For our Throwback Thursday entry this week we look back at the beginnings of Los Cuervos, the colourful, irreverent cantina located at 603 Kingsway in the Fraserhood.
Here’s what we wrote about five years ago this week:
603 Kingsway, the address formerly occupied by Che Baba, is set to become Los Cuervos Taqueria y Cantina tomorrow (Tuesday). The new eatery comes to us from the same folks who gave us Les Faux Bourgeois down the same block five years ago, only this time restaurateurs Andreas Seppelt and Stephan Gagnon are joined in ownership by Les Faux’s longtime chef, the affable Gilles L’Heureux.
Gilles lived in Mexico City and spent 7 years working in taco shacks and such, so he knows his stuff back to front. It has long been a dream of his to bring what he learned to Vancouver. His 30 seater (with 6 at the mosaic bar) will sport a big menu, which you can peruse in the shots below. It’s filled with tacos (think Cochinita Pibil, slow-roasted Cantinero pork, marinated beef, etc.) all made to order on a huge flat top, plus tostados, flautas, esoteric cocktails and Mexican beers.
The hours will be Tuesday through Saturday from 4pm until midnight with a weekend brunch service coming down the road in a couple of months. The group also has the former yoga studio next door, which they plan on employing as a proper cantina once they unravel some sticky City permission puzzles.
Los Cuervos looks like it’ll do well. It’s colourful, cheap, and cheerful, and even though Sal Y Limon – our go to taco joint in the Fraserhood – there’s always room for more. And dig the Bondo etching on the door! It’s a copy of an artwork depicting a greedy Agave plant who drinks so much of his own stuff that no one else gets any. What a glorious bastard.
Here are some shots from those final stages of construction. Keep in mind that they had not yet expanded into what used to be the yoga studio next door. For that recollection from the late summer of 2014 , click here.