Empellon Al Pastor

The tacos were okay, I think for the prices you pay you should get full service but since you don’t pay tip it ‘sort of’ makes up for it. But what about the high taco prices? I can get a lot better tacos for less price so they def should work on that.
But other then that the environment is chill, and the tacos are alright. Def not for someone who’s looking for the best tacos but good for just getting a bit of satisfaction. If you live in the hood, not a bad place to grab a taco for an average $ 5

RIP-​OFF! $ 5 for a regular size pastor taco with ONE tortilla!
2^nd time coming here for lunch, figured I’d give it another shot. Sadly, I was just as outraged by their price to quality ratio as I was the first time. And, when you think it cannot get worse than a $ 5 one tortilla taco, the restaurant now has reduced their lunchtime seating capacity by 90%.
This place is a solid #2; on my list of overpriced, NYC taco spots. Stay away!

I’ve eaten here twice, once in September and again on Saturday night. Service is swift, food is fresh. If you’re vegan or vegetarian this place is a real winner of you want a fast, tasty, unpretentious meal in the east village.

Everything at Empellon Al Pastor is outstanding. The drink combinations are so clever and tasty. Fantastic and diverse selection of margaritas for tequila lovers like myself. The tacos are mind blowing — you have to get the Al Pastor when you come here. The guac is also out of this world. My favorite part was the 3 sauces brought to the table — they absolutely added a new layer of flavor to the meal. The bartender/​owner was so great and every drink was perfecty balanced. My friends and I were so happy to experience the fantastic service, food, and atmosphere. This will be a routine destination for me each time I visit St. Marks! I could honestly hang out here all night eating their addictive tortilla chips.

Myself and my lady have been wanting to come here for a while since I follow Empellon on social media and its very popular. Liz and I consider ourselves taco Connoisseurs’ and were highly anticipating these tacos and had mixed reviews.
The décor:
this spot is like a dive bar more than a taco bar, you would think they cater more to drinks than actual taco spot but maybe that was the point since they have 3 other restaurants and like to cater to all the masses, not that the place didn’t have its own lil cache to it but I expected a bit nicer. kinda dark in there you have to order at the bar no one comes to you which was odd and the toppings for the tacos was literally in another room.
the food:
I had the Al Pastor of course which was average at best, I got unlucky because mine had a lot of fat in it and I hate fat! or they aren’t using quality pork which I would find shocking. Next I had the chipotle chicken which was excellent no complaints there. they had a seasonal sweet corn that I am always a fan of but this was a bit off, very wet and soggy not how I’m used to but not gonna say it was bad just I’ve had better MUCH BETTER.
The drinks
we had seasonal Blood Orange Margarita and I must say it was excellent but at $ 14 a pop you would think I’m at a rooftop in Meatpacking district!
All in all it was a good experience but actually had higher hopes for this place, I will check out the other Empellon spots see how they fair

Great tacos and the house micheladas were great. Some of the other drinks weren’t as tasty but the bartender took off the one that we didn’t like off the tab. Attentive service and nice bar separate from the food area. Would definitely go back and the al pastor tacos are on par with true mexican ones.

I’m not sure why this place only have three stars. I really think this place is unique.
Food:
I’m not gonna sugar coat and say that the tacos here are the bomb and the best. I will say that their taco is pretty solid, I really love the self serve salsa station.
I love the tortilla, made fresh in house.
Drinks:
I love coming here during happy hour, they used to have buy one get one margarita. Now, it’s $ 8 during happy hour.
I usually start here for my gluttony trip, they also have Unilocal check in special.

I was here at lunch today. A take-​out area was opened in the back, that has a separate entrance on St Marks Place, but I ate in the bar area. I like the décor (contemporary murals on the ceiling!) and the vibe, but the 2 vegetarian tacos ($ 4 each) were rather tasteless and meagerly filled.

Fun decorations and good vibes, but the tacos are maybe average — definitely not bad, but probably not worth the calories either. Had their chicken, beef, tripe, and oyster mushroom tacos — none of them were memorable /​all of them were skimpy on meat, but you’d expect this for the price. Would not go back unless it was their happy hour/​lunch special which is something along the lines of special priced tacos and a drink
Good for big groups

Awesome low key bar that sells fantastic tacos. It’s hard to say if it is a bar or restaurant from the setup. There are no reservations and no waiters so just grab a table and order at the bar. The beer selection is pretty good with the expected corona and so, but also some great craft beer like saison and IPAs. The tacos are all delicious but the sauces really stand out. The Empellon owner is a sauce magnate and is shows in the salsas and chipotle sauces available at the bar. Get the chips and guacamole to really enjoy the salsas. The pastor taco, which has to be good since it is the signature dish, is up to the challenge. The meat is hand carved off a huge stick of meat in the back. The pork was tender and falling apart with moisture and flavor. The menu is nice because you get a single taco with each order, so you can sample several.

This place is awesome. Their tacos were delicious and their service was just as good. My favorite was the beef tongue taco which was just perfect. The texture was perfect and the taste was excellent. You could tell they marinated the beef tongue.
Next time we are in NYC we will definitely come back

Very fun location, with great guacamole, great margaritas, and solid (although not amazing) tacos, which were larger than expected. The venue is pretty spacious, but there aren’t too many seats, especially for parties of two. There’s no table service; you order at the bar and then grab whatever seat is available, so you might want to avoid peak times. That said, I went on a Saturday night and was able to get a seat for two without any problems.
Very good for a fun night out. Not the caliber of Mexican food you might find in Texas or California, but definitely solid for NYC, and combined with a good ambiance.

Good Mexican at a good price. I wish the drinks were a bit cheaper but this is the east village and no one is getting rich paying east village rent on $ 4 tacos. I love how some yellowtail order mushroom tacos and then complain that they are not authentic. Mushrooms are eaten in Mexico and if you want an authentic taco than order the f’ing Al Pastor!!! Esquites were delist and I can wait to go back with enough room in my tummy for the beans. And more al pastor please.
I’m an al pastor addict so for NYC I have no complaints here. Taco mix in Harlem may seem more authentic and cheaper but up there is a Shithole that charges $ 3 for a taco that would be $ 1 in Cali. So for $ 1 more we get a full bar, vegetarian options and a bathroom. I think there is some great value here at Empellon. I will be back.
Note that one of the servers made a snafu by taking away unfinished food while we were out having a smoke. She was totally nice about it and even though we said we didn’t want replacements she brought over all new plates. Kudos!!!

Here’s what you do here:
Go early or late. Get…
* The drunken black beans, which are black beans with scraps of Al Pastor in them. It’s a winner
* $ 5 house tequila shots (not bad stuff)
* Al Pastor tacos (nice and crunchy from the spit with pineapple on top)
* Lots of toppings from the salsa bar
Other things to enjoy:
* The Rat King statue
* The tunes! (Nas from Illmatic… Run the Jewels. Yaaaas.)
Things that are eh:
* Some of your friends after 1am
* The tortillas
* $ 4 for a taco
All in all, the party starter order of 2 tacos, drunken black beans and 4 shots came out to $ 32. Not. Bad. I’ll be back.

3.75 stars, i’ll round up.
Roaming around East Village and saw they had a happy hour deal of 2 tacos and a mexican beer for $ 10. Not a great deal, but not bad. And hey, i haven’t had an al pastor in months… and i was excited to see that it was their «Specialty». I don’t consider myself a mexican/​taco expert, but i’ve had some amazing al pastor’s in South Philadelphia where the mexican food scene is strong and only growing.
I was going to order 2 different tacos but ended up getting 2 al pastors. The food came out pretty quick which i assume because its rotating on the spit.
Upon arrival, i was a bit disappointed that the pineapple was one slice used almost as a garnish. But then i realized, the pork is from a spit, rather than marinated with pineapple chunks. There definitely is a lot of meat to one taco, so if it were $ 4 for one, i say that’s a decent price. The sauce and garnishes and the overall al pastor were ok. Not the best i’ve had, but not the worse. They advertise that their masa is fresh, which is a plus. Overall, i enjoyed it but felt the flavor of the pork wasn’t what i’m use to. That may just be a regional thing though.
I would stop by again for the same happy hour special if i were in the area and in the mood for tacos.

This place can get crowded. It’s a find your own seat place and you order drinks at the bar and food towards the back. Good for groups of you can snag one of the tables.
I really like the reasonably priced tequila/​mezcal selection. They also have micheladas, a few cocktails, and a few specialty shots. Not a fan of the shot I got and I’ve had much better micheladas so I wouldn’t recommend those if you’re a michelada lover like myself.
The guac is not the best I’ve had, but at $ 4 is a good portion and the chips that come with it are really good. The tacos have about every kind of meat and a few veggie options. Tacos are decent with a capital D… nothing too special but not bad. There are about 3 different kinds of hot sauces and at least 1 was HOT.
Also gets pretty friggin loud in there so you might have to yell a bit to have a conversation.
There is a lot of good Mexican in this area so it wouldn’t be my first choice for a fantastic meal, but if cheap drinks and eats are what you’re looking for then this could fit the bill.

Skipped the quasi-​deal offered with a Unilocal checkin ($ 10 for 2 tacos and soda/beer.good if you’re getting the latter, but not the former) and went with Seamless pickup of 3 tacos for $ 4 each:
Tacos Al Pastor
Spit roasted pork and pineapple. Dressed with cilantro and onion. Gluten, nut and soy free.
Tripe, Beef Tongue and Bacon Taco
Dressed with cilantro and onion. Gluten, nut and soy free.
Nopales, Arbol Chile and Queso Fresco Taco
Dressed with cilantro and onion. Gluten, nut, soy free and vegetarian.
Arrived at 11:45 to find their Tompkins Square Park corner door locked, and 3 separate people inside (2 on laptops, including Alex Stupak) just looking at me without letting me know how to enter (they opened 45 minutes earlier and it was just staff). Food was not ready, and they decided to start preparing it when I announced myself, despite having confirmed it with Seamless.
They then turned on the music at 11:50am and gave me my food around 12, which is slow for any taqueria, no matter the price, especially when you ordered nearly 60 minutes earlier. Worst part was how lackluster the tacos were after all that.

Same experience … Taco are not Mexican authentic. Omg I had the oyster and mushroom taco like wtf was that !!!
Service awesome !!! Food I can’t do it !!! Left and went to the yucca bar

I had a great time. Three stars is not to be taken negatively people.
Tacos are tiny and spicy, but you can tell theyre high quality and hey, its a $ 4 taco in nyc. Two tacos and a beer later plus tip, it was a $ 17 night (which barely buys you burrata elsewhere). I like the vibe here, and passed many other places on my foodie bucketlist on my way there. Friendly service, relaxed vibe. Stayed two hours chatting in a wood booth with my girls, even some eye candy nearby. Good place to catch up with a guy friend, your long term partner, or a group of girls who are looking for a night where they can just put their hair up and eat some legit guac. Thanks, empellon al pastor.

This is a bar for NYU kids that serves tacos.
It’s a new casual venture for Alex Stupak, a stark contrast from the proper restaurants in his Empellon empire.
The short food menu is simple — some tacos, a few sides and one larger dish, which is really just a make-​your-​own tacos thing. We decided we might as well just try everything, and it all arrived to the table shockingly fast, in spite of the crowds that just ordered before me:
— Chips & Guacamole ($ 4)
This was a really sad plate of chips & guac. The fact that mostly everything here is served on paper plates didn’t help the cause, but the few cold chips plopped on the plate along with a meager smearing of guac felt pretty lazy.
— Al Pastor, Steak and Chicken Tacos ($ 4 each)
The namesake pork taco is the one to get, but we also tried the steak and chicken (they also have 3 vegetarian options too). The tortillas were not particularly memorable, and the Al Pastor were pretty sparsely topped, with just a few small strips of that tasty pork. They were tasty, but there are way better tacos to be had throughout the city (such as at his other restaurants).
— Short Rib Barbacoa ($ 20)
This is basically just more tacos, served as a larger platter with a giant bone sticking out (with no meat on it and purely for show), and chunks of the soft and fatty short rib. There are some veggies and a dipping sauce as well, to be placed on the 6 tortillas that also arrive with the dish. The meat was quite good, and I guess you do save $ 4 since you can get 6 tacos out of this, but I would just prefer they make my tacos for me and stick with the other options.
— Achiote Rice ($ 4)
This had some good flavor, but I was surprised to get quite a few bites of completely overcooked, rock hard grains.
— Drunken Beans with Al Pastor Scraps ($ 4)
This was excellent, like a Mexican version of burnt ends baked beans. The chunks of pork were delicious and the beans and the juices it was all in had a ton of flavor.
While the food was good (for the most part), I expected more after having much better stuff at the other Empellon restaurants. Perhaps they are expecting the bar atmosphere and the focus on drinks here will cloud your judgement just enough to think the food is better than it is. Otherwise, if you are not here to drink, head to Mission Cantina or Otto’s Tacos nearby, or Los Tacos No. 1 for much better tacos.