Santo Taco, the Nolita hot spot with Cosme ties, has a second location on the border of Greenwich Village and Union Square. 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.
The steak trompo taco remains our favorite. They make it by layering ribeye and strip steak onto the trompo, seasoning it simply with salt, and cooking until it’s soft and slick with fat. The slabs of steak sink into those tortillas, becoming less meat-on-tortilla and more one beautiful unit. You can easily inhale three without ever looking up.
We also like the pork carnitas, and the shrimp taco, which you can’t find in Nolita. The extra space here allows for a fryer, which is used to crisp up the shrimp before they’re tossed in salsa macha and served with a creamy slaw. The other thing unique to this location? Alcohol. Come after work for a happy hour complete with $12 margaritas, $5 mini beers, and the very best tacos this area has to offer.
Food Rundown
Drinks
They basically take their agua santa and spike it with spicy tequila or mezcal, and the resulting cocktails range from $12-13. That’s pretty notable, given that it’s hard to find a cocktail in the area for under $20—and the agua santa addition sets this apart from a regular old margarita. If you want something more straightforward, the mini beers are $5.
photo credit: Willa Moore
Santi’s Steak Trompo
If you get only one of these, there’s a 90% chance you’ll be right back at the counter for a second. That’s not an exaggeration—we’ve seen it happen several times. You might as well order at least two to begin with.
photo credit: Kate Previte
Pork Carnitas
Our second favorite meat option on the menu is the carnitas, which is fatty and crispy in all the right parts. On a plate of three tacos (the perfect lunch), this should make an appearance.
photo credit: Kate Previte
Zucchini
Of the two vegetarian options on the menu, we prefer the zucchini over the mushroom. The vegetable is sliced paper thin, with salsa macha and lots of chihuahua cheese.
Shrimp
Get the Union Square-only shrimp taco. A creamy slaw mellows out the spice of the salsa macha.
