2004 Viva Mexico

The other reviewers are spot-​on. The tacos were good (I had chorizo & beef) but overpriced, and the vibe/​atmosphere is weird. Music is quite loud; don’t expect to have a conversation, but it looked like one could dance if the mood struck. Full bar, and the beers were cold.

Dinner service: Yummy guacamole and good service. Lots of flies in the courtyard and I’m told when the wind is blowing in a certain direction, the courtyard smells like cat pee from the cats in the lot next door. Not the best Mexican cooking, but not the worst either.

I think the chef died or something b/​c the food is no longer great! The only reason I’d trek here and go through the weird ambience is b/​c of the food! AND they raised the prices and got rid of all the al pastor choices. Not cool. They didn’t even have chorizo at the time I came back. They also charged us extra $ 4 from what the bill originally came out to which is strange. Ugh my quest for superior street Mexican food continues on in New York…

I really don’t understand this place.
When they feel like making food, the tacos are AMAZING… some of the best I’ve ever had.
It’s a really uncomfortable place to be. The music is so loud you can’t have a conversation, and the disco lighting is annoying. If you are a gringo you will get funny looks, and the waitresses only speak spanish.
That said, the place is definitely an experience. The waitresses dance with the customers for 2 $, and there are bars on all the windows and security cameras everywhere. On the bathrooms are signs that read «prohibido entrar dos personas» (only one person in the bathroom at a time)
I can’t get over the feeling that this place is a front for something… Sometimes, particularly in the middle of the day, if you go in there and ask for food they get this annoyed/​exhausted look like they were hoping you were going to ask for something else.
What I don’t get is, if it’s just a front, why do they make such tasty tacos?

Well, what an experience. First of all, me and my brother needed to sober up after a night of clubbing and this happened to be one of the few places in Sunset (besides Sunset Diner) to cater our needs. So we stepped into this place. Here comes the cons.
1. Poor lighting… If you call yourself a restaurant why have poor lighting. I felt like I was on the Dantes Inferno ride in Coney Island… this place gave me the creeps!
2. The music, am not Mexican and ranchera music is not my thing, and I could care less what they played I was hungry.
3. They noticed my bummed face and decided to play bachata (Aventura).
4.The waitress only spoke Spanish. and when they started playing bachata she started dancing with another waitress next to our table.
5.The vibe of the place creeped me and my brother out so much that we decided to eat in the car.
6. Eating in the car… the only thing worthy of this God forsaken place, was the food, the burrito was mad good and the steak tacos off da chainz. That is why this place got a 3… and no, I will not go to this bar posing as a restaurant ever again.

Such a strange experience!
The menu tells you you’ll be «atendido por lindas chicas» (attended to by pretty girls). Why do they tell you this? I don’t want to know, but it helps paint the picture: whatever is going on with this place, people like me and my friends are not the clientele they’re catering to. My preference in a situation like this is to try not to rock the boat or ask any questions and get through it with an authentic meal. («It’s Chinatown, Jake,» except it’s Sunset Park.)
You’ll enter to disco lighting. There will be men at a bunch of tables drinking beers. Maybe one will be dancing with one of the waitresses near the bar. You may not see anyone else eating. You’ll be weirded out, but you’ll get over it and find a table.
After ordering you may wait a while, but when it arrives the food will be really good: delicious tacos and tortas, and a bunch of other stuff I didn’t try. It’s borderline four-​star good, but the weird lindas-​chicas vibe keeps me from giving them more than three.
It was an interesting adventure, but I probably won’t go back unless it’s too late for Tacos Matamoros and I’m pretty drunk. If that happens I sure hope there aren’t more than four in our group, because I don’t want to have to get someone to move so we can pull tables together again. It’s Sunset Park, Jake.

This place ended up being the sight of a taco showdown for my friend and I. For weeks I have been telling her that Tortilleria Mexicano Los Hermanos has better tacos than this divey place that she found down the street from her house. So, last week I took her to Bushwick and she maintained that 2004 Viva Mexico is better than Los Hermanos. This shocked and surprised me and I decided that I needed to go here as well.
I had the «crazy taco» and an al pastor torta. Both were good. I think the al pastor was definitely a treat and not something that they have at los hermanos, so it was enjoyable. The only thing that was crazy about the taco was the price. You should never pay $ 4 for a taco! Especially when you can get tacos that are better at Los Hermanos for $ 2 that are also fresher and tastier. the torta was $ 6 which is also ridiculous when you consider that most places have them for around $ 4.
This place is the quintessential dive bar/​restaurant. We were the only group actually eating in the restaurant. Creepy old men kept dancing with the scantily dressed waitresses who definitely looked like they weren’t wanting any dancing or creepy men. Most times the music was too loud to have a normal conversation and these people kept coming in off the street to sell random Spanish posters and CDs to the Corona guzzling clientele.
Also, this place is not gay friendly in the slightest. My friend and his boyfriend came with us and while they do enjoy being in love while in public at times, they were getting some blatantly nasty looks from the waitresses and the clientele. When we got our check their total was $ 31.50 but after they gave the waitress a card, she came back and the receipt stated that they were actually charged $ 34.50. When this $ 3 difference was disputed they said that they charge $ 1 for every $ 10 that you charge to a card. Yet my bill was $ 16 and they didn’t charge me the extra dollar. So yeah… just not cool.
Another word of advice is to not order any kind of mixed drink here. My friends ordered margaritas and they came in martina glasses that were filled with ice, which basically meant that there were about two sips of margarita mix in the glass. You definitely could taste the tequila! A place like this really wants to make you drink tequila too, alot of tequila to help you think of some place else you would rather be.
Bottom line is that there is much better Mexican food out there in NYC for the price where you don’t need to put up with such obnoxious people.