Mestiza — Restaurant in San Francisco

I came here for dinner on a Wednesday night around 5:40pm. There is only outside patio seating which was nice. Dress appropriately. The space is small but cozy. They have heat lamps and they also offer blankets if you get cold.

Service was top notch. Our server was amazingly nice. She offered to walk us through the menu and made recommendations. We opted for the $75 family meal which feeds 2-3 people and it included: 1 small dish, 1 salad, 2 mains and 2 sides which if you order the most expensive item in each category it’s a $101 value! A $26 savings! Even though it was just us 2, we had left overs for the next day.

One thing to note is the a la carte menu items, when ordered in the family meal, does not include the rice (but it does include the pickles). We ordered: lechon bites, spicy plum slaw, shrimp gambas, grilled beef tenderloin, miso braised bok choy, veggie pancit and for dessert, the vegan vanilla soft serve with pandan syrup, coconut flakes and fruity pebbles.

Our food started to come out 10 mins after ordering. Fast service! Every dish was beautifully displayed. Lechon bites were tender. The spicy plum salad was a favorite. The plum was sweet and not sour and the jalapeños were not spicy at all. Loved the crunchy bits of quinoa, it added a wonderful texture. The beef was tender, although I wish it came with more chimichurri. The shrimp gambas came with 14 shrimps. We took this home and it went well with rice. Wish there was more of the tomato base as it was so good. The veggie pancit was almost a meal in itself. It was packed with mixed veggies. Everything was so good we had to have dessert and we had no regrets.

Dinner prices are about $6 more than lunch prices for the mains. I can’t wait to return. Oh, if you are interested in the Kamayan Feast, please book in advance so they can prepare the fish. If you just walk in to order it, it will be left out because they...

With a mix of Filipino and Mexican flavors, one would expect a powerful one/two punch with this taqueria. The atmosphere has a bar-like feel, and their menu is fairly simple. Service was very friendly, and our food came out in a flash! One thing I couldn't ignore: The tables were sticky :(

I opted for my go-to staple dish, which is a carne asada burrito. One thing that captured my attention was the price. At $14 I'd have to say this is probably the most I've spent on a burrito in the last few years. That said, I was ready to inhale this bad boy! When the burrito arrived, I was underwhelmed by it's petite size. Packed nice and tight, the meat was decently flavored, but it definitely wasn't freshly grilled. Hopefully I just caught them on an off day. I was able to try their Chicken Lumpia, and it was decent. Consistent with the burrito, nothing stood out.

Would I give this place another try? Probably not. Maybe there are other items on the menu that stand out, but being in the city or not, any burrito priced in the teens has to leave a lasting impression. This gives me more of a reason to head back down...

I've had 2 delightful dining experiences here now and look forward to the third. The highlights: love that the dining area is outdoors but sheltered from the wind. Plus it's decorated well and has a warm bright vibe. The food is amazing, chock full of interesting flavors, and very reasonably priced for SF if you get one of the family meals! The family meal for $115 included 2 starters, 1 salad, 3 main dishes, and 2 sides. And these weren't wimpy portions. My family of 4 adults ate to fullness and still took home 3 containers of leftovers.

My fav dishes so far have been the eggplant and the spicy plum slaw, but everything has been delicious and I'm looking back to returning and trying everything else on the menu.

Also bonus points for this place having some magical effect on my toddler where he mostly let the adults enjoy a meal together without too much of a ruckus, and the wait staff was very accommodating.

My husband and I decided this is the spot we'll always take visitors from now on. A great time all around, and for the price, you can't...