Plaza Ortega
Mexican restaurant · Bushwick ·
Birria tacos, paletas, mangonadas, tortas, and aguas frescas
Birria tacos, paletas, mangonadas, tortas, and aguas frescas
"Plaza Ortega in Bushwick is a vibrant, colorful explosion of a restaurant, which also has a bodega section in the front where you can buy basic groceries, as well as a separate area for paletas and ice cream. There are a lot of birria tacos in NYC, and many of them are enormous. At Plaza Ortega, though, you can easily down a trio of two-bite birria tacos and a cup of consomme while leaving plenty of room to sample the rest of the menu. We also love their gringas al pastor, amped up with the addition of griddled cheese. Everything has a nice buzzy heat that pairs well with Plaza Ortega’s excellent mangonadas." - neha talreja, kenny yang, carina finn koeppicus, willa moore, will hartman
"There’s a rare kind of 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. Plaza Ortega, a Mexican restaurant slash bodega slash ice cream shop in Bushwick, checks all of those boxes and then some. Their birria is great, but so is their al pastor and carne asada. Heck, the fish tacos are some of the best we’ve had in New York. You can buy beer in the grocery store part of this place and take it to the back to drink with your meal, making this an ideal spot for a long catch-up with friends." - team infatuation
"When an eatery in a bodega has the confidence to serve their consomme with a spoon, or as the broth in a Nissin Cup Noodles, you know you’re in for a good time. That said, our favorite thing at this Bushwick spot is the Birria Combo: a cup of consomme with three drippy, crisp-yet-pliable tortillas stuffed to the gills with slightly spicy meat (with or without queso), and brightened with onions and cilantro. They also do great ice cream and paletas for after." - hannah albertine, nikko duren, carlo mantuano, will hartman
"Plaza Ortega is the kind of place where you can bring all your friends and eat great food while you hang out for a couple of hours. This is a Mexican restaurant, bodega, and ice cream shop rolled into one, with a long bar and a few tables in the back. Try a few tacos, a substantial torta, and some exceptional birria ramen that uses Nissin Cup Noodles as its base." - neha talreja, bryan kim, sonal shah, willa moore
"After eating some of the best tacos in Brooklyn at Plaza Ortega, we always pick up a paleta from the ice cream section near the door. Of the 20-plus rotating flavors, we’re usually hoping for creamy, nutty pistachio, seeded guayaba, or tart strawberry kiwi to make an appearance. But those are just our favorites—and, not to be dramatic, but if you can’t find a flavor you enjoy, well, we might call that a red flag. With colorful banners and banda music on a loop, Plaza Ortega is optimized for maximum ice cream enjoyment, but sometimes we like to go full summer mode and grab a paleta for the walk to Maria Hernandez Park." - neha talreja
