When I first saw the word “sobremesa”, I instantly thought of dessert since that is what it means in Brazilian Portuguese. This restaurant is more of a taco place and is relatively new in the Long Island City neighborhood, and it’s located in a barren neighborhood with a bunch of empty warehouses. Surprisingly, there was a beer place opened next door, and there was an outside picnic area where people can enjoy their tacos in a social environment.
Ambiance
When you arrive, you order directly at the counter. They give you a remote buzzer, and it will buzz you when your order is ready to pick up. Inside, there is a counter top to sit, and outside, there are a lot of benches. I imagine if there’s a lot of rain, you should be fine mostly unless you sit in front of the restaurant. Next door is a beer pub with many different kinds of beers.
Food
We ordered Mexican coke (each for $4). This was quite refreshing on a warm summer day like today.
The Tacos de Hongos Al Pastor (2 for $9.95, 3 for $14.95) came with a mix of portobello, shiitake, and button mushrooms marinated in Al Pastor sauce and topped with onions and cilantro. I’m not a fan of mushrooms in general, but my partner enjoyed this very much.
The Tacos Al Pastor (2 for $11.95, 3 for $15.95) came with traditional pork marinated in Guajillo chiles and topped with pineapple, cilantro, and onions. These tacos were actually pretty good. It wasn’t dry at all, and it was quite flavorful.
The Tacos de Bistec (2 for $11.95, 3 for $15.95) came with juicy grilled steak, grilled onions, and cilantro. The steak was a little dry for me, but it was decent. I’d recommend getting the other tacos over this.
The Tacos de Birria (3 for $16.95) came with traditional flavorful beef stew and served with melted cheese, cilantro, onions, and consommé on the side. These actually were phenomenal. It reminded me of a better version of a mulita that I had in Los Angeles with much better meat. The consommé was the perfect dip for the tacos.
Final Verdict
The tacos here are actually legitimately pretty good. We really enjoyed the pastor and the birria. If you’re in the area, definitely give this a chance because you might be pleasantly surprised.
Yelp Jabs
After biting into my first taco, I confirmed my suspicion – they’re absolutely delicious. And messy. And if you don’t scarf them down quickly enough, the taco shells will become more and more prone to disintegrating mid-bite.
Here’s a tip for eating tacos. Instead of tilting the tacos, tilt your head instead. That way things won’t fall out. If you plan to dip the birria tacos, palm or cup with 3 fingers gently such that you support the U-shape of the taco. Then dip and enjoy. You will drop a few pieces, but it won’t be as messy as you might think. That is what the fork is for.
For some reason, the kitchen thought it was a good idea to stack his plates over each other. When we tried to get napkins, the plate fell over onto the counter and there went his tacos lol.
When we got our plates, they had stacked the plates as well. Instead of grabbing everything, I grabbed 2 plates, and quickly brought it to my table. Then I went back to get the remaining plates. It would be cool if I could take all the plates in 1 swoop, but it’s better to be practical.
Revisions
- Jul 9, 2022 - Initial revision.