NYCReview
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Plaza Ortega
Included In
There’s a certain kind of rare restaurant you stumble upon in New York, the kind of place where you want to bring all your friends so you can eat great food and hang out for hours because it feels like your own private club. The kind of place that’s extremely cool precisely because it’s not trying to be cool. Plaza Ortega, a Mexican restaurant slash bodega slash ice cream shop in Bushwick, checks all of these boxes and then some.
We initially found Plaza Ortega on a Bushwick taco crawl (something we highly recommend) and fell in love with their birria combo. There are lots of birria tacos in New York these days, and a lot of them seem designed to be photographed. At Plaza Ortega, all of the food is designed to be eaten.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Here, the tacos are street-sized, the filling tucked into 4-inch tortillas and not overstuffed. The birria is great, but so is the al pastor, the carne asada. Heck, the fish tacos are some of the best we’ve had in New York. If you want to amp things up, you can order them gringa style and they’ll come welded together with a layer of griddled cheese. It’s a very good move, though not the only one. The tortas here are substantial but not overdone; this is a sandwich you can eat while walking without making a mess. The birria ramen uses Nissin Cup Noodles as the base, and we’re pretty sure that’s why it’s so much better than other, flashier birria ramen.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
All this, and we haven’t even talked about the sweeter stuff. Mangonadas that hit every single taste zone, a tamarind agua fresca that’s like a Pulparindo in liquid form. Creamy paletas and ice cream in flavors like Abuelita and guava and cookie monster. If it sounds like we’re talking about a dream restaurant, it’s because we are.
There are a few tables outside and a few in the back of this place, along with stools at a long bar that faces a wall-sized mirror offering a glimpse into the kitchen. A TV plays Banda music videos on loop. The ready availability of Modelo tallboys, the cozy, homelike atmosphere, and the endless supply of good food make this an ideal spot for a long catch-up with people you really love.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Birria Combo
Birria Ramen
Fish Tacos
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Gringas Tacos
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Tortas
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Mangonada
Aguas Frescas
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Sweets