El Paso Taqueria

Food: When i’m looking for quick, affordable, convenient Mexican, El Paso is my go to place. Their guacamole is fresh, spicy, and always hits the spot — i’m usually using my fingers to scrape up the remaining bits off the pestle they serve it in. The fajitas are always a win although they may have some asiany flare to them? soy sauce? — choose shrimp or steak as the chicken is a little tasteless/​dry. I’ve gotten the tacos once or twice nothing too memorable and certainly not better than any i’ve had in LA.
Drinks: margaritas! they have a 5 dollar happy hour in the afternoon, which usually brings out the local medical personnel — students, residents, nurses, etc.
Ambiance: It’s VERY cozy. If you don’t like eating on top of other people, try somewhere else.
Service: Attentive and fast.
Bottomline: Affordable spot for fajitas and margaritas with quick service.
Best dish: Steak fajitas
Needs improvement: spicy guac could be more spicy

Great fun place, laid back vibe, quick, friendly, good service. Surprisingly good food and drinks, great place for a fun night. It’s a jeans and sneakers place, not fancy but a real find. Fresh ingredients. Huge portions, defiantly shareable.

I’ve become addicted to their mushroom omelet. The guacamole is also fresh and delicious.
This is our local… go to… Mexican restaurant and we eat there about twice a month. I’ve never been disappointed.
It’s small and cozy inside… a very nice and relaxing ambience.

I came here once for lunch, and it was actually one of the most cost-​effective eateries around Upper East Side — East Harlem area. It was about $ 7 for a burrito. The burrito tasted great, the inside of the place isn’t the most glamorous of all places but I recommend it for a quick bite or on the go type of spot. Haven’t tried the happy hour for this spot but I would assume it would be crowded. In addition, the lighting in the place sucks although maybe that is to create the ambiance of the spot.

This is a relatively upscale mexican restaurant. And thus a little on the pricey side. Service was wonderful. Very nice and accommodating staff. I had a grilled pork chop on top of greens. They put a somewhat sweet sauce on it I was not crazy about, and too much of it. So much that the greens were soaked in it. Guacomole was good. It’s a very pleasant restaurant, but I would not go out of my way to come here again.

Grabbed a quick lunch here with my family. We shared a pitcher of sangria, guacamole, and I ordered a burrito. The food was quick to come out and my burrito was tasty. I only wished the sangria would have had more fresh fruit in it. But overall, really really good.

Really unfortunate food. Has a cute ambience and family friendly décor but the food was truly mediocre. I got three tacos al pastor and they were inedible: chunks of uncooked fat, flavorless meat, all dripping so much oil that they had soaked through the parchment paper in minutes. Better go to Al Aguila a few blocks away.

The tortilla soup is the best thing i’ve orderd; it’s very basic so hard to mess this up. I get take out form there sometimes. Tacos are not good; tortillas are not fresh and once they are heated and put into tinfoil they just get soggy. The al pastor meat lacks good seasoning and the green salsa provided lacks flavor — really bad actually. Enchiladas are ok.

I had the octopus taco and it was delicious!!! mouth watering tangy picked cabbage over perfectly cooked soft and tasty octopus in a soft taco shell. Portion size is great also.
It’s a small charming place. I can’t wait to go back again and try other items on the menu.
They also deliver!

Had the pollo al carbon, fajitas, quesadillas, burritos, and tacos here. All delicious. Probably get take-​out twice a week and they never disappoint.

We have ordered delivery from them a few times. Food is inconsistent. I received a Burrito from here that was absolutely disgusting. The Guacamole was brown that time as well. Delivery can be somewhat spotty. I can’t speak for the location, space etc. We have always done take out. We prefer Lupitas.

My first time at this location was reminiscent of my introduction to our much-​loved El Paso at the corner location on the west side of lex at 104. Football on two overhead televisions — the kitchen roared when dos Santos scored against Costa Rica then erupted again when Hernández tied the game a couple of minutes later. While plating varies, the menu is the same and the food (and drink) consistently satisfying between locations. Arguably, Camarones a La Diabla is overpriced at $ 22. Friends who used to accompany us regularly have dragged us along to other restaurants — but we keep coming back (we are sadly bereft of our closest location at 116^th) because the menu is of consistent quality and we’ve always been made to feel like family at all the locations. Even tonight — at a place I’ve never dined before.
I don’t even attempt to pursue my vegan «ideals» when eating Mexican Food. I came very close to ordering the only other item I ordered from the 116 location on a regular basis, the Mixiote Hidalguense. Tonight I drew the line at shrimp (not as spicy as I remember– come to think of it, neither was the guacamole we ordered spicy) — but I came close to ordering what is my favorite memory of eating animals. I will go no further in my expression of enthusiasm of El Paso’s version this dish for ethical reasons. I’m a terrible, hypocritical vegan.

Been coming here for years and it has always been a staple of mine. The servers are very good and very sweet and helpful. The food is okay. It won’t blow your mind but it’s solid. I also like that they open the windows in the warmer months.
The reason I’m writing this review is because I am so disappointed the happy hour policy has changed! It was my FAVORITE place to go for happy hour because you could pick any tequila you wanted to go in your margarita and it was a vey reasonable price. Now, they only give you 2 cheaper options for tequila which frankly just don’t taste as good as before. I hope you consider going back to your old policy, especially since your happy hour is from 3−6pm and I can’t imagine everyone on the UES is drinking Patron at 3pm!

SHRIMP PLATTTER is awesome.
Shrimp was so damn good. and so damn cheap. Came with rice, salad, pickled veggies.
Definitely a hole in the wall — don’t bring any one bougie and definitely don’t come here on a first date.
Only complaint was the plantains. They sucked. I think they ran out of plantains and just used bananas. Empanadas were hot and fresh, but not the best I’ve ever had.

I have to give credit where it is due. I haven’t personally eaten in, but I do however get delivery. They have some of the best fish tacos I’ve ever had. That says a lot because those who know me know that fish tacos is a big staple of mine when ordering out.
The tacos are made with fresh lightly fried pollock. A zesty pico de gallo, cabbage, and a generous portion of avocado. For $ 12 for a set of three, it’s a great price.

Good simple Mexican on a nice block. Had the Chimichangas and the girlfriend had the chicken enchiladas! While the restaurant in a little on the smaller side, the atmosphere is great! Highly recommend it if your in the mood for good, quick Mexican in a nice setting.

I am torn with this one, as what was good was GREAT and the bad was the absolute worst.
Mushroom burrito– great!
Shrimp tacos — very good!
Cactus pad salad — the worst thing I have ever tasted!
Guacamole– ok, but needed salt. weird.
The waiter was really nice, and when we sent the cactus salad back he was very understanding and tried to explain the whole process, etc. etc. why it’s hard to know a good cactus pad. But he still charged us for the salad. Not a huge deal, but it was kinda lame. Actually, really name. It wasn’t that I don’t like napoles – they are my favorite salad/​side on the planet. But these were the worst. Like, out of a can style. only slimey. And nobody would like them that way. But we were still charged for them, which really grinds my ass.
So, yeah. I don’t know if I would go out of my way to go back to El Paso, but I might try it again. And I will definitely avoid the salads.

Burritos are well toasted with a hearty filling. They could have been a little more generous on the shrimp and/​or distributed it more evenly throughout the burrito, though. As it was, all of the ingredients congregated in pockets within the burrito, so that as you are eating it, you’re like «Oh, I’m in rice town, now… but wait! Only a couple more bites til its bean city!»
Chips and guac were both great. Quick service as well.

This place is my go-​to for Mexican food on the UES. Such a hidden gem on the upper east/​beginning of spanish harlem. El Paso has friendly waitstaff, delicious food and drinks and a warm and inviting atmosphere. They have great dishes that are less tex-​mex and more authentic Mexican. My favorites are several of the fish dishes and the burrito. Rice and beans are always great. The burritos are also packed with flavor when you are looking for a no-​fail favorite. Everything is good, it is often hard to decide what to order.
I have eaten here consistently over the last year and the food is always on point and delicious. Can’t wait to return!

Looking for a dinner spot on a Sunday night and craving nothing and everything at the same time, my friend and I ended up at El Paso Taqueria. It was a good thing we got there when we did because about ten minutes after we sat a group of people came and filled up the already cosy restaurant.
We were almost instantly greeted by our waiter and asked if we wanted any beverages. I was happy to have such an attentive waiter… who also turned out to be very patient. Now because we were craving everything and nothing it took us about fifteen minutes to decide what we wanted to eat. Our waiter kept checking on us but we were overwhelmed by all of the options on the menu.
We firmly decided on the mild guacamole to start with, and were very happy with it. Its a good thing we got the mild and not the spicy since even the mild had a little kick to it. I loved that the guac came in a decorative bowl, it added to the rustic Mexican feel in the restaurant. Eventually we ordered the flautas (super yummy), two bistec tacos and a pork taco. All very good and hit the spot. Nothing felt too heavy which was nice.
The one thing that scared us a few times were the flying hot plates of food over our heads. Because the place is cosy we did come a little close to some sizzling hot places a little more than I liked but it just added entertainment to our night. The waiters are of course pros so nothing dropped. It was just a funny moment to add to our experience.
I do plan on going back during the weekdays to El Paso. There was a happy hour sign just outside for Monday through Friday specials. I can’t wait!