Seven Lives Tacos y Mariscos

While wandering around Kensington Market, we had the obligatory Jamaican Patties from Golden Patty and also some mochi donuts from Marry Me Mochi.  But another spot that we were wanting to try was Seven Lives Tacos.  The place was certainly busy with a line that was almost to the door.  No matter because the place is quick service and hey you stand and eat.  Perfect for sending people on their merry way after downing some tacos.

Beyond their fully stuffed and legit tacos, the other draw here is the Sauce Bar.   We found spicy and tangy Habarero, bright Salsa Verde, an even brighter and acidic Verde Cruda & Lime, Apricot and Arbol which was both sweet and spicy, a rich Roasted Tomato Sauce, a nutty and very slightly spicy Salsa Macha, a sweet and smoky Strawberry Chipotle and a Poblano Crema which was the most subtle of the bunch.  I felt the sauces could go with anything and really up to one's preference.

We ended up with 4 tacos starting with the Baja Fish Taco.  The pictures don't really show the size of the tacos.  Having 2 of them each was enough for lunch.  Maybe 3 if you are a bigger eater.  The large piece of battered and fried fish was good being buttery soft and flaky.  Thin and light, the batter was crispy and didn't overwhelm the fish.  On top, there was cabbage, cilantro and onion as well as Baja sauce.  I added some strawberry chipotle to this and the fruitiness seemed to go well with the fish (even though fruit may not go with fish most of the time).  There was a light spice to accent the sharpness of the onions.

 

The Gobernador was an interesting one with the combination of smoked yellowfin tuna, grilled shrimp, cheese and pickled onions.  Naturally, the tuna was dry due to the complete cook on it, but it did have really good smokiness.  Moreover, whatever they rubbed it in, there was plenty of earthiness.  The pickled onions provided some acidity and crunch while the shrimp had a buttery snap.  The melted cheese was ooey gooey and held things together.  I put some salsa macha on this and the subtle spice nuttiness went well with the smoke.

 

The most usual of our tacos was the Carnitas with tender braised pork shoulder, onion and cilantro.  Pictures doesn't do this one justice as it was stuffed full of meat (much like the other ones, but this was the most).  Hence, you can see why we only ordered 4 tacos!  Really enjoyed the juicy and flavorful pork that was ready for one of their sauces.  We decided on something spicier in the habanero.  That was indeed hot and had a background smokiness.

 

Lastly, we had the Blackened Ahi (which was a daily special) with cabbage, crema, onions and cilantro.  Despite looking quite blackened, the fish was still moist and not cooked to a crisp.  The smokiness and earthiness of the blackening spices really came through.  We used the mild poblano cream with this one to cool things down without obscuring the inherent flavours.  Overall, the tacos at Seven Lives are fully stuffed and delicious at a reasonable price.  Love that they have a variety of sauces to compliment them as well.

 

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Fully-loaded

- Delicious

 

The Bad:

- Standing only, but it worked for us

- Limited space, so lineups go out the door