Tacos Xochimilco

its not tacos xochimilco anymore– i think somebody else bought it because all the photos of norteno bands are gone and the sign and menu are different.
if you are looking for tacos xochimilco, its gone. forever.
kind of tragic.

Stop one on my UYE Taco Crawl with fellow Unilocalers Jon, Lisa and Vivian! Ok look, I know I was born and grew up mostly in Texas but I have very minimal knowledge of Mexican food… especially traditional Mexican food. So tacos are supposed to be small, topped with onion and cilantro and made with corn tortillas, huh? I think America did its usual thing by making it 10x bigger and adding cheese, sour cream, more cheese, deep fried etc. etc. I must say I do enjoy these little guys and I’m very glad I went on this crawl to further educate myself and explore the different types of tacos they have in Bay Ridge.
At Tacos Xochimilco, I ordered my very first two real-​Mexican tacos ever. I picked one that I figured would be good and one that I had never heard of before: Carnitas and Al Pastor. The Al pastor was amazing! I think it’s marinated pork or something. So good. If it’s your first time having a traditional taco, I definitely recommend the Al Pastor! The meal was ridiculously cheap at $ 1.50 a taco. Surprisingly our bill was screwed up and we paid even less than we should have… I mentioned speaking to the waitress about it since it could not possibly be right but I was told to shush lol. Oh well, we left a good tip.
And the Taco Crawl continues…

Xochimilco (sō-​ch-​ml-​kō) means «garden of flowers» in the Náhuatl Aztec language. If you are looking for flowers, check out the nursery across from Greenwood Cemetery. If you are looking for tasty tacos and other specialties hailing from the Mexico City region, head to Tacos Xochimilco. Although the space is small here, it is very clean and boasts of an air conditioner (a tall order in this neighborhood). The menu is quite extensive, and I may have to make return trips to try the brunch items and unique sandwiches (pambazos) and soups (pozole). My first trip here, however, was part of a taco crawl, so I only tried an al pastor taco. The corn tortillas were piping hot and fresh, and the pork was juicy with a hint of pineapple and spicier than I’m used to in al pastor, more closely resembling a carne enchilada style taco. The duo of salsas on the side, a green tomatillo salsa and a red-​hot, fiery salsa roja, were especially clean and fresh looking and tasting. The tacos here may just give my usual standby, Ricos Tacos, a run for its money, especially when combined with the cleaner atmosphere.

I’m only basing this on one meal of 2 tacos (from our UYE crawl). One was good. One was really good… for a whole $ 1.50 each.
It’s a fairly simple space, somewhat small, and fairly bare bones. I’m definitely interested in visiting again and trying more dishes… not just based on my small sample, but due to the fact that all tables were full of locals enjoying much bigger meals.
That’s not only a good sign, but probably the best sign (except for Gringos lining up for the Cheesecake Factory).
Pronouncing the name is the only difficult part of this place.

I ordered delivery from here. 40 minutes later, I called to check on it. I was told by the woman on the phone that her boss said I was too far to deliver. I’m on 36^th St and 3^rd Ave. This is very close. I asked her why she didn’t call me and what she expected me to think waiting there like an idiot for the food I assumed was coming. She had no explanation.

after realizing that tacos el bronco only opens at 8pm (wasn’t feeling the truck), we ended up at xochimilco. i wanted something new from matamoros… but man, i wish i went to matamoros instead!
nothing was BAD, but the only thing that stood out for me was the spicy pork taco (enchilada) and the grilled shrimp. lengua was fatty but bland, and the barbacoa (goat) was tender but also not very flavorful. i guess you could say everything was delicately or subtly seasoned, but i wanted more zing! the tortillas did have a nice crisp to the outside, the enchilada nuggets were hot & ever-​so-​slightly charred, and the red & green salsas were both tasty.
the grande taco has alot of meat and onions. at matamoros, they give you guac too — yes yes, i know that might not be considered authentic in a taco, but i adore guacamole in anything.

This place is good, but not that amazing. There is definetly better food in this area, if you think this place is really good then you have to explore the neigberhood some more, you’ll be even more impressed I’m sure.

Pretty good & cheap. Went with my son. He had rice & beans and a chicken taco. I had eggs, rice & beans — delicious! I got carnitas to go for my husband. Our food wasn’t greasy. The kitchen looked okay and the bathroom was clean.

I kicked off my ¡Taco Crawl! this past weekend at Tacos Xochimilco. I was impressed by the good reviews I read — I mean the well-​written, thoughtful ones, not the «OMG!!! SO yummy!!! five stars!!!» ones — that trumpeted this joint over Matamoros. This review is only about the tacos, so I wouldn’t read too much into the other food.
I hate to be a hater, but Xochimilco didn’t deliver. We ordered 4 tacos — carne asada, lengua, chorizo and carnitas — that were okay. The carne asada was the winner of the bunch, with the right moisture content — not too much — and just enough charred taste, the lengua, standard, the chorizo, incredibly and stupefyingly greasy — poured out of the back and all over my hands in front — the carnitas, too fatty. On top of this the tortillas were dry and neither of their salsas — green and red — did a great job at giving the tacos the right amount of kick and flavor. Also, who serves tacos with lemons instead of limes?
At $ 2.50 a taco it’s a good deal, but it’s not as though it’s any cheaper than what you’ll get at similar restaurants.
I’d come back to try the other food, just not the tacos.

This used to be my favorite taco place in Sunset Park. I hate that I said «used to be.» The tacos this time were so greasy. The meat was oily as were the tortillas, which I think were also stale. It was just so disappointing.
Maybe it was a one time deal. A bad cook, maybe. I sure hope it wasn’t «Gringo treatment.»

It PAINS me to do this, but I have to dock a star from Xochimilco, due to the incredibly greasy tacos they served last week. What happened to the hot griddling of the meat? What happened to the slight crunch on the outside of the tortillas?
I hate when formerly great restaurants get downgraded into just good. :(They can make it back, but it’ll take a return to roots.

I think although the tacos are slightly more than the other place down the street, that I prefer this place. I sampled their carne asada and the barbacoa as well as the tripe. I don’t usually like tripe but my last trip to Mexico had me loving it because they seasoned it so much that it didn’t have that rubbery texture. Oh taco cart mystery meat I miss you.
Anyway I preferred this place to the place down the street (you’ll figure it out I won’t name names) based on a direct comparison. The Xochimilco tacos have better flavor, are not as chewy, and well they’re just good and have the same ingredients. Not as good as true Mexican tacos but they’ll do for a Texas girls craving.
Speaking spanish or knowing some is probably helpful here.

The Pastor taco was the best taco I had in Sunset park. I also tried the Tacos de Barbacoa (goat) and Lengua (tongue) but the Pastor (pork) taco is the clear winner here. The pork was the most flavorful piece of meat I had all night and it was also served fresh off the grill. The tortilla was fresh. veggies on point… and here’s why I was really impressed. this was 5 minutes before CLOSING. The waitress did not rush me out and was very playful when I was ordering. Nothing says winner than great service and great food.

I think my reviews are a bit misleading as I’m giving away too many «4 stars» but I’ll let it be known that I rarely review the bad places unless I’ve had a horrific experience. That being said, I’ve been on a taco hunt in Sunset and so far this place keeps getting my money.
Do yourself a favor and just order a bunch of tacos and have at it. I just went down the list and ordered 4 random tacos. I also asked for sour cream on the side and they supplemented the tacos with tasty hot sauce (salsa). Man, was it great!
Everything tasted fresh and these «Cantina» style tacos (as they are referred to in Taco Bell commercials now) are amazing! My girlfriend had a steak torta and it was amazing as well. It’s not high class eating, but it’s great taco stand stuff in a small restaurant.

SUPER GOOD TACOS! I can’t believe I’ve just settled for taco bell all these years b/​c i didn’t know which taco place was good. but thanks to Unilocalers, I found this place!
I went here around 8 pm for take out and the place was pretty empty and waited about 10 minutes for carne asado and pollo asado. I jetted home as fast as I could to stuff my face with these tacos.
I like the pollo asado more, but it was a wee bit too salty. But the carne asado had good flavoring too and the beef was tender. I got 4 tacos for $ 6…what a freakin’ deal.

I don’t know how to be polite about this (or anything, really). Your enjoyment of Tacos Xochimilco will depend on your ability to parse a menu. It also helps to consider the name of the restaurant, which starts with «Tacos» and ends with «Xochimilco.» Xochimilco is part of Mexico City. It is not part of Santa Cruz, California, San Mateo, California, San Francsico, California, or El Paso, Texas.
People should therefore not expect burritos of any special quality. They should especially not expect Americanized burritos.
Order masa-​based goods like sopes and huaraches. Or small (pequeño) tacos. Or dishes that sound interesting. I disagree with Bert F., and think the red mole (stilo Xochimilco) is fantastic. Lots of smoky chipotle and nice, crunchy squash and beans. Short rib meat is a little fatty, but flavorful, and you’ll probably get a few ribs to suck on.
And cecina. Salty pork. Tops in its class, for my money. If you want al pastor, De Guerreros is 23 blocks north, at the intersection of 5^th and 22^nd. But if you’re already at 45^th, have something with cecina, maybe a small bowl of mole and a large agua horchata.
Save the burritos for when you’re much older. And losing your mind.

Came here after going to Tacos Mmatamoros on a taco crawl for cinco de mayo. Again, the waitress here didn’t speak English but «un poco» but tried to help as much as possible and was very nice.
The atmosphere is pretty much null. It’s quiet and drab.
We got 2 small carne asada tacos @ $ 1.50 each. The meat was really good. There was no guacamole, crema, or pico de gallo so it was a bit dry, but at least the meat itself was good.
After debating our next choice we settled on a chicken milanesa cemita @ $ 6.50. I would’ve liked to have tried a pambazo but the waitress said there was barely any meat in it so that wasn’t an option. The cemita was on soft bread with plenty of tasty cheese, some beans, and a meager amount of tomato and avocado. There was a whole chipotle in adobo at the bottom that was a very unwelcomed surprise! If there was no chipotle and was more tomato and avocado the sandwich would’ve been superb, as it was it was very tasty, maybe an 8.5÷10.

So this junt served as a prelude to my ongoing quest for the perfect taco. Not a bad start. gotta say. I stopped in for a plain ol’ taco al pollo to go. I apparently looked like a sweaty pile (I had come in from a run) and the woman gave me a complimentary horchata. Dope! Very cinnamon-​ey and didn’t have that sand-​papery grit that you get with the stuff made from the Nesquick style mix.
The taco was solid. Chicken was tender and served with a couple of types of salsa, lime and the traditional radish. Wish I wasn’t poor as hell (I had literally a dollar fifty to my person at the time), I would have tried some other varieties. I’ll be heading back though… you mark my words.
Also a good sign that I was the only gringo in the place.

Authentic? Possibly. How am I supposed to know? I am merely a Korean.
Delicious? Yes.
Large menu that I cannot read despite my two years of hard-​core Spanish classes back in high school? Check.
None of the restaurant workers speaking/​understanding a single word of English (while talking to you in Spanish as if you clearly knew Spanish but were just being modest and refusing to speak/​understand it)? Definitely.
BYO? Yes.
Hard liquor allowed? Why not?
We killed a fifth of Tequila Sauza and a six pack of something else while dining like Axayacatl & Tizac and being serenaded by Mariachis.
Yes, it’s all the way out in Sunset Park, but it’s worth a trip on a lazy mid-​week evening with a group of friends. Hop the N express and transfer to the R for the 45^th and you’ll be right there.

I like Tacos Matamoros across the street, but I really like Tacos Xochimilco!
It’s not as fancy as it’s neighbor. In fact, it looks like a take-​out-​only place, although there are several tables for sit-​down service.
The beauty of the tacos, themselves, makes up for the spartan décor, though.
Each one is individually hand-​wrapped in paper, with the delicious stuffing peeking out. I had a carnitas taco and a chorizo this time. They’re served with guacamole, onions, cilantro. Great meat– tender, juicy, fresh and nicely browned.
The table next to mine ordered big, heaping plates of steak, rice and beans, which looked great.
Coffee wasn’t the greatest in the world, but I had to have a hot drink on a cold day like today… when I go back in warmer weather, I’ll get a Jaritos or Mexican coke from one of the coolers in the dining room.
As I walked out the door, I tipped my hat to the guys in the kitchen for making such nice tacos. You could see that extra level of attention to something even as basic as a taco. It’s nice to see.