The Best Little Taco Shop in the West End is Closing

Lucha Verde, we're crying in our margaritas over here.

Lucha Verde, we’re crying in our margaritas over here.

The saddest post on the Vancouver interwebs today came from Lucha Verde’s Instagram feed. The little veg taco joint on Dave Street will close this Saturday, July 21.https://www.instagram.com/p/BlbDuuvl2Nc/?hl=en&taken-by=luchaverdeOwner John Cooper (former partner in Cuchillo) opened the tiny joint just over a year ago in the Davie Street spot formerly occupied by Lolita’s. His quest was to make an “unapologetically vegetarian” taco place—just great food where you wouldn’t miss the meat. And for those of us who frequented the place (and I was one of them), he’d done just that: terrific, perfectly balanced margaritas paired with complexly flavoured vegetarian fare like the achiote cauliflower taco (topped with pumpkin seed purée and orange salsa) or the BBQ jackfruit nachos. (photo: Lucha Verde)A few months ago, Cooper attempted to lure in greater foot traffic by sliding in a couple of meat dishes for those who just couldn’t handle the thought of going three squares without it—smoked pork hock taco, beef on the nachos—but it appears it wasn’t meant to be.The tastiest little taco joint in the West End returns to its all all-veg roots for the next couple of days, shuttering as of Saturday night. I’ll see you at the bar with a margarita or three.