La Esquina Corner Deli

Amazing. What looks like a total dive is a perfect hidden gem. Very exclusive, trendy vibe. Prompt service. The spicy margarita which is not listed on their website is delicious. The street corn and sope are must order items. I also had the camarones BLT taquitos. I am not the biggest seafood eater, but I had to try them. So flavorful.
Reservations are hard to come by, but this is definitely a place to try if you want a unique experience.

This is a 3-​in-​1 place — taqueria（order and get food by the counter), a café with outside seatings and a hidden bar/​brasserie. To enter the hidden restaurant at the basement level, you would need to check in with the suit-​clad host standing by a door next to the taqueria ordering counter. After he checks that your name is on the list (through making a reservation), you will then go through another suit-​clad guy who would open the door to the stairs going to the basement level restaurant. You would then walk past a kitchen to get to the restaurant. A hostess/​host would greet you and someone would take you to the table.
The underground restaurant is really small, but it has a lounge/​bar area. Music is blasting at this place, so if you’re taking someone on a date, that’s probably not a good idea, as you literally have to yell at each other in order to be able to hear each other.
They have an extensive cocktail list, along with a wine and beer menu. Cocktails are priced $ 13-​$ 20. Their food is on the more expensive side (which you would expect at a hidden restaurant/​speakeasy kind of place) compared to the order-​by-​the counter taqueria upstairs. We ordered the fish and pork tacos, they’re both $ 12 and each order comes with 2 tacos. Please note that the tacos are very small, if you’re hungry, that’s definitely not enough for an entrée. One more thing is that this place does not serve guacamole! There were 2 big groups dining at the basement restaurant that night, they seemed to be having fun celebrating special occasions. So, if you wanted to go to a place where music is blasting and it’s exclusive access for a big group to celebrate your birthday, this place would be fun. Other than that, the food is mediocre.
After our meal, we were still hungry, so we ordered beef taco, pork taco and a corn on the cob upstairs. The tacos upstairs seemed a little bit bigger than the tacos served by the underground restaurant and they’re priced less. However, I don’t think they are that good. If I wanted good tacos, I would go to Los Tacos No. 1 in the Chelsea market where they have freshly made pico de gallo for you to top your tacos with, and the taco stuffing is flavorful. Their Mexican corn on the cob was ok, but I had better ones I got at street fairs.
So overall, this place is overrated, the food is mediocre and the selection is limited. The music played at the underground restaurant is too loud, so you can barely talk with people in your party unless you sit next to each other. Their service is also not good at all. The hostess greeting us that day (Saturday around 8pm) also had an attitude, maybe she was having a bad day. If you wanted good Mexican food and good music, there’re way more places NYC has to offer. If you just wanted a hidden restaurant experience, you could get that from so many other hidden restaurants/​speakeasies in the city.

This taqueria is one of the three style of eateries that the La Esquina own. They have this little Taqueria, Café, and Brasserie, which is their «hidden» restaurant that you can get to through taqueria (reservation required). We wanted just some simple tacos, so we headed out for the Taqueria Here, it was just walk in, order, eat, and go. Needless to say, they have the least amount of menu offerings. People mainly come here for tacos from what I hear. The inside is small, just counter seats, with cute retro design. Wooden wall, tile floor, and bright yellow bar stools, really have the nice little cozy feel to it.
They do have outside seating, however, those don’t belong to the Taqueria, but belong to the Café. So, if you want to sit outside, you must go to the Café and ask for the table outside. You get a table service out there.
We ordered three kinds of tacos, Pescado, Bistec, and Carnitas. They are rather small, and each order comes with just one taco. The tacos had very minimal ingredients, felt like just one soft taco and meat/​fish. That’s it. It wanted some kind of veggies with it… Since the tacos were small, we ordered quesadillas, and it was nice, tasty, and more filling than the small tacos.
I had a really high hopes for this place, and again, having too much of an expectation can hurt you. The food was good, but not as great as I wanted them to be. If I didn’t have any expectation, then I would have enjoyed them more. The place was clean, bright, homey, and the staffs were ok. Not super friendly but this is a «self-​service» place, so they don’t really have to be extremely nice. Read my full review of this place and food on my food blog, foodlovergirl.

Wow, the secret world of underground, hidden restaurants! Are there more of these gems? La Esquina was really even cooler than I imagined it would be! (And bigger too!) I would’ve thought an underground restaurant with a secret door, would be teeny tiny, but man this place has space. I guess you can dig out anything, if you work hard enough… knock 3 times to get in! Just kidding, that definitely won’t work.
So it definitely took 2 attempts to come here, not knowing the secret that you can’t just walk in without a reservation, no matter how early or late it is, it ain’t happening. Talk about exclusive. I had made my ridiculously early 6pm reservation on OpenTable, which I now won’t be doing for this place in the future because I learned if you simply call, there will be more options and better time slots available. When I made the res on OpenTable, there was 1 option in a 30 day period, at 1 time. Whatever, I got it. It was still worth it. The best way to learn is through trial and error anyway.
When walked in and were paged down to seriously one of the most exclusive places I’ve been, it was super empty. 3 people at the bar, and not one table dining yet. Yes, they only open at 6pm anyway. More staff for us!
I started with the Pepino Diablo margarita! Woo that was spicy! Took me the whole meal to finish it. For apps we got the Elote, and boy was it fantastic. Grilled Mexican street corn smothered in cojita cheese and paprika, SO fanstasic. Next up, shredded chicken tostadas, immediately followed by a variety of taquitos: Pescado, Barbacoa, Carnitas…
All good, my favorite was the Barbacoa, my brother said the Pescado was his favorite (Mahi Mahi). All of the tacos on fresh corn tortillas with simple ingredients and loaded with meat. Priorities.
Completed the meal with the flan and a side of super sweet salted caramel ice cream and I’m drooling typing. The food came out quicker than you can say «taquito» which was actually annoying because we didn’t want to be in and out in an hour, but wow do they have some staff here. Water always filled, plates always cleared, rapido!
The tables are legitimately on top of each other so prepare to make friends with your neighbors which can always be fun! I know this place has a crowd and most of it is repeat customers. Our waiter said around 9−10pm it gets crazy packed. Will return soon!

What a gem! Love love this place! A girl friend made reservation for 3 on a Saturday evening for dinner, by far one of the best Mexican food places I’ve been to, I was very surprised just by looking at the outside store front and small eating area inside that the basement dining area was so unique and different than the upstairs. You go through the kitchen where you can see they make your food and then you enter this very dim lit place with metal bars and chandeliers, a sexy romantic ambience. Will def be back for their lobster tacos and plaintains with salsa verde. The pepino diablo margarita was decent, packed with a kick from the chili pepper rim.

I had been wanting to try this place for awhile but didn’t get the opportunity befitting moving out of NY 3 years ago. My darling friend somehow knew the desires of my stomach and suggested we go here for dinner before I left town again.
We started with chips and guac which were very fresh and yummy. We would have preferred it more spicy but that’s a personal preference. My opted for the tortilla soup which she said was delicious as well as the elote. I had a barbacoa lamb taco. I’d never heard of such a thing but my tastebuds seemed to be very pleased with it. It’s about $ 10 for 2 tacos. It’s pricy considering the $ 2 tacos I eat in LA– but our menus also don’t have lamb on them.
The ambiance is pretty cool. The side we sat on was dim but just light enough to read the menu. I had a fruity cocktail which was fresh and strong so u trust the others are delicious. I’d recommend this place to anyone in the area looking for a quick bite, or a friend craving fancy gourmet tacos but not to anyone looking for authentic taste.

LA ESQUINA «This dimly lit Mexican bistro is probably where Batman would have a tequila after a hard day of crime fighting. La Esquina is located down the stairs and through the kitchen of The Corner Deli»

Haven’t been downstairs, but the tacos here are my fave. I’ve been here a few times now and this time I ordered the fish and steak tacos. My mouth was drooling from how good it was!

I could definitely give this place 5 stars!!! When I arrived at this speakeasy my boyfriend and I just saw a corner deli. I already knew how it worked from google and the reviews on here but he didnt. His thought was Kim «you bought me all the way over here for tacos». I laughed and ignored him. The guy in the front stopped me before we could walk in and asked my name. I told him and he directed me to another guy that was inside. At this point my boyfriend is looking at me like what the hell is going on lol. I tell the guy i have reservations for two he directs me down some stairs behind a door. I dont want to ruin the experience soooo word of advice make reservations before hand. The margaritas are strong and delicious the tostadoss are omg!!! Music was definitely nice a bit dim but nice setting. Cant wait to go again!!! Contrary to the order reviews I dont feel it was expensive

Let me start off by saying, this review is for the downstairs speakeasy part of La Esquina. I have been trying to get a reservation here for months! About three weeks ago I stumbled upon a reservation that I scooped up and would cancel if it turns out I was busy that day.
When we approached the deli counter to tell them our reservation time, we were greeted by someone who had a bit of an attitude because we were a little early. So we waited at the park across the street. Finally, when our exact reservation time came we were led to a black door, which was guarded with a woman who had a list — if you’re not on the list there was no shot you could get in (hence why I had to make my reservation 3 weeks ago). From there we were led down a long staircase, through the kitchen, some turns and then ended up in a beautiful dining room.
It is a little pricy, but everything we ordered was absolutely outstanding. I got an El Macizo Margarita — which was delicious and my boyfriend got a Prohibition Old Fashion. We started off with the street corn and cangrejo which was crab meat with a chipotle sauce on a little tortilla. Then we split some tacos — in order of our favorite to least:
* Camarones BLT — would absolutely get this again
* Pescado — very delicious
* One of the tacos from their special which had ribeye — very good but not our favorite
For desert we split lava de chocolate and Mexican flan. I was very happy with both of them and they were very fresh.
If you can score a reservation, I would say it is definitely worth trying out. I really did enjoy everything we had!

Absolutely love the outdoor seating so i had to give them an extra star. I had the beer battered fish tacos and the shrimp tacos, no complaints. Corn is better than most places, but tdoesnt triumph over café habanas for all you fans. The ceviche trio is also a nice option for variety, but on my next visit, id do just shrimp. Guac is extremely smooth, salsa needs a bit more work. Overall a good experience, would come again.

Restaurante acolhedor com boa música serviços de excelência e com o melhor ceviche de NY

Came here over the weekend after hearing great things about this place. The downstairs has a really cool vibe.
For appetizers I ordered the elotes callejeros which is grilled Mexican corn. a must have if you come here.
The Mexican tuna tartare is good but probably won’t get it again. The langosta con camarones tostadas come with lobster and shrimp with avocado, cilantro– habanero mayo and spicy pineapple salsa. They were so good I ordered a second one. We ordered the pescado taquitos and the barbacoa taquitos. Both out of this world with great flavors and seasoning. For entrée I got the arrachera grilled skirt steak which was good but what stood out the most was the roasted poblano peppers, grilled onions and Mexican crema. It went really well with the steak

We returned this time to try the café shop for take out. Hub got the corn, (2) fish tacos, pollo taco, and barbacoa taco. They ran out of barbacoa and gave the carnitas taco on the house. Food was pretty good. Loved the neat packaging in boxes with a wedge of lime. The poor corn had queso fresco stuck on the aluminum foil. It didn’t quite work for take-​out. Lesson learned to eat it there on the spot. Other local favs are the plato julia and soup. Def plan on returning for the tortas. It gets pretty hectic on a late night.
The shop is also home to an underground dungeon styled as a Vogue shoot serving cocktails and food. It’s been frequent by the likes of models, John Mayer, and so forth. Security guards at the entrance selects who they want usually with a reservation or if you happen to know someone in the network. Frankly, it sounds like it’s all hype to boost their image. If you want a similar setting w/​o the selective VIP treatment, head on over to Macao Trading Co in Tribeca. Personally, it’s more stylish and glamorous looking than the industrial warehouse dungeon.

La Esquina is an interesting place. It has outdoor seating off the corner, it has indoor seating on Lafayette entrance, and I suspect it has a clubby scene at nights.
Nevertheless, the food is simple but very very tasty. If you want to get relax after Soho shopping and munch great food La Esquina is your place.
This time I tried steak tacos. Tacos come with soft shell with minimal ingredients. That makes it perfect as you can really focus on the main flavor. Supporting flavors don’t take the center stage… I’ve also tried a tuna tartar. That was also delicious.
Been there, and will be there again.

**Update to my Review from last year**
This Review is for a LARGE GROUP Birthday Party as opposed to a sit-​down dinner, so I wasn’t able to critique the food well as we were served large portions for the table ‘family-​style’.
I think the quality of the Bar Scene, Drinks & Music in the Downstairs ‘Cave’ Restaurant has improved from the past, but I feel like the Food quality has dropped slightly.
I would give the Bar Scene 4.5-stars and the Food 3.8-stars if I could.
One of my best girl friends had her Birthday Party there and even though we were cramped as the downstairs is like being in a cave and we had like 17 people there, we still had a blast.
The service was really fast and the busboys were on top of everything… margaritas, tequila shots, food, birthday cake, utensil changing, etc, for a huge group is a lot to keep up with and they did it well.
They accommodated us well, brought the birthday cake on time, etc, etc.
As far as the food, I only had a few bites of things — like the ceviche, tuna tartare, pork tacos, chips & guacamole, margaritas, etc and it was all good, but nothing mind-​blowing.
Just as a side note and a generalization… when it comes to Mexican food, there are many different styles, but the most notable are Northern vs Southern.
Northern Mexico was settled primarily by Europeans (Spanish, German & French) so the food is a little more basic (and also why the accordion is used in Mexican music). Tacos are the staple here and heavy on meats (beef fajitas, beef asada, chicken), cheese (cojita), cactus (nopal), green salsa (tomatillo), red salsa (more with a smokey taste as the chiles are pan-​burnt).
Southern Mexico is predominately indigenous (Mayan & Aztec Indian) with some Middle Eastern influences, so the food is more complex from dishes to ingredients to flavors. Things like Mole (chocolate-​based sauce), Adobo (paprika heavy sauce), Cochinita Pibil (Mayan-​based dish heavy on annatto seeds), pomegranate seeds, grasshoppers etc. Pork is king here, especially «Al Pastor» style, which is the shawarma spit-​grilled meat (made on a vertical broiler called a «trompo») and brought to Mexico by Lebanese & Syrian immigrants. Difference is that in Mexico they use pork as opposed to lamb in the Middle East.
So, for me, the Best Mexican in the city, for true Mexican, not Tex-​Mex is:
1(tie). Barrio Chino (good mix of Northern & Southern Mexican)
1(tie). Los Tacos No. 1 (best tacos in the city, Northern Mexican)
2. Black Ant (Southern Mexican, so heavy on mole, etc)
3. Ofrenda (mix of Northern & Southern, same owners as Black Ant)
4. La Esquina (coolest «Scene» of the bunch, fun for groups, food is good)
5. Toloache (more Southern style, higher end, more expensive, but good)
And of course, I’ve heard there are excellent Mexican restaurants in Queens, specifically on Roosevelt Avenue, but I haven’t been yet.
Overall though, I think La Esquina is a solid choice for Mexican, albeit pricier and more of a scene in the downstairs ‘cave’, so, I do prefer it for drinks & appetizers, or for dinner parties. And it’s also cool that you get to walk through the kitchen to get to the bar and seating area. It’s a unique spot that I highly recommend.

Left order note AND called to ask them to not have it ready until a certain time, yet received a text that the food was ready, and arrived to have the food both not ready AND yet somehow still cold. Decent trio of pricey tacos:
1 Carnitas Taco $ 3.75
1 Pescado a la Brasas Taco $ 4.75
1 Bistec Taco $ 4.25
Seamless ordering opens @ 11 but it says they open @ 12 here.

200^th review on Unilocal and it just happens to be on of my fav places in the city to grab a quick bite. Why you as ask? They are ALWAYS CONSISTENT!!! I order from them pretty often because I work in Soho and regardless if I do pickup or delivery via GrubHub I always receive it on time and food is always correct. When I say always, I mean always. The food always taste fresh and well seasoned. Lunch time is definitely their busiest time of the day and along with late nights as well.
My favorite food at this fine establishment:
— Chicken Tortilla Soup
— Any of the tacos
— Chicken sandwich
Pick any of those three and you will be a believer and lover of La Esquina. During the spring and summer they have outside seating if you are lucky and there is seating inside but it is extremely limited. If you come during lunch without calling ahead you will be waiting a good 15 – 30 minutes to get food. BUT TRUST ME IT IS WELL WORTH THE WAIT.
I have been to the lounge downstairs twice and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself on both occasions. It is rumored that is one of Beyonce’s favorite spots. The menu is alot larger then they have upstairs. The corn is to die for! The selection of Mezcals and Tequilas is out of this world!
STOP READING THIS REVIEW AND JUST GO!!! You will thank me later!

This was a great date night for work wifey and I. After a long day at work, we made the trek in the rain from Morningside Heights down to Lower Manhattan for some well-​deserved Mexican. This place is divvied into three locations: one requiring fancier pants and a reservation, the second is the taqueria etc., and the third is the café restaurant.
It’s honestly a bit confusing, but we went with the café option (because we didn’t know we needed a reservation for the Brasserie downstairs) and we were not disappointed in the least. We had the Mexican tuna tartare and platanos con salsa verde to start. Both were delicious! Who doesn’t love a platano/​maduro? If you don’t, get away from me. And the tuna char-​char was very fresh, served with a spicy tamarind salsa and some avocado. This was really well done.
Moving on to main courses: my gorgeous lady had the Plato Julia con carnitas, while I had the Mole Enchiladas– the mole is supposedly the chef’s grandmother’s recipe from Mexico, and it is to die for like our waiter said, so thanks. The enchiladas were wonderful, but I was so stuffed I couldn’t finish my food and didn’t get a bite of wifey’s before achieving food baby status.
Cute ambience, many booths, dim lighting. Amazing food and excellent service. I want to come back to the fancy one next time. :pouting:

La Esquina is right around the corner from my job, and I couldn’t be happier about that.
I stopped by after work as I’ve heard nothing but STELLAR reviews about their chicken tortilla soup. It was great, really delicious with a mix of textures. Crunchy from the tortilla chips and smooth and creamy from the diced avocado with a little kick of heat. It’s the perfect snack for these cold New York days or even hot summer days. It doesn’t matter… just order the soup.
I also ordered some fish tacos, because whenever fish tacos are on the menu I HAVE TO HAVE THEM. They were great. Really really tasty with guacamole (but sadly you can’t order guac and chips… what’s up with that?!), chipotle mayo and pickled purple cabbage. It was fried really crispy and tasted delicious.
Basically I may be coming to La Esquina once a week for my fish taco fix. I’m currently on the hunt for the best fish tacos in the city, and this place is definitely in the top 5!

Where to even begin? What a cool place. I don’t even know what to call it. A speakeasy that serves amazing Mexican food? It makes no sense and it’s brilliant. You must go to the brasserie.
Here is what I ordered:
— Coco Muy Loco
— Elotes Callejeros
— Queso Fundido
— Bistec Taquitos
Everything was delicious. This place is a must.
Plus, Rachel Dratch from SNL was waiting for a table too. NBD.

So UNBELIEVABLY disappointed in their customer service.
I have been eating at La Esquina for the past 5 and half years since moving to New York.
I decided this year for my 25^th birthday to switch it up and make a reservation for dinner, which I also did for the night of my college graduation and had an amazing time in their downstairs club.
I was told that for a party of 9 or more it would be a prix fixe menu ($ 65/​person), which was fine. My party went down to 8 people and when I called to confirm two days before my birthday dinner. When I told them that it went from a larger number (considered a «private party») to only 8 they suddenly couldn’t accommodate me.
They told me that my only two options were to cancel with no penalty OR keep the reservation for 9 people (making it a private party and prix fixe), which basically meant I would be paying for an addition person at $ 65 who wasn’t there.
I asked to speak with the manager– who ended up being the director for reservations, I cannot even convey how disappointed in their customer service. I don’t know who this woman was trained by (wolves, possibly), or where she learned hospitality (or lack thereof).
The woman came on the phone full guns-​a-​blazing with an attitude that could chop wood. When I asked her to tone down her attitude she LOST IT, continued to speak over me and transferred me back over to the woman I was speaking to prior, without resolving the issue. I have NEVER EVER in my life dealt with a person in hospitality who 1. could not be any less accommodating and 2. talks and treats their customers in such a disrespectful manner.
Long story short, I was left reservation-​less for my 25^th birthday and sadly will NEVER spend my money at La Esquina again.

4 New York Unilocal stars.
This place reminds me of spots back in California. Small hole-​in-​the-​wall, «where am I going to eat this besides the street?», everyone in the neighborhood comes here.
I got two tacos and the Mexican hot chocolate on my first go-​round. Real life, so far the most acceptable tacos I’ve had in New York — and reasonable for the NYC prices. I got the avocado and chorizo tacos. I recommend the avo but would take a hard pass on the chorizo. I would stick to carnitas more at this spot.
The Plato Julia is essentially the same as halal but it’s a great deal (and in my opinion, usually better). Everything is flavorful and the hot sauces on hand are actually spicy.
It’s a small spot for the corner deli portion. I wouldn’t come with more than a party of two if you wanna grab tacos and then eat them across the street in the green space. It’s easiest to just stand at the counter and eat your order.
I would definitely come back for the mezcal and late night selection. This probably will be my go-​to Mexican spot in New York until something else pops up!

Fui con un amigo a probar la comida mexicana en Manhattan y los tacos de pescado estaban deliciosos y el chocolate mud cake, lo mejor que he probado definitivamente vuelvo a ir a este lugar!

Guacamole bestellt und gegessen und anschliessend eine unzumutbare Wartezeit (55 Minuten) im Schatten (Jacke mitnehmen). Bedienung absolut überfordert mit den Bestellungen und mit Servieren. Bestellungen werden aufgenommen, aber irgendwie wird nie etwas serviert.

Français en balade à New York, né soit pas effrayé par ce petit snack mexicain très très roots. Va y, rentre, les deux molosses gardant l’entrée du club privé à l’intérieur né te feront aucun mal ;-) On commande au comptoir des tacos, quesadillas ou des salades. Il y a un menu et donc c’est facile. Le tacos est à 3,5 $. On peut consommer sur place ou emporter. On né peut pas apporter une bière car ils n’ont pas de licence mais ils ont été très cool et nous on laissé consommer notre Dogfish 60min IPA en nous donnant un gobelet en plastique pour né pas attirer l’attention. Les tacos sont savoureux et frais, il sont préparés au moment de la commande. Une bonne adresse à Soho. Authentique. Bonne musique mexicaine donnant une vraie ambiance.

Im Keller befindet sich das «eigentliche» La Esquina. Hierfür muss aber lange im Voraus einen Tisch reservieren, weil es ein sehr angesagter Ort ist. Ich persönlich war «nur» ein paar Mal oben im kleineren Raum.
Es gibt auch noch ein Dinner/​Corner Café zum Mitnehmen. Sitzplätze sind auf der anderen Strassenseite in einem Park/​Verkehrsinsel.
Das Personal ist sehr locker, aber nicht zu aufgesetzt locker, sondern ich glaube ganz natürlich. Die Einrichtung ist stilvoll, schlicht.
Die Preise sind etwas gehoben, aber bezahlbar, für das Essen auf jeden Fall angemessen. Die Getränke finde ich etwas zu teuer und auch nicht so aussergewöhnlich gut oder einfach nicht mein Geschmack. Ich hatte einen Michelada — hab ich nicht runterbekommen, hat aber 10 USD gekostet.
Was ich besonders empfehlen kann ist der Burger (erst ab 5 pm, vorher gibt es nur Salate und Suppen, 12 USD, absolut fair). Er kommt mit (den leckersten) Pommes (die ich jemals hatte), Avocado, frischer Jalapeño, Salat, Tomate und sehr leckerer Majo. Dazu empfhele ich die Pico De Gallo (2 USD) zu bestellen, sehr gut!
Fazit: Eine Perle in Manhattan!

This place seems to have two parts, one is casual small place providing quick and simply dishes and the other is a popular bar place required reservation. I just came there for their Mexican food. So I ordered corn, one taco and bean soup.
The taco was just ok not very impressed and the bean was too salty for me. Only the grilled corn tasted better which was creamy and flavourful.
Taking photos of the place inside was prohibited…