El Lugar Cantina — Restaurant in New York

El Lugar Cantina is a new contemporary Mexican restaurant in Midtown. It is known for its extensive tequila and mezcal menu and $2 taco Happy Hour deal. They’ve just launched a new menu on the weekend serving up brunch food with a Mexican twist.

Thank you Francisco and our server for the warmest hospitality. They were so welcoming and knowledgeable. We could wholeheartedly feel their passion about the food and cocktails they’re serving.

＊Breakfast Egg Tostadas🌟 Highly recommended! Each tostada was loaded with a fresh plop of guacamole, sunny side-up egg, honey-glazed bacon and cilantro. The mixed flavors and textures were bursting in my mouth.

＊Beef Short Rib and Waffle A Mexican version of Chicken Waffle, while the proteins were substituted with shredded beef and crispy bacon. The beef was so tender. The housemade butter served on the side literally melted on the warm and chewy waffle.

＊Champiñones Tlayudas🌟 I know we had to order their signature tlayudas. We picked the mushroom one and it was SO GOOD!! Tlayudas is a wood-fired Mexican pizza with a corn-tortilla base. The crust was so thin and crispy, heavily topped with mushrooms, corn and cheese. We were stuffed but still enjoyed it because it was very light.

＊Faux-Loma (

Am I able to give 10 stars? We were in NYC for a few days, while out walking around did a search for Mexican food near me. El Lugar popped up as a couple blocks away. We were greeted warmly and seated. Our server was very friendly- there when we were ready but didn’t hover. Our water glasses were filled often. Our spicy margaritas were quite tasty, just what we wanted. The queso we ordered was not your average Tex Mex queso. This is a skillet of various melted cheeses with warm corn tortillas. We basically made “cheese tacos”. So good and unexpected for us. For dinner we shared a cheese quesadilla ( again interesting cheese, not the average and expected) and a fish taco. We were brought three bottles of spicy sauces. All very delicious! The manager also assisted our table and could not have been any more pleasant. His work ethic was that of an owner. The decor has a cool vibe with good tunes. Not assumed atmosphere. Clean restrooms too. Would recommend as well as would...

I had dinner tonight at this place. Definitely recommend to check it out. Authentic food, good service, and a comfortable space. I was not very hungry so couldn’t try much stuff, menu is simple yet with enough variety of things. I had the pastor Tlayuda, which was more than enough for one person. It’s not a common dish to find at a Mexican restaurant, but highly recommend to try it. The person on the table next to me was compelled enough to change his mind and order the same after seeing mine. Micheladas are good as well, and spicy salsas available. They have a good variety of cocktails and mezcal, however I didn’t get to try it. This will be my excuse to come back and try. I observed the manager checking in on tables, so it felt that they really care to build a loyal base...