Elena's Mexican Restaurant

Ok so i live real Mexican food and this is not it however it's about time that San Francisco opens a nice Mexican -American restaurant : also, i liked that there was Mexican staff everywhere (servers, host, etc) and there was Mexican wall art from Oaxaca which was beautiful as well as nice mexican plates. All those things made me happy.

We waited... for over an hour to be sat.. so yeah.. if you don't want to wait, this is not the place for you.

Guac was $13. I always look at the price of guac because some restaurants are ridiculous about that.

I was super excited to have tortilla soup.. and my friend had pozole and we shared a bunch of apps. The queso fundito was good but nothing extraordinary and it was not big.

The chips and salsa were really good because they were hot and it was the roasted tomatoe salsa - but for people that want to spice things up, i didn't see any condiments

I had a non alcoholic (dont ask) " passion fruit " juice that tasted only like cherrys. Yuk.

The latin music was great but people were louder ..

We ordered a desert but the cheesecake came and something was wrong with it - id rather not share however they replaced it and comped a few things without us asking - the only miss opportunity is that the manager (who comped the stuff) never came to apologize and he was at the host stand and we were one table away.

The dessert was way too sweet we couldn't take more than two bites

Finally got a chance to try Elena's! Came by at about 9pm on a Saturday night and was able to get seated right away. Our server was Natasha, and she was so wonderful! The aesthetic of this restaurant was also very beautiful.

We started with the queso con chile app - highly recommend! For our entree, we shared an order of steak fajitas. This was perfect for sharing between both and it was delicious!

Definitely will be back soon!

I celebrated my birthday at Elena's and most of it lived up to my expectations. The ambience is truly beautiful and perfect for an occasion. The free chips and fresh salsa was addicting and one of my favorite parts of dinner. While our server was wonderful, the food did take a very long time to arrive which was a little disappointing. For mains, I tried the chicken enchiladas which was quite good but nothing special - I definitely want to come back for the birria! I loved their Mexican chocolate cheesecake as well. Parking was easy to find and pricing wasn't too bad!

Had lunch down town but couldn't resist dropping in after seeing some counter space around 3 pm on our way home. Lovely interior. Elegant and classy. We ended up getting some drinks and some Apps.
Comp chips & salsa - warm & fresh
Norma's mini scopes $17 - good
Cerviche Tostada $18 - light & tasty
steak carne asada tacos $16 - great
Coconut margarita $16 - excellent
Food was nicely presented and very delicious. Wished we could try more but way too full from lunch. The bar staff were attentive and friendly and often checked in with us. Great ambience with light music in the background. Definitely will return to have a proper sit down dinner.

Walked right in 7:30 pm on a Tuesday night and scored a table right away without a reservation.
Very nice interior in deed. The bar area was packed and jovial, but the cheer didn't spill into the dining area.
The chips were warm and the salsa tasted like someone's mom had made it.
The grilled branzino was divine, and the accompanying little salad with the herbs was so, so refreshing and delicious.
Service was attentive.
We were told that we had the last watermelon margaritas of the night. They didn't taste like watermelon, and my friend thought it was too salty. We should have spoken up, but whatever.
I hear that sitting at the bar to eat is good, too. I want to go back to try different dishes.

I was awaiting to try this restaurant since they first opened. Extremely hard to get a reservation.

Came here on a work team building lunch. There were 8 of us and we were seated at the big round booth. Very friendly servers, amazing salsa and warm chips are what you are first presented with.

Menu has many choices and it took a while for everyone to decide. The biggest hit were the fajitas, and the enchilada plate. Boy neither of these plate disappointed. The beef was very tender and flavorful with the fajitas. The enchiladas, I chose one green sauce and one red sauce. I preferred the red because I felt there was much better flavor.

Overall, a truly wonderful experience with my coworkers and dining at this amazing restaurant. Try to get a reservation thru OpenTable and if you are not able to - get there before 5pm to sit at the bar where you can order food as well. You will not be disappointed

We came here on a sunday for brunch and it was crowded as soon as the open!
The food was good and there have a great selection of drinks!
The space was beautiful and it looks very new.
The service was friendly even though she got one of the order wrong. I think the space was a little bit noisy so the waitress probably couldn't hear the order correctly.
All in all, I would love to come back to try dinner.

The new hip and happening restaurant in San Francisco, and from the family that owns @originaljoeswestlake and @littleoriginaljoes.

Ladies night out finally made it out of the group chat . Tried to make a reservation but the earliest we could get was 8:30PM on a weekday, and that's nearly past these old ladies bedtimes. So we chanced it and tried the walk in version and got on that waitlist. The stars aligned as we got rockstar parking (unbeknownst to us ) literally in front of the door!!! R walked in and asked how long the wait would be, 2 hours, but that would have been earlier than the Open Table reservation at 8:30, so we chanced it and got on the waitlist as we were waiting on one other person and sat in the car. Not even 30 minutes later, we got the text that our table was ready!!!!

It's beautiful inside, or as my daughter would say it's so aesthetic! Mirrors along the walls bench and booth seating and an open bustling kitchen in the back.

We were greeted by our waitress and the complimentary chips and salsa. The chips were nice and hot, salsa was tasty. M and G had margaritas: an Elena's and a coconut. G wasn't too fond of her coconut as it had coconut chips in it. R and I both had the Passion Fruit Mocktail. YUM . We also ordered the Housemade Guacamole which was plenty to share with the table, so much we were struggling at the end to finish it.

Entrees: G ordered the ceviche tostadas and a side of chile relleno. Good thing she ordered the side bc the tostadas were super small, not enough for a meal in my opinion, I'd say they were smaller than an adult hand, possibly the size of a toddler fist. Other than size she said her food was good. M ordered the pollo asado, she enjoyed her food and had plenty more to take home. She said her pollo was flavorful and moist, but the rice wasn't anything to be desired. R ordered the pork tamale platter, and it was just okay. I had the Baja fish tacos, which were very tasty and nicely battered, however I thought there was too much cabbage and it could have come with something else like rice and beans, just the 2 tacos on the plate.

We finished the night off with a shared piece of tres leches cake. It was good, but I've definitely had better.

Would I go again? Most definitely, but I wouldn't wait more than an hour. Ambiance was awesome, food was tasty, but the company was what made the night.

This place is perfect on every level. The interior with the trees and lighting? Stunning!!!

The service was wonderful! Unlimited chips and salsa is a huge plus when the salsa is so delicious!

We ordered 2 apps (the esquites and the beef taquitos). We loved the esquities and the taquitos were good but might try the guac next time.

We did family style (highly recommend) and split everything! Our favorites were the birria tacos and the smothered carnitas burrito!! We also got the Baja fish tacos which we good but not a stand out.

THE DESSERTS WERE AMAZING!!!!! Even if you are full from dinner/lunch make room for dessert!! We got the churros and the Mexican boxcake with limes and WOWOWOW! Churros came out hot and the chocolate sauce was perfect and rich. The cake was light with lime and super flavorful.

10/10 experience!! Will come back soon!

I came here with my friends to have a early birthday lunch. My friend waited about 45 minutes from the time she put her name down for the standby table list.

The ambiance of the place was very nice with a open feel, you can see the kitchen from the back. The bar is on the left side when you walk in. If you want seating atge the bar it is first come first serve. The place felt very comfortable just sitting there and even having conversation was not too loud.

The food was okay for what I got which was the slow roasted pork tacos. Some of the meat was stringy and tough but the overall flavor with the onions and sauce was good. In my dish it contained two tacos. I had a passion fruit Mocktail, that was pretty tasty.

One of my friends for the fajitas and shared. My other friend had the enchiladas.

I may come here again to try other dishes on the menu.

This is a must needed restaurant in this part of San Francisco. West Portal has always been a charming good place to get food or a drink. Elena's is a good place for Mexican food where you can catch up with friends or family to enjoy a meal and drinks. The ambience is lively and the food is good. The only thing is there is a wait if you don't make a reservation. Make sure you plan a visit.

No reservations there may be a long wait, but once you have a seat enjoy the guacamole and the enchilada plate.