The Taco Shop

I bookmarked The Taco Shop after it was featured in one of the Unilocal e-​articles. I raved about it my friend.
8 pm on Hump Day. My friend and I were underwhelmed by flavors of tacos and side dishes. We shared the food and critiqued it together.
The First 2 tacos listed on the menu, fish (battered & deep-​fried) and Beef Barbacao, needed an extra dash of salt. The proteins lacked seasoning. I added some mild green salsa, but I didn’t taste a difference.
The cheese-​topped corn on cob lacked freshness, but the dressing was trying to hide that. Dressing reminded me of Thousand Island Dressing. It was nicely coated with cheese. The corn was mushy and under-​seasoned.
Lastly, the beans with pork belly. The pork belly is small cube sizes and no complaints about that. Though the baked beans were kinda warm, but lacked distinct flavor.
The women’s bathroom was clean and nice.

This place is awesome! Came here on a Thursday night for a quick dinner — they have a great special — $ 12 something for a drink and 3 tacos. Small, cute atmosphere + service was fast and attentive. Will definitely be back!

In response to the tacos shops response: I stand by my review. There was only someone next to us after the drinks spilled and in fact the guys at the table next to us was so much nicer than the staff! The guy next to me had a jacket on his chair but not one thing was said to him. On the bright side, we wanted a fun night with drinks and food, so we went to a Mexican place down the street and had excellent food and especially service.
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The happy hour is good and normally I would recommend this place. I have been there several times.
Tonight the service was so bad that I never want to return. The place was practically empty, but the server kept harassing me: he asked me to move my chair in, move my duffle bag (no one was next to us) and when my purse fell sideways on the ground he asked me to pick it up. When I went to pick it up the small table tipped, and so did our drinks. He was so angry and very unhelpful.
I apologized and helped to clean it up and went on trying to enjoy conversation with my friend. Then another waiter asked me to take my coat off the back of the chair.
It was a really unfriendly and Unenjoyable experience, so much so that I’m writing my first Unilocal review.

The tacos here weren’t bad but I’ve had better. it hit the spot though.

Small cozy place with good menu. Wonderful happy hours 3 tacos with margarita for 12 bucks is economical and amazing !! Frozen margarita !

Excellent tacos. I’ve been here twice with friends and all of us have thoroughly enjoyed it. The winner for all of us would have to be the steak taco. I also liked the chicken taco and would skip the fish taco next time I come.
Margaritas are excellent and so is the happy hour deal.
The only thing is that the service was unsatisfactory. The waiter was annoying and would not seat us at a normal table because he claimed it would be busy later (no one else came in. It was a Wednesday night). My friend and I had to sit with a wall in between us. Really?

Meh, moderate prices for better-​than-​average tacos. $ 2.95 for any type of meat! Our waiter recommended the happy hour special, $ 12 for 3 tacos and a margarita. Instead, I ordered a pork belly and steak taco, while a friend of mine ordered the cochinita pibil (pork) and steak taco. We also ordered a small side of guac + chips for $ 5.
Pork belly was really flavorful, but a little hard for me to eat. I really enjoyed the steak taco though. My friend thought the opposite. He didn’t like the steak taco as much as the pork taco. You can also add their three sauces to your tacos for more flavor. I’m not a big fan of spice, so I skipped out on this option. On the other hand, the guac was really fresh, but the portions were really small, considering the chips were as big as my face.
I loved the ambiance of the place, but it was sorta ruined by the waiter constantly bugging me and my friend before we placed our order and after we received our food. He filled our water like 4 – 5 times even though we didn’t really drink any of it. It was real awkward when I was trying to take a Snapchat and he photobombed it for each attempt, lulz. I need my space when I eat my tacos, man!
This location may be a bit hard to find. I believe it’s downstairs to another restaurant, so try to look carefully when you’re searching for this place. Don’t be like us and make unnecessary U-​turns!

Given the name of the joint and that their non-​taco section is actually called that, I didn’t stray… even though the chocolate tamale sounded intriguing. The namesake items run $ 2.95 each:
Cochinita Pibil Taco (Slow cooked pork baked in banana leaves with yucatecan relish.) — great filling, but absolutely wrecked the tortilla before the first bite
Pork Belly Taco (Savory pork belly with jalapeño pickled red onions.) — pretty dry, and really lacking in accoutrements

Good tacos, a little bit small. The place is clean and the service is good. Don’t expect anything fancy.

My BFF and I were walking around the west village and decided upon this subterranean taco shop as an option for well priced, cosy Mexican grub. The décor is super chilled out, but nice enough to be «sit down». It can be a quick meal but also a great place to linger. We really enjoyed our meal and didn’t feel rushed at all. Our fantastic server, an ash blonde lady from Bosnia served us some amazing tacos (the Portobello mushroom was great, as was the chorizo — the baja fish was decent but a bit too deep fried for my taste.) The ceviche was average, I’d have ordered more tacos if I had the option as I’ve been spoiled by fantastic ceviche in South America. We most liked the mellow music and intimate vibe, but also relished the chocolate tamale, the piece de resistance of this cosy establishment. Besides the funky wash basin in the bathroom of course ;) Recommended!

This place is hidden however it’s a nice surprise once you get in. The server was very good and personable. They offer an unlimited brunch — drinks and anything on menu for $ 36.00. They are not stingy with their offerings. Overall a nice spot to come to on a Sunday.

Came out of the Comedy Cellar at 11pm craving tacos and this hit the spot perfectly. I just had one pork taco which was delicious and spicy and flavourful, and only a few dollars. We had our food to go but the place looked really cosy and friendly and fun. I want to go back for lots more tacos and some of their margaritas, I feel like it would be a very good place at the end of a few work drinks.

*** HAPPY HOUR ONLY ***
$ 12 for 3 tacos and a beer or margarita (frozen or not). If you want flavored margarita and trust me YOU DO, it’s only $ 1 more. So $ 13 yum yums and sip sips.
These tacos were muy bien. The size is a little smaller but quality is very noticeable. The chicken was good. The fish was pretty good. And the steak was by far my favorite. They were so good, I ordered 2 rounds of Happy Hour.
BOOYAH !
The margarita? VERY GOOD as well. Salted rim, lime, and booze.
DOUBLE BOOYAH !
Taco Tuesday deal is Happy Hour all day/​night?
I will be here and more than likely flood the place.
I’m just kidding. I’m greedy when it comes to tacos. I don’t share those.
FAN.

Taco Tuesday deal is awesome — 12 $ for beer marg + 3 tacos.
I’ve been here twice, got the Sol beer once, and guava margarita on the rocks another time. I prefer the marg.
For tacos, I like the portobello, chicken, and fish. The fish is breaded so that’s kinda meh.
Ok, the HOT sauce is REALLY hot. I am a spicy fiend in general but this sauce hurt my mouth. Don’t go overboard like I did. Ow.
Its a little cramped in the basement restaurant but I guess that can’t be helped. I would like to see a side included in the special perhaps. I really like the corn.

I came here before our server was very nice. We come again on Thursday night the sever was rude.
First my friend has a tank top and he asked him to change the shirt! Its a taco shack!
Then we have a couple friends over for a drink then the server said u just want a drink u dont need table! Its 5 of us and he said you dont need to get bigger table. Beside he said you cant only drink here you have to get food.
This is very bad service bad attitude server.
Very disappointed

Cheers to Taco Tuesday!
It is happy hour all day on Tuesdays!
Came here a few days ago for the 3 tacos and a beer/​margarita happy hour deal.
There are quite a few options for beer and margarita flavors.
The place is tiny and just anything the staff is bound to send you upstairs. I’m not sure if it’s the same thing, but the downstairs is pretty cozy and fun. Cochinita and the steak are delicious. I only wish they could double the tortilla. Those things are juicy!
The side portions are pretty small but the tacos are very filling and you can never only have one. The sides are 3 for $ 7. I recommend the fried plantains and grilled corn.
The guac is good but the portion is too tiny.
The serves come around with an iPad to take your order. The service is pretty fast. Not the most charming but efficient.
The place is tiny but I’ve seen many large groups here ordering round after round of margs, of course.
It is also conveniently located. Great choice for taco tuesdays.

Why are the tacos so small? There isn’t a whole lot going on with each taco — a no-​no for me, as I like my tacos overfilled and messy! The flavors were okay, but I really liked the corn tortilla itself. I thought the 3 different sauces they had would add a little something, but I didn’t like any of them (they aren’t complex flavors. just plain sour or painfully spicy).
My advice: just skip the tacos and get the CHOCOLATE TAMALE!!! It tastes like the insides of a chocolate lava cake, and has a nice nutty/​grainy texture that combines well with the ice cream. This is the only thing I will come back for!

The Quick: Good tacos but they nickle and dime you for everything, better off getting take out.
The Details: I was so excited to try this taco shop since each taco was a very moderate price around $ 3 and I love Loco burrito right upstairs (apparently not the same owner). It’s a very casual cheap Mexican spot with only a few tables on top of each other under ground. My friends and I ordered a bunch of tacos and some chips and salsa and had a good time. The tacos were very good. Then the bill came and it was some astronomical amount. Why you ask? They charge you per bowl of chips (it’s actually 3 large chips, very strange) and charge again separately per little bowl of salsa. Of course they did not mention this. It was ridiculous! We ended up spending like $ 20 in just salsa between the four of us. They do have squeeze bottles of hot sauce and green sauce on the table, but fresh salsa is a hefty charge and they don’t tell you.
The Damage: Way too much for a causal taco spot… Just order them to go (because they are tasty) or be extremely careful to stick to pure tacos.

This is a very small eatery that you’d be
lucky to get a seat. The attention to customer service can be improved prior to ordering. The food is what makes it all better… especially fish tacos!!! The tortilla soup wasn’t bad but exceptionally small serving for the price. And let me tell you about the dessert — so worth having the chocolate Tamal to make they tummy happy! Authentic

My daughter spotted The Taco Shop as we were walking by… thought it looked fun. She was right — a tiny little basement restaurant packed with tables and a menu full of taco choices (and other items). We opted for the small Chef’s Choice Platter — 6 tacos, two tamales, chip ‘n guac and a small serving of chipotle slaw. We tried a few different taco meats — all delicious! It was a nice amount of food, not totally gut-​buster (even though it sounds like it could be.) If you are really hungry or have a third person, you will need more food — large platter? Service was fine, but the place was SUPER noisy and I struggled to communicate with the waiter. In all, it was a fun little spot with good food while reasonably priced (by Greenwich Village standards.)
3.85 stars
BONUS: Nacho Libre playing on the television (no sound)!