Walking around NYU in search for cheap eats, we found this place called Hotel Tortuga. It is a Mexican restaurant that offers a large selection of vegetarian dishes for reasonable prices. Yes, it is called Hotel Tortuga, but it is not a hotel! In fact, they want you to imagine that you are in a hotel near Acapulco. The decor definitely feels like South America and is very cozy with its red booths and relaxed atmosphere.
This restaurant serves traditional stuffing for tacos such as beef, chicken or fish, as well as a large selection of vegetarian ones: tempeh (soy protein), vegetable chorizo, grilled vegetables...
This is what we ate for less than $30:
A large side of guacamole with corn chips:
The guacamole was decent, but I do not think it was fresh. We could get as many chips as we wanted, as they offered chips and salsa.
Two vegetarian chorizo tacos:
One fish taco (tilapia):
The tacos were made of two soft corn tortilla (you can pick flour instead of corn): they were good and there was a lot of stuffing in it.
The chicken taco was pretty good and the chicken had a nice grilled taste. The fish taco was perfect too: the fish was moist and did not taste fishy. However, the vegetable chorizo was not good: the first bite was ok and interesting as it was the first time we tried vegetable chorizo, but it was very salty and after a couple of bites, the saltiness was too much.
We finished with a Mexican hot chocolate:
It was hot chocolate with some cinnamon that was a fantastic combination as the cinnamon enhanced the taste of the chocolate. As you can see on the photo, they put a lot of whipped cream on it! This is definitely a must have, even for dinner...
I think that Hotel Tortuga offers a nice Mexican menu for good prices. My main disappointment is that they do not have homemade desserts, just cakes that they buy in a bakery in Vermont, cakes that are more American than Mexican. Despite that, this is definitely a good place to gather with friends and chill out.
Enjoy (I did)!
And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
