We’ve come a long way since suburban Americans in the 1980s and 1990s thought the epitome of Mexican food came in the form of a hard-shell taco stuffed with ground beef, iceberg lettuce, and diced tomatoes. Today, that perception has vastly changed, and Mexican food in New York City became something to get excited about.
The Rise of True Mexican Cuisine in NYC
It began in the Flatiron District in 2014, with the opening of Cosme, an upscale and elegant Mexican restaurant inside the Mercer Hotel. The space was and is led by chef Enrique Olvera, who is famous the world over for his elevated takes on Mexican cuisine at Pujol in the posh Mexico City neighborhood of Polanco.
However, we had to wait until we recovered from the pandemic to get more. But more came. In 2021, Mexico City-style spot, Taqueria Ramirez quietly opened in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and word got out quickly that this place was legit. Perpetual lines formed and people started to see there was a pattern: Mexico City is carving out a niche in New York City and it tastes muy rico. But as much as we love this trend, why and how is it happening now?
“For the past several years, Americans have been falling in love with Mexico City,” said Pati Jinich, a Mexico City-born, James Beard Award-winning chef and cookbook author. She noted the sudden popularity of the Mexican capital with Americans—either living there during the pandemic or flying in for a long weekend. “New York is now full of people who know exactly what a taco al pastor carved off the trompo tastes like, and they will not settle for an approximation.”
The educated diner of today, she added, wants Mexico City specifically. Add that to the rise in direct flights to the country, social media, and “a generation of young Mexican restaurateurs who grew up watching American chains expand into Mexico and thought, why not the reverse? For decades the flow of food brands went north to south. Now it is going the other way.”
And what exactly is a Mexico City-style taqueria or restaurant? Pati Jinich explained that the country of Mexico has many styles of cooking.
“All of them find their way into CDMX, because the capital has always pulled the whole country toward it,” she said. “So a Mexico City taquería holds a beautiful contradiction: it carries all of Mexico inside it, and at the same time it is unmistakably, proudly, that one chaotic, delicious city. That complexity is the magic.”
With all this in mind, dive in further to this trend by booking a spot at one of these CDMX-inspired restaurants in NYC.
Taqueria Ramirez
Run by Tania Apolinar and Giovanni Cervantes, the latter of whom hails from Mexico City, this Greenpoint taqueria inspired perpetual lines when it opened in September 2021. Hungry, taco-loving New Yorkers stood in line, mentally willing themselves onto one of the 10 stools that face the kitchen.
To help bring CDMX to NYC, the couple went on a pre-opening shopping spree in Mexico City for kitchen equipment, picking up a choricera (for slow simmering meat) and a comal (a griddle). There are usually six or seven tacos on offer, and the Al Pastor and the Compechano, a combination of suadero and longaniza, are two fan favorites.
In June 2024, the couple hopped over the East River to open Carnitas Ramirez, which focuses on snout-to-tail stuffed tacos in the East Village. 94 Franklin St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn, taqueriaramirezbk.com
Tacos Domingo
Tacos Domingo fired up its grill for the first time in June 2026. This taqueria, based in Mexico City with outlets scattered about the metropolis, is a northern-style taco joint, offering a short menu of tortilla-clad items. It’s best known for the carnitas, which are very good.
However, the runway hit is the Bean-and-Cheese Taco, a chewy concoction that sticks to the homemade tortilla in a pleasing way. The grilled steak offers a smokiness that marries itself perfectly to the house-made pork lard-laden flour tortillas. 131 First Ave., East Village, mundodomingo.xyz
El Califa de Leon
This Mexico City taqueria got taco-loving New Yorkers’ hearts pounding a bit faster when news got out they were opening a branch in the Big Apple in July 2026. That’s because El Califa de Leon had the honor of holding a Michelin star, making it the only taqueria on the planet with such a distinction (it held the star for two years until Michelin yanked it away in May 2026).
Nonetheless, El Califa is a very welcome addition to the buddingly great taco scene in New York City. Most tacos here are served Gaonera style, a minimalist fashion that El Califa created and has become famous for. Case in point: your plate arrives with a tortilla made in New York by Sobre Masa, along with one large slab of steak on it. Squirt on some salsa and commence the deliciousness. 20 W. 23rd St., Flatiron, califadeleon.com
Esse Taco
Mexico City chef Enrique Olvera fired up his trompo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in Spring 2024. Similar to Santo Taco and La Califa de Leon, the tacos at Esse arrive with the meat cut in long strips. There are a handful of options on the menu, but some favorites include the Adobada, another name for Al Pastor, which is awash in tasty lard and pineapple butter.
Also try the Ribeye, served Gaonera style, a Mexico City technique of cooking thinly shaved beef on a griddle in pork fat and served minimalistly with a guacachile salsa. Each corn tortilla gets made with heirloom corn from Oaxaca. 219 Bedford Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, essetaco.com
Olmo
If you want to experience a slice of Mexico City that goes far beyond the tortilla shell, put Olmo on your eating itinerary. Inspired by the cantinas of the Mexican capital, Olmo serves up unique tapas-like snacks, including the more substantial Fideo Seco. It literally means “dry noodle,” or in this case noodles topped with chorizo, cotija cheese, and a luscious black garlic adobo sauce. 103 Saratoga Ave., Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, olmobk.com
Santo Taco
Not to be outdone by Olvera, Santiago Perez, co-founder of elevated Mexican restaurant Cosme, opened this CDMX-style taqueria in May 2025. With two locations, one in Nolita and another just south of Union Square, Santo Taco’s most holy creation is the Steak Trompo, beef arranged on a slowly rotating spit in the way we’re accustomed to seeing pork for our Al Pastor tacos.
Similar to the offerings of El Califa de Leon, the Steak Trompo arrives in front of you as just thin slabs of beef on a fresh-pressed corn tortilla. The only companion required is the perfect dab of avocado salsa on top. 114 Kenmore St., SoHo; and 94 University Pl., Union Square, eatsantotaco.com
El Chato
From the team behind the now-shuttered contemporary Mexican restaurant, Aldama, comes El Chato, a casual taqueria with Mexico City vibes. From the start, the saudero tacos became a huge hit thanks to the Mexico City-style slab of beef a la Califa de Leon. Also try the Al Pastor, made with tender pork belly and accompanied by sweet pineapple in traditional fashion. 620 Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint, Brooklyn; and 120 MacDougal St., Greenwich Village, no website
Taqueria Condesa
Named for the popular neighborhood in Mexico City, Taqueria Condesa isn’t just tacos, though first timers should enthusiastically order the Al Pastor and the Carnitas Tacos. Each comes in a handmade, nixtamal tortilla. Though located in Hell’s Kitchen, chef Leonel Baizan evokes the Condesa neighborhood with stained-glass signs crafted in Mexico City. For something other than tacos, the elote and nachos top the chart. 824 Ninth Ave., Hell’s Kitchen, taqueriacondesa.com
Dolores
Located in Bed-Stuy, Delores deviates from the taquerias on this list in that it’s more of a bar and restaurant than a casual taco spot. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less Mexico City than the others. Case in point: the restaurant and bar menu boasts a Cochinita Pibil “El Turix” Taco, which features slow-roasted pork from Yucatan.
The name “El Turix” comes from one of Mexico City’s best taquerias that serves Yucatan-style tacos. Dolores makes an homage to Yucatan via Mexico City and New York City. While it can’t compete with the original—really, no one can—the “El Turix” taco at Dolores is a suitable placeholder until you get yourself to CDMX. 397 Tompkins Ave. Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn doloresbk.com
Comal
Lower East Side-located Comal conjures up a cuisine that reflects contemporary Mexico City’s global influences, including the city’s Japanese, Chinese, and Korean communities. It also takes inspiration from some of CDMX’s most celebrated restaurants including Pujol, Maximo Bistro, and Lardo, among others.
The Lamb ‘Al Pastor’ Burger is a classic example since al pastor has roots planted in Mexico, but the dish’s real origin comes from the Middle East. The dish traveled to the country with the Arab immigrants who arrived in Mexico in the wake of the termination of the Ottoman Empire. Bonus: the handsome, wood-clad interior was designed by Mexico City-based Elena Martinoni. 116 Forsyth St., Lower East Side, comal-nyc.com
