La Santa Taqueria Little River: Suadero and $8 Mezcalitas

La Santa Taquería serves Mexico City street tacos at 201 NE 82nd St, Miami, FL 33138, in Little River, and its kitchen opens at noon every day of the week. Tortillas are made from nixtamalized corn, the meats are slow-confited in the chilango style, and the bar inside, called Yolanda Mezcalería, pours craft mezcal from Oaxaca. On weekday evenings from five to seven, margaritas and mezcalitas drop to $8 and a guacamole with chips costs $6.

The restaurant's own history page tells the story of chef Omar Montero, who grew up watching his family's catering business in Mexico and trained professionally in Mexico City at Universidad Anáhuac. He cooked in Mexico City, Monterrey and Cancún before moving to the United States, where he worked in boutique hotel kitchens in Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, San Francisco and Napa Valley. Settling in Miami, he joined the culinary team at The Setai and in July 2014 helped open La Veinte Deli and Café.

La Santa was his first personal project. The site dates its birth to July 2017, when it started as a small pop-up and food truck in the Midtown Garden Center. After close to three years of that, it moved into a brick-and-mortar room, and today the Little River address is described as the very first La Santa and the flagship. In 2016 Montero also co-founded Unique Catering Design with chef Giovanni Sandri, which explains why the catering menu here is unusually detailed.

The taco list runs to fourteen street tacos, and the one regulars quote in reviews is the suadero, beef confited slowly and finished with white onion, cilantro and roasted tomatillo salsa. Pair it with the campechano, suadero mixed with Mexican chorizo, which is the classic late-night order at Mexico City stands. The villamelón is the house oddity: cecina, chorizo and pork chicharrón together under guajillo salsa. It is heavy, and one is enough for most people.

Offal is handled properly here, which is rare in Miami. The lengua is tender beef tongue with chile de árbol salsa, and the tripa is crisp-fried intestine with the same red sauce. The de birria taco comes with a cup of consomé for dipping, and the flautas de birria arrive as four crispy rolled tacos with lettuce, crema and cotija. If you only order two things, make them the suadero and the birria, then add an al pastor with fresh pineapple if there is room.

The del mar section is stronger than at most taco counters. The pulpo al grill puts grilled octopus with tomatillo salsa and ají amarillo on a tortilla, and the gobernador is sautéed shrimp with peppers and melted Mexican cheeses, a Sinaloa classic. The fish taco uses tempura grouper with cilantro mayo and radish. For something raw, the tostada de atún layers tuna, crispy fried leek, citrus soy reduction and guacamole.

Vegetarians get a hongos taco with wild mushrooms in a crust of melted cheese, plus a mushroom quesadilla. The costra is worth knowing about: your chosen protein wrapped in a crisp shell of griddled cheese and served over soft corn tortillas, with shrimp or octopus available for a $2 supplement. Start the table with queso fundido or elotes callejeros, and skip the plain ice cream scoop at the end in favor of churros, which can take a scoop on top for an extra $4.50.

Yolanda is the reason many people stay after dinner. The list leans on mezcal and tequila, with signature drinks such as the Amorío, made with artisanal mezcal, guava, a corn liqueur and Ancho Reyes, and a classic Paloma built on a cristalino tequila with fresh grapefruit. The Carajillo, Licor 43 shaken with fresh espresso, is the after-dinner order. For beer drinkers, the Chamoychela comes with a chamoy reduction and a Tajín rim.

The weekday happy hour, from five to seven Monday through Friday, is the cheapest way in. Beers are $6, margaritas and mezcalitas are $8, and guacamole with chips or a quesadilla costs $6. Arrive at five and you can eat a light dinner at the bar for under $25 before the room fills. The restaurant also hosts live music, DJ sets and speakeasy nights, so weekend evenings are louder than weeknights.

Friday and Saturday are the long nights, with the kitchen open until 1am. The booking page takes tables for groups of five to ten, so larger parties should reserve rather than walk in. Couples and small groups can usually walk in on weeknights, and Sunday is the calmest evening because service ends earlier. Delivery is free on orders over $30, and the family taco bundle, with 8 ounces of three proteins and 20 warm tortillas, is designed for a group eating at home.

If La Santa is full on a Saturday night, Coyo Taco's Wynwood branch is a ten-minute drive south and serves until 3am late in the week. Another option is to put your name down, wait at the bar with a mezcalita, and order the flautas as a snack while you wait. On live-music nights, a rideshare saves you from hunting for a spot.

Little River is one of Miami's newer gallery and maker districts, a grid of low warehouses, studios and small bars between Little Haiti and the river itself. The streets around NE 2nd Avenue are best walked in the late afternoon, when studio doors are open and the heat has dropped. Murals here are fewer than in Wynwood, and the sidewalks are far less crowded, which suits an unhurried walk.

A short walk north reaches the Little River waterway that gives the neighborhood its name. Eat early, take the walk at sunset, and come back to Yolanda for a late drink. Heading south instead brings you into Little Haiti, where small Haitian bakeries and markets still set the character of the streets.

Address: 201 NE 82nd St, Miami, FL 33138, in Little River. Hours posted on the official site are Monday to Thursday 12pm to 11pm, Friday and Saturday 12pm to 1am, and Sunday 12pm to 10pm. Weekday happy hour prices: beers $6, margaritas and mezcalitas $8, guacamole with chips or a quesadilla $6. Delivery is free on orders over $30. Table bookings online are for parties of five to ten. To line up a Little River dinner with friends, plan it in the Karpo APP.