Tacos 1986 West Village
Bryan Kim's advice at Tacos 1986 is to skip the tacos. Order the perron: a translucent flour tortilla under melted cheese, with a scoop of beans.1
Why go
Victor and Joy started this in Los Angeles. Cornelia Street is their only New York room.2 Kim reviewed it for The Infatuation in August 2025 and marked the transfer down. He names Taqueria El Chato and Santo Taco as rooms nearby that beat it, and Los Tacos No. 1 for a crispier al pastor.1 He grants two things: the kitchen makes its own tortillas, and the counter moves.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the perron, which used to be a secret-menu item.1
- Order: the coarsely chopped chicken or the heavily marinated al pastor, if you are having tacos at all.1
- Avoid: the vampiros, and the steak.1
What locals & experts say
- Bryan Kim, The Infatuation (29 August 2025, 7.0):
West Coast import Tacos 1986 is very decent by NYC taqueria standards. (By LA standards, not so much.) Unfortunately, New Yorkers are spoiled now, and the days when we were willing to settle for merely decent tacos are well behind us.
1 - The founders on what they set out to do:
After not finding the Tijuana-Style Tacos I grew up eating as a kid, I made it my mission to bring them to LA.
2
Good to know
Verdict
could-visit — Go late. Order two things and stop.