Tampico – Cornwall's Authentic Mexican Restaurant

Tampico. Tampico is a city in Mexico with a population of over two million people, and Tampico is an authentic Mexican restaurant that just opened last August located in Cornwall. If all of this seems coincidence it isn't. Tampico is the creation of Ivan Contreas, originally from Tampico, Mexico. When Contreas emigrated from Mexico he moved to Montreal. He was invited to visit Cornwall with friends and that was when he saw an opportunity. There are only a small handful of restaurants with true authentic international cuisine in Cornwall. With a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Engineering he took all he had learned from school and life experiences to jump on an opportunity. And opportunity was in the form of creating an authentic Mexican restaurant for a community that lacked in international flavor. He saved over fifteen thousand dollars and renovated his restaurant himself. Contreas is proud to say he hasn't taken any grants or loans to open and operate his restaurant. He starts work at 7am to open at 11am and he is there until closing at 8pm.

Contreas noted that going to school was easy, what was difficult was learning English as a second language. But that didn't stop him; in fact he has turned this negative into a positive. When you walk into Tampico you are greeted by a friendly "hello" and you know immediately the food you are about to eat is authentic. Authentic Mexican.

Tampico's menu reflects Contreas's goal of "keep it small, keep it fresh and keep it immediate." His menu consists of five main dishes; tamales, quesadillas, tacos, burritos and enchiladas. You can have a choice of meat – chicken or beef and if you purchase a meal you receive beans, rice and a drink. All of this is prepared and cooked in a small, spotless kitchen and eaten in an even smaller space. With only four places to sit and eat in the restaurant you either take it home, eat it in your vehicle or when the weather warms up you can chose to sit at one of the 25 seats at an outdoor counter or picnic table.

Contreas admits most of his clients are from Cornwall Island and many have said they like the taste of his tamales, which are made of white corn. He noted how the relationship between our traditional Mohawk diet of corn, beans and squash and the Mexican traditional diet of corn and beans are similar in many ways.

Contreas has a plan and that includes improving upon his restaurant Tampico every month. He wants to provide the freshest, tastiest Mexican food in an area that has an abundance of pizza, wings and fries. Don't miss-read him, Contreas states there is nothing wrong with pizza and wings and there are many fine restaurants to get that in Cornwall – he just wants to be the one you think of when you think of "fresh and Mexican".

You can find Tampico at 1404 Pitt Street from Tuesday to Saturday and on Facebook or call 613 870 2202.