan "Over 1 pound of ingredients!" Really, a piggish size. But exactly the sort of thing I like to pig out on.

The hot-tish green salsa, all cilantro-y, is just the thing to douse it with.

This is the burrito platter. I didn't eat it so I can only share what I saw.

The take-away version came with no salad!

I hadn't realised how much I liked their little salad offering. It's not just limp afterthought iceberg, but actual salad.

There were a few bits of avocado, peppers and tomato in the box, but...

Oh, never mind. I'm looking at their on-line menu now, and noting "Served with two of the following: beans, salad, rice." It came with plenty of rice and beans. I see it's the fault of my food-fetching friend.

Moral of the story: GET THE SALAD. I had not realised until FF's commentary below how critical it is to rounding out this particular plate.

And now I have to give them props for the 'few bits of avocado...'

At kmennie's suggestion, I had the vegetarian enchiladas and was not disappointed. It was satisfying and delicious. The black beans were very heavy but the refreshing salad sort of "lubricated" the whole meal and allowed me to eat the entire mess of heavy food without regret.

Anyone who thinks that a meal without meat is unsatisfying should try this dish (with the bean option). ;-)

The 'enchiladas vegetariana' satisfy my cravings for cheese enchiladas, without being nearly so fat-laden and boring as the usual kind. Recommended without reservation.

I went to Ahora last night for the second time. I had the tres tacos (I was hungry!) - all vegetarian.
They were filled with black beans and veggies to which I added salsa from the condiment bar. With chips as one of my side orders, I got to try all of the salsas that were being offered. Yum! I also had the salad. I'm not sure what is in their vinegrette, but I thought it was great.

The woman who took my order was very helpful about which dishes contained dairy products.

We even got a bit of a dance show as they were closing up. :)

Finally, an Ottawa restaurant that understands that salsa has no place in nachos! You won't find the pathetically soggy salsa-laden chips in this dish like you do in most places here.

Sadly, the chips aren't the greatest (thick and greasy) and I like to have black olives and jalapeños cooked with my nachos. Cheese is generous and the nachos are perfectly baked.

This was the Large ($6 or so)

Always keen to try something new, I opted for this beverage with my meal. It was quite good, consisting of milk, sugar, cinnamon, and a kind of milled rice whisked in a blender.

I had to chuckle when I watched the server tear open two paper packets of sugar and dump them into the blender. It's almost like camping! ;-)

These are good and the only place I've been able to find (save Cinnabon) that has Churros. they're simple and come in two flavours. Dulce de leche wins over chocolate for me. They do come from an outside bakery in MTL, so that's a bit of a downer.
kinda pricey: 2/$3.95