Escondite Flings Open Doors on a New Bell Centre-Adjacent Taqueria

Hot downtown taco spot Escondite has been working on opening a second location for a while now, and as of today (that’s Tuesday, October 24), it’s open for business.

Escondite’s new location (Escondite 2, if you will) is on Drummond Street between Sainte-Catherine and Rene-Levesque, and comes two and a half years after Yann Levy opened the original Union Avenue location. Levy has been exceedingly busy in the meantime, opening Japanese-style bar Gokudo, two locations for poke counter Koa Lua, and Cuban eatery Habanera. Escondite remains one of Levy’s most enduring venues, though — critics who visited were fans, and it remains a popular downtown venue, casual-but-nice-enough to draw dinner crowds, and business lunches.

In a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, Escondite 2 will follow the menu from the original: plenty of tacos, split between classics (al pastor and chicken tinga), alongside new creations like the grilled tofu with Orange Crush crema, or Korean-style steak and nopal (cactus) tacos.

A couple of ceviches, small bites like guacamole and cornbread, and playful dishes like a General Tao chicken infused with Mexican flavours (tamarind, agave) round out the menu. Prices are obviously the same; Escondite isn’t a grab ‘n’ go dollar-taco kind of spot— it’s closer to a mid-range restaurant, with ample cocktails, mezcals, and other drinks on offer.

Interior-wise, it’ll also take cues from the original — a fun, eclectically-decorated space, as evidenced by the below cat picture.

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STATUS — Escondite is open at 1224 Drummond Street from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday (11 p.m. Thursday and Friday), 5:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday. It will open Mondays when shows or matches are happening at the Bell Centre.

• Escondite [Official]
• Opening Alert: Taqueria Escondite to Reveal Mexican Tapas on April 28 [EMTL]
• Another Koa Lua Mixes Up More Poke Downtown [EMTL]
• Escondite's Guac Rocks Marie-Claude Lortie's World [EMTL]