Best Tacos in Manhattan
The 10 best tacos in Manhattan right now: al pastor, birria, carnitas, suadero. Picked by locals, cross-checked against Eater NY, Time Out, and The Infatuation. No paid placement.
Your pick lands here
The map
Walk this listThe map loads as you scroll closer
The list
- 1Chelsea · $ · 14 St (A C E L) · 75 9th Ave
Also No. 2 on Best Tacos in NYC →
Map ↗verified 10w agoA counter inside Chelsea Market that runs a real vertical trompo for al pastor, pork shaved to order, pineapple on top, tortillas pressed by hand a foot away from where you stand.
Because the trompo here is the genuine vertical-spit setup (not pre-cooked pork tossed on a flat-top), the tortilla is hand-pressed within view, and the pineapple-marinated pork has the right balance of sweet, smoke, and char.
Order Two adobada tacos with everything (cilantro, onion, salsa verde) and a horchata.
Order from the back of the counter rather than the front, the back line is where the trompo sits and the meat goes onto your tortilla within ten seconds of being shaved.
@lostacos1 ↗Los Tacos No. 1
Loads from Instagram
From @lostacos1 on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 2
Birria-Landia▲ buzzing
Lower East Side · $ · 3 Av (L) · E Houston St & BoweryMap ↗verified 10w agoThe Manhattan location of the Bronx-born birria-truck operation that essentially started the New York birria-quesadilla wave, Tijuana-style, dipped consomme, parked under the L tracks.
Because the consomme here is rich and properly skimmed (not a watery dipping cup), the cheese melts inside the quesadilla rather than on top, and the price has stayed at street-truck level even as the line grew.
Order Three quesabirria tacos with a side of consomme for dipping.
Bring cash if possible, the card reader works but the line moves twice as fast for cash orders, and the truck closes early on weekdays once the meat runs out.
@birria_landia ↗Birria-Landia
Loads from Instagram
From @birria_landia on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 3Nolita · $$ · Spring St (6) · 267 Elizabeth StMap ↗verified 10w ago
A converted garage on Elizabeth Street with a vintage VW bus parked inside as the kitchen, full-service, table-seated, Yucatan-leaning menu, all-day taco-and-margarita brunch.
Because Tacombi is the rare Manhattan taco room that does both serious sit-down service and a genuinely good crispy-fish taco, and the cochinita pibil here is the closest most New Yorkers get to actual Yucatan flavors.
Order Crispy fish taco, cochinita pibil taco, classic margarita on the rocks.
Sit at the bar of the VW bus itself, the seats wrap around the kitchen and the cooks will hand you tacos straight off the press while you watch the line work.
Photo: dennis crowley (Flickr: dpstyles™), CC BY 2.0 Photo: dennis crowley (Flickr: dpstyles™), CC BY 2.0 - 4East Village · $ · 1 Av (L) · 79 St Marks Pl
Also No. 8 on Best Tacos in NYC →
Map ↗verified 10w agoA no-frills walk-up counter on St Marks Place running the kind of basic-and-correct Mexico-City-style street tacos that most East Village kitchens stopped making once they could charge $9 a plate.
Because the suadero here is properly griddled (not boiled), the salsa cart at the front gives you four real options rather than a tomato puree, and a four-taco order with a Jarritos still lands under twenty dollars.
Order Two suadero, one al pastor, one chorizo, all with onion-cilantro and green salsa.
Skip the Saturday-night drunk rush, the line gets long after 11 p.m. and the kitchen rushes the suadero. Tuesday at 1 a.m. is the quiet sweet spot.
Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim (Flickr: edenpictures), CC BY 2.0 Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim (Flickr: edenpictures), CC BY 2.0 - 5
Cosme▲ buzzing
Flatiron · $$$$ · 23 St-Baruch College (6) · 35 E 21st StAlso No. 9 on Best Tacos in NYC →
Map ↗verified 10w agoEnrique Olvera's Flatiron flagship, Pujol's American sister project, modern Mexican fine dining, with a famously small but serious tasting-menu taco section at the bar.
Because Cosme treats the taco as a chef-driven dish rather than a street snack, and the duck carnitas here is the singular taco-format dish that justifies a fine-dining markup in Manhattan.
Order Duck carnitas tacos with white onion and morita salsa; husk meringue for dessert.
Walk in at 5 p.m. for the bar, bar service starts at five and a single seat usually opens within twenty minutes, where the same taco menu is available without the dining-room wait.
Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 - 6Lower East Side · $$ · Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 102 Norfolk StMap ↗verified 10w ago
A Lower East Side Mexican kitchen on Norfolk Street known for a deep mezcal program and a regional menu that pulls from Oaxacan rather than the usual Tex-Mex template.
Because La Contenta builds tacos around heritage ingredients (chapulines, huitlacoche, guajillo-braised lamb) without making the menu feel like a museum exhibit, and the bartenders actually know their mezcal.
Order Cordero (lamb) taco, chapulines (grasshopper) taco for the brave, mezcal flight.
Reserve the corner two-top for date night, the restaurant is loud and the corner is the only spot where you can both hear each other and watch the bar at work.
@lacontentales ↗La Contenta
Loads from Instagram
From @lacontentales on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 7East Village · $$ · Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 210 E 3rd St
Also No. 3 on Best Tacos in NYC →
Map ↗verified 10w agoA carnitas-only taqueria from the Taqueria Ramirez team, frying every cut of the pig in its own lard behind a bronze-glowing glass case in the East Village.
Because nose-to-tail carnitas this honest, lengua, trompa, even brain, used to require a flight to Mexico City, and here it costs $5 a taco.
Order Surtida taco, lean and fatty cuts together, salsa verde, pickled onions on top.
Order the surtida and let the counterman mix the cuts.
Photo: Bex Walton, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Bex Walton, CC BY 2.0 - 8Greenwich Village · $$ · W 4 St-Wash Sq (A B C D E F M) · 120 MacDougal St
Also No. 6 on Best Tacos in NYC →
A late-night Mexico City-style taqueria a block from Washington Square Park, pressing its own tortillas for trompo tacos and cheese-crusted vampiros until 1am.
Because the trompo, annatto-stained pork with charred pineapple, eats like it came straight off a Mexico City spit, and the kitchen runs it past midnight.
Order Trompo vampiro, extra salsa, eaten standing on the MacDougal sidewalk.
Get any taco as a vampiro, the cheese-crisped tortilla is the move.
@taqueriaelchato.nyc ↗Taqueria El Chato
Loads from Instagram
From @taqueriaelchato.nyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 9West Village · $$$ · Christopher St-Stonewall (1) · 230 W 4th StMap ↗verified 10w ago
Alex Stupak's West Village taqueria, chef-led, modern Mexican, the original of the Empellon group that introduced Manhattan to refined nontraditional taco fillings.
Because Empellon was the kitchen that proved a non-Mexican chef could run a serious Mexican room in Manhattan if they did the masa work properly, and the salsa flight that comes pre-meal is genuinely a tasting menu in itself.
Order Salsa flight, fish taco, rib-eye taco, frozen margarita.
Order the salsa flight first and let the table taste through the five jars before any tacos arrive, it sets the palate for which fillings to pick later.
Photo: Lou Stejskal (loustejskal.com), CC BY 2.0 Photo: Lou Stejskal (loustejskal.com), CC BY 2.0 - 10Financial District · $ · Chambers St (2 3 A C E R W) · 136 Church St
Also No. 6 on Best Cheap Eats in Manhattan →
The Financial District location of the original Chelsea Market trompo operation, same al pastor setup, slightly larger footprint, and the only LTNo1 storefront with a covered patio.
Because the FiDi outpost runs the same vertical trompo and the same hand-pressed tortillas as the flagship but is reachable for the downtown lunch crowd without a Chelsea Market detour, and the patio is rare for the category.
Order Two adobada, one carne asada, side of guacamole, agua fresca.
Go at 2 p.m. on a weekday, the FiDi lunch rush ends around 1:45 and the patio empties for a roughly thirty-minute window before tourists arrive from the World Trade memorial.
@lostacos1 ↗Los Tacos No. 1
Loads from Instagram
From @lostacos1 on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
Good to know
- What is the best taco shop in Manhattan?
- Our current #1 reflects a blend of editorial sourcing from Eater, The Infatuation, and Time Out, plus live community votes. The list re-ranks as votes come in — what is first today may not be first tomorrow.
- Where do I get authentic al pastor in Manhattan?
- Los Tacos No. 1 inside Chelsea Market runs a real vertical trompo with marinated pork shaved to order. The 14th Street, 43rd Street, and Times Square locations all use the same setup.
- Are there real birria tacos in Manhattan now?
- Yes — Birria-Landia's Manhattan location is the longest-running operator, but several Hell's Kitchen and East Village spots opened birria menus in the 2023-2024 wave. Quesabirria with consomme is the dish to ask for.
- How much does a taco cost in Manhattan?
- Counter-service tacos run $4 to $7 each at most reputable spots; specialty (rib-eye, lobster, suadero) climb to $9. A two-taco-and-drink combo lands at $18 to $24 before tip.
- What is the best late-night taco in Manhattan?
- East Village and Hell's Kitchen run the deepest late-night taco operations — several spots serve until 2 a.m. or later on weekends, and the Chelsea Market window stays open later than the rest of the building.