Border Mx Mexican Grill

For restauranteurs Viri Rico and Jorge Ortega, Border MX Mexican Grill and Cantina represents a made-in-Canada dream come true. The Mexican-born couple, business and life partners, have always shared the vision to run their own Mexican restaurant. In 2014, the dream became a reality when the couple opened the doors to Border MX Mexican Grill and Cantina on Hurontario Street just off Dundas.

Viri honed her culinary and restaurant management skills during a five-year chef program at a leading culinary arts school with university status in Mexico City. Jorge trained as an aeronautical engineer in Mexico but his passion for Mexican culture inspired him embrace a new role as Border MX’s bartender and mixologist. He worked alongside knowledgeable experts in the best cantinas in Mexico City and now prepares a repertoire of cuisine-enhancing drinks to complement the restaurant's cuisine, his specialty being tequila and margaritas. Working together, this couple represents a culinary force.

Viri’s life passion has always been food. She says, "I knew from a young age that this was my calling.” Her tutelage in Mexican cuisine started early, conducted at her mother’s knee. “I learned everything from her," says Viri. “Her recipes, her techniques and ingredients.”

Viri, her mother and other family members work together at Border MX. “Every single day, every special dish, we do everything from scratch. We work with family recipes that we’ve used for years," says Viri. "Authenticity is the prized ingredient that’s seasoned into all the dishes that we create here. I am not afraid to say that we are authentic, because our flavours reflect who we are and where we come from. It comes from living and eating those special flavours your entire life.”