Tacos are always a good idea. San Francisco’s taquerias and Mexican restaurants are just as skilled at late-night grub as they are at epicurean flights of fancy. Tacos have been shifting into the spotlight on many restaurant menus, with chefs playing off their incredible versatility. Whether you’re into classic carne asada or delicate black cod nestled on charred poblano rounds, here are nine San Francisco spots that prove the almighty taco will always be king.
Taqueria Can-cún
Yes, even in San Francisco, you can find an excellent meal that costs less than $10 and is made fresh that day. As its name suggests, the Super Taco ($6) is so loaded that it’s practically a knife-and-fork situation. Your choice of meat — including carne asada and al pastor — is crowned with a heaping dollop of crema, cheese and several slices of avocado; you can add rice and beans for an extra $3. If you’re hankering for a burrito, try their super-size version stuffed with grilled adobo chicken. Although the three Mission taquerias don’t offer much in the way of ambiance, they’re open until midnight on the weekends.
2288 Mission Street, 3211 Mission Street & 1003 Market Street
Nopalito
Nopalito has received Michelin nods for its California take on regional Mexican cuisine. That’s thanks to chef Gonzalo Guzman, who hails from Veracruz and learned to cook at his mother’s side. At this casual spot near Divisadero, everything is made from scratch, focusing on locally-sourced and sustainable ingredients. Seasonal tacos include Wagyu, achiote-citrus braised chicken, sweet corn with summer squash and grilled fish marinated in guajillo chili. Ask about their taco kits to take home.
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Striking just the right note in the Castro is this light-filled taqueria offering a fun, casual vibe and straightforward, delicious, Tijuana-style tacos. After opening in Richmond in 2019, lines snaked out the door, so it’s no surprise owner Alfredo Padilla expanded to San Francisco in May 2024. The quesa taco is the move here: a handmade tortilla is coated with melted cheese before it’s filled with meat and sprinkled with cilantro and chopped onion. In a classic Tijuana-style touch, every taco is doused with saucy guacamole. From the keto tacos to the intriguing birria ramen, everything here is tasty and fresh.
Barrio
Barrio lures locals to touristy Ghiradelli Square, not only for its sweeping Bay views and breezy patio — a boon on warm days — but for its gluten-free menu centered around expertly crafted taco platters. Delightful hand-pressed tortillas are made from blue corn sourced from Oaxaca that is boiled and ground in-house. Try them stuffed with citrus-marinated cochinita pibil and a drizzle of habanero-spiked “death sauce,” one of Barrio’s several homemade hot sauces. The expansive patio particularly hops at sunset when the marquee items are the mezcal Margaritas and refreshing Palomas.
La Taqueria
If you’ve eaten a Mission-style burrito, you have La Taqueria to thank. This Mission-area stalwart is credited as the originator of the San Francisco staple. The crispy taco is no slouch, either. It’s become a cult favorite nationwide, made by longtime employees who’ve been cooking up a storm at this 50-year-old restaurant. La Taqueria’s signature is the double shell (tacos dorados), made by folding cheese within both a crisped tortilla and a soft corn tortilla before stuffing it with your choice of meat, guac, salsa and sour cream.
Californios
Once you try the mezcal-battered local black cod in sour cherry and tamarind salsa, you’ll wonder why no one thought of it sooner. That’s one of the many innovative delights that await you at this clubby Michelin-starred Mexican spot. Tacos are always a highlight of the refined multi-course tasting menus. Tortillas are made from a rainbow of masas — red, gold, blue — and filled with delicacies like al pastor quail or eggplant slicked with mole verde and fig salsa.
Papito
You can order crisp or soft tacos at this lively little jewel box in Potrero Hill that elevates standard fare with a few lavish touches— think duck confit topped with pickled daikon and chipotle tamarind hot sauce. Berkshire pork carnitas and the “Hawaiano” tacos with pan-seared ahi tuna are also consistently delicious. The space is small, but the French owners strive to make the welcome warm, and they’re clearly having fun with the loud music and bright décor. Bonus: the small space squeezes in a full bar featuring tequila and mezcal-based cocktails.
Primavera
For 30 years, this wholesale tamale and tortilla business has cooked up a feast for the public in a tent that anchors the back of Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market. On Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., the chefs serve piping hot plates of the city’s finest Mexican. People line up early to score the chilaquiles for breakfast, but the tacos are also where it’s at. Niman Ranch al pastor and Bohemian beer-battered fish tacos are standouts, but you can’t go wrong with anything. Cash only.
One Ferry Building #50, 1 Ferry Plaza
La Oaxaqueña
This small, unassuming restaurant offers a taste of authentic Oaxacan home cooking in the Mission until 2:30 a.m. seven days a week, a rarity in the city. Here, giant tacos filled with tilapia or house-made barbacoa seem to land on every table (order the grasshopper taco if you dare). Not exactly a taco, the tlayuda is a popular late-night specialty, a pizza-sized crunchy tortilla slathered with refried beans, Oaxacan cheese and the meat of your choice. Tamales, tortas, pupusas and chicken enchiladas smothered in mole negro sauce round out the menu.
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