Neighborhood Guides
Where to Get the Best Tacos in Jackson Heights Queens
Where to get the best tacos in Jackson Heights, Queens — truck cooks, Mexican counters, and small taquerias on Roosevelt Ave.
The best tacos in Jackson Heights Queens are a fifteen-minute train ride from Manhattan and a whole different city when you get off the 7. Roosevelt Avenue between 74th and 90th is the most concentrated stretch of Mexican and Central American food in New York, and most of the good stuff is happening out of trucks, storefronts you’d walk past, and pop-up counters inside small groceries.
Los Tacos No. 1 vs the real thing
Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea Market gets the reputation, and it’s a fine taco — but it’s not the Jackson Heights answer. Once you’ve eaten at Tacos El Bronco on Roosevelt, or from any of the trucks parked between the 82nd and 90th street stations at night, the Manhattan version starts to feel like an approximation.
Tacos El Bronco: the truck to know
Tacos El Bronco parks on Roosevelt near 74th and runs a tight operation — al pastor from a real trompo (the vertical spit), suadero simmered in fat until it falls apart, lengua done with restraint. Two tacos and a Jarritos for eight or nine dollars. It’s cash. It’s fast. It’s the taco most food guides don’t send you to and it’s the one Jackson Heights regulars eat.
Tortilleria Nixtamal: the corn matters here
Tortilleria Nixtamal on Roosevelt at 46th makes their own tortillas from nixtamalized corn — meaning the corn is soaked in slaked lime the traditional way, then ground on volcanic stone. The tortillas are the reason to go. Order the al pastor or the cochinita pibil taco and pay attention to the corn — it tastes like corn, not like the pale wrappers you get from a bag at the supermarket.
Tacos Guero: the al pastor specialist
Tacos Guero on Junction Boulevard runs a proper Mexico City-style al pastor operation — the trompo, the pineapple on top, the shave from the cook that comes with a wrist flip. Get the pastor con piña. Get a second one. Skip the burrito; this is not that kind of place.
The counter inside the grocery
There are at least three grocery-store taco counters in Jackson Heights worth knowing about. The one inside Zaragoza Grocery on East 13th (technically in the East Village but the same lineage) is the model — three or four hot options, hand-pressed tortillas, everything under six bucks. Ask the regular in front of you what to order. They’ll tell you.
Beyond tacos: what else to order on Roosevelt
Jackson Heights is not just tacos. Arepa Lady’s cheese and cornmeal arepas — served from a truck for years, now with a proper storefront — are one of the great late-night foods in Queens. La Nueva Bakery does Colombian pastries and a proper cup of coffee. And Tequila Sunrise Cafe on 82nd does a Mexican breakfast — huevos rancheros, chilaquiles — that’s worth the trip for weekend brunch.
Ordering vocabulary
Al pastor is the marinated pork off the vertical spit. Suadero is the slow-cooked beef brisket cut. Lengua is beef tongue (better than it sounds). Barbacoa is slow-braised, usually beef cheek. Carnitas is fried pork shoulder. Chorizo is Mexican-style sausage. Cabeza is head meat, which sounds worse than it is — it’s tender and rich. Order two tacos to start; you can always order more.
Salsas and what to know
Green salsa (verde) is tomatillo-based and usually milder. Red (roja) is tomato and chili and usually hotter. If a place puts three or four salsas on the table, try each with a small bite before committing. And don’t ask for guacamole on your taco — a proper taco al pastor gets pineapple, cilantro, onion, salsa, and lime, and that’s it.
When to go on Roosevelt Avenue
Weekend afternoons are peak — the trucks are out, the storefronts are full, the mariachi bands are working the crowd. Late nights (10 p.m. to 2 a.m.) are the other window when the food scene is fully alive. Cash is essential. The 7 train runs express and local — the local stops at every station between 74th and 90th, which is the corridor you want.
Combining the taco tour with the rest of Queens
Jackson Heights connects to Astoria and Flushing on the same train line, and doing a full Queens eating day — Astoria for Greek in the morning, Jackson Heights for Mexican in the afternoon, Flushing for Chinese at night — is one of the great meals of New York. Our Astoria Greek restaurants guide covers the first stop. Every taco spot above is on the NewYorkEatsguide map.
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