Santo Taco
The steak trompo at Santo Taco is ribeye and strip layered onto the spit, salted and nothing else, then cooked until it is slick with fat.1
Why go
The operator is a founder of Cosme. This Union Square room is the second Santo Taco, after Kenmare Street.1 Willa Moore reviewed it for The Infatuation in December 2025.1 The extra space bought a fryer. That is why the shrimp taco exists here and nowhere else in the group.1 A third door opens on Bleecker Street in September 2026.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: two steak trompo tacos to start.1
- Order: the shrimp taco, crisped in the fryer, tossed in salsa macha and served under a creamy slaw.1
- Order: the pork carnitas, built from belly and ribs, as the third on the plate.1
- Avoid: the mushroom taco. Of the two vegetarian options Moore prefers the zucchini, sliced paper thin under salsa macha and chihuahua cheese.1
What locals & experts say
- Willa Moore, The Infatuation (9 December 2025, 8.4):
Santo Taco 2.0 is bigger, and a little more corporate-feeling, but the pressed-to-order tortillas here are just as game-changing as the ones at the original.
1 - The group's own count: two doors open in the city, SoHo on Kenmare Street and this one on University Place.2
Good to know
- Booking: counter service, walk in.1
- Drinks: they spike their agua santa with tequila or mezcal, which is the house cocktail.1
Verdict
should-visit — Come after work. A cocktail runs $12 to $13 and a mini beer is $5, in an area where The Infatuation says a cocktail under $20 is hard to find. Three tacos on a plate is the right lunch.