Summary
Every few weeks, we make a market run, and we pass by this small area in Astoria that is relatively close to the market. Nearby, they have a few chain restaurants as well as some NYC specific restaurants. This Mexican restaurant seems to always be happening, so we decided to give it a try this time around. They have a ton of tables, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem securing an indoor or outdoor table.
The la paloma (left) came with El Tesoro Blanco, passion fruit puree, grapefruit jarrito, fresh lime, and tajin rim. This cocktail was pretty sweet and smooth as expected.
The la venenosa (right) came with Grey Goose vodka, fresh strawberry, watermelon, agave nectar, and lime juice. Unlike the La Paloma, this was less sweet and definitely more citrusy.
The pollo tacos came with chicken marinated in adobo, chihuahua cheese, and pico de gallo. The tortilla was actually pretty thick, but it held up when eating the chicken. The chicken was good, and the overall taco was decent.
The chicken nachos came with Mexican cheese, black bean puree, cheese, pico de gallo, crema, chipotle salsa, and pickled jalapeños. This was pretty good in that the chips didn’t become a soggy mess quickly. This reminded me of when you’d take shredded cheese and bake it on top of the chips. All the other ingredients didn’t have much uniqueness to it, but all together tasted pretty good.
The pollo fajitas de alambre came with mixed peppers, onions, mushrooms, Mexican cheese, guacamole, chipotle salsa, and flour tortillas. As expected, the flavors of this reminded me a lot of Mexican chained restaurants such as El Torito or Acapulco. When the food comes out on the hot plate, the smell is wonderful, but the sauce that the veggies and meat sit in ends up being a little on the sweeter side.
The carnitas entree came with braised shredded suckling pig, chicharron, guacamole, corn tortilla, pico de gallo, and orange-habanero salsa. I was originally expecting this to be similar to Cuban shredded pork, but this was probably more similar to shredded pork drenched in sauce. The pork actually had pretty good flavors. It sat in this orangey habanero salsa that tasted a little on the sweet side and wasn’t that spicey at all. I think this was decent, but I was hoping it would taste a little less sweet.
The service was very fast and prompt, and the atmosphere is definitely very happening. The restaurant is actually 2 restaurants together: Tacuba and the Fish Shack. They do serve seafood such as oysters and lobsters if you desire. We decided to go with the Mexican flavors.
Final Verdict
Tacuba definitely reminds me of suburbia Mexican chained restaurant food but elevated ever so slightly. Everything is pretty much freshly made, though the flavors come out a little on the sweet side. NYC is not known for their tacos generally speaking, but this restaurant is definitely decent as long as you set your expectations on what you’re getting.
Yelp Jabs
The wait staff seemed pretty pushy on us ordering other things which I didn’t like. Also I didn’t like the fact that your meal doesn’t come with rice and beans or anything. You need to order that extra.
This seems to be pretty normal as you eat at establishments that are closer to Manhattan. We’ve been to a few Mexican restaurants around Brooklyn and Queens, and they all seem to have the same logistics.
Over priced NOT authentic mexican food, please don’t waste your time coming here. Specially the chicken mole and “Peruvian jalea” what a joke and waste of my money.
If this restaurant was authentic Mexican, should it be expected of them to serve Peruvian?
The food was not good. I got the Carne asada steak and it was very chewy and flavorless. The accompaniments weren’t good either.
In my mind when I see the pictures, there was absolutely no possible way I would’ve expected the food to be out of this world. The carne asada just didn’t look that great to begin with, so definitely do the research simply by looking at the pictures before you order.