Taco restaurants are popping up everywhere in Toronto these days, and I decided to try and find out why.

Let's be honest, it's not like Toronto has ever had a shortage of taco restaurants, but lately it seems like every vacant restaurant space is being taken over by a new restaurant with a monacre ending in "tacos" or "taqueria." Not that I'm complaining.

Over the past year, new spots like Toro Taqueria, a taco stand and patio by the owners of Silent H; Holi Taco, which took over Burgers Priest's original location in the Beaches and Taqueria Vegana, the city's first vegan taqueria, seem to be popping up like mushrooms.

Then there's Placos Tacos, Kasa Frida and Dirty Birrias — all of which have opened in Toronto within the past six months.

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Karla Hernandez, co-owner of Taqueria Vegana tells blogTO that she things the boom could directly related to a surge of new residents in the city who came from Mexico during the pandemic.

"A lot of our people immigrated to Canada seeking a better life and better opportunities," she says.

Hernandez, who formerly co-owned and operated Classico Vegano, tells blogTO that, in spite of the growing saturation of Toronto taco spots, she's not worried about the competition.

"We're a 100% plant-based Taqueria, the first one of its kind in the city," she says, "our product and services are what set us apart from the rest."

For Luis Valenzuela, co-owner of Holi Tacos, which opened for business in June, the Toronto taco surge was just a matter of time.

"It's about time, Toronto!" he says to blogTO. "All the major cities in North America, like New York, Miami and Los Angeles have incredible taco scenes."

"I think tacos are an easy, cheerful and delicious way to eat," he adds.

In terms of whether there are too many taco spots in the city, Luiz is of the "more the merrier" mindset. 

"I believe all the taquerias add beautiful colour to Toronto's culinary tapestry," he tells blogTO.

If you ask me, there's something about tacos that can appeal to anyone. You can choose any filling under the sun, dip them in consomme, drizzle with salsa or top with queso fresco, have them loaded with meat or none at all.

Your taco can be entirely your own — so how could anyone not love them? Moreover, with so many diffent styles, is it really possible for the city to have too many of them?

Particularly during a time (and in a city) where the cost of living seems to be relentlessly rising, it comes as a relief to know that a relatively affordable dish is taking over the city, compared to other more pricey food trends like caviar and oysters.

If you want to dive into the Toronto taco scene but are coming up paralyzed by choice, start with our list of the best tacos in Toronto, and enjoy where the ride takes you from there.