![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4f84dc8d8eb36ba9b4f0c1fa5e592ae13f-margarita.rvertical.w570.jpg\")
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\n A soft-serve margarita from Colima Taqueria II.
\n Photo-Illustration: Grub Street; Photo: thatgirltatyanaa\/TikTok\n <\/p>\n
On a recent afternoon, after the annual Pride March wound down, a group of 20-somethings made their way uptown to Colima Taqueria II<\/a> in the Bronx, looking to order one item in particular. \u201cIt\u2019s been all over TikTok,\u201d they told me after inviting me to sit at their table.<\/p>\n It is a soft-serve margarita, an airy, fluffy cousin to the classic frozen variety, in an array of different fruit flavors. Word of this invention has traveled quickly. Early this year, posts about one served at the Cleveland seafood restaurant La Playa Mexican Food & Mariscos made their way to people\u2019s FYPs, and followers around the world were hooked. \u201cMate, I\u202flive in Australia I am in tears every time I see these,\u201d one user commented. \u201cI need them so bad I\u2019m actually about to get on a plane for them.\u201d In the months that followed, restaurants across the country \u2014 in Pennsylvania<\/a>, Florida<\/a>, Wisconsin<\/a> \u2014 have started creating their own takes.<\/p>\n Colima began offering a variation at its Throggs Neck location not long after La Playa\u2019s debuted. Bryan Centeno, who runs two Colima outposts with his family, says he got the idea from a restaurant in Texas and decided to put his own spin on it. \u201cMy sister was actually the first person who brought the soft-serve margarita trend to my attention,\u201d Centeno says. \u201cFrom there, I started doing my own research on how people were bringing the idea to life, and eventually, I decided to invest in a soft-serve machine.\u201d Business has already increased so much that Centeno had to buy a second machine to keep up with the demand.<\/p>\n His semisecret recipe includes heavy cream and house margarita mix; others have been said to achieve Mister Softee\u2013level smoothness with packaged Dole Whip<\/a>, a tropical medley of chemicals and emulsifiers that lends the necessary industrial might. Centeno says it took more than 50 test batches to get his consistency just right. \u201cWe had to learn how temperature, sugar content, and alcohol levels all interact with each other. Sometimes we\u2019d make what tasted like the perfect margarita, but it wouldn\u2019t have the right consistency coming out of the machine. Other times, the texture was great, but the flavor wasn\u2019t where we wanted it to be.\u201d The house tequila that\u2019s blended in it isn\u2019t overpowering; it\u2019s just enough to feel a slight buzz, the kind that helps you realize something about this drink works.<\/p>\n Centeno\u2019s rotating flavors \u2014 mango, strawberry, litchi, and a creamsicle-like passion-fruit morir so\u00f1ando \u2014 can be topped with Chamoy sauce and a dusting of Taj\u00edn, all served in a classic margarita glass. Colima\u2019s Bronx neighbor LavieMex<\/a>, Astoria\u2019s Mama Coco<\/a>, and Tipsy Scoop<\/a> in Kips Bay are all serving swirls, too. (In some ways, the popularity is a full-circle moment: Mariano Martinez Jr. invented the frozen-margarita maker in 1971 when he adapted a soft-serve machine at his Dallas restaurant to keep pace with customer requests for frozen margs.)<\/p>\n During that afternoon visit to Colima, the group of 20-somethings opted for pastel-yellow mango with the works, including a cherry placed on the side. Straws and spoons were both on hand, depending on how they wanted to tackle it. But before anyone could try, one member of the group had an important instruction: \u201cMake sure you take a picture for Insta.\u201d<\/p>\n Thank you for subscribing and supporting our journalism.
\n If you prefer to read in print, you can also find this article in the July 13, 2026, issue of
\n New York\u00a0Magazine.<\/p>\n