Planet Taco exits East Village orbit

Photos by Steven 

Planet Taco shut down its East Village operations on Sunday, bringing an end to the shop's three-plus-year run at 141 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. 

In a note to patrons, ownership blamed "rising costs" for the closure...

The Planet Taco on Ninth Avenue remains open.

Planet Taco opened in March 2021 and received generally positive reviews from readers and critics. 

The address previously housed Otto's Tacos for seven years. Before that, many things came and went here, such as Good Guys, a Subway (sandwich shop), part of a Max Brenner outpost and Burritoville (!!!).

Planet Taco to reenter 2nd Avenue's orbit today

After a nearly two-month closure, Planet Taco reopens today. 

Per the door signage, "we are all systems go."

As noted last week, an unspecified utility in the building here at 141 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street had kept the newish quick-serve taco shop out of action. (Planet Taco debuted in March; the temporary closure started in mid-June.)

The reopening signage also notes that they will be offering a limited menu for now — which may not be a bad thing as even fans of the place said that the extensive offerings can be overwhelming. 

Not sure what the new hours will be: they were previously open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Space jam: Planet Taco remains temporarily closed

Planet Taco remains closed at 141 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street... the notice for patrons first arrived on the door on June 18.

Door signage points to a utility issue in the building. (DOB records show an open violation related to a fire-alarm system in an upstairs unit, which may or may not have a thing to do with Planet Taco)...

The quick-serve taco shop just debuted in March ... hopefully, they can reopen soon. People seemed to like their offerings, though the extensive menu can be overwhelming. 

Photos by Steven

Exploring Planet Taco

As previously reported, Planet Taco opened last Saturday on Second Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

Last evening, Eater critic Robert Sietsema shared his thoughts on the place... 

Excerpt!

The menu became bewildering in its length. There are 13 Mexican tacos, 3 tacos representing American cities, 4 national tacos, and 3 named after planets. As if that weren’t enough, 11 sauces are available in a rainbow of colors. Beyond that, there are soups, burritos, Mexican rice, grilled fruit, fajitas, fried calamari, avocado fries and regular fries, quesadillas, bowls, nachos, tres leches cake, and dessert tacos.

Ownership plans to whittle down the menu items as soon as they see what's moving. 

And?

I’m pleased to report the Mexican tacos are generally solid, and priced on par with the neighborhood at $3.75 to $6. Naturally, there’s birria. The corn tortilla has been dipped, the consomme deeply flavored, and the meat copious, though not as tender as it might be. Even with this slight defect, it’s the best birria taco in the East Village. 

However, the al pastor was better in the Mexican category, with a painstaking micro dice of fresh pineapple on top. The chorizo was actually made with intact sausage rather than the usual ground sausage, and it flung off a bit of heat; while the adobo chicken, coated with a lackadaisical red sauce, was a bit dry; it was the only one we wouldn’t gladly order again.

The quick-serve shop is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.  Find the menu here.

Photo on March 20 by Steven

Planet Taco now orbiting 2nd Avenue

Planet Taco debuted on Saturday at 141 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!)

There are a variety of tacos grouped by geography: local offerings include the Brooklyn Taco with corned beef; Around the World features selections from Cuba, Italy and Japan; and Out of This World sports names with Saturn, Venus and Mars. There are other items, which you can find on the menu here. The Instagram account is at this link.

We're told that David Sirinek, who previously has been involved with Maoz Vegetarian and Rub BBQ, is behind Planet Taco.  

The quick-serve shop is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

H/T Upper West Sider!

Previously

Invasion planned for Planet Taco

In case you missed our past from this past Friday... Planet Taco is opening soon at 141 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street ... New signage is up now promising, "The Invasion Is Coming!"

And we're still awaiting official confirmation on who's behind the new venture. As we noted last month, another taco shop was prepping to take over this space last leased by Otto's Tacos. 

Otto's never reopened after the PAUSE in March 2020 ... Otto's has become a virtual brand ... now being sold via Mighty Quinn's Barbeque — only on the Upper East Side at the moment.

Photos yesterday by Steven...

Planet Taco entering 2nd Avenue's orbit

Temp delivery signage is up for the new quick-serve taco concept coming to 141 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street ... say hello to Planet Taco... (thanks to Steven for the photos!)

We don't know anything about this operation at the moment. Hopefully, the tacos will be out of this world. (Sorry!)

As we noted last month, another taco shop was prepping to take over this space last leased by Otto's Tacos. 

Unfortunately, Otto's never reopend after the PAUSE in March 2020 ... and the space hit the market back in the fall. 

Meanwhile, Otto's has become a virtual brand ... now being sold via Mighty Quinn's Barbeque — just on the Upper East Side for now.