eL Tacobar opens in Sag Harbor

Lobster tacos in Sag Harbor? This isn't just any taco bar … this is eL Tacobar. The "L" and the "T" stand for French restaurateur Laurent Tourondel, a decorated chef with a string of bistros and steakhouses across the country. 

Last year, Tourondel closed his LT Burger on Main Street Sag Harbor and did a full concept change, reopening in June as a boho chic taqueria with ambitions. In true Mexico City style, you'll find an open kitchen with a spinning trompo of al pastor pork and workers  rolling balls of corn masa into tortillas. 

The design job at eL Tacobar is a funky mix of cactus plants and Mexican folk art that play off the clean look of the wood floors and Spanish tile. Flowers are painted on the walls. Bright green animal masks stare out with a foreboding look, as if to warn you that the tacos are small and the chips and salsa cost $14. 

But patrons seem to know how to navigate this quagmire because the weekday happy hour crowd is fierce, which unfortunately means you'll have to wait for your $10 margarita. No matter, as there are all sorts of snackable appetizers including seafood aguachile verde ($24) with not one but four different marine animals present. A dish from Northwestern Mexico that's become trendy as of late, aguachile is known for its silken slivers of raw shrimp bathed in a spicy lime marinade with fresh cucumbers and red onions. On a recent visit, the seafood was overcooked, but the tangy cilantro lime sauce it laid in was ethereal. 

Al pastor meat, cut from the spinning trompo rather than cooked on a flat-top, is a rarity on Long Island. Although the pork is devoid of its characteristic chile and achiote paste marinade, it has a nice crispy texture and fruitiness from some shredded pineapple. There is no salsa provided with the tacos, but the bottle of artisan Pete's Endless Summer hot sauce goes a surprisingly long way. ("Only the Hamptons bring this kind of heat," it says on the bottle. Arguably true.)

Even at $14, the lobster and local corn taco is still worth it, as it comes with a hefty dollop of claw meat under a swizzle of fruit and cream toppings. But the Montauk cod taco ($9), battered and deep-fried Baja style is the taco to order, as that local fish is beautifully cooked and full of flavor. 

The cocktails may outshine the food here. The bartender is the busiest person in the restaurant, shaking up a mean tepache margarita ($23). This cocktail features the ancient fermented pineapple beverage tepache, another sweet rarity on Long Island. But the coconut crema rounds out the fruit funk and the smoky mezcal and makes it super creamy, with an herbal hint of cloves and star anise. With crusty black salt cascading down the side of the glass, this is THE drink.

eL Tacobar, 62 Main St., Sag Harbor, 631-899-4646, eltacobarny.com. Open 11:30 a.m.- 10 p.m. Wednesday-Monday. Closed Tuesday. 

By Andi Berlin

andi.berlin@newsday.comAndiBerlin

Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.