New York loves a steakhouse. The big booths, the cocktails, the long dinners that turn into even longer nights. But does Manhattan really need another one? Maybe, if it comes with handmade tacos, tableside chicharrón and a Mexican take on the French dip.
Enter Norte, now open in the Flatiron District, where restaurateur Alberto Martínez is putting a northern Mexican spin on the classic New York steakhouse. Think prime cuts cooked over charcoal, plenty of tequila and the kind of dining room where stopping in for one drink might turn into an entire evening.
Martínez, who opened Cuerno at Rockefeller Center in 2025, has taken inspiration from the asador de barrio, the neighborhood grilling spots of northern Mexico where carne asada is as much about getting together as it is about what’s on the plate.
While New York has no shortage of Mexican restaurants, Norte makes the case for the region’s particular approach to meat, fire and hospitality.
At the helm is Executive Chef Orion Mendívil, working alongside Chef of Culinary Innovation Jaime Cavazos. The kitchen revolves around a Josper charcoal oven, turning out everything from USDA Prime rib eye with roasted bone marrow and garlic-chile sauce to charred flap steak served with rich beef jus.
But the fun starts well before the steaks arrive.
A tableside chicharrón cart brings crispy pork skin, handmade tortillas and house-made salsas for assembling your own tacos. Elsewhere on the menu, tacos come stuffed with spit-roasted pork carved straight from the trompo, or slow-braised beef barbacoa with a crispy cheese crust.
Then there’s the dish that’s likely to develop a following: the French Dip de Barbacoa. Made with beef cheek and tongue slow-cooked for 12 hours, melted Chihuahua cheese and house-made sourdough, it’s served with a northern-spiced jus for dipping. The catch? The kitchen makes just 12 a night. Consider that your warning.
For anyone not in the mood for a major meat situation, Bar de Mar offers a dedicated seafood counter serving oysters, ceviches, aguachiles and bluefin tuna tostadas with avocado and chipotle mayo.
Naturally, there’s tequila and mezcal, along with margaritas and lesser-known Mexican spirits like sotol and raicilla. The wine list also makes a strong showing for Mexico, with more than 40 labels from eight winemaking states.
And the room itself might be as much of a draw as the food. Housed in a restored 1910 building on West 19th Street, the 150-seat restaurant was designed by Mexican firm A de Arquitectos to feel like a New York bistro that’s been around forever. Think exposed brick, aged wood, antique furnishings and a handsome central bar.
There’s even a soundtrack designed to keep things moving, with soul-jazz giving way to more energetic music after 10 p.m.
