Tacuba Mexican Cantina

I walked by here a few times and finally decided to give this place a try. It was pretty good. I had the shrimp tacos. My friend had the chicken tacos. We both agreed they were good. He had a margarita, which also was nice. Service was also good.

The meals here are entirely too small, otherwise this place would be a regular go to.

Food and service was good. Like that it’s near the movie theatre bc you can grab a meal before or after a movie.
We waited a little bit for our food and not offered chips and salsa which is disappointing — didn’t seem like it was complimentary. Also, ordered the warm chocolate cake with dulce de leche ice cream but the chocolate cake seemed room temperature at best.

Wow I really enjoyed my lunch here! I had octopus tacos — I’m not sure I’ve ever had the option of ordering octopus tacos before. I tasted my dining companions’ food and it was equally good. If I went all out, like I usually do at restaurants, and ordered EVERYTHING, the price would add up. But that’s ok every once in a while. Would totally recommend and return to Tacuba.

Todo Estubo bien la comida estupenda el ambiente ni se diga. Y los tragos excelentes las mezcalitas awesome. Pero solo tube un problema que el manager no fue muy atento y no me puso en la sección que yo había reservado. Ise una reservacion de cuatro días para 12 personas para celebrar el cumple años de mi esposa. Y resulta que el manager avía cambiado mi reservacion sin previo aviso. Y el nunca se acercó a la meza para ver si todo estaba bien fue un consumo de 800 dólares y el nunca se acercó a la meza para decir grasias o por lo menos preguntar si estaba bien. Como manager no fue muy profesional. El mesero Daniel flores fue muy atento.

Wow this place is amazing! Great food, environment and service. Got a table right away even though the place was packed. The guacamole appetizer is delicious but it is pretty big. I highly recommend trying their lemonade. It’s $ 4 but so worth it. My meal, the tacos calabazita, was really good. The fresh corn tortillas were delicious. Although there are 3 tacos they are really small. It was enough for me having started with the guacamole and chips. My brother got the chicken fajitas and loved every bite of it. Big portion compared to my small tacos. There was enough «filling» to fill over 4 more normal sized flour tortillas. Overall great meal and experience.

Wow, I had my doubts about Tacuba when I walked in.
Mexican «cantina» in a giant space across from Kaufman and chain restaurants? This can’t be good. Boy, was I wrong. It was amazing.
Great service. Good «table side» guac and food. Awesome drinks. Nice décor (although some of the chairs are a little *rough*).
Kudos to the team for making such a massive place run seamlessly AND still feel intimate.
Until the next.

Asked to be seated in a booth, there was an empty one, but I guess since we were just 2 people they refused… not off to a good start (booth remained empty the entire time we were there).
The food was solid, but not memorable. The place is nicely decorated and the service was good. That said, I think it is kinda obnoxious to charge 18+ bucks for fajitas and then put an additional charge on the bill because I asked for a little sour cream on the side (typically this would come with fajitas… not here). Also, they don’t give you chips when you sit down, you have to ask for them and they charge extra for this too.
Considering all the other options in Astoria and the relatively high price point for average Mexican food here, I don’t think we will be back.

This place was pretty good. I’m not from New York but compared to Detroit the prices seemed resonable. They even had an all you can drink brunch special where you got to choose from a list of about 6 drinks and could order all you wanted for 90 minutes. I think it was 20 or so dollars but when you consider a margarita cost close to $ 10 …
Me and my the other guys decided to try the tacos. We each picked a kind and the kitchen split them up for us. I got fish, bro in law got carnitas and father in law got grasshoppers.
I took a bite but couldn’t get over the crunchy legs tickling my throat on the way down. Lol.
Guacamole was good, salsa ok, drinks strong…
I’d go back again if ever in the area. Btw this is across the street from the Museum of Moving Images. Makes a nice afternoon.

The arepa place was closed so my group of four went here instead. I had chilaquiles and egg with a side of rice and beans. Delicious!!!
Also shared a salad, equally tasty.
The service was constant and attentive without being cloying. A very nice place, and reasonable in price. If you like Mexican, try it.

We went there for a 4 course NYE dinner ($ 75pp). The music was festive, drinks were strong drinks, not crowded, and the food was good in quality and portion. We had a great time and we would definitely come back.
Oyster shooter with spicy chipotle sauce– for someone who does not eat anything raw, this was so good. It was so creamy and the oyster has a great texture that was so sweet and creamy.
Crabmeat tostada– the crab meat was little watery, but it had a nice spicy sauce that went on top of it.
Pork tacos with cabbage slaw– the pork had great flavoring, I wish there was more of it. The slaw was also a little watery.
Carne asada– ordered medium but came out medium well. The meat itself was good quality but it got dry even with the sauce.
Sea bass– absolutely amazing. The fish was so moist and it came with chopped brussel sprouts. The tamarind sauce and cauliflower purée were phenomenal. Although everything went so well together, the fish was made so well that the additional sauces were not needed.
Flan, churro and chocolate lava cake– All were excellent and everything was freshly made. I am especially picky about flan but this flan was so rich, creamy and dense. The churros were crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. The cake was good but it was my least favorite of the trio.

I am surprised and impressed with this place. I love the décor, I want to see them do even more with it, it’s themed to traditional mexican sugar skulls, cactus, and tequila… the skeletons clad in mariachi garb on hanging from the ceilings are a special treat…
The food and the drinks are INCREDIBLE. My go-​to mexican entrée is almost always fajitas (good to share, good on a budget, filling.). I had the MIXTO FAJITAS entrée (steak and chicken) and it was soooooo good! great portion, greta blend of vegetables at the sizzler bottom, get sauteed mix. The chipotle sauce, and the regular salsa they have is unbelievable. Love any place that uses CREMA and not sour cream. I also ordered the LOBSTER TACOS which were so fresh and light, paired with the fajitas we were stuffed. They have awesome brunch deal for bottomless lovers… I def wanna come back to drink more than eat next time :)
Definitely come in and give it a go, they have a great variety on the menus, the drinks all look slammin. I dont care what anyone saids, any spot that got balls big enough to throw in GRASSHOPPER TACOS are fine by me! this place is bomb, i want to come back for dinner.

We tried them again on Sunday and had a completely different experience, the service was great, our waitress was the best as well as the buss boys and food runners… It started with the drinks and guacamole. The jicama salad and fried avocado were tasty followed by lobster tacos and steak and shrimp fajitas. And finished with the manager offering a tasting of mescal…
We will definitely be back…

Came here with a couple for drinks and food. The place has a nice vibe but the music is way too loud I couldn’t hear anyone I was with. I had a classic mojito which was very good. the guacamole and fish tacos were superb. The staff was really nice I asked them to put the football game on and they did it right away.

I don’t find myself in Astoria much, but when I do, I usually find myself in a good restaurant.
Tacuba was no exception. My friend picked this place for a celebration and it turned out great. The place has a cool, fun décor and is even bigger than you’d think. We had a large party (14+) and as these things usually happen, the majority of the group showed up late. Not me, of course. I was on time. *pats self on back*
The staff was very patient and accommodating, adding more tables and chairs as people kept streaming in. We were seated in the back, which is clearly the «celebration room». There were at least two other birthday parties and a bachelorette party that was in the same room as us. Oh well, the more the merrier! We ordered a bunch of guacamole and chips and nachos. They were really good, we were gobbling them up pretty quickly.
For entrees, I had the carne asada tacos. So good. The beef was seasoned nicely and the corn tortillas were yummy. Portion sizes were on the smaller side, which was fine for me since I’m a light eater, but some of the others in our group had to resort to scavenging food off people’s plates. One adventurous eater ordered the grasshopper tacos, which I tried a bit of. Incidentally, this is not my first time having grasshoppers. If you can get past the fact that you’re eating insects, taste and texture-​wise, they aren’t bad. Crunchy, kind of nutty, similar to sunflower seeds. We also had an order of ceviche which had good seafood, but was in a thick tomato sauce that was too soupy for my taste. I’m used to simple lemon juice and spices in my ceviche.

I am not sure when they opened but it is sad to see 5 napkins go. After seeing the Mad Men exhibit across the street at the Moving Image Museum, both the boyfriend and I were starving and decided why not have some Mexican food.
I got the Torta Ahogada that was the best torta I’ve ever had. The downside was that the sauce was poured over the torta and it was a messy dish. I know they did it for presentation but I would suggest to get the sauce on the side to dip, if not you are going to end up with orange/​red finger tips like I did. Took around 4 hand washes for all of it to be removed.
We got the $ 19.99 for unlimited drinks for 1.5 hours, which is not a bad deal since drinks are $ 10 each and we got 3 drinks each during our brunch, the Strawberry margarita was perfection with pieces of strawberry, not the usual syrup imitation you get at other spots.

The food is absolutely amazing!
I had the Carne Asada Fajitas! They are worth every bite! OMG deliciousness!
La Sandia drink is great too!
I am giving them 5 stars because their food and service was amazing!
However, I will say their churros did not impress me. But it’s ok because the main entrée was the star!
Also — the front of the restaurant was extremely hot! We were sweating the entire time. When we walked to the back to use the bathroom you could feel the cool air. Complete difference in temperature.
I know to sit in the back next time!

A Mexican cantina serving up gourmet tacos of Toloache’s Chef Julian Medina fame? Count me in. The ambiance is there, the happy hour specials are there. What’s not to like? We gave them 3.8÷5.0 and here’s why.
Arrived here with friends from an event earlier across at Kaufman Astoria Studios. The ambiance is festive, dim, and fun for everyone. While that translates typically to a fun time (when tequila is involved) it’s not for everyone.
The service was very attentive and really helps solidify the experience for us. We had ordered the guacamole for the table and while I’m not critical of quality, I am critical of quantity in this case. The guac ran out way faster than the chips did and that’s a travesty. Usually it’s the other way around for me. It just wasn’t enough for two people to share, much less three. Seriously though, guac isn’t hard to make, nor is it über costly.
Also ordered individually were the Pulpo y chorizo (octopus and sausage), carnitas (pork), and chapulin (grasshopper) tacos. Three of us ordered three sets as they come in threes so that each of us could try one each. The highlight as one might imagine were the grasshopper tacos since that in itself is a rarity. The taste can be described as a salty, crunchy, smoky flavor with every bite.
To the uninitiated, the insect legs protruding from the taco would be enough to unnerve those skittish about trying new things. The other two tacos were loads more tastier, and definitely more substantive.
All in all, they were all quite tasty but not otherworldly amazing, which simply means they didn’t stand out above any tacos you may have had anywhere else. Size does matter however taste mattered more. I’d award them a high 4 if they can work on flavor, which I believe put them on the map to begin with.

Let’s taco bout it.
The carnitas tacos were great! Three soft shell tacos with marinated meat that was juicy and full of flavor. The best part was the added flakes which added a nice crunch.
I came with a few people, on the recommendation of great guacamole. However, I was disappointed. There was nothing special about the seasonings and the spices were non-​existent. We had asked for a mild bowl and a spicy bowl however they both tasted the same. Kind of a let-​down.
The sangria was not bad and after sampling the red and the white (generally the sweeter one), I would say both are good choices to go with depending on your preference!

I shared an appetizer and dessert with a friend here. I had the empanada with the Chopped Steak Picadillo filling. This was quite good: well seasoned, flavorful and the steak was cooked perfectly.
Then we had the warm chocolate cake dessert with dulce de leche ice cream. I enjoyed the ice cream very much and the cake was decent, though a bit on the dry side. There was plenty of warm, gooey, rich chocolate oozing out of the cake though and overall I enjoyed it.
Service was attentive.

I had come here initially during the first week of their opening and was so turned off that I hadn’t returned until my out of town guests wanted to check it out.
My first visit was totally awful & my second experience was quite good so I’m not really sure which angle to cover so I’ll do a little of both.
1^st experience: like I said they had just opened that week. I had a party of 6 – 7 and we were denied two empty booths that would’ve easily fit our party bc they were reserved, ok whatever, not the end of the world (everyone prefers a booth, duh). We got seated at a super high table that was pushed together with another table that didn’t match in height. It was super wobbly, uneven & very difficult to move without spilling something or almost dropping something. I also kept getting bumped as I was on the end. I HATE GOING TO RESTAURANTS AND BEING BUMPED BECAUSE THEY CAN’T MAKE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS.
On to drinks, my girl & I ordered spicy margaritas and they took a solid 17 minutes to arrive. Had I been given my drink sooner I would’ve been less crabby & less inclined to write a poor review. Why did my food come before my drink? That’s just not cool. I also was told they were out of two menu items I wanted, Jesus people get it together! I got the ceviche & it was mediocre at best. The margs FINALLY came & then our server says, «I could’ve made that a pitcher for x amount of dollars more» …OBVIOUSLY we would like the most bang for our buck & we were trying to slightly turn up. I say, let’s do the pitcher then, he obliges & tells us not to worry about these 2 margs we have, cool, great, super.
We get our bill, I nearly choked on my chips & salsa at the amount & we were charged for the 2 margs I was told not to worry about. We paid, got the hell out of there & complained the whole walk home.
Second visit, my two male buddies from Ohio wanted to come here so we did.
We got: guacamole made as hot as they could and it was by far the best I’ve ever had. They raved about it & I would recommend it to anyone.
One guy got the ceviche & liked it but it was very acidic, the lemon/​lime was overpowering the seafood
My other friend got the pork tacos & they were gone before I got to ask for a bite, good sign! He enjoyed them.
I got the lobster tacos & they were awesome. The portion is pretty small though. I ate the guacamole & the 3 tacos with 3 frozen margaritas & was still hungry.
Oh & their frozen strawberry marg is legit. I hate frozen drinks but this was solid.
The place can get pricey so if you’re a woman make sure you go with your man ;)

Buen servicio, la comida deliciosa, las mejores margaritas.
Un buen lugar para compartir con amigos, el arte y el diseño del lugar, preciosos!!!
Gracias por todo:)

Great place!!! amazing food and all the staff is awesome specially Alex, great guy :)