What to Eat at El Vez, Stephen Starr’s Battery Park City Restaurant

Grilled fish tacos. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev

On Friday, Stephen Starr opened a New York branch of El Vez in Battery Park City — a neighborhood that he told Grub “wasn’t really the first choice,” but he fell in love with the space itself (and, well, the more affordable rent). Like Buddakan and Morimoto, El Vez is a big restaurant with an ornate design: The Rockwell Group created the feel of a roadside cantina with a dining room that mimics a garage, a hand-painted mural, and soon, a grab-and-go burrito stand. The menu isn’t supposed to reflect authentic Mexican cuisine — it’s filled with fun, familiar dishes, like build-your-own tacos, oxtail enchiladas, classic corn on the cob, and three types of guacamole.