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Home > Restaurants > La Esquina Taqueria and Cafe

La Esquina Taqueria and Cafe

Critic's Pick Critics' Pick

114 Kenmare St., New York, NY 10012 40.721419 -73.997843
at Lafayette St.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
646-613-7100 Send to Phone
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Photo by Shanna Ravindra

Official Website

esquinanyc.com

Hours

Daily, 11am-1:45am

Nearby Subway Stops

6 at Spring St.; J, Z at Broad St.

Prices

$10-$22

Payment Methods

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

  • Bar Scene
  • Celeb-Spotting
  • Delivery
  • Dine at the Bar
  • Hot Spot
  • Late-Night Dining
  • Lunch
  • Romantic
  • Design Standout

Alcohol

  • Full Bar

Reservations

Recommended

Delivery Area

Worth St. to 8th St., Allen St. to Greenwich St.

Profile

The neon sign reads corner, a nod to the deli that preceded it, but that’s just a colorful ruse. La Esquina, owned by Derek Sanders and James Gersten, is as much a stage as it is a restaurant. The counter-service taqueria on Kenmare dispenses tacos and tortas (made, unfortunately, on baguettes instead of proper Mexican teleras), and a more extensive menu is served at the adjacent café around the corner, a double-height room with recessed shelves full of books and old record albums. A cool tomatillo-avocado soup was refreshing and mildly spiced, and the char-grilled string beans called ejotes do wonders for an oft-overlooked, overboiled vegetable. Authentic as East Harlem? Maybe not, but the chicken tacos are tasty and the prices surprisingly gentle for a neighborhood straddling the Soho-Nolita border.

Cafe Hours

Mon.—Fri., noon—midnight; Sat. & Sun., 11 a.m.—midnight

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