Cascabel Taqueria
“The bar snacks menu also makes for a great meal if you can't decide on a main and the happy hour at the bar was also great!”
“BOOZY BOOZY BOOZY BOOZY BRUNCH BRUNCH BRUNCH BRUNCH
Everything here is absolutely delicious–let us begin with that.”
“One of the (few) establishments in the Upper East Side that has more of that laid back, hipster vibe.”
Cascabel Taqueria
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Recommended by Michelin and Forbes, Cascabel is likely the most authentic Mexican in the area. With the exception of the more new-age, corporate-like Calexico it's also ranks highest amongst all similar fare in Yorkville.
While my partner had been here many times and raved about their happy hour special, it wasn't until we went on an early weeknight date that I saw how impressive the food and specials were at Cascabel. Ingredients are fresh, and the flavor of their burritos and standalone entrees are stellar. I had a steak burrito that was perfectly season, incredibly filling, and came aside the best sweet potato fries I've ever consumed. Granted, sweet potato fries aren't this revolutionary side dish, these were pretty crispy and marvelous…topped with chopped cilantro and other herbs and spices. In addition to the good meal we had we were treated very well by our server even once he became overwhelmed with the growing crowd past 8PM. The atmosphere is festive, fun but not too loud before nightfall, and nice and cool in the summer even with their windows open for natural light and their outdoor seating area.
Conclusively, I am glad my additional Yorkville restaurant exploration led me to Cascabel Taqueria and genuinely look forward to returning. It's ideal for happy hour and very much recommend it to locals.
Casual festive restaurant with a contemporary pop culture mexican flare and decor, and great tacos and margaritas.
The atmosphere was lively, pretty crowded but there was some seating. I wasn't a fan of the narrow community tables inside which have you sitting across from your friend and closely next to your neighbors, but there are other non community tables inside and outside, and they found one for us outside.
Not being authentic mexican decor, I was curious and asked a manager to find out what the fighter / superhero looking paintings had to do with Mexico. The owner incorporated lucha libre as a big part of the decor, the pop culture pro/ freestyle wrestling really big in Mexico and characterized by colorful masks and theatrical personalities. Thus, the paintings all over the walls commissioned by a Mexican artist. Once I recognized the owners vision, I thought it was a great contemporary twist for a Mexican restaurant particularly considering there are so many more traditional Mexican restaurants in the area. The outcome is an upbeat, fun contemporary feeling pop culture influenced casual Mexican restaurant.
The guacamole was very good with chunks of avocados and served with warm taco looking chips you break apart. Chicken tacos were delicious, and rice was decent. Tacos served in silver metal trays which are contemporary but not my preference, something about eating out of trays makes me feel they may not be as sanitary as I would like – I realized mostly as my friend went to dish some rice on my tray and I couldn't say no don't do that fast enough – I will eat from the bowl, but hey, maybe that's just me.
The mezcal pomegranate martini was wonderful.
Service was friendly.
Recommend as a casual spot with great tacos and margaritas and a change from authentic Mexican.
This time I went for their AYCE taco option Monday's. 25$ gives unlimited tacos and beers/sangria. Not a bad deal but here is the catch. You can only get one kind of tacos at a time and then 2 each so is hard to try them all. I asked to have single tacos but they refused, this is why 4 stars. That is overall a great deal for NYC and the food and sauces were delicious, so we're the drinks which came in quickly.
On a Friday night at 8:30PM, the restaurant was packed with upper east siders looking to unwind after a day's work. My party of 4 was fortunate to grab a table without wait. Once seated, we ordered a round of margaritas, appetizers and main dishes. At the end, we used our Yelp Check in Offer to redeem a free churro dish!
For the margaritas, I tried both the watermelon basil and cucumber mint. I highly recommend both. They are decently strong and you can spice it up with a salted rim.
For the appetizers, we ordered Chorizo Mac n Cheese and Guacamole & Chips. The Chorizo Mac n Cheese was good. We didn't get it spicy but I think we should have in the end. I really enjoyed the guac chips! The chips came large and round, and you had to break them into pieces to dip in the guacamole.
For the main dish, I got the camaron (shrimp) tacos. They were generous with the shrimps and it was very delicious.
To end the night, we got a free churro dish from checking in on Yelp. It came with chocolate (or was it nutella) dipping sauce. I highly recommend getting this!! We each grabbed a mini churro and it was gone in 5 seconds.
If I'm ever on the Upper East Side, I'll be sure to stop in at this restaurant again.
As a child, I was deprived of Mexican food- my mom isn't a fan so we never really ate it.
Now that I'm a grown up and can make grown up decisions for myself (like what I get to eat!), I see what I have been missing out on. If only I had a Cascabel near me when I was growing up!!!
This place has a great array of Mexican dishes, ranging from tacos, burritos and entree options. On my most recent visit, I tried the Cemita Poblano sandwich (basically a huge slab of tender, juicy pork butt meat with mango avocado, cheese and sauce sandwiched between two buns!) Delicious (and served with some great sweet potato fries). Try the Queso Fundido too- melted cheese with bits of chorizo that is meant to be wrapped up in a warm tortilla (just make sure to hustle that cheese out before it hardens!)
If you check in on Yelp, you'll get a free dessert (churro bites served with melted chocolate- delicious)
You can't go wrong with anything here! Great drinks, food and service.
Check out happy hour too! Great deals here
Definitely come during happy hour. Margaritas are $7. I always get the watermelon one. Drinks are pretty good, not very strong.
In addition to the margaritas, I really love their Cobb ensalada ($11). I know it's silly to order a salad at a Mexican restaurant, but it is SO good. I've seen so many people order it a countless amount of times, so I finally gave it a try. DELISH.
We got this sent to us at work and we were all so impressed by the quality, taste and presentation of the food!! There's about 30 people who work on our floor and we had enough food for everyone. My favorite was the taco with the onion and eggplant on top of the pork. I absolutely loved the cute mini churros that you dip in chocolate! You must eat it while it's hot, otherwise it'll get soggy and you won't enjoy it as much.
The sweet potato fries were good as well but a bit soggy. I'm going to attribute it to the fact that they had to deliver it to us. The kale salad was not only healthy but also tasty. This is by far the best food we've gotten at work. It was a wonderful surprise and I will be sure to take my friends there for taco Mondays! The guacamole was absolutely delicious! Everything just tasted so fresh. Give it a try!
I decided to check out Cascabel Taqueria with a friend for their happy hour. We both ordered spicy margaritas – I got the original lime and she got the cucumber. The drinks were really good, strong enough but not over done. The spice was delicious – the salt on the rim was spicy, and there were jalapeños infusing into the drink. The wait staff were attentive but not overbearing. I liked the ambience with an outdoor seating section and an indoor section, but open air throughout.
This is a great place to go on a nice night for drinks and snacks. We didn't try the happy hour food, but the menu looked good – there was a taco, a tamale, nachos, and some other snacks all at reasonable prices. With the happy hour price, or big spicy margaritas were only $7 each. It's not the cheapest in town, but the product wasn't cheap quality either.
In summary: A nice place to go for a happy hour on a nice night. Prices are good, not epic, but definitely solid for the area.