Don Oso's Restaurant

A couple of weeks ago, the Daily Hive ran an article listing the best places to get birria tacos in Vancouver. Wha...? I had never heard of birria tacos but as soon as I saw the pictures and read about them, I knew that they would have to be our first post Veganuary adventure!

Don Oso's Restaurant, which has been open for only 3 months on Hastings near Willingdon would be the first place for us to try these life-altering tacos! They serve Mexican and Chilean fare at DOR and judging by the number of patrons who came and went while we were present, they will have to expand soon.

Let's get right to the main event! Birria is a rich slow-cooked Mexican stew that someone decided to put into a taco with lots of cheese and then fry the whole thing. Served with a cup of broth for dipping, this becomes a wonderful, messy and melty delight!

DOR serves 3 6" tacos for $15 which feels like a steal! Of all the recent new Instagram busting tasty items to come along this one may be the most memorable to enter our world! Get some Birria Tacos soon!

But the birria doesn't stop there. Also to our surprise and delight, there was Birria Ramen to be had. This is a bit of fusion magic! The same rich beef but with a very rich broth and ramen noodles. We didn't expect in house-made noodles and the authentic Japanese ramen processes to be involved but it was delicious. Just instant ramen noodles soaking up the rich flavour. 

We also decided to try a Chacerero which is a Chilean sandwich of thinly sliced steak with avocado, tomatoes and green beans! We've had something like this before and knew that the green beans were a key player in making this sandwich just a little different from your usual deli sandwich. Very nice!

Next up were a couple of Chilean Cheese Empanadas. Flaky and with lots of mozzarella cheese, these were a treat also.

Finally (and to go with a couple other things that we could not finish), we tried their Torta Mil Hojas. This is a layer cake (sort of a soft cracker) with dulce de leche. It was rich and sweet and one piece was enough for Mharie and me.

There are 3 tables with seating for a maximum of 10 people. Most of their food will travel very well and even reheat so I wouldn't be shy about ordering to go. The staff are masked up properly but I noticed that it was hard for customers not to mill around while waiting. I would suggest stepping outside if you are waiting for a to-go order. I'm not sure yet if you can get birria tacos at a lot of places but our first experience was definitely excellent.

Food                       4 1/2 out o f

Comfort                  3 1/2 out of 5

Service                   4 out of 5

Value                      4 out of 5