El Tonayense

Great veggie burrito, but the winner here is the AMAZING salsa verde.
My gods, I could come here daily just to gorge myself on it!

El Tonayense trucks around the city deserve 5 stars they are simply the best! The tastiest tacos and burritos — sauce, meat, the whole package.
I expected the El Tonayese restaurant to be even better. But sadly, it’s not — it’s 3 stars. Nothing in the restaurant tastes as good as off the truck. It seems like a mystery to me. I’d like to do a blind taste test and see if the difference really exists.
A secret: if you’re chill about it, they’ll let you bring your dog in to hang out and sniff during a meal.

I don’t care about the food as much as I do about their salsa verde. I have dreams about it ever since I stopped working in the Mission. I’ve had a veggie burrito here as well as a quesadilla – both good, nothing to write home about but the SALSA.
IS.
PERFECT.

I’m a huge fan of the veggie burrito. I’ve had ‘em @ most Taquerias in The City and this place may be my favorite that doesn’t come from Papalote, which is in another class in terms of price and quality. The burrito itself is consistently good every time. Unfortunately, I can’t say that about their taco trucks and that dump on Marin st. that replaced El Balazo.
Since I feel ripped off when I visit other places that don’t serve free chips & salsa, I appreciate that the girl showing off ample cleavage always gives me extra sauce cups to go along with a smile. That’s how customer service should be! The salsa verde here is some of the best I’ve ever had. Their red salsa is ok but not the greatest. Sometimes I think I stop here just for a taste of the green stuff and the nice view that comes with it.

I got the living social deal today, $ 1 for $ 10 worth of food and drinks! SCORE! I was super excited about the $ 1 lunch, especially since the restaurant had 4stars! I called in my order in to avoid the anticipated long lines. There was about 5 – 6 people in line when I arrived shortly after 12noon. After the living social deal was applied, my grand total was $ 0.13!
I ordered:
Carne Asada Tacos — (2.5 stars. it tasted ok but was pretty bland, i added some salsa which was good — the salsa saved it)
Carnitas super burrito w/​no beans — (1star — I would give it negative stars if I could) I ordered a super burrito because I wanted the guacamole, sour cream and cheese (but mainly for the guacamole). When I cut my burrito open, it had black beans in it! ok — they made a mistake, but there was only black beans and sour cream! There was hardly any carnitas and the little carnitas they had in it tasted burnt. There was no guacamole or cheese! Why did I pay extra for a super? The tortilla was super thick, it made up ¹⁄₃ of my burrito and the other ²⁄₃ was beans and sour cream. After unsuccessfully trying to dig up some carnitas and rice with my fork, my burrito just ended in the trash.
This was so disappointing, I want my $ 1.13 back =(so not worth it … should have just invested my dollar in a bag of cheetos instead.

I went to the truck in front of best buy and it was amazing.
I decided to check out the restaurant. the place looked dirty and there was hardly anyone there. I should have left but I loved the truck, so I gave it a chance.
My tacos didn’t look good. At the truck they come out all pretty with sliced radishes. Here they just threw half a radish on my plate,. what am i supposed to do with it?
My tacos tasted ok but not that good. I can forgive them for not tasting as good as the truck but i cant forgive them for the horrible stomach aches my husband and I got after eating there.
I would give them one star but I like the truck.
yuck

The Mission burrito is a thing of beauty and joy forever, a dense brick of rice and beans and meat and cheese and guacamole and sour cream and salsa that takes ten minutes to eat and half a day to digest. A proper burrito should have relatively equal amounts of meat and rice, and a nice coating of all the gooey liquids bathing the interior. There should be a good selection of meats, from tongue to al pastor to brains to your standard (boring) pollo asado. The salsa should be smoky and spicy and meld as one with the sour cream.
I am happy to report that El Tonayense satisfies on all counts. Correct ingredient proportions, perfect al pastor (my litmus test for burrito joints), truly great red salsa and an almost chimichurri-​tasting green salsa, and an interesting choice of white beans (cannellini? I’m not a bean expert) instead of the regular pinto. I’ve only been to the storefront, never the trucks, but I’m told the trucks are reliably good. High five, Tonayense! You made this sad, burrito-​deprived California expat incredibly happy.

This is a review of the restaurant on 24^th – I’ve had much better luck at the truck on Harrison+22^nd.
The veggies in my southwestern veggie burrito were (under-)cooked on the griddle in a giant glob of shortening/​margarine (like about ½ cup), and the resulting burrito was dripping with melted fake butter awfulness.
The place doesn’t feel especially clean, and this is reflected in their most recent health score of 90 (vermin, floors/​walls/​ceilings not clean, food contact surfaces not cleaned — check
).

In the mission you can find a lot of good taco places, so why El Tonayense? CARNITASSSS! One of the best carnitas I have ever tried! Sampling the tacos from socal, this is as close as it gets! The carnitas are juicy, well seasoned, and they pile it on!
As for the other meats, I tried the al pastor, carna asada, pollo, and carnitas. The carne asada was very good, I’ve never really liked carna asada on tacos, and I even found their carne asada appealling. The chicken was kind of bland and not memorable. The al pastor was amazing though! Very on par with El Farolito’s! I’m was sad to hear that they didn’t have chile verde as an option though.
As for the location, it’s in a kind of shady part of the Mission, the only parking is metered street, but it’s pretty available and widespread. The inside was fairly clean, nothing extraordinary and they actually had a pretty decently clean bathroom.
I definitely recommend coming out here and trying the carnitas for yourself!

The El Tonayense Taco Truck on 19^th & Harrison left such an impression on my foodie tummy that I would crave for it each time I’m in the neighborhood. Sadly, the El Tonayense restaurant was a disappointment.
DON’T come HERE, GO to the TRUCK!!!
Somehow, the same tacos (Al Pastor and Carnitas), which tasted so tender and juicy from the truck, now taste so mediocre. Just like any other Mexican restaurant :(
And the chips were not tasty…
The sauce was good though.
Only street parking available.
And somehow they had to keep the door open, tied with a rope (?), in the winter weather? Makes me wanna leave…
Finally, wait for staff or ask them to open the door that leads to the restrooms. somehow it is locked from the inside and needs to be buzzed open. Open sesame?

So slow I want to remove a star but that mild salsa verde is so delicious I want to bathe in it.
So, y’know.
There ya go.

Some of the best carnitas in the city but not as good as the truck version on 22^nd & Harrison for some reason!
But this place’s green sauce (a cross between chimichurri and salsa verde) is crack.

HOT DAMN I LOVE THIS PLACE.
Okay okay, so it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing.
But hey, they got a really cool sign out front!
Ha. No but really, the meats are allll amazing.
I’ve tried the chicken, asada, al pastor, and carnitas and have loved each and every one!
Their meats are deliciously juicy, never dry.
Beans are cooked to perfection, and their cheese! OOF. The cheese!
Grrreeaat! Only down side would be the cash only.
But hey, it’s the mission so you should expect that, right?

I have a test for every Taqueria I first eat at. I order a simple regular beef burrito with cheese. That way, I can really taste everything without sour cream and guac etc. After eating at 20 plus taquerias in San Francisco, this was the greatest beef burritto I’ve ever had!
They put more meat in there than I have ever seen. The beef was cooked till it was tender like a filet, spiced just right with juice just exploding in every bite. The cheese was soft, rich and not stringy or dry and was flavorful. The torilla was grilled and crispy on the outside but soft and hot on the inside. I had a mouth full of that beef in every single bite down to the bottom. It was crazy good.
Plus, they give you free chips and salsa. A dying practice these days.

I don’t know about everything else but I do know that the tacos are excellent! I have not eaten a true taco until i ate at El Tonayense! The tacos were juicy and tasty. The green colored salsa was also VERY good! For 1.75 cents you cannot beat the price and quality.
chicken, pork, and steak taco are EXCELLENT!

I love burritos, but I can’t go to El Farolito Taqueria every time for my burrito-​craving.
I came here for lunch and bought an Al Pastor (Marinated Pork) Super Burrito. Not a bad deal for $ 5.75 and the burrito had the usual fresh ingredients and the meat was tender, but on the oily side. The burrito was tasty and went well with my $ 1.50 bottle of Jarrito.
The bad is that I was so hungry and I ate my burrito there. The dining area is filthy and smells funky as expected for a business along 24^th Street. The chips were ok, but the self-​serve condiment had flies flying around like the Blue Angels in the Bay Area. So definitely skip the salsa bar.
I quickly devoured my burrito and got the heck out of there.
The burrito was good. But with the restaurant being dirty, take the food «to go».
Cash only

Sometimes I wish I lived in the Missions. Bomb eateries everywhere!
$ 1.75 per taco. (
) Generous scoops of tasty meats. Topped with a bit of salsa. Yummmm!
$ 5.75 for a super burrito. They definitely don’t skimp on the ingredients! It was overflowing with meat, rice, beans, sour cream, guacamole and cheese. So big I can barely hold it. Delicious!
But what puts El Tonayense over-​the-​top is their SALSA VERDE! Omg, it’s sooooo good. Usually at other places, their salsa verde is either too watery or only spicy or both. But the one here tastes so refreshing with a hint of spiciness. I’m sooo in love with it. Next time I’m gonna smuggle a whole container of that stuff home! =P

I’ve seen their taco trucks parked throughout the City, and I’ve enjoyed the food particularly from the truck parked at 14^th and Harrison Streets next to the Best Buy store, but I’ve always wanted to go to one of their actual restaurant locations to give that a try. I finally had a chance to do that recently with a visit to the El Tonayense on 24^th Street at the corner of Shotwell.
I walk along this section of 24^th Street often, and maybe it’s just because there are so many taquerias in this area, but this restaurant always seems empty. Like most taquerias I’ve frequented you order from the counter and grab a seat. Here, they’ll bring your food to you when it is ready. I was in a mood for fried pork so I ordered a Super Burrito with Carnitas, but I was hungry too so I added a Chorizo Taco and a Jarritos to wash it all down with.
The chips (
) are complimentary here. You can scoop up your own salsa at the salsa bar. They only give you one little plastic cup, but they’re friendly enough to give you another one if you ask. I tried both the fresh tomato, onion, jalapeño & cilantro salsa and the tomatillo sauce. The tomatillo sauce was nice and sour but too diluted for my preference. I liked the chunky salsa which was nice and spicy.
My food arrived very fast. In fact, even before I could sample a chip I had food in front of me. I tried the Chorizo Taco (
) first. It’s just a generous portion of chorizo on top of two tortillas with a simple garnish of onion, cilantro and tomatillo sauce. This might sound weird, but I used the lime juice to offset the tartness from the tomatillo sauce, and it worked. The chorizo had only a mild spicyness to it but the flavor was good and overall, it was alright. The chorizo was slightly burned and very greasy with fatty juices dripping everywhere.
The Super Burrito with Carnitas (
) fared better in my opinion. I loved the carnitas, and I think I should have just ordered a plate of carnitas just on its own. The shredded pork had lots of the crispy edges I like, delicious flavor and it was incredibly lean. Inside the burrito had a nice ratio of rice to sour cream and guacamole. There were very little beans. They use whole pintos. Sometimes I’m tempted to order burritos without the beans, so this was perfect. I recall I had ordered the burrito medium spicy when I was asked, but the lady must have misunderstood me because the burrito was mild. I don’t take away stars for that though because often the issue is simply a language barrier. The burrito was still delicious.
The interior is quite clean. I took one photo looking towards the counter and the food preparation area (
). Friendly staff. Shortly after I began eating they turned up the Hispanic techno-​pop so I got to enjoy my lunch with a nice beat. 4 rockin’ stars!!!

El Tonayense, you put up a good fight but my heart belongs to the Alameda Taqueria.
I shared a chicken super burrito with Jess M and it was really difficult to finish even half a burrito but I did it. It’s a good burrito, don’t get me wrong. But its no Alameda Taqueria burrito! I think the best feature of the burrito aside from the charrred chicken, soft yellow rice, and bean mixture is that you have a choice of flour, tomato, or spinach tortilla. The burrito also comes with chips and salsa but the chips aren’t addicting like Chevy’s chips are.
I still love my Mexican food in the Mission and would definitely return to El Tonayense and recommend it as well.

cleanest of «roach coach» dining… clean and polished shine in or out… stamped to side:
el tonayense route #55
3150 24^th st.
san francisco, ca 94 110
(415) 550‑9192
hence, review from address of origins… route #55 truck… typical best buy stop location finding…14^th and harrison. Unilocal reviewed:
…for tight foiled wrapped $five burrito liking… el tonayense slight different from typical burrito wars… offers of additional unique… legua (beef tongue), al pastor (marinated pork) and such… al pastor a favorite… red marinated grease drip burrito… some rice and beans… not overbearing… purchase of soda and stand in best buy parking lot… careful tuck of napkins in pockets… stomp of removed foils under shoes to hold for later trashing… munching on a burrito on sunday morning in the best buy parking lot… mmmmm…*wipe neon red grease*…