Glenora is not an area of Edmonton I frequent often, mainly because it is so far west of where we live. Because of this, I likely would have never heard of El Corazon. My husband and I were looking for a new local place to try and he happened to have a gift card that he won from a work golf tournament (saving up for a baby is expensive, so we try to be cheap when we can). Thankfully he had that gift card; had he not we likely would have never come upon this place with great eats.

El Corazon, meaning “heart” describes itself as a restaurant featuring a “modern spin on Latin flavors.” The atmosphere is modern, but also feels cozy and homey as it is a smaller space. Since it was a gorgeous evening with (shock!) no mosquitos, we decided to take advantage of the patio.

Whenever my husband and I go for dinner we often treat ourselves to an alcoholic beverage of sorts. For him, it is usually a whiskey based cocktail while I go straight to the wine list. Since I am 6 months pregnant, alcohol is out of the question but I was happy to see a few non-alcoholic mojitos. I originally was going to order the Strawberry Mojito, but when I mentioned to our waitress that I am expecting she warned me that the Strawberry and Ancho Lime Mojito’s do have some spice to them. The acid started to crawl up my throat. So I went with the Banana Mojito.

Admittedly, the Banana Mojito was not my first choice. When I think of banana flavored anything, my mind goes back to my childhood days and being given banana flavored penicillin. Don’t get me wrong, the stuff was delicious- as a medicine. Not really something I want to taste in food. However I am pleased to report that this Mojito tasted nothing like penicillin. The banana flavor was light and not overly sweet or overpowering. I would argue that the lime and mint came through slightly more than the banana. It was light and refreshing. I didn’t even miss the rum.

Since we had the gift card and I now have the appetite of a teenage boy, we decided to share two appetizers. I chose the Argentinian Provoleta while my husband chose the Sticky Chicharrónes.

The Provoleta came out in a mini and still sizzling cast iron pan. In this extra hot pan was a melted combination of provolone and mozzarella cheese baked with herbs and spices. Drizzled on top was Chimichurri- a sauce consisting of cilantro, garlic, olive oil and other spices. Along with this came little triangles of Chapa bread to dip. The cheese pull on this dish was incredible. I could just keep wrapping and wrapping it around the Chapa bread. While the Provoleta was the star, the Chimichurri added freshness to this savory dish which often comes with anything made with cilantro. The provolone brought a slight smoky flavor which came through just enough to be there, but not to overpower the cheesy mozzarella flavors. My only gripe about this dish was that it could have been bigger- I wanted more and more!

The Sticky Chicharrónes at El Corazon is a pork belly dish with a sweet but slightly smoky flavor to it. The sauce must have been honey based as it was a tad sticky and delightfully sweet. I am not usually a person who likes fat on their meat, but the fat on this pork belly simply melted in my mouth. The sweetness and the smokiness was a perfect combination to the pork flavor. As the Provoleta was, this dish was also topped with Chimichurri; the cilantro added a lovely crispness and earthy flavor to this sweet and savory dish.

The appetizers were fantastic so I was expecting an equally, if not more delicious main course. Being at a Latin restaurant I decided to go for the tacos. The Carne Asadas tacos are what I landed on with the meat being a grilled flank steak. I am sad to say that I was sorely disappointed. While the toppings sounded delicious and fresh- Salsa Verde, chopped onion and cilantro- there was no sauce on the taco to meld these flavors together and it was a bit dry. A Spicy Thai Chili sauce came on the side but it was too spicy to capture any flavor. Along with this, if you do order the tacos you will be hungry after. This dish consisted only of two small corn tacos with corn tortilla chips on the side. At a price of $19, I think one or two more tacos would have made this course slightly more worth it.

The one good thing about the main course being so small was that we still had plenty of room for dessert. I noticed lots of plantain scattered throughout the menu, so seeing that there was a dessert featuring plantain, both my husband and I were sold. If you have not heard of it, plantain is similar to a banana but must be cooked before eating and contains less sugar than a banana and has more of a starch flavor. The Plantain Sundae consisted of a deep fried plantain in a cinnamon sugar coating served with vanilla bean ice cream. Being a not overly sweet fruit, the cinnamon sugar added a balanced sweetness. Intermingled were candied nuts which added crunch and dimension to this dessert. Additionally, since it was deep fried, the plantain was warm which was a delightful contrast to the rich, cold vanilla bean ice cream. A mint leaf served as a garnish for this dish, but it added a surprising amount of flavor. As with our appetizers, the mint brought a level of crispness and freshness to this warm and cozy dessert. I do have to make one teeny tiny criticism of this dish. The head chef really should make it more visually appealing… the plantain looked… er, slightly phallic (don’t tell me you don’t see it too). That said, this dessert was a great ending to our dining experience at El Corazon.

When I go back to El Corazon I will unfortunately have to forgo the tacos. The menu is extensive with salads, bowls, sandwiches, steak and seafood dishes so there is no shortage of options. This restaurant is a great one to incorporate into a foodie adventure since the appetizers were unique, delicious and small enough to not fill you before a larger meal elsewhere. I do recommend breaking the rules though and ordering a Plantain Sundae along with your appetizers-sometimes you gotta eat dessert first 🙂