Located in New York City’s East Village, Amigo by Nai launched last October as a taqueria that offered only standing tables and counter service. It has now evolved to a full-service contemporary Mexican restaurant. Amigo by Nai is the second venture of Executive Chef-Owner Ruben Rodriguez and Nai Restaurant Group, the first being Nai Restaurant, the casual fine dining tapas restaurant just a few blocks away.
Influenced by his background creating dishes at Nai Restaurant, Chef Rodriguez has designed brunch and all-day menus to accompany his tacos, marrying elevated appetizers with street food at a reasonable price point. The appetizers include esquite de maiz gratinado (husk sweet corn, panela, queso fresco, Manchego cheese, cilantro and serrano pepper), mejillones (mussels aguachile, mezcal, onion, corn nut and cilantro) and tartare (45-day aged prime ribeye nixtamal tortilla, pedro ximenez, sherry, cilantro and lemon). His goal with the taqueria is to provide New Yorkers with authentic tacos that match the quality of those found in Southern California and Mexico.
The restaurant currently offers seven varieties of tacos and five of the creations are Chef Rodriguez’s own: costilla (baby back rib confit with green mojo and radish); rabo (oxtail, red mojo and shishito peppers with an optional side of consommé); gambas (shrimp, garlic sauce, aioli and red cabbage), coliflor (shawarma roasted cauliflower with avocado lime chimichurri and marcona almonds) and bacalao (tempura cod, chipotle mayo, Thai basil and red cabbage).
A menu staple features Juan “Billy” Acosta’s famous El Momo Carnitas with a choice of maciza, (pork butt with the bone in), cueritos (pork skin) and mixto (a mix of both meats). A special collaboration taco from Acosta and Rodriguez is spotlighted with the signature amigo, consisting of pork belly, citrus gastrique and red salsa brava.
Amigo’s new brunch menu is served Saturdays and Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. with highlights including taco de huevo (eggs, kimchi, salasa brava, Manchego cheese and arugula), churrasco (skirt steak, eggs, salsa verde and cojita) and tostago de aguacate (sourdough, gravlax salmon, avocado, pico de gallo and eggs). Taco selections are also available as entrées.
Once Rodriguez decides on a restaurant concept, he flies to the cuisine’s epicenter to immerse himself in the cuisine and the culture surrounding it. The story behind Amigo by Nai is no different: to conduct research for Amigo by Nai, he flew to Los Angeles, California to experience the street taco cuisine he wished to emulate.
Working with Chef Rodriguez to ensure an unforgettable dining experience is his team, whom he now considers family. Director of Operations Raul Oleaga has been with Rodriguez since the opening of Nai and previously served as the director of operations at ViCool by Michelin-starred chef Sergi Arola in Madrid, Spain. Chefs de Cuisine, Rolando Flores, his right-hand man for the last 16 years, helped inspire the Amigo by Nai concept, while Sebastián Cambeiro has been with Nai Restaurant Group for more than a decade. New to the team is Co-Executive Chef Rafael De la Rosa, who helps Rodriguez to execute his culinary vision across Nai Group’s restaurants.
Not to be missed is the beverage program, created by Beverage Director Niko Hagerty, which has 10 unique cocktail creations including: What Happened to 8th Street (wasabi infused Dewars White Label Scotch, sea salt, sesame seaweed, green chartreuse, matcha, coconut, and Aztec chocolate) and Rosemary’s Baby (Empress Gin 1908, green chartreuse, tonic, lime, ginger and infused rosemary in a smoked rosemary glass).
