Taqueria Arturo

Located on the popular pedestrian section of Prince Arthur, Taqueria Arturo serves up authentic Mexican tacos with an international twist and a splash of artisanal mezcal.

Taqueria Arturo is the culmination of 20 years in the restaurant business for co-owner Matthew McKean. He opened his first restaurant when he was 20 while living in California. The next one was a vegetarian restaurant with Latin influences that he opened in Costa Rica and, two years later, he moved to the beach and opened a sushi bar. Next it was off to Thailand, where he cooked in a Four Seasons hotel before opening a Vietnamese place called The Slanted Door in the United States. Later on in Mexico, Matthew opened a restaurant/bar/nightclub, where he started distilling mezcal that he now imports into Canada and sells at Taqueria Arturo.

Matthew knew for a long time that he wanted to open a real, authentic taco place in Montreal. It was just a matter of finding the right place and partners. "Tomal and I were already long-time business partners when I met Jason while collaborating on Marché des Éclusiers in the Old Port of Montréal in 2016," explains Matthew. "The three of us decided that with Jason's expertise in southern style barbecue and my extensive experience with Mexican food we'd make a great team." Eight weeks after they found a location, Taqueria Arturo opened in January of 2017.

Matthew and his partners  did their own renovations in just six weeks, and he’s very proud of the results. “Jason is very handy so we did all our own renovations,” Matthew explains. “We got the church pews for free, and the painting is from a friend in Mexico. In fact, we’ve all built million-dollar restaurants using contractors. This one we built for about $25,000 because with all of our combined experience, we learned that the best thing to do is build it yourself. Then as you make money, slowly add to the place.”