Tepito Taqueria & Cantina
“There are so many places in this city that try and boast serving the best Happy Hour margaritas.”
“I ordered the shrimp tacos, which were a generous portion and filled with a mango salsa, served with a side of mango chipotle dressing.”
“Finally, a place in Manhattan with perfect chips and the salsa verde is fresh and tasty.”
Tepito Taqueria & Cantina
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Never thought I'd come in here but the HAPPY HOUR specials were just too tempting when every other bar was packed on st pattys day!
FREE CHIPS & SALSA verde with your drink purchases! The chips are super fresh and yummy but the salsa could use some work
— $9 guacamole appetizer was fresh & better than their free salsa!
—-$5 margaritas during HH! You have a choice of on the rocks or frozen & they also have lots of exotic flavor choices WITH REAL FRUIT CHUNKS!
(mango, guava, passion fruit) the PASSION FRUIT was the best!!
Love how they have a huge table in the middle that perfectly accommodated our large group!
I'd probably only come for happy hour since my friend said her tacos were mediocre
I came here with a friend after a day spent exploring the Lower East Side. We each had a glass of Riesling, and then split an appetizer of guacamole and some sort of very spicy green salsa. For my main course, I had a vegetarian tostada of sorts, full of fresh vegetables and beans, with a side of rice. The bill was not cheap, but the food was delicious and well worth it.
happy hour margaritas at $4.99 each and they are small and water down and too sweet
Terrible service from the waiter. we got an order of the nachos with the chicken, it tasted terrible. Soggy chicken
Will not be back again
Hi strong drinks.
I didn't try the food but they have white sangria. That always makes me happy.
Drinks were the usual prices of NYC drinks.
We were fortunate to get a discount to eat here via Groupon and we really enjoyed our meal.
THE GOOD: the food was delicious – as good as we've had in Mexico, so that says something! The guacamole topped with crabmeat was to die for and we loved the thin, crispy tortilla chips that accompanied them. The tacos were fresh and delicious! The flan was some of the best I've ever had. The margaritas were delicious and STRONG. I could only drink half and have the rest to my hubby. Prices weren't too bad. Our bill (before the Groupon was applied) for 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, 1 dessert, 3 margaritas and 1 shot of tequila was about $80 (before tax and tip). The decor was decent, the restaurant appeared clean and well-maintained and the service was good.
THE BAD: The menu is pretty small and as far as I could tell, the only entrees they offer are tacos. I love tacos, so not a huge deal, but it would be nice to have some other options. There were about 10 different taco options and the waiter informed us they were out of 3 of them (of course, 2 of them were ones I was interested in). They were also out of the dessert I wanted (tres leches cake). Entree and dessert portions were a bit small for the price. Other issues: the restaurant was sweltering hot (in March!) when we visited. I'd estimate it was about 85 degrees. We had to ask them to turn the heat down. Worse, they were blasting annoying club music (on a Sunday afternoon). How about some Mexican music!? Putumayo puts out some good World/Latin CDs that would be a much better fit for this restaurant. Not everyone wants to hear pulsating nightclub music when they are eating and talking.
All in all, I'd say the positives outweighed the negatives because the food and margaritas were THAT good. I am glad we discovered this place and will consider returning.
There are so many places in this city that try and boast serving the best Happy Hour margaritas. Tepito is a rather strong contender in this field.
Gently coerced by one Miss Aviva G. to have a post-work libation here (…and it honestly didn't take much to twist my arm…), I was pleasantly surprised by a dark and slick interior with windows opened to the corner of 14th and 1st. (Excellent people watching, needless to say.)
After various bad experiences with bad and cheap Happy Hour margaritas, laced with inferior flavors and nausea-inducing cheap tequila, Tepito left me happy, functionally buzzed, and non-nauseated with a lovely $5.00 frozen strawberry margarita. Score!
I also hate places that serve bad nacho platters. Tepito also earns another rave for their delicious one! I'm a girl that can, and LOVES to, eat massive and unhealthful amounts of cheese.* These nachos were practically bathed in cheese, along with tasty gauc, sour cream, salsa, and peppers. We ordered steak nachos, and it was a good decision. Plump and flavorful nuggets of freshly cooked steak almost stole the show entirely!
And though a small and traditional gesture, the complimentary chips and salsa verde we received for the table were superb! I'm a sucker for freshly cooked chips, still hot from the grease and covered in salt.
Crafting this review is making me hungry for Round Two.
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*- No wonder all of the boys fight over me. I'm a girl that can handle her cheese!
I really wanted to like this place. I tried.
Cold evening, seated by the windows meaning lots of cold drafts. Service was slow. I don't blame our waiter rather I think the management is pretty horrible. I am assuming the executive chef (chef's outfit, walking around the restaurant) was trying to make sure that everyone was taken care of but he was just roaming the restaurant and making circles around diners.
We had to wait more than 30 mins just to get chips and salsa. Ok, maybe it's busy I can deal. My friends and I ordered chorizo (yum, nice and smokey) nachos. Delicious except that we got our nachos before getting our chips and salsa. And we had to ask because if we did not I am pretty sure we would have never received our chips and salsa. Food orders-veggie tacos, shrimp tacos and enchiladas. All come with rice and beans. Beans were delicious. Rice was absolutely inedible. My friend tasted it and spit it out and stated, "This tastes like a bathroom." Not knowing what that would taste like I go ahead and try a bite which just confirmed what my friend stated. I was too embarrassed to tell staff about it because then I go on Yelp and confirmed that someone also mentioned that their rice is horrible.
Shrimp tacos were really good. My friends liked their food except of course their rice. I rather stick to my usual haunts in Jackson Heights for some much better and more affordable Mexican food.
Only came here for the sangria. We came on a total whim! I saw sangria glasses in the window and figured, hey, why not? We scrunched in at the bar and ordered a pitcher of sangria, hoping to extend a nice night in the city. The bartender was a little abrupt in asking for the $25.00 right off the bat. Hey, dude, let us drink and enjoy it first before you hit us with the price! The sangria was good, but pretty watered down. If I get up and I don't think, whoa, how much sangria did I consume?, then it probably isn't strong enough. Oh well.