This wood-fired Mexican pop-up is hidden on a bar’s back patio in Toronto

Looking for wood-fired Mexican food? You’ll have to head to a Toronto bar’s back patio to find it.

Cascabel BBQ is currently operating out of Reposado in Toronto. The guy behind wood fire food project Slowpoke, Matt Bod, is teaming up with Mariel González of Catrina’s Kitchen for the pop-up all summer long at the tequila bar.

“After a few successful collab events, Matt pitched the idea of combining my deep roots in Mexican flavours with his BBQ expertise. That was around March 2025. From there, things moved fast. We came up with the Cascabel brand, started experimenting with test cooks, and really felt like we were onto something special,” González tells YourCityWithIN.com.

“Cascabel is the name of a Mexican chile pepper, known for its round shape and the rattling sound it makes when it’s dried. Cascabel means rattle in Spanish, you could use the chile as a literal rattle. But it’s also the Spanish word for rattlesnake, which felt like a powerful symbol for us because it ties into our carbón y leña – charcoal and wood-fired – BBQ style. Rustic, old-school, and full of fire. Just like a rattlesnake, our food has a bite to it, spicy, smoky, and not afraid to make some noise.”

When the two met, they bonded over their shared love of Mexican food and decided to bring together Mariel’s traditional hometown knowledge and Matt’s passion for live fire cooking techniques.

“The biggest challenge has been balancing our residency at Reposado with everything else we’ve got going on, Matt working his day job as a brewer, and me running my small business, Catrina’s Kitchen, while raising a three-year-old,” says González.

“It’s a lot of long hours and planning to keep everything fresh, consistent, and delicious. But we make it work by leaning into what we love, staying organized, and having each other’s backs. Seeing people enjoy the food makes it all worth it.”

All cooking takes place in a tent out back, but simply head to the bar to place your order.

One of Cascabel’s main offerings is a selection of tacos, all served on fresh handmade corn tortillas with onion and cilantro. Options might include pollo asado, chorizo con pina or nopales con frijoles (cactus and pinto bean), but their claim to fame are their smoked beef cheek tacos.

The smoky, slow-cooked shredded beef cheek melts in your mouth, and its accompanied by sweet grilled onions, bright salsa verde and a crunchy and tangy escabeche.

Order the queso fundido for dinner and a show: the dish of melty cheese and meat (or mushrooms if you prefer) is set aflame tableside.

“People get excited when they taste something that reminds them of Mexico or introduces them to something completely new. We’ve heard everything from ‘This tastes like home’ to ‘I’ve never had anything like this before,'” says González.

“What really sets us apart is that we’re the only place in Toronto that we know of doing charcoal and wood-fired Mexican street-style BBQ. The response has been excitement, curiosity and enthusiastic support. It’s given us the confidence to keep dreaming bigger.”

Camarones zarandeados showcase a traditional cooking method of barbecuing seafood that’s popular in Mariel’s home state of Nayarit in Mexico.

For the zarandeado method, seafood is butterflied, brushed with a bold marinade, and flipped constantly over hot coals (zarandeado means “to flip”).

In Cascabel’s version of the dish, juicy black tiger shrimp are absolutely dripping with a spicy, vibrant orange marinade, and it’s so satisfying to peel each shrimp by hand as you go. The dish is served with chips, creamy guacamole, pickled onions and an aguachile made with serrano chili and lime.

A Carlota de Limon is a take on an old school Mexican icebox cake, made with traditional Maria cookies that the Cascabel team actually recreated from scratch themselves.

“The dream is to grow Cascabel into a brick-and-mortar concept down the line,” says González. “But for now, we’re focused on refining the experience, building community, and continuing to show up with great food and good vibes.”

Cascabel is open at Reposado on weekends until the fall.