Xango, Toronto

461 King St W, Toronto

Latin-Asian Fusion.

Whether you’ve tried this cuisine before or are curious to know what it’s all about, I’ll give you my scoop on Xango, Toronto.

Xango is a great mix of a fun, eclectic ambiance and great comfort food. Bringing the best of both worlds to the core of King St. West, Xango is a great dining choice for a fun night out -- especially in the summer when their patio is lively and bumpin’.

Xango is a great spot any day of the week, but nothing beats the vibe on a Thursday to Saturday night! Their location does make parking a bit of a challenge on the weekends but the fun and lively atmosphere, in my opinion, is much more exciting when the rest of King Street is in its "prime".

The service was good, but not great. The waitstaff was friendly, but our server was often busy and hard to track down. For drinks we went with the classic multi-colour pink (and purple) drink. Their drink features change frequently, and are not listed on their site — but because of the hype this drink got this summer, just ask for the pink drink and your server will know what you’re talking about! ;)

The food was delicious — and different from what I expected.

Here is what we ordered from Xango:

Multi-Colour Pink (and purple) Cocktail

8/10

Fruity and light — not strong or tangy, though. I couldn’t taste the alcohol as much in this one, but it was refreshing and on the sweeter side.

Classic Poke Bowl

8/10

What's Inside: raw salmon, yellow fin tuna, wakame sushi rice, toasted nori, edamame, hass avocado, sweet soy and ginger glaze.

The Classic Poke Bowl was good overall, but not the best I’ve had. The proteins (raw salmon and yellow fin tuna) were excellent. The sweet soy ginger glaze was good, but on the stronger ginger side, which is not my preference. The avocado and crunchy carrot and cucumber added freshness to balance out the strong ginger taste.

Crispy Chicken Katsu + Greens

7.5/10

What's Inside: sweet soy and ginger glaze, arugula, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, toasted nori, white miso and sesame dressing.

The Crispy Chicken Katsu was good, but on the drier side. The breading was well-seasoned. I didn’t love its pairing with the iceberg lettuce, though. I think this would have done well with another green instead.

Salmon Don

10/10

What's Inside: unagi glaze, wakame sushi rice, oyster mushroom, pickled onion and raddish

The Salmon Don was excellent -- moist and high-quality tasting. The unagi glaze really made this dish, in my opinion. It provided the perfect touch of saltiness to the raw fish.

Let me know your verdict when you try this hidden gem for yourself!

Until my next dose of YUM,

xx Sab