El Rey Mezcal Bar

Reposado tequila and mezcal do the work of bourbon, agave stands in for the sugar, and a thread of mole darkens the finish. That is the Oaxaca Old Fashioned, the drink this Kensington Market mezcal bar is built to pour, and it heads a list that keeps agave within reach of nearly everything — even the Margarita comes with a mezcal option for anyone who wants the smoke.

The food is compact and pointed rather than sprawling. Tacos arrive in two-piece orders that give a table clear directions to pull in: Birria Quesadilla with slow-braised beef, tomatillo salsa, and consome; Baja Fish with battered cod, chipotle mayo, and pico de gallo; Al Pastor with grilled pork and a pineapple relish; Crispy Squid with tamarind, Maggi mayo, and toasted coconut; Carnitas; and a Chorizo con Papas built on tofu, chorizo adobo, and crispy potatoes rather than a meat taco with the meat taken out. The snack side sharpens the same idea. Tostada de Atun layers fresh red tuna with crispy leek and macha mayo, Coctel de Camaron leans cold and bright, and Marinated Cucumbers arrive with pepita macha, roasted chickpeas, and lime. Dessert keeps a Tres Leches under strawberry syrup and a gluten-free Coconut Cheesecake with guava glaze.

The cocktails are not an accessory to the food, and that is the clearest read on the kitchen's priorities. Beside the Oaxaca Old Fashioned, the list runs to a Mezcal Negroni, the grapefruit-forward El Rey Paloma, and Open Windows, which folds pineapple, lime, chili, and celery around tequila and mezcal. Mezcal, not just tequila, is the throughline, and it gives the bar a smokier baseline than most Toronto taquerias reach for. The tacos and snacks are built to keep pace with that drinking rather than upstage it, which is why El Rey reads more like a bar with a serious kitchen than a dining room that happens to pour.

Weekends open a second menu that carries its own logic. Brunch is no token add-on. Chilaquiles come under charred tomatillo sauce with avocado, jocoque, queso fresco, and a fried egg; Tamal Oaxaqueno wraps chicken and mole in banana-leaf masa; Huevos Cazuela scrambles eggs with carne seca and a charred jalapeno sauce; and Caballero Pobre closes the daytime order on fried brioche, tres leches, and rompope soft-serve. Sopa de Tortilla, Enchiladas, and Tacos de Aporreadillo round out a menu made for people who came to eat, not to nurse a coffee.

None of it asks for a formal order. The best visits let cocktails, snacks, tacos, and brunch plates share the work instead of forcing an appetizer-main-dessert march, and the two-piece format suits a small group better than a long, formal dinner. Vegetarians and vegans have real footing here — Chorizo con Papas is a genuine tofu taco rather than a compromise, and Guacamole & Chips and Shishitos give a shared table more places to go — and much of the snack list is marked gluten-free, though strict diners are wise to confirm at the table.

El Rey has worked this corner of Kensington Market since 2016, and the way people use it has settled into something specific. Reservations cover both bar seats and the dining room, which makes it easier to plan than the walk-up counters it shares the market with, and the patio opens the front to the street when the weather cooperates. Friday through Sunday the doors open at noon; the rest of the week they turn on in the late afternoon. The rhythm is a mezcal cocktail to open, a couple of two-piece tacos to follow, and a slow drift down the drink list until the kitchen calls last orders near midnight.