Elena's Mexican Restaurant
Restaurant · West Portal
255 W Portal Ave, San Francisco, CA 94127
Highlights
Mexican fare, including street corn, fajitas, and enchiladas
Mexican fare, including street corn, fajitas, and enchiladas
"Elena’s is meant for rowdy nights in sexy outfits, drinking spicy margaritas, and eating excellent Mexican food by candlelight. The menu is long, so focus on pozole that’s rich thanks to pork trotters, esquites with bright kicks of lime, and melty gobernador tacos covered in a tangy green salsa that we’d love to pour on every dish—just be careful not to spill any on your going-out shirt." - Team Infatuation
"Elena’s is a Mexican restaurant that’s making a case for West Portal to be the next Big Night Out neighborhood. With all the hype over rich pozole and perfect margaritas, there’s also a perpetual wait. If you’re doing the walk-up thing, put your name down and head across the street to Binu Bonu. The Italian wine bar (by the La Ciccia people) fits right in with the small-town charm of West Portal Avenue, and it’s a great place to sip on a chilled red while checking your waitlist status every two minutes. They’re open all day, but getting a table typically requires a wait during both lunch and dinner. Come by in the mid-afternoon or late evening for your best chance at a short wait. Otherwise, reservations are released on OpenTable three months in advance." - julia chen 1
"Plan ahead to get a table at Elena’s—the fancy Mexican restaurant in West Portal has been SF’s hottest ticket since the Warriors crossed the bay. But once you snag a table, prepare for a feast of pozole, chicken enchiladas, and cream-laden esquites in the neighborhood’s best place for a Big Night Out. Expertly balanced margaritas are on hand while you admire the indoor trees and mirrored arches, the ideal background for photographic evidence that you left the house to celebrate. They’re open all day, but getting a table typically requires a wait during both lunch and dinner. Come by in the mid-afternoon or late evening for your best chance at a short wait. Otherwise, reservations are released on OpenTable three months in advance." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, ricky rodriguez
"Esquites, slow-braised carnitas, pozole, and a frozen margarita They’re open all day, but getting a table typically requires a wait during both lunch and dinner. Come by in the mid-afternoon or late evening for your best chance at a short wait. Otherwise, reservations are released on OpenTable three months in advance." - julia chen 1
"Even on a Monday night at 9pm, Elena’s in West Portal is packed. That’s because this upscale Mexican restaurant, filled with live trees, all-ages groups clad in their shiniest outfits, and menus the size of a placemat, is the neighborhood’s designated night-out spot. Frozen margaritas flow out of the slushie machine like tap water, platters arrive piled with carnitas or chile colorado, and birthday sparklers get carried through the space almost as often as tortilla refills. And if you’re not in a great mood, the warm, salt-kissed (and most importantly, free) chips will quickly get you there. They’re open all day, but getting a table typically requires a wait during both lunch and dinner. Come by in the mid-afternoon or late evening for your best chance at a short wait. Otherwise, reservations are released on OpenTable three months in advance." - julia chen 1, lani conway, patrick wong
