I never knew about El Ta’Koy until a I got a pitch letter from its PR team inviting me to one of their Soho Summer Luaus out on Terrace On 7 at The Dominick (246 Spring Street)–the most luxurious and modern hotel in Tribeca. I had not had Hawaiian food in years and when I read that they had a pig roast, I just had to go. It turned out to be one of NYC’s best summer bargains at $65 per head for unlimited everything and it gave guests the opportunity to sample house drinks that they could not get anywhere else! It was the perfect event for saying aloha to Summer 2022!
This event held once a month over the summer includes fabulous poolside services from the highly regarded Babor Spa inside the hotel (also on the 7th floor) meaning you can help yourself to fabulous food and cocktails while you get a fabulous outdoor foot or backrub not too far from the hotel pool. Now THAT is living, LOL!
The motto for the evening became “just say yes to Mango Madness” (the drink pictured above)! If you love the smoky strong taste of Mezcal and mango cocktails that are not too sweet, this might just become your go-to drink. You can actually get it at El Ta’Koy during lunch and dinner hours. There was a large table of both red and white wine at the luau as well.
As mentioned before, I am all about the pig (and pigging out) and above you can see that they had the best parts ready to go–very large and tender pork loins. Guests had unbelievable soft and warm Hawaiian puffy flatbreads known as Bao Bao in a steamer basket along with warm homemade soft taco shells so that guests can make their own mix and match tacos with amazing sauces and pickled red cabbage (that you can see at the front of the table in the photo above). There is also hot white rice available that is out of view. The unbelievably juicy pork was the best part of the evening for me and I made myself three different types of tacos with it!
There were other types of Hawaiian tacos being passed including vegetarian ones made with grilled Portobello mushrooms, pickled cabbage and green pepper. People really went crazy for the chicken and tuna tacos as well–as a matter of fact, I hear that the tuna tacos are the most popular menu item at El Ta’Koy.
I personally loved the passed Lumpia which is carrot and other julienned veggies inside a spring roll-like skin and then topped with a dollop of tangy brown sauce. I think that I would come back to The Dominick just to get more access to these tasty and very authentic bites!
There were two types of frozen drinks served that were both lightly fruity and refreshing. The white one pictured above is the Blanc Froze With Conundrum White 2021 and the pink one is the Dahlia 75 which is made of Tequila Dahlia Reposado, lemon, mint syrup and Emmolo sparkling wine.
Just so you know, you can sit at the pool with your drinks and food from the luau. I got there early and laid out on a deck chair. You can see the entrance to El Ta’Koy in the background on the left and you see closeups of the gorgeous high rises around The Dominick. For more info on the luau and other events given by El Ta’Koy, go to thedominickhotel.com/El-Takoy.
