The Upper East Side is getting a serious taco upgrade. Santo Taco, the buzzy Mexican taqueria that has already built a following downtown, is heading uptown with a new location at 1435 Third Avenue, between East 81st and 82nd Streets.
The upcoming Santo Taco Upper East Side will take over the former Daona grocery space and bring the restaurant’s compact menu of tacos, tostadas, guacamole and Mexican-inspired drinks to the neighborhood. The team has already filed for a liquor license, and while an official opening date has not been announced, the project is moving through the city’s approval process.
So what should hungry Upper East Siders expect?
The menu will feature Santo Taco’s signature Santi’s Steak Trompo, made with prime New York strip and top sirloin, along with pork carnitas, carne asada, chicken, shrimp and vegetarian tacos. There will also be a tuna tostada, quesadillas and guacamole served with blue-corn totopos.
And because tacos without something cold to wash them down would be practically irresponsible, the restaurant plans to serve margaritas, micheladas, beer and agua frescas.
The UES location is expected to be relatively intimate, with approximately 19 seats, six tables and a customer bar. Proposed hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight Friday and Saturday.
Santo Taco was founded by Santiago Perez, a co-founder of the acclaimed Mexican restaurant Cosme, and has already expanded from its original downtown location to Union Square, with a West Village location also opening in September.
Basically, the Santo Taco NYC expansion is becoming a full-blown taco takeover.
The Upper East Side already has plenty of martinis.
Now it’s getting steak trompo, too.
And honestly, that feels like a pretty good trade.
