We were in the Flatiron area running errands, and unfortunately the nearby S&P sandwich shop was closed for dinner. As we scoured for food, we did ultimately end up at this Tacos Güey place. I vaguely had remembered that this was a relatively new restaurant, so we opted to try it out. We were able to walk in on a Friday evening at 6:30 PM and find a pair of seats in the bar.
Ambiance & Service
The interior is dark, reminding me a bit of essentially a tequila bar. There is a lot of tequila bottles on the wall that’s for sure, and they don’t have any shortage of tequila or mezcal based cocktails.
The bartender, who happened to also serve us our food, was very friendly and courteous. They made sure our waters were filled, and they were easy to get ahold of when we needed something. The food itself was delivered at odd timings. The tacos for some reason took quite a bit of time to come out.
Food
The Cine Mudo ($17) came with tequila, pineapple, ron Fuerte, calvados, limón, apricot, and flores libanesas. This was pretty tasty, albeit a very typical tequila cocktail with those pineapple notes.
The Passion Fruit Horchata ($7) was non-alcoholic and was interesting in that the horchata does not by default come with cinnamon. It has noticeable condensed milk flavors. It’s actually a separate flavor in itself. I opted to order passion fruit. My partner was reminded that this was similar to what they had in Brazil, but Brazilians also spike the drink with cachaça. The texture of this drink was a little foamy and creamy, almost like a frothy milkshake. It reminded me a bit of a melted orange popsicle stick.
This was complimentary because I didn’t order a ceviche or appetizer for myself. The bartender helped out to make sure I had something to eat while my partner was eating the ceviche. The salsa negra reminded me of a spicy chipotle flavor salsa with the texture of a thick mole sauce.
The Seabass Ceviche ($21) came with gooseberry and celery. It was quite refreshing, though the portion size is a little disappointing. The flavors were all light, acidic, and tasty as expected.
The Carnitas ($15) came with 2 tacos with pork and salsa cruda verde. Yes, that’s $7.50 for per taco. The pork resembled those super flavorful albeit overcooked edges, so they were both crunchy and soft. The salsa was good. It is a bit disappointing though that they wrapped the meat with just 1 tortilla. It definitely broke very quickly.
The Pescado Frito ($20 - right) came 2 tacos with fish and salsa cruda roja. Yes, that’s $10 per taco. The fish was delicious, and really is not much different than the fried fish in many other taco places.
The Suadero ($18) came with 2 tacos with brisket and salsa negra. Yes, that’s $9 per taco. The brisket was similar to the pork in terms of texture. It was soft in some pieces and crunchy in others. It probably would’ve tasted pretty good in a burrito.
Both fish and brisket tacos fell apart very quickly with just 1 tortilla.
Final Verdict
Tacos Güey is an average place to stop by for drinks or for a quick taco. Outside of that, I find the food to be really expensive for what it is, so I wouldn’t encourage an actual dinner here. The tacos won’t really satiate your taste for Mexican food. I think it’s disappointing that they only give you 1 tortilla for an expensive taco.
Yelp Jabs
Both times i ended up ordering guac and chips… First time i went i ordered the carnitas tacos and they were tasty. The last time i got the Carne asada tacos and they were also delicious. I left here both times full. Which is a good thing.
Don’t listen to this Yelper. They either had a full stomach before coming here, or they were full from the guacamole, which wouldn’t be a surprise. I don’t think you would leave here super hungry, but you will probably be hungry in a few hours after you leave. The price to quantity (or fullness) ratio is quite abysmal.
We were worried about portion sizes given historical reviews and the fact that there are only 2 tacos per order but they are heavy handed with the toppings which was wonderful.
By toppings, this Elitist meant a lot of cilantro and small chopped onions. If toppings make this Elitist that happy, then maybe there is a market for a cilantro and onion taco.
Revisions
- Apr 7, 2023 - Initial revision.