I'll start by acknowledging I have standards from my regular restaurants where i live as well as my in-laws cooking and eating habits. While they do have good quality ingredients, I do not agree with their version of their menu. The red and green hot sauce are almost identical to restaurants in my area, green always best! And my order came with about half cup of guac which was a delicious surprise. But as for my order, I looked everywhere to find sopes and thought I finally found it here! What I received tho was a sad attempt at a chicken sopes, and outrageously overpriced. At first glance it's amazing and huge, but there's just 2 tortillas with beans, chicken and shredded mozzarella. Sopes is the refried beans, then the meat, lettuce and queso fresco on a a thick corn tortilla-like masa cake made from masa. So I have a mixed review because food is good but it's just not correct... read more

Definitely a new go to- we got six small tacos at $2.50 each. Had the bistec, al pastor and chorizo with grilled warm tortillas that made everything even better! Chorizo tostada was crispy and fresh. Plus little sides of guacamole come with everything. The tamales were also excellent and huge - oaxaqeño and mole, beware there are bones in the tamale which was a bit odd at first but the deliciousness to me made that a minor issue. Also the best tamarind agua fresca I've had- tasted freshly made! No pictures since we inhaled it all. read more

This is by far the best Mexican restaurant ever been, the food is great, las aguas frescas are really delicious perfectly made they have a self service bar where you get guacamole, pico de gallo and other salsas the only thing Order take a little long cuz they always extremely busy. read more

El Tenampa - Bar - Mexican Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Favorite tacos!!! Go all the way from Staten Island and it's been YEARS that I stick to these tacos!!! Tacos de suadero are my favorite and their guacamole salsa is bomb!!! And the agua de Jamaica is awesome!!! read more

The BEST tacos! Super authentic located in the back of a grocery store. Their drinks are also amazing! My entire family loves their tacos. We drive from another borough just for their food. read more

I'm staying at the hotel 2 blocks down and have been craving tacos. I've ordered for delivery from 3 different restaurants for tacos and decided to find a new restaurant. A simple search on yelp lead me here. Who doesn't love a hidden gem spot in the back of a deli?! The tacos were perfect and so delicious. I ordered pollo, pastor, chorizo and tripa. Choice of green hot sauce or red. I chose green. My takeout also automatically came with a container of guac! Definitely ordering from here again. read more

El Tenampa - Mexican Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

This place is very delicious, the avocado salsa is my favorite! It's hard to choose what to order because everything is so good!

If you are looking for some delicious tacos for a good price, then this is the spot. The place is located in the back behind the store. The food is fresh and there is a good condiments bar. read more

El Tenampa - Chickens and steak tacos. - Mexican Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Simply put: THE BEST TACOS I'VE HAD IN NEW YORK. Protip: If you're a little daring ask for the panza negra (black goat belly) or panza blanca (white goat belly). SOOO GOOOD. The pastor is also freaking amazing. And free guacamole!!!! El Tenampa, you are my Jesus. read more

I guess I should avoid this place Sunday afternoons. Ordered three tacos, almost 40 minutes passed and they still hadn't come out. No tacos are worth waiting that long for. I'll stick with Tacos El Bronco off the 36th st stop. read more

Very good Mexican food but I know Spanish. If you can't communicate in Spanish it's not easy to get your order . Learn Spanish like me I lived in Arizona and Mexico for 10years. Learn Spanish link me I lived in Arizona and Mexico for 10 years. Bring a friend that speaks Spanish. Get the Burrito lengua and al Pasteur . If you can't eat spicy stay away from the red salsa Be warned that the green salsa it's hot is hot . I love spicy Get the Tamarindo aqua Fresca Only get the go tacos inside so you can use the salsa bar try to be there at 12 noon when they open read more

El Tenampa - Place - Mexican Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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What a fantastic hidden gem in Sunset Park! The food is great they cook on a comal Great tacquitos and burritos all the flavors taste great plus plenty of garnishes! Hard to Beat their prices too! Have been eating here for years always good and fresh! Con mucho gusto! read more

Slowest service ever. But the food will always be delicious. Authentic. Fresh and just darn good. MUST BRING A SPANISH SPEAKER WITH YOU. If not, prepare to get skipped. Unfortunately, I'm not talking about a one-time experience, this literally happens every time I visited which is about 6 - 8 times. I am fluent and I order in Spanish for my friend but he still ends up getting his food after newer people walk in and place their order. They are partial to the Spanish speakers and my friend definitely looks like he doesn't speak a word of Spanish (he doesn't ). Imagine yourself reaching that point of frustration where you see other people walk in, place their order, and get food before you even though you ordered 20 minutes ago for pickup. You're going to want to walk up to the front and say something, and just when you reach the point of mustering up the energy, your order comes up! Every time like clockwork! ... and the only thing to all of this, is this, that the food is so so so good ! It feels like a chef personally made your order straight out of Mexico ! So yes, although the wait is ridiculous , I will still put myself through agony 4 the rewarding taste sensations of tacos, burritos, Tortas, and cemitas. The free/unlimited toppings deserve their own yelp review.. the radishes , avocado green sauce, mole sauce, fresh pico de gallo, and cucumbers! these toppings Literally make for the best pallette cleanser ! I live on the SAME block as this restaurant & if I order 3 tacos & a chorizo torta, as pictured above, it takes a full 30 mins for food to be ready. It's all made to order & hella fresh. Again, the wait is truly worth visiting one of my top 5 holes in the wall. ( or restaurant inside of a bodega as I like to say).. the rating is pretty hard when the food is so good but the wait is so long and the service is kind of bad.. read more

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That's a good Mexican food but service its terrible and the guy on the counter always have a bad actitud!! Personal hygiene is another factor. read more

Tacos!! They're so delicious here! Only had the bistec and al pastor but so so good! Got a separate order of guacamole but skip out on that if you're getting the large tacos. They come with a little side of them. Their radishes are extra spicy which isn't a bad thing. Don't go to the places on 5th Ave, unless you're only about paying for the ambience, and go here for good, authentic tacos. Be prepared for food coma afterwards! read more

Delicious authentic tacos in the back of this hole in the wall Mexican bodega. I got 3 small tacos for $5.50 - pork, beef, and goat, all fantastic and made to order. It was enough for a snack/small dinner. The fixins bar with salsas, guacamole, pickled jalapenos and carrots, radishes, and cucumbers is awesome. The guacamole was excellent and fresh. I went here after seeing an apartment around the corner. I didn't like the apt but the idea of having this as my local taco place nearly swayed me. read more

Sometimes true love is where you least expect it. In this case it's in the back of a nondescript Mexican grocery store in a somewhat unknown region of 4th Ave. You'll look and wonder if this strange mutant of a restaurant off the street with its fluorescent-lit tables is a good place for Mexican food. Rest assured my friend: They do not play games here. This is by far one of the South Slope and Sunset Park area's best Mexican food joints. I now forego the twenty minute walk to El Bronco, an equally savory taco, in favor of this much closer diamond in the bodega. The tacos, in two sizes, come packed with very well-seasoned and premium meats. Do not skip the grilled onions either. It's tantamount to eating Korean food without kimchi. There's a little cold bar with about eight toppings ranging from mild avocado sauce to spicier salsas and vegetables. The tortas are similar as well with the addition of cheese and beans. The other thing I like is that they don't have the same menu all the time. On different days they have different specials like goat or carnitas or chupacabra. read more

Finally, an authentic taco restaurant in NY. I lived in Mexico for 5 years and I've been missing good mexican food since then. Only 4 stars due to the long wait, but it's worth it. Practice your Spanish if you go there! read more

El Tenampa - Mexican Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

The barbacoa de chivo tacos are amazing. Pollo not so much. chorizo is on point, and I'm picky about chorizo. The toppings bar warms my midwestern heart. Also, be sure to go with small tacos: the proportion of meat to tortilla, to toppings is perfect. I'll be back very soon. read more

You can pretty much find any Mexican spice or packaged food item you could ever need for authentic Mexican cuisine. But once you get passed all this, the real treasure lies at the back of the store. These guys are slinging the best tacos I've had on the east coast. And really great Tortas as well. You can get everything from standard carnitas to tongue tacos or a tongue torta. There's a bar offering salad, cucumbers, two kinds of salsas and a boat load of guac. Wrap it up to go or eat at one of the tables while listening to some Spanish Soap Opera....(hoping to spot the next Sofia Vegara...) And prices are super cheap. Great spot in Sunset Park for a delicious yet budget friendly meal. This is a usual spot for me to grab lunch as I live close by, but worth the schlep on the R train to S. Brooklyn read more

Four stars with the possibility of that elusive fifth star. The tacos were good. Really good. Tender lengua, tangy panza, succulent barbacoa (only on the weekends though. The bollios for the tortas were soft and good, and the torta itself was big, greasy and delicious. There's also a little fixins bar right near where you order that has incredibly good red chipotle sauce, a sort of "garden-ey" green, pickled peppers and carrots, radishes, and the big topper here, guacamole. Very decent guacamole too, not the super thin stuff that I've had at a lot of taco joints. The quesadilla was of the folded over variety and topped with more cheese, but the al pastor from the spit had a pineapple and onion on top. Exactly how it should be. The grocery is still a bit lacking, but they did have aji amarillos, which goes a long way in my book. I want to see how the delivery is. It'd be nice if they had tinga. And more vegetarian options. And I'm really curious to see how the rice is. But this is a place to look out for, and possibly a Mexican destination in the South Slope. read more

Shady prices. Every time i go to this place they don't charge tax separately. Today I went and they charged me $1.00 tax for $12.00 worth of food. I asked what the additional dollar was for and the person said it is for tax, did they start collecting tax separately today? Afterwards I finish my food I ordered another taco for $2.00 but this time they didn't charge tax. (This was 5 minutes afterwards). They try to take advantage of the non locals. Real unethical and poor practices. They are being greedy and they will lose money. Don't come, because you're not welcomed. read more

So I was walking up 4th Ave. as I made my way from the office to my friend's apartment, and I was craving a little something sweet to go with my iced coffee, when I came across this Mexican grocery store. "Pan dulce would really hit the spot," thought I. I walked in and wandered slowly past the hot sauces and wonderful pickled items, but then I made a left at the tortillas and saw a hot-food counter in the back! If there's one thing this Californian knows, it's that the best tacos almost always come from low-key trucks or the back of a Mexican grocery store. One lengua taco to go, please. I loaded up on the guac, salsa, and pickled jalapeños from the salsa bar and went to town. Maybe the best lengua taco I've had all year. Can't wait to try the squash blossom quesadilla... or a cemita... or a torta. And maybe that pan dulce about which I totally forgot. Only knock is the price at $2/taco, but I'm starting to see that that's common on this coast. Sigh. At least this taco was worth it. read more

This is quite easily the best Mexican I've had in New York City and I've tried a lot. I ordered two grande tacos; one chicken, one spicy pork - being charged $6 for the two. The meat was delicious and flavourful. The toppings are minimal (grilled onion and cilantro) but the deli bar gives you many options for what you might want to add to your taco, for free. Spicy salsa, two kinds of guacamole, tonnes of freshly cut limes, radishes, jalapeños - you name it, they have it. I'm yet to try the smoothies they also have on offer for $3.50 but I will definitely be back to try one - to cool my mouth down post-spicy pork taco! Some past reviewers have mentioned the wait for food but I had no issues, waiting less than five minutes. However I arrived after 8pm so not the peak time so I lucked out there! Win, win, win for this place. read more

I've only been here a couple of times but this is definitely a favorite and wish I lived closer! I only stop by when in the neighborhood and hungry. This is a grocery store front so go to the back.. very clean (and clean bathroom too! if you read some of my other reviews, you'd know i have a thing for clean bathrooms!) Cafeteria style service and you get to serve yourself all the salsa, green peppers, radishes, and FREE guac you want!) so far i have tried the chicken tacos and a beef quesadilla last night.. both amazing and I recommend to anyone who enjoys authentic mexican food read more

El Tenampa - beef quesadilla with salsa verde, guac, and cheese! Yum - Mexican Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

La comida es muy rica todo el tiempo y lo que sea que pida, el servicio genial amables como siempre

I love this place! The tostadas are to die for, and the tacos also! I love the little condiment bar with salsas and guacamole. My friend loves their tortas. Would recommend 10/10 read more

I hope no one discovers this joint. Tucked in behind bodega aisles, you'll find the best selection of taco meats north of Sunset Park. Everything from oreja to lengua and cesina and cabeza and goat. Burritos are solid but benefit from a SALSA BAR WITH REAL GUACAMOLE. Something in the enchilada cemitas is truly addicting. I think it's the combo of squeaky quesillo and herbaceous pápalo leaves, plus the way they grill the bread to crunchy perfection. Recommend coming in person to take advantage of the salsa bar. I ordered delivery once and waited way too long. read more

My new local Mexican spot. The back of the mexican oriented deli has a crew of 3-4 people cooking up for waves of hungry patrons. There are only about 4 tables in the back, and they always seem to be packed . In my 2 times being here, I have tried their pastor (always a great litmus), barbacoa (love some goat), and chorizo (yum sausage) in burrito, taco, and torta forms. The flavors within these meals has been like an epiphany to my tastebuds. Before any of the delicious fillings is played into your food, it goes to the butcher guy, who wields a huge blunt looking knife and just chops everything together on a small ceramic stone. This must play a good part in the flavor, because there's always a hint of something else in there, which certainly does not take away from the main course. As well, I keep detecting sweet hints of pineapple in the meats there, this must be used to keep it moist to some degree, but this little addition is what i think sets this place away from the other joints I used to frequent (tuclingo, matamoros, and ricos tacos). If all that wasnt enough to get you mobilized, there's a fresh sauce bar to the side of the front counter that is always stocked with amazing guacamole, diffferent mole sauces, salsa, and pickled vegetables. Do not skip the guac, best I've ever had. read more

I came here for a snack with friends to eat Mexican tacos. It was a well hidden restaurant. It's behind a deli store. So you would have to walk thru the store to get to the restaurant in the back. The place is decent. It's fairly clean and neat. You would have to order your food in the kitchen. It takes them quite a while to make the food - at least 15 minutes or more depending on the number of people ahead of your order. I had their beef taco and chorizo taco. The beef taco was very dry. I think they left the beef on the stove a little too long. The chorizo was quite good. It was a little spicy. read more

Awesome tacos! Maybe some of the best in the neighborhood. But the wait time is too long :(

Pros: melt-in-your-mouth pastor tacos. Good guacamole and salsas. Outstanding batidos (mamey!)--may or may not have ice cream, I honestly can't tell because it's so creamy and refreshing. Cons: Service. This place is slow and not super friendly. The interior is also not particularly attractive (it's as barebones as it comes.) Bonus: yes, that's right, bonus! As in bonus cash back. This place technically counts as a grocery, so it's extra cash back for me. read more

Best tacos in NYC! (That I've had so far; but that opinion will probably hold true.) I am from California. Ever since I moved to NYC, there have been two cuisines majorly lacking in quality and substance from that of So Cal-Chinese food and Mexican food. El Tenampa is tops though. They also have basically every taco meat you could want, too. Highlights for me are the goat barbacoa, tripa, buche, and cabeza. I've noticed cesina is more of a thing out here, and I enjoy that too. GF usually gets the huaraches, quesadillas, or tamales and those are great as well. The salsa bar is rad. We usually get a couple of sodas from the store part in front to have with our meal. I also enjoy the vibe-lots of families and random people. read more

Hands down the BEST authentic tacos and Mexican food you will find in Brooklyn. Seating is hard to get sometimes, but i love this place. I've been coming here for years now. Best tacos: pastor, lengua, and barbacoa. Other delicious foods: milanese de res cemita (with or without chile), mushroom quesadilla (trust me it's good), and enchiladas de mole (one of my favs). read more

Slow service but overall the food was great especially the tacos and burritos loved it

If this place was in Manhattan I wouldn't write a review for fear my 5 stars would contribute to it being overrun by the yelping masses. Since its safely tucked away on a bland section of 4th Ave, I feel safe. The food is excellent. In spite of there being burritos on the menu, this place serves legit Mexican food. My steak torta was possibly the best I've had in NYC (topped maybe by Downtown Mexican Bakery). It could have used more bean spread but all the elements worked so well together. The tacos smartly are available small or large on fresh grilled tortillas. They were also great. The chilles rellenos looked good but I was near bursting at this point. I will update as I return to work my way through the menu. read more

Especially in the sh!thole that Brooklyn has become,if you can't appreciate this spot, then YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!!! LEAVE NOW, AND NEVER RETURN!!! Seriously, this joint is incredible, and I don't mean just the food service area in the back. The market portion is chock-full of goodies, and always reminds me of how far too many don't take the time to really appreciate another culture or their neighbors. THE BEST TACOS IN NYC!!!! read more

All the things you want in a taco place! None of the things you don't! Zero frills and perfect. Self-serve salsa and guacamole! read more

I'm a Californian and have lived in NYC for 10 years and this is the first time I have had real authentic Mexican food that I'm accustomed to. Five stars for everything in this place. I even bought jamaica so I can make my own juice!!! read more

OMG - we come from Chicago (here as NY tourists) and we never could find a good place with REAL cemitas. Let me just say that this place impressed my dad. He is originally from Puebla, Mexico, where cemitas originate. & he LOVES cemitas. My dad himself said he had the best cemita here. He hasn't had a good one in AGES!!! That says a lot! If you never had a cemita, it's like a torta but a billion times better! You won't regret it once you try it. It's sad that they don't have a place like this back home. The place is little and it's located in a tiny convenience store - very home feeling. The people are nice and welcoming. We will come back to eat here next time we visit Brooklyn, no doubt! read more