Oaxaca Opens New Manhattan Location

Oaxaca, the popular mini-chain taqueria in Brooklyn, recently opened a new location in the East Village. I decided to try their take-out since I was working in the area. It’s not my favorite way to judge a place since most food tastes better in house, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to try new tacos.

I always expect take-out tacos to be smashed in tin foil with soggy shells so I was happy to see that everything arrived in a pleasant state.



Oaxaca doesn’t have a very in depth menu. Their only choices for tacos being steak, chicken, pork, rice and beans, fish and an especiale, which I’m not exactly sure of. Not having the cash for fish or especiale (they’re a dollar extra with the 3 taco combo) and not being interested in plain rice and beans I choose steak, chicken and pork.

I was pumped to see pickled onions since they’re one of my favorite toppings and the cojita cheese was a nice tangy addition but across the board the tacos were too dry. The pork was soft and tender but not nearly moist enough. The steak was cut too big and contained a lot of gristle and the stewed chicken did nothing to change my mind about chicken being the worst choice for tacos. It was the driest of the three.

So I ended up being torn. The food arrived looking great, the tortillas were not soggy and disintegrated and the toppings were fresh. But I wasn’t impressed with the filling. Maybe fans of the Oaxaca locations in Brooklyn can fill me in on their experiences. The Manhattan location might not be up to speed yet.

Oaxaca Tacos
16 Extra Place
New York, NY 10003