Taqueria El Patron
937 Geary St
(between Larkin St & Polk St)
San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 921-9999
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner, Late Night
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
164 reviews
Neighborhood: Mission
"I am from Boston and there are very few places that make authentic Mexican. Everyone told me to come here upon learning about my trip to…" read more »
50 Reviews for Taqueria El Patron
Delivery taqueria. too good to be true. Ordered twp burritos one steak and one chicken, and two cans of coke. Instead I got a warm two liter of diet pepsi, and two torillas stuffed with day old shit and hard rice. Would have rather choked than finish them. Sorry. Your food sucks.
Do you want delivery, but you DON'T want pizza, chinese, thai, indian food, or Sparky's? Then El Patron is your new best friend!
Admittedly, it is not the most best mouthwatering mexican food ever, as that honor goes to Castillito on Church and Market, IMHO. But, what they lack in flavor they certainly make up for in quantity. It will feed you full and then some, for shizz. $20 got us 3 super veggie tacos (which were huge, I only managed to eat 2 and I was starving) and a wet burrito the size of my effing forearm. Actually, it was bigger than my arm in width, being that I have delicate, girlish arms.
So, try it! Advice: Don't use their salsa, use your own. Then, a little hot sauce (again use your own) and it's perfect!
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My boyfriend calls this the junk food burrito - the stuff that doesn't taste fresh, but it doesn't really taste terrible either. The place was dead quiet - no music, just the awkward sound of us eating along with the other man across the restaurant. I had to ask for chips, and we only received two measly cups of pureed salsa - the worst kind! The girl at the counter was slow moving and I don't think I saw her smile once. Plus she repeated everything which was really irritating because I don't think she was listening to me in the first place. Then we had to wait an extra 5 minutes for our stupid corn quesadilla (kinda thought it was just melted cheese on a tortilla...what takes so long to do that?).
I didn't know they delivered...that sounds pretty nice, actually.
The burritos are big and heavy like a burrito should be. They throw the tortilla on the grill, rather than steam them, giving them a bit of a toasty feel. The grilled chicken is good and plentiful. With the grilled chicken and toasted tortillas, the burrito is a bit on the dry side overall--not necessarily a bad thing. The chips are super oily which I usually try to avoid. The service is friendly. The mural painted on the wall cracks me up too.
I am so thrilled to find a burrito place that delivers!!!!!! The food is standard yummy taqueria food. I usually get either the chicken or the steak super burrito. The food has always been great, it's reasonably priced and they deliver, which is pretty much key.
This would be a 2-3-star burrito if they didn't deliver. The fare is pretty average. The salsa is, again, pretty average.
However, this is a Mexican taqueria that delivers!!! Unheard of. The delivery was quick and the delivery-man was friendly (even though he was informed of the wrong apartment number before finding me).
If you're looking for delivery and are tired of the same options--thai, chinese, pizza, indian, etc.--this is a good option! It's decent.
Cheap enough that I can get a fish taco for four bucks. Good enough that the fish isn't banging around my insides for hours after I consume it.
Went here at 7pm on a Monday -- totally deserted, which was the same case for other joints in the neighborhood. This was one of the few places open late enough.
My partner and I ordered the fish taco and the fish burrito. The fish was buttery deliciousness, and the topping were generous ( compensating well for the tomato-less state of the kitchen).
We also ordered Fat Tire -- big mistake, don't order the kegged beers. I should have clued into the poor state of the kegs when the guy at the counter didn't know they had the beer I was asking for. The beer tasted stale. Stick to the bottles.
I'd definitely come back again, but I'd order a Corona (and hope for tomatoes).
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They're always friendly, and their prices are better than most palces. the food is good, and they usually get my order correct, which is a lot because I'm picky!
They even deliver! I thnk that they're the only taqueria in the city to deliver... I might be wrong, but I think that's cool!
And it's close to work and home!
The only thing 3-star about the experience was not having to leave my house to get a super veggie burrito mojado. The food wasn't great, but at least boy and I could eat it in our underwear in the comfort of our living room without having to walk more than 10 steps to the front door to get it.
My 5 pound burrito was kind of dry and all the good extras (guac, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, etc) were on the OUTSIDE while the inside only contained rice, black beans, and cheese but the bright red (100% from a can) sauce was tangy and delicious and appealed to my caucasian pallate. Boy's massive chicken nachos were less tasty because of the oil-soaked chips that made up the foundation, but that didn't stop either of us from finishing the whole thing.
Ordering was easy, food was cheap (about $14 for enough food to feed 2 for a couple of days), and delivery was fast. I wouldn't go there to get food but as long as they want to bring it to me, I'm not complaining.
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They've raised their prices as of late and Pancho's (closer to home) has stepped up their game, so El Patron has lost some of it's glimmer for me.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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01/25/2008
My first choice when hankering for some tasty, fast, Mexican food - It's walking distance from my… Read more »
I love you, el patron. I wish i didn't live right across the street, so I could experience the joy of delievered mexican food. Alas, all I need to do is cross the street. It warms my shriveled little heart to know there IS a good burrito joint that exists outside of the " we-are-the-ugly-stepsisters-to-your-Cinderel la" Mission. Ha! Take that!! The burritos are huge, the carnitas is sweet and salty and moist and just a bit fatty, the way good pork should be. For a hangover, get the nachos. (It's best if the ladies are working the line; they are more generous than the men, but hey, ain't that always the way?) The place is clean, thank you, and service is quick. I wish they hadn't raised their prices, but what the hell, cause again, I guess the price is worth avoiding the mission!! Also, sometimes, stale chips. Still, damn good food. !!!
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Affectionatly known as "Magic Burrito" after it miraculously healed my flu once. This is a great place for burrito's. The steak they use for the Carne Asada burrito is tender, moist and plentiful. They serve a slightly larger sized burrito and pack it full . . . and then charge you 7 bucks. THus it is a bit expensive for a taqueria, but it does have magical healing powers.
Eat in or carry out, the choice is yours. It has a nice little dining area where you can oggle the drunks at Edinbugh Castle or watch the stoners come in and out of the marijuana sanctuary.
Beers on tap!!! Coca Cola in a bottle!!! Recycle Bins!!!
They can be a little slow sometimes, but it is often worth the extra two or three minutes of ackwardly standing around, they do make quality burritos . . . the best burritos between polk and larkin on geary street.
DELIVERY!!!!
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To be honest, it's not the most fantastic mexican food I've ever tasted, but it was decent and I didn't have to put shoes on or leave my apartment, and one order is enough for two people. Or one person with little or no willpower. I'm stuffed and I feel kind of sick now.
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Hmmm I'm not sure where to begin. Should i start talking about the carne asada quesadilla i ordered that literally had about about a 1/4 cup of oil in the bottom of the container? Or should i talk about the watery spicy so called salsa? or The red super salty and spicy salsa?
I thought it would be great to eat here since they are open hella late but I will never go there again. That is the worse food I have even tasted
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I used to live half a block from here, and they make a damn good quesedilla. Then i moved, and they dont deliver to my new address. And its only like 10 blocks away, so im taking off 1 star for that!
A whlie back (definitely less than 6 months ago), I got a flyer/menu for T. El P. in the mail. The fact that they delivered was reason enough to keep it... in fact, if you deliver Mexican food to my neighborhood that doesn't kill me, I've got three stars for you.
So the other day I finally decided to give them a ring for lunch. I checked out the menu and settled on a super wet burrito (generally my favorite food on Earth) and a regular nachos. There was a $10 minimum for delivery, and at $6.95 for the burrito and $4.25 for the nachos, I was in business. I called, put in my order, and the woman on the phone said that my order came to something like $17 or $18. Apparently in the few months since I received this flyer, they've raised the price on the super burrito from $6.95 to $9.95. HOLY SMOKES!!! I don't think I've ever even paid $7 for a burrito from a taqueria, let alone $10!
The woman on the phone was nice, and admitted that they had raised their prices. Now I was intrigued... a $10 burrito. What if I had stumbled upon the best burrito ever? So I still placed my order.
The food came quickly (less than 30 minutes), and was good. In fact, burrito-and-nachos-wise, I'd probably go 3 1/2 stars. The burrito was BIG and loaded up with guac, sour cream, and all the other reasons why you order a super. Not a ton of chicken but I was still satisfied. The nachos were fine... a B grade for toppings and a C- for the chips.
Ultimately, this is just too much to pay for taquiera food. But until other taquieras begin delivering, T. El P. is still providing a wonderful service. La Canasta's food is much better and they deliver... but usually only from 4pm to 7pm. That means that T. El P. gets my lunch delivery business until further notice.
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i work at california and van ness, we get this delivered a lot and i haven't been disappointed yet.
my order is pretty basic but very specific and they usually have the patience to hear me out and actually get it right!
i concur that the burritos are huge, a meal+leftover situation
I am beyond shitfaced as I write this...but it doesn't matter.
El Patron is the best drunk food in all of the tenderloin! I'm almost certain that I'm putting these people's kids through college. Any time I come home drunk, I walk one block to el patron and get myself an enormous burrito that is sure to help you sober up.
And I've had this food sober too. It's just as good if not better.
The one dude in charge is always nice, even to the really drunk stupid people. Actually, everyone who works there is really nice. So nice in fact that I feel like an ass for showing up drunk. But whatever, anything you order here is going to be delicious, and reasonably priced. So do it already! FUCK!!!!!!
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I have absolutely no idea how this place gets such good reviews. Overpriced ($7 for a regular burrito), no tortilla options, and the sloooooooooooooowest service I have ever encountered. I do not think they could have made my burrito any slower. Slight bonus points for adding lettuce, but there are so many better options for mexican.
How can I complain when this taqueria is only a block away from where I live??
It's decently priced, and the burritos are big and tasty. They even have a delivery service which is unheard of for mexican food.
Great for post-drinking munchies!
This place is cheap and good eats. A friend recommended this place and he was right about it. It may be a hole in the wall and on Geary and not in the Mission, but hold that in their favor.
The horchata was good, despite the fact I know it was from the powder but the food that only comes in fllavor, lightly spicey, i needed it. I got the carne steak something, which is good cause I don't speak spanish and I just said the number of the order and it was all good from there.
My order and my friends and two drinks were less than 16$ and that meant more money for drinks later. This place had good mexican sauce, yes that what its called, and the chips and dip were good.
It was clean looking and had two small levels to dine at. staff was friendly and the food came relatively quickly and it was damn good.
Farewell El Monterey Taquitos
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Helllloooo greatest drunk food ever!!
The carne asada nachos is DEFINITELY what I'm talkin 'bout!
I can't believe the chips still had its crunch until my last bite.
Oh wait, maybe it was because I was shoveling it in my mouth with lightening speed. WHAT? I was drunk!!
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I think there are some important pieces of information you need to factor in when rating this place:
1. As everyone has already said, they deliver... its pretty quick (~40 mins), and the delivery guys are always super nice.
2. You get a lot, and I mean a lot of food. So, from a cost benefit stand point, its excellent. And, there are some perks like free chips and salsa.
3. To drunk people, this may not be an issue... but the quality of meat is sometimes on the iffy side. Tough beef and chicken that is consistently dry and dark.
Conclusion: I'd give this taqueria 3.5 stars if I could but definitely not 4. If you're a carnivore, make sure you get your meat covered in some sauce, beans or something else to mask the quality issue and you'll probably think its pretty good.
UPDATE:
Finally decided to tear off the receipt from the menu - they have a wide variety of meats. holla!
There are very few delivery options for Mexican, and this taqueria is pretty good even with the delivery caveat. I almost always get one of the Platos - the Camarones al Mojo de Ajo, or Camarones Rancheros are fantastic.
I love that they use more biodegradable paper boxes for delivering the platos - yes, it does make it a little messier, but worth it for me not to have to dispose of big plastic boxes.
Don't believe the hype. This is a mediocre burrito at an exorbitant price ($8 for a super burrito!). Check the technique: they use a steam press to heat the tortilla and the burrito. The tortilla never touches a grill and the meat is not reheated before it goes into the burrito. My burrito was soggy and cold on the inside :(
Their guacamole was on the level though.
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Man, before this place I never realized or considered the thought that you could get two different meats on a burrito. Their menu brought that to my attention. Turns out you can do that anywhere, I am an idiot. But this place is amazing, it is a safe haven in the loin that has the biggest best burritos so far in my experience. Done.
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El patron holds the not-so-dubious honor of having the best burritos of any tacqueria that delivers to my apartment (that i'm aware of). sorry, la carreta, you need to step it up a notch if you want my business back!
Oh just when I'd promised myself I would never again eat within a one block radius of Polk and Geary, I find a little taqueria hiding quietly in the night on the ever-exciting 900 block of Geary. El Patron politely uses its front to prop up row of no more than three vagabonds who are valiantly attempting to hide that fact that they are lighting and smoking on something that looks neither like a cigarette nor a joint. How did I miss this place? My brother lives right across the street. Perhaps I am always distracted by these tokers... they do look familiar to me at lest.
I had a good burrito here, but the wait was way too long. Burritos to me are akin to fast food. The wait usually depends on how many people are in line ahead of you because once you get up there and place your order, the burrito can be whipped up in 5 minutes flat. It was pretty busy, but even after I placed my order it took 15 minutes to get my burrito - that's a longer wait than El Farolito's after the clubs close!
But like I said, the burrito was pretty good. And, in true taqueria tradition, the guy gave me all of the extra stuff I asked for without charging me more. The chips were a little stale and I couldn't figure it out because with all of that turnover they should have a fresh batch of chips coming out pretty regularly. Unless I just got the bottom of the batch, which happens too. But they did taste like chips from a big bag that had been sitting under heat lamps for hours.
The scene was dominated with hipsters and I couldn't tell if that's because it's a hangout or there was something going on across the street at Edinburgh Castle or what. In any case, the mood was jovial and everyone was having a good time.
One other thing I noticed is that they deliver. I certainly cannot base my review on that service because I was a take-out order, but I think it's noteworthy.
Here's how they lost all those stars with me (that's the lowest score of any place I've reviewed): http://www.cleanscores...
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A cheap and yummy Mexican place that DELIVERS?!?!?!
I must've died and gone to heaven.
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We randomly came across this place, sat down and discussed, over burritos and beer, why it is that taquerias don't deliver. Our discussion of this genius Mexican delivery idea must've been overheard by management as I, within the following hour, was made aware that we had just sat down at a taqueria that delivers. Not believing that such a thing existed, I was honestly blown away by this fact.
Delivered Mexican should be worth five stars alone, if only because it's so inexplicably rare. However, the burritos we had delivered weren't warm, nor did they arrive, as you've come to expect, with a bag of chips for each burrito, but just one tiny little bag to accompany three burritos. Such cheapness can't result in anything but a lost star. Oh, and if more taquerias start delivering, this place needs to impress me in order to cling to these four stars. Nonetheless, I'll be ordering from here for a long time to come.
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when you order a lengua wet burrito and see a whole, freshly cooked cow tongue get chopped up right in front of you, it might as well be thanksgiving and christmas rolled into one. the fact that they deliver is just gravy.
jackie is hella cool - my coworkers and i order from this place every night/
delivery guys are kinda weird
food is good, you get way more than you can eat and prices are super reasonable.
Why do I walk four blocks past two other taquerias to get here?
Is it the wall murals of Aztec gods exuberantly torturing slaves? Yes, is nice. Is it the naked buff gay chili pepper logo? Is very nice. The bright, clean, split level skate park of an interior? The whimsical money hole in the counter where the tip jar should be? Whoosh. Wheeeee! Nice touches all, but no.
It's the best damn al pastor, carne asada, fish tacos, and camarones al mojo de ajo this side of the Tenderloin. I don't know how, it's no different than anywhere else, it's just better. The three homemade salsas are better too. The neighborhood's few children come by and everyone's in a good mood.
It's the LUUUUUUUURRRRRRVE in every dish, I tells ya.
I can forgive perpetually out of Mexican draft beer, next door to a whore house, and chips not light and fluffy. Just DON"T TAKE MY CAMARONES AWAY.
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Do yourself a favor tragic gold tooth guy: If you are going to talk shit about a customer in spanish, wait until they AREN'T IN FRONT OF YOU.
And if that wasn't enough, my food was totally BLAND.
SO:
Go to the taqueria inside mid city foods further up on Geary (between hyde and larkin) instead . The burritos are way better, and they come with RESPECT!
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I was a little wary when I saw they took credit cards, but the weird paintings of sacrificial aztec goings-on reassured me. My tacos al pastur were brilliant, as were everyone else's food. Pretty good for just walking down Geary and pointing to the first Mexican joint we saw.
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Update 6/1/07 [still 4 stars]
This taqueria gained a star for me because of the AWESOME $5.99 2 tacos + [good] beer deal. 5 stars. But then it lost a star when I saw it only got a 70/100 on their health dept review. Back to 4 stars.
Original Review [4 stars]
Watch your feet; there's a really shallow stairway up to the counter that's easy to miss and trip over. I've tripped over it both times I've been to Taqueria El Patron.
Good thing this new taqueria is better than average. Once I came for some fish tacos and once for a seafood burrito (shrimp & fish). Unlike a lot of places, the fish was sauteed, and not fried. The shrimp and other burrito fillings were good, but a wee bit too salty.
I could see the guy in the back making fresh salsa, so you know it's not canned.
The decor of the restaurant is colorful and has an "aztec" theme. It was a medium level of clean.
I will be trying the Shrimp ala Diabla next time!
PS. I'm first to review, and don't have the exact address, so if someone can find this place, please fill these in correctly!
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Best spot in the hood!
Dude who runs it always has some cool new, New Era hat on. Burritos are top notch. The other dude that works there that makes the food is kinda tweaky, tho.
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Fucking fantastic. My burrito was so good. People that go to El Castillito need to check this place out for reals. The burritos are GIANT. The meat (I had chicken, the true test will be carne asada) was delish. The guac was super fresh and avocadoey. At El Castillito they throw in 3 slivers of avocado in their veggie burrito. At El Patron, the burrito had perfect portions of cheese, rice, beans, chicken, guac and sour cream. Tortilla so fresh. And their salsas were really nice.
It's true about the chips. They could make a lot better ones but that burrito cannot be beat.
Sucks about the cleanliness rating, especially since it LOOKS so clean on the inside. I hope they kick that rating up, but I'm sorry- the food is too good for me to drop it to 4 stars.
If you, like me, like to eat, then you've probably found yourself in the throes of indecision when it comes time to decide what to have for lunch. This indecision can manifest itself in many ways; inaction, a rash decision, or even a trip to (gasp) a fast food restaurant in the interest of comfort. Personally, gastronomic indecision forces me to wander aimlessly, walking up and down the streets near my office in search of something enticing.
Lucky for me, El Patron is just a short hop from my office and, in the short time it's been open, has been hugely helpful in keeping me from wandering so far from work my lunch hour is burned. The food is fresh, the prices are reasonable, and the people who work there are nice. My only complaint is that they seem to use a weird sized tortilla, resulting in a burrito that is short and fat rather than long and easy to get your mouth around. However, this is just a small complaint and is easily countered by the fact that they have several beers on tap. For a restaurant in it's infancy, I'd say El Patron is off to a great start.
Update 5/2/2007: I think they've moved to the more standard taqueria sized tortilla. Also, make sure to ask for extra salsa as it can be pretty scarce otherwise.
Update 5/10/2007: I"m bringing this place up to five stars. Why? Well, for two reasons:
1) They have a "two tacos and a pint for $5.99" special
2) They deliver until two in the morning, which is the answer to the prayers of every person I've ever had a "bro, it'd be sweet if you could get burritos delivered to your house, man" conversation. If you've lived in San Francisco for more than a minute it's likely you too are familiar with this conversational topic and therefore understand how necessary it is for potheads to get food without leaving their house.
Update 11/14/2007: I'm bringing this place down to two stars because they suddenly raised their burritto price by $2, and for that kind of money the food isn't that great.
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I use ths place as my "Need a burritto fix and I dont want to walk/drive to get it." Im used to San Diego, rediculously good burriotts so to me these are mediocre 3.5 star burriotts. I always get the super carne asada which is actually pretty big and definitly fills me up. They deliver pretty damn quick unless its 11:00 on a saturday ...then your just fucked. Really cheep too! Good for the price. Hmm...im getting hungry I think I may just order one.
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