an eclectic tapas room overflowing with Mexican memorabilia
Must-try: Escargots in pasilla sauce, Huitlacoche shiitake flatbread, Tapas
📍 209 E 117th St, New York, NY 10035
Oaxacan cooking out of a big outdoor oven, in a backyard strung with vines and lights
Must-try: Memelas, Aguachile, Mole
📍 284 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
a walk-in spot built on lard-laced flour tortillas and very good cocktails
Must-try: Flour tortilla tacos, Pork ribs in salsa verde, Refried beans
📍 148 Nassau Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
the Rolo's team doing rotating jello and a brunch built for groups
Must-try: Small plates, Tacos, Heirloom masa pancakes
📍 68-22 Forest Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385
Mexican in West Harlem — 4.7 across 753 diner reviews
Must-try: Birria tacos, Burritos
📍 3446 Broadway, New York, NY 10031
Mexican in the East Village — 4.6 on Resy across 15,128 diner reviews
📍 29 E 2nd St, New York, NY 10003
Enrique Olvera's Flatiron flagship — the duck carnitas and corn husk meringue changed what Mexican food could be in America
Must-try: Duck carnitas, Corn husk meringue dessert, Aguachile negro
📍 35 E 21st St, New York, NY 10010
A thirty-year neighborhood institution strung with chili pepper lights
Must-try: Frozen lime margarita with Tajín, Flautas
📍 72-05 Austin St, Forest Hills, NY 11375
Standing-room tacos in Chelsea Market — adobada carved off the trompo onto tortillas made a few feet away
Must-try: Adobada taco, Nopal (cactus) taco, Horchata
📍 75 Ninth Ave (Chelsea Market), New York, NY 10011
Michoacán-style carnitas on East 3rd Street — pork cooked in its own fat, served on tortillas made in-house
Must-try: Carnitas surtido taco, Chicharrón, Horchata
📍 210 E 3rd St, New York, NY 10009
A tiny Hamilton Heights kitchen turning out some of the best Mexican food in Manhattan
Must-try: Birria tacos, Chilaquiles, Barbacoa
📍 130 Hamilton Pl, New York, NY 10031
The Jackson Heights truck that brought birria to New York — consommé on the side, quesatacos griddled to order
Must-try: Quesataco dipped in consommé, Order of four tacos with extra consommé, Mulita
📍 77-05 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
counter-service burritos with no rice and almost no seating
Must-try: Carne asada burrito, Flour tortillas, Salsas
📍 26 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
A tight, fast operation that somehow never has the line its birria deserves
Must-try: Birria tacos, Birria ramen, Horchata
📍 660 Degraw St, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Sunset Park's long-running taqueria — al pastor off the trompo, open late, and consistently excellent
Must-try: Al pastor tacos, Suadero, Cabeza
📍 4324 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11232
A Parkchester taqueria widely called the best Mexican food in the Bronx
Must-try: Al pastor tacos, Huarache, Tacos de lengua
📍 2103 Starling Ave, Bronx, NY 10462
a quesadilla specialist working with thick housemade corn tortillas
Must-try: Cheese and pork quesadilla, Chorizo tacos, Guajillo pambazo
📍 766 Seneca Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385
NYC's only Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant — Greenpoint wood-fire kitchen with tuna tostadas, lamb barbacoa, and frozen margaritas that set the bar
Must-try: Tuna tostada (salsa macha + avocado), Lamb barbacoa tacos, Recuerdame frozen margarita
📍 128 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Mexican in St. George — 4.5 across 780 diner reviews
Must-try: Carnitas, Al pastor, Torta Cubana
📍 75 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10301
A DUMBO Mexican restaurant with real ambition — masa made in-house and a room built for a night out
Must-try: Handmade tortillas, Mole, Mezcal cocktails
📍 5 Front St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
A Roosevelt Avenue Poblano taqueria open until the small hours — cemitas, tacos, and everything in between
Must-try: Cemita poblana, Al pastor taco, Tacos de suadero
📍 76-05 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Queens' Michelin-starred Chiapan kitchen — mole de piaza, chamoy margaritas, and a backyard patio in Long Island City
Must-try: Mole de piaza, Cochinita pibil, Margarita with chamoy
📍 5-48 49th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101
Oaxacan cooking on Broadway in Astoria — moles, tlayudas, and a mezcal list
Must-try: Mole negro, Tlayuda, Mezcal flight
📍 35-03 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106
a family-run room whose service is personal and whose menu actually changes
Must-try: Birria bone marrow, Masa pancake, Fresh tortillas
📍 224 W 104th St, New York, NY 10025