this is not an actual picture of my plate

Tonalt Restaurant in Durham

Chef Andre Macias has created a Mexican home atmosphere and flavor in Durham that is second to none in the Triangle area.


My friend John and I were looking for something different to eat when he mentioned a new restaurant in Durham. He heard that this was supposed to be good. He was wrong.

It was great!!!!!!!!


Thou the location was a little hard to find everything else was spot on fantastic.

We started out with an appetizer called "Sopes de tinga al chipotle". This is a shredded savory chicken with local greens and morita sauce garnished with a fresh white farm cheese.
The presentation was excellent as well as fully functional. The garnish was part of the dish. And it tasted like love in a bucket.

Next we both ordered"Tacos al pastor con laminas de pina." This is sirloin steak a la parrilla with shaved pineapples. This also had a working garnish of a salsa verde, pickled red onions and more of the farm cheese. Once you layered all of the various garnishes on the tacos one would think that one flavor would overwhelm the others. This was not so at all. You could taste all the separate items and then they would combine to form a whole nother flavor scheme. I cannot describe this accurately to do this justice so I wont try. I will just say that it is something one should not miss.

Last we split a dessert of what was called a creme brul'e but was more like a savory topped flan in my opinion. Having split hairs over the name, it too was excellent as well as simple in its presentation.

The service was top notch. We had our meal at 2pm when it was slow. Everything was cooked fresh as well as quickly. The decor was simple and classy. Oh and did I mention that the entire meal with dessert was around $30 plus tip for the both of us.

Now this is my second of many to come reviews in and around the Triangle area. But I am sure this will be an experience hard pressed to be topped else where.

Out of Ten points this place would get a 12

-CHefdino-