San Francisco's Mexican restaurants span the full range: La Taqueria's no-rice Mission burritos, Californios' tasting menu in SoMa, and modern cantinas spread across the Castro, Haight, and Nob Hill. Six kitchens, six neighborhoods.
Mission · 2889 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
No rice in the burrito here. Instead find carne asada packed with pinto beans, guac, and salsa inside a flour tortilla griddled until crisp. Counter-service with a single location on Mission Street since 1973, with a li…
SoMa · 355 11th St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
Dark walls, colorful artwork, and a garden patio that stays festive rather than hushed. Unusual for a two-Michelin-star room. The cuisine is called California Mexican: seasonal tasting menu courses that pull from region…
Haight-Ashbury · 682 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
A Mexican restaurant on Haight where the carnitas (slow-braised and served on corn tortillas pressed in-house) are what most tables start with and return to. The guajillo chile carne tacos and a tight mezcal list keep t…
Castro · 2251 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA
A Castro Mexican restaurant with an agave list (tequila, mezcal, and sotol) that rivals the food menu. The signature puffy taco arrives in a handmade corn masa shell fried into a crisp, cheese-lined cup, while the molca…
Castro · 2337 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA
A counter-service taqueria in the Castro where the slow-cooked meats are the reason to go. The carnitas and al pastor are deeply spiced, the salsa is legitimately hot, and the horchata has real rice depth rather than sw…
Nob Hill + Chinatown · 1494 California St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA
A cozy family-run corner room where local paintings hang for sale and the menu ranges from chilaquiles to Lomo Saltado. The Mexican-Peruvian combination melds seamlessly: chilaquiles arrive with carnitas and your choice…