Pampano Taqueria

Surprised by some of the negativity on here! I’ve always enjoyed Pampano Taqueria. I usually get the shrimp tacos, the vegetarian taco or shrimp quesadilla with elote.
My food has always been fresh, hot and tasty and everything comes with free nachos.
Just today for lunch I had the quesadilla and elote and thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it’s so hard to get a seat in this space, but overall the food is well worth the price of admission.

The rice was under cooked and the burrito was bland. The carne asasda meat tasted greasy and of low quality. I found the place to be expensive for a food-​court style take away and the quality of product. The guacamole was OK and the turnaround time was also pretty good.

Almost certainly the best Mexican option in the area. As some have noted, tacos are modestly sized, but the pricing is fair.

Great lunch spot in midtown. I come here every time I need to satisfy a craving for tacos. So much more authentic than Chipotle or Dos Caminos, and a little more basic/​manageable than Tres Carnes. (Even though I love Tres Carnes.)
Every order comes with free chips, so splurge on the guac and an agua fresca. And don’t forget to pump your own sauces at the counter!
*this is inside of the Atrium at 50^th and 3^rd, on the lower level. Seating inside for all the lunch places, if you want to hang out. This is not the full Pampano restaurant, just the little lunch taqueria in a different building.

I’ve tried this place a few times, its just not that great. The chicken tacos are terrible, there is barley any chicken in them. The only okay item is the fish tacos. The rice and beans are dry and not worth the extra few buck. Plenty of other places to eat.

First, I don’t know how anybody can call it Mexican. The food had no taste at all.
Second I don’t understand how can this be $ when you pay more than $ 7 for almost nothing. Perhaps because 2 tacos are $ 7, but that is far from being a portion of anything. Don’t be fooled, you will pay top dollars for sub-​par food.
Avoid at any price.

Meh. Underwhelming. I’d spend your dollars elsewhere. I got the black bean soup, which was good but not amazing, followed by the filet flatbread. The flatbread was pretty average and if anything not phenomenal.

***Editing this review: since I wrote what’s below I’ve been back twice, each experience a little worse then the one before. The last time I went it took them 45 MINUTES to get me my order. For a quesadilla. Thanks but no thanks. An entire lunch hour wasted.
This is a little hidden window located on the lower level (around the corner from Silo.) Get there early otherwise you’ll be on a LONG line.
I usually order a quesadilla and make it a combo for an extra $ 3. It includes beans and rice (kind of bland. I add salt and pepper), salsa (the spicy is FIRE), homemade chips (lots of crunch), and a drink.
The shrimp quesadilla is great. Lots of flavor.

This place is always packed and I don’t understand why. I guess there’s not many other quick Mexican restaurants in the area, but their food to me is just… bland and nothing special.
Maybe their meat dishes are tasty, but personally, I don’t like any of their vegetarian options. I’ve had the burrito and the quesadilla, and neither of them satisfied my hunger or cravings — I don’t think I’ve ever finished it either. They have watered-​down sauces that you can pour into place to-​go cups, but it’s always such a mess when you try to do that.
Their portions are decently-​sized, I’ll give them that, but I want to taste spices and flavors when I eat Mexican food, and it’s not what you get here. However, they’re always busy with long lines, so you can always take those people’s word for this place over mine.

This is honestly as good as it gets for «mexican» food in Midtown. Its in a great little atrium; its cheap and fresh and delicious; your chicken won’t be greasy but your steak and pork will be – that’s pretty proper. And bonus? The salad is bomb! Seriously – its so good. BTW the salsa are fresh and spot on – trust me – I’m not from New York so I know good Mexican food.;-)

So in love with place and very impressed by the quality of food.
I come from a very Mexican background and food is important to be as authentic as possible. I had the pescado tacos and they were fantastic. The ingredients were flavorful and the guac and chips were to die for.
I will definitely be back to try more items.

Great food, convenient takeout window, nice food court.

I used to eat here almost daily when I worked in the neighborhood. I ordered the same thing every time — fish tacos and the beef with cheese.
The Good — Green sauce and damn cheap tacos.
The Bad — Their tacos are child-​sized; a mere nibbling at best. The public seating has the feel of middle-​america mall food court. There’s almost always a line.

I had the most underwhelming tacos here recently.
I previously liked Pampano, but the past couple of times I’ve gone, I’ve been more and more disappointed.
I got the pescado tacos, which I used to really like — this time around, they were abysmal. I wish I’d taken a picture of how sad they looked… Pampano’s never been known for big portions, but these were the smallest ones yet. Each taco had a teeny piece of fish… which, fine, if they’re trying to cut cost, I can see why they’d try to use as little fish as possible. But in addition to that, the pickled cabbage and chipotle remoulade that are supposed to accompany it were ALSO pretty much nonexistent. One of my tacos actually had no cabbage, and the other literally had 3 little shreds. WTF. I’ve never seen such unappetizing/​poorly assembled tacos. So I essentially just 2 flour tortillas for lunch.
I’m not one to write places off, but after this experience, I really have no desire to go back to Pampano again. Sad, because they used to be pretty good.

Finally got here today. I think my perspective can change with the items I order so I promise to update this review at a later date. I had the chilorio and the pescado tacos with a small side of guacamole. The flavors of all three were good, especially the chilorio… mmmmmm. My challenge was the portion size of the pescado. There was one very tiny piece of fish. It tasted great but I tore away much of the taco wrap so I could taste the fish. I mean tiny! I went back to the office to join others eating lunch and once they learned where I had picked up my food they all commented on the serving size before I even put my food on a plate… so this is the reputation. The chilorio was a decent size, but that fish!
Given the flavor I am willing to try Pampano again but I will get something other than the pescado.
Be prepared, there is a line. The wait is short, about 10 minutes. These guys are fast!

Ordered lunch online from this location as I was desperately craving fish tacos. The price was right and theirs had good reviews, so I gave them a shot.
I ordered the fish taco and a chicken taco to go, and they threw in a little bag of chips too which was a wonderful surprise as I was initially going to order them anyway but decided to save the money.
I walked around for awhile looking for a place to eat them and both stayed hot until I was settled. Verdict? The chicken was pretty average, and I probably won’t order it again. But the fish taco? AMAZING! I’ll definitely order more than one next time!
At $ 3.25, it’s a good deal for a fresh fish taco in Midtown. I will be back!

3.5 stars since I’ve been a few times and likely will be back when you’re looking for a quick taco lunch fix for takeaway. There is free public seating as well. For pickup, you can call and pre-​order.
I would recommend 3 tacos ($ 3.25 each) and a side of guac+chps to be full.
The menu descriptions are accurate — what they list is what you get and the fillings can be sparse.
A quesadilla is $ 8.50 and is a little less than 3 tacos but I like the option of variety in my fillings.
Best bang for your buck is the Alambre though it can be a bit greasy, it’s tasty.
I like the all you can pump salsa.
Small guac for $ 2.50 is about a cup’s worth and Large for $ 5 is a little under a pint.

General: if you are expecting big bold mexican flavors, this is not the place. It serves lighter mexican fare. This is an extension of the restaurant which is on the ground level. Relatively simple menu with list of proteins and means (taco, burrito, etc) in which they are served.
Food: the tacos and burritos are not that big. the fish taco (fried mahi mahi) is tasty, but on the smallish side. You’ll probably need at least 3 to be full. The carne asada burrito was flavorful but underwhelming w/​r/​t to the finely diced skirt steak. There was merely a smattering of the meat in the burrito. The aqua fresca is blah (think crystal light/​tazo passion fruit tea). You pump your own salsa: mild, medium, and spicy-​they all come in different vibrant colors. Quite a sight for the eyes :) Each order comes with a side of fresh tortilla chips.
Overall: this is a decent lunch spot, but you are definitely charged for the name. The sky light atrium has nice seating with piano music.
Specs: located in the basement of 805 Third Avenue. Credit cards ok.

Always been one of my favorites! Went here a couple of times with one of my mentors. AND any restaurant of Richard Sandoval is always an A+ in my book! I always order the Tamal De Huitlacoche and Enchiladas Nortenas! Any of the dishes on the menu is never a disappointment though, so it’s a definite must to go here! :)
PS There’s an outdoor seating area too!!!

It’s not the flavor profile that misses the mark, it is the sheer TINY amount of ingredients to give off these flavors. I opened my bag and said, «shoot, they forgot one of my tacos»…well, nope, they didn’t. It was wrapped in the same tin foil and was a taco I would feed to Benjamin Button. I know that doesn’t really make sense, but neither does the size of these tacos! I also just wanted to say Benjamin Button. Tried the fish taco and the pork taco. I would probably give this place 3.5 stars on flavor, but my co-​worker had the burrito and said it was basically 85% rice wrapped in a tortillas, and LACKED ANY flavor.
Such a shame… I need to find a REAL taco joint in this area. Help!