This Vancouver Restaurant Intentionally Serves Up Cheap Eats

Gringo deliberately and intentionally serves cheap eats. When it comes to restaurant pricing there are ways to cut corners and costs but they usually come at the expense of service, quality, or taste. Gringo owners and co-founders Sean Davis and Shoel Davidson believe affordable dining can still mean enjoying fresh, high-quality ingredients. They have made a conscious choice to operate with lower profit margins so that they can keep serving food priced at a point they believe is affordable and inclusive. All of their tacos are under $5 with the exception of A Fish Called Gringo, their fish taco, which comes in at $5.25.

When owner Shoel noticed a regular eating at the Gringo’s Davie location day after day he assumed that he was someone who worked nearby, grabbing a bite before or after a shift. One day he decided to ask. This faithful customer was dining daily at Gringo’s not because it was conveniently located but because the cost of a meal there was actually cheaper than buying groceries and cooking at home.

Gringo has always had the goal of providing a community space. It’s why they take customers’ names with orders. They have been operating in Gastown for just over ten years now, and they opened their second location on Davie Street in 2022. The team will open their third location in North Vancouver in 2024. Gringo customizes their menus for each location, offering a little something special and different. For example, you can only get the fried churros at Gringo on Davie.

With a focus on freshness and flavour, Gringo makes everything in house from the pork and pickled onions to the hot sauces and salsas. The name Gringo was chosen to communicate the non-authentic kind of Mexican food that they serve which brings an exciting freedom. The team can experiment and they are always innovating new specials. They work a couple of months in advance so they have time for fine-tuning and taste-testing. Upcoming in January is a jerk pork taco and after that will be a Korean bbq inspired special. Gringo is serving exceptionally affordable food and they aren’t scrimping on quality or taste. —Bronwyn Lewis

gringorestaurants.com