The 21 Best Tacos in NYC Right Now
Where to get the best tacos in New York City
Looking for the best taco spots in NYC? Then you’ve come to the right place, because I’ll show you where to get the best tacos in the Big Apple! From famous taco places to small taquerias that only New Yorkers know about, my best list ranges.
I love going out for Mexican food. The variety and flavor is incredible at the same named taco spots in NYC. Some of them specialize in fish tacos, others in barbacoa tacos, and others are just really good at everything.
And there’s something else I like about the taco spots in New York: the atmosphere is lively and the interior is usually very colorful. That’s exactly why I like going out for Mexican food!
Here You Get The Best Tacos in NYC
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01
Lupe’s East L.A. Kitchen
Mexican Restaurant in SoHoLupe’s East L.A. Kitchen is modeled after East L.A’s plentiful quaint and authentic taquerias. They are known for their seafood taco combos, with their top two being the fried flounder tacos and the shrimp chipotle tacos. The flounder is a mild-tasting, slightly sweet fish that is delicious when fried and eaten in a soft corn tortilla. You can also order the flounder tacos boiled for a healthier taco option. The seafood tacos are topped with lettuce, sour cream, and a creamy avocado sauce. Make sure you don’t leave without trying their creamy vanilla flan for dessert!
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02
Mezcals Mexican Restaurant
Mexican Restaurant in Park Slope
After exploring Park Slope, we recommend checking out Mezcal’s Mexican Restaurant. The food is authentic, reasonably priced and ideal for lunch or dinner We recommend their burritos and if you like tequila, you can try more than 70 varieties. Of course, the classics like guac with chips and salsa and tacos are highly recommended as well. Mezcal’s provides outdoor seating right on 5th Avenue, so you can watch the hustle and bustle of Park Slope.
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03
Los Tacos No. 1
Mexican Restaurant in Theatre DistrictOur Highlight
Los Tacos No. 1 in Times Square is rightly very popular: in the “standing snack bar” everything revolves around tacos & quesadillas. Wonderfully traditional, cheap and really delicious. What’s special about it? The handmade tacos taste like in Mexico, because instead of wheat flour (as it is unfortunately often done for cost reasons) real corn flour is used for production. My tip: Take the tacos with grilled cactus!
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04
El Camión Cantina
Mexican Restaurant in Alphabet CityThere’s nothing like homemade corn tortillas, and classically trained chef Juan Escobedo makes the best in The East Village. El Camión Cantina uses only locally sourced, fresh ingredients, making it one of the best taco places in NYC. Their tacos include non-traditional flavors, such as the beer-battered shrimp tacos with guacamole, cucumber relish, and cured onion, but all of the creations come out perfectly. The beef tacos with shredded beef, guacamole, and fried onions are another popular choice for tacos. Don’t forget to end your night with a crispy and sweet Mexican fried ice cream.
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05
Taco Dumbo
Mexican Restaurant in Garment District
From Taco Dumbo, there are several Mexican restaurants in New York. Here you can find Mexican food inspired by California’s lifestyle, a great selection of tequila and mezcal and really good tacos!
What I really like in addition to that? The interior, which is a mix of relaxed Californian design and colorful Mexican influences.
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06
Taqueria 86
Mexican Restaurant in Upper West Side
Love soccer? Check out Taqueria 86, a Mexican restaurant inspired by the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. The puebla tacos are some of the most famous and unique tacos. All of the tacos served are made with gluten-free, handmade Nixtamal tortillas. These tacos are made with creamy stewed poblano peppers with corn and Mexican cream. Finish off your meal with a 3 leches de horchata Mexican sponge cake and feel like you have won the dining game. Taqueria 86 has some of the best tacos in NYC and eating there will make you wish you were playing a soccer game.
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07
Flats Fix Taqueria and Tequila Bar
Mexican Restaurant in Flatiron District
Flats Fix Taqueria and Tequila Bar was created to emulate a famous tire repair shop that would fix flat tires in under 5 minutes while the owner’s wife prepared amazing tacos for the customers. Needless to say, this restaurant serves specialty tacos with 7 different types of tequilas, including Herradura Silver and classic cocktails such as a ‘Palomas’ and a ‘mezcal mule.’
They also smoke all of their taco meats in their custom smokehouse. The taco meats may not be traditional to Mexican tacos, but they are all unique and delicious. Some of the most famous tacos include smoked pastrami tacos, crispy long island duck tacos, and seared wild-caught fish tacos.
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08
Rancho Tequileria
Mexican Restaurant in Upper West SideThis Mexican bar and restaurant serve a wide variety of mezcals and tequilas. Rancho Tequileria has a location in the Upper West Side and another one in Hell’s Kitchen. They revamped Mexican street food such as elote, and made them suitable for casual dining. Their elote asado grilled corn on the cob with Mexican mayo, cotija cheese, and chile piquin is creamy, charred, and has the best mixture of spice and cheese. The de carnitas taco is another notable menu item. The tacos are made with dark beer and coca-cola marinated pork shoulder with cilantro, onions, and chile de arbol sauce. Get a side of sweet plantains with your tacos for delicious deep-fried, caramelized plantains.
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09
Vida Verde
Mexican Restaurant in Midtown Manhattan
Vida Verde is a high-spirited, colorful Mexican Restaurant and Bar in Midtown Manhattan. It has two levels, one of them being a rooftop seating area that is perfect for relaxing and enjoying the NYC summers. This restaurant is a fun take on Mexican food, and they have an extensive menu that is suitable for everyone who dines there. They even have super packed and flavorful cauliflower tacos made with roasted ancho-chile cauliflower, poblano peppers, onions, tomatoes, baby arugula, salsa verde, avocado, and radish. Make sure to try their signature cocktail, the Vida Verde with snap pea-infused Banhez Mezcal, Genepy, lemon, sour orange, and tarragon.
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10
Rosie’s NYC
Mexican Restaurant in East VillageRosie’s Mexican restaurant in the East Village serves bold Mexican flavors redesigned in a modern way. Their tacos are made with corn tortillas that are black in color and always fresh, making for a tasty and colorful meal. Rosie’s is well known for their delicious veggie tacos called coliflor al mole, which is made with roasted cauliflower, plantain, house-made mole, and pickled onions. These tacos are full of exciting flavors. The crispy, delicata fried squash rings are also a favorite at Rosie’s. They are slightly sweet with a perfectly light outer layer of batter. There is also always room for dessert when it comes to their traditional churros con chocolate.
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11
Taqueria St. Marks Place
Mexican Restaurant in East VillageThis Mexican food is the real deal. Taqueria St. Marks Place boasts a 100% authentic menu without fajitas, nachos, or cheesy Mexican decorations. Instead, they serve traditional tacos with unique cuts of meat which are lengua (cow tongue), cabeza (cow head), and buche (cow stomach). These unique cuts make the best tacos in NYC. Each taco is a must-try and they all have a different texture. You can’t go wrong with any of these tacos whether you try the tender cabeza meat to the slightly chewy lengua. For those who are not feeling as adventurous there are also carnitas (pork), bistec (steak), and pescado (fish) tacos.
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12
Toro Loco
Mexican Restaurant in Financial DistrictToro Loco is a vibrant Mexican restaurant located in Manhattan’s Financial District. This modern restaurant has the highest quality ingredients, and they make fresh guacamole with whole avocados. Toro Loco is a great location for foodies, and they are one of the best taco places in New York. They are always on top of food trends, and their menu even has the trending quesabirria tacos with short rib and brisket birria and chihuahua cheese. The surf in turf tacos are also unique, and instead of the typical shrimp or lobster tacos, they are made with grilled sirloin steak and charred octopus.
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13
Dos Toros Taqueria
Mexican Restaurant in Williamsburg
Dos Casminos is especially known for its spicy guacamole and the very good sangria. The charm that the restaurant exudes in each of the 5 locations is absolutely authentic Mexican and provides a successful change after a long working day or a strenuous sightseeing day.
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14
Tacombi
Mexican Restaurant in West VillageCheck out Tacombi for a kitschy, fun, and lively atmosphere with delicious authentic tacos. All of the tacos are served out of a classic red Volkswagen bus to capture the vacation in Mexico vibes. Their top tacos include the flavorful carne asada tacos with Sonoran style Holstein beef and their slow-roasted pork carnitas. Make sure to eat these with their refreshing agua frescas, such as the agua de sandia (watermelon) and agua de piña (pineapple). Aside from serving some of the best tacos in NYC, they fight food insecurity by donating thousands of Mexican dinners to people in need.
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15
Casa Mezcal
Mexican Restaurant in Lower East Side
Casa Mezcal is a fun and creative southern Mexican cantina specializing in mezcal cocktails. Their house favorite, the dirty mojito, is a must-try with both coconut rum and spiced dark rum. But, of course, you can’t drink mezcal cocktails without some Mexican bites to go with it. Their Mexican bites menu offers street tacos with two corn tortillas and a choice of meat. The traditional street taco meat options include sweet and spicy al pastor, chicken, and chorizo, but don’t fret if you are vegan or vegetarian. They also have mushroom and hibiscus tacos that are flavorful and have a chewy, meaty texture.
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16
El Vez
Mexican Restaurant in Battery Park City
This chic local spot is a very popular place for after-work cocktails. With great food and a nice atmosphere it is worth a visit, especially in the warmer months where you can sit outside. The portions are generous and the prices (main course from $15) are reasonable. Make sure to order a portion of chips and guacamole before you start your main course – the best in town!
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17
Tortaria
Mexican Restaurant in Greenwich VillageIf you are looking for the best tortas in the city, definitely head over to Tortaria in Greenwich Village. Tortaria is an innovative and hipster Mexican sandwich shop featuring tortas made from scratch and hand-pressed corn masa tortillas. The best item on the menu is the braised short rib torta. The braised short rib is exceptionally tender and pairs perfectly with the soft and authentic telera bread.
Their best tacos include the new menu item: queso taco made with a crispy queso shell. If you like breakfast tacos, go to Tortaria for the brunch and order the tacos huevos with scrambled eggs, salsa ranchera, and piloncillo.
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18
Haab Taqueria
Mexican Restaurant in Park SlopeOur Highlight
Haab Taqueria emphasizes on the quality of ingredients compared to many other Mexican restaurants in New York. Everything is freshly prepared and the sauces are made in-house. With plant-based diets on the rise, Haab Taqueria has a vegan-friendly menu to accommodate non-meat eaters. You have choices between 12 different tacos: there is everything from fish to duck. Our personal favorites are the classic grilled chicken tacos!
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19
Tacos Lokos 4ever
Mexican Restaurant in Greenpoint
Tacos Lokos 4ever is a Tex-Mex restaurant with a crazy mix of American and Mexican food that just works. They have the most delicious breakfast tacos in NYC, and they have eggs, red potatoes, pinto beans, cheese, and Mexican slaw. Even though all of their creations sound wild, they always end up tasting like a delicious explosion of all the best foods. The Philly cheesesteak tacos are one great example of their experimental menu, but the Philly steak, grilled onions, jalapeños, and cheese all come together with the corn tortilla to make the best non-traditional tacos.
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20
Bushwick Taco Company
Mexican Restaurant in Bushwick
It’s no surprise that Bushwick Taco Company is famous for, well… their tacos.
They have a healthy mix of traditional and innovative tacos, so there is something on the menu for everyone. Their traditional tacos include carne asada tacos, carnitas tacos, chicken tacos, and shrimp tacos. The shrimp taco is highly popular with a spicy mayo-like sauce that is a crowd favorite. Bushwick Taco Company also has unique tacos like the falafel tacos, which are made with chickpea falafel. These tacos are perfect for vegans and vegetarians looking for a tasty taco dinner.
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21
Tulcingo Del Valle
Mexican Restaurant in Hell's KitchenTulcingo Del Valle is a Mexican restaurant located in Hell’s Kitchen that serves award-winning tacos. The hand-crafted tacos are all made with fresh meat and the best ingredients. Tulcingo Del Valle is entirely authentic and they even have tripa tacos, which is beef tripe, and barbacoa de chivo tacos which are goat barbacoa. All of their tacos are vibrant and Instagram worthy partly due to their salsa verde, which is the most famous salsa verde in NYC. If you are feeling extra hungry, their burritos are also a must-try, and they are large and super filling!
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