Los Tacos De La Playa Opens on Beach 116th

By Katie McFadden

Beach 116th Street has something to taco ‘bout. Los Tacos de La Playa is now open.

Head to 214 Beach 116th Street and take out some tacos for lunch or dinner. With options like steak, roast pork, chorizo chicken, grilled or fried fish, shrimp, birria and more, topped with onions, cilantro and guac, on a corn or flour tortilla, these tacos give an authentic bite with a little something for everyone. Craving cheese? Opt for one of those meats in a quesadilla. Have a bigger appetite? Wrap it all up in a burrito. Want to skip the tortilla? Get your option in a bowl with rice. They even have fajita options, tortas (sandwiches) and nachos. Order from the menu or customize your meal with whatever toppings you want, watch it made right before your eyes and perfect it with a choice of salsa from mild to hot hot hot, like roja, piña, verde, habanero, chipotle, jalapeño or molcajete. Don’t forget to pair it with a cold Mexican coke, Jarritos or a horchata, Jamaica or de Dia fresca to wash it all down.

On Saturday, April 11, Los Tacos de La Playa (meaning Beach Tacos) quietly opened its doors for a soft opening. But it was only a matter of time before word spread, curious commuters with appetites stopped in, and the spot has been busy since. “It’s been really good the last few days. I can’t believe how many people are coming in. I haven’t even done a grand opening yet. We just did a soft opening so the crew can practice, but it’s been crazy,” co-owner Rob Pisani said.

After facing expensive fixes and repeated issues with the bathroom and having an underutilized eating space at Bagel & Barista Station, Pisani decided to split his space to better utilize it and try out a new concept. “The eating area was used in the summer, but the other nine months of the year, only a small group would use it. Also, I was having to hire a company for $2,500 to blow out the lines in the bathroom. They were full of diapers, women’s stuff, sand. It was horrible. So, I wanted to do something else with the space,” Pisani said.

Pisani considered opening a frozen drink spot, but after seeing items like burritos and quesadillas become big sellers at his bagel store, and with staff members eager to cook more authentic Mexican food, he decided to turn up the heat and give tacos a try.

“I was trying to think of something that might do well on Beach 116th Street. There are restaurants like Pico and Sal y Lima uptown and downtown, but those are restaurants; there’s not really like an in and out spot like Chipotle. Super Burrito is downtown, and I see the business they do there. I just thought it would be a good spot for real deal, authentic tacos. We make the corn tortillas by hand and top everything with onion, cilantro and guac, except the fish, we top that with slaw, avocado and chipotle sauce. I felt it would be a good addition to Beach 116th and my guy that works here, he loves cooking that style of food and he was asking me about doing it and trying to open a taco place, so when I was able to, I said let’s do it,” Pisani said. Like Bagel Barista, Pisani opened the business along with his brother, Al, and Joe Gagliano.

At Los Tacos de la Playa, with a visible grill and toppings on display, everything is made in front of you. And the concept for this spot is tacos to go. There are shelves inside for people to stand and get in a quick bite before hopping on their bus outside, but pickup, takeout and delivery is the main model behind this business. Pisani said customers are already embracing the idea. “The first two days open, it was people waiting for the bus that came in and grabbed tacos and got on the bus. I feel like we’re going to get a lot of that,” he said. And some are already coming back for more. “We had a guy come three times in one day,” Pisani said.

In addition to plenty of meat and seafood selections in different styles, there are gluten free options with the fresh made corn tortillas, and even a little classic bite for the kids. “We have the niño, a kids’ taco with lettuce, cheese and meat, and we even have ground beef,” Pisani said.

Opening just in time for Cinco de Mayo in less than three weeks, after the staff gets into the swing of things, Pisani may have a grand opening right before the holiday with special deals. But for now, feel free to stop in any time.

Los Tacos de la Playa is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For questions or to order, call 718-988-2218. GrubHub, DoorDash and an online ordering app will be available in the future.