El Cabrón Cantina

I want to support Sarah Theaker’s review and share that I had a similarly concerning experience at this restaurant. First, I’ll start with the positives: the food tasted great, and the quality of ingredients seemed fresh. However, the portion sizes were on the smaller side for the price, and the overall atmosphere felt awkward — the space is tight, and it almost felt like the staff were watching us throughout the entire meal, which made for an uncomfortable dining experience. More importantly, I was there during the same visit as Sarah, and I witnessed the interaction with the server. She clearly asked whether the battered fish tacos were gluten-free and confirmed it with the staff before ordering. It wasn’t just a vague dietary preference — she made a point to clarify her needs. The menu also showed the “GF” (gluten-free) symbol beside both the pan-seared and battered taco options, which is incredibly misleading. If only one version is gluten-free, it’s dangerous and irresponsible to label both that way. The error wasn’t hers — it was a breakdown in training and labeling that could seriously affect someone’s health. It’s incredibly frustrating to see the response from management trying to shift blame by saying she “didn’t explicitly mention an allergy.” When your menu already labels an item as gluten-free, that’s a representation of safety and accuracy, and customers should be able to trust that. Especially when staff confirm it. For someone with celiac disease, ingesting gluten isn’t a minor inconvenience — it’s a medical condition that can cause intense symptoms for days or even months. Dismissing this as a misunderstanding minimizes the severity of what happened. I hope the restaurant reflects seriously on this issue, retrains their staff, and corrects their menu to avoid putting other people in harm’s way. Sarah was not overreacting — she was holding the restaurant accountable for a real health risk.

To people with allergies (specifically celiac or gluten related), PLEASE stay clear of this establishment. Staff are uneducated and untrained in what is actually gluten free. On their menu, they list their Fish Tacos are gluten free (with the gluten free symbol), and give the option for pan seared or battered. Again, under this is under gluten free symbol. I ordered the battered fish tacos, CONFIRMING with my server that that they are indeed, gluten free. I finished my meal, and the manager walked over to ask how the meal was. I raved about how delicious the gluten free fish tacos are, which he then told me, oops- they are not gluten free. Only the pan seared ones are! So why are both options labeled as gluten free? As a celiac, I know I will become violently ill after 2 hours of ingesting that much gluten, and my flare up will affect me for months. So yeah, thanks for that!

My family and I just visited El Cabron for my birthday dinner. We literally just left as I write this. Not only was the food absolutely incredible, the owner was so incredibly kind and helpful and made us feel at home in his restaurant. His daughters were very sweet as well. It was 1000% worth the drive from Guelph and we will definitely be back. For the allergy people, they have SO many gluten free options...even their Empanadas are gluten free. I would give it 10 stars if I could!