Estrellita’s Snacks
Restaurant · Tenderloin
483 Ellis St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Highlights
Authentic pupusas, tamales, and plantain chips from family business
Authentic pupusas, tamales, and plantain chips from family business
"After years of serving pupusas and other Salvadoran dishes at the Heart of the City Famers Market and the now-closed La Cocina Municipal Marketplace, Estrellita’s Snacks transitioned into a quick-service restaurant in the Tenderloin. Their grilled-to-order pupusas remain a constant, though, with over a dozen cheese-filled varieties, including pork, spinach, mushrooms, and our favorite, loroco. Palm-sized and served with a generous heap of curtido, the pupusas here make for a substantial snack. But if you’re looking for a full-on meal, opt for one of their platters that come with a couple of sides." - ricky rodriguez, julia chen 1, patrick wong
"This La Cocina alum serves one of our favorite pupusas. The grilled-to-order masa discs come in 12 different varieties including pork, spinach, and our favorite, loroco. Palm-sized and served with a hefty mound of curtido, this quick-service restaurant is the right choice for a filling snack—but if you’re looking to make it a full-on meal, upgrade to a platter that includes a big scoop of refried beans and lightly charred plantains." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, ricky rodriguez
"Estrellita’s Snacks built up a following through its years at local farmer’s markets and time in La Cocina’s incubator program, but now the pupusas are parked at 483 Ellis Street. Breakfast stans will want to order the all-star breakfast pupusa stuffed with chorizo, egg, and cheese, which comes with refried beans and plantains on the side. The mini taquitos dorados, six mini chicken taquitos served with cabbage salad on top, are another winner. Otherwise, it’s hard to go wrong with any of the offered pupusa flavors, plus, vegetarians have a number of clearly marked options, making it amenable to group meals." - Dianne de Guzman, Lauren Saria
"Estrellita's Snacks closed last fall when the La Cocina food hall in the Tenderloin shut down. Luckily, they reopened down the street with a menu of Salvordean and Oaxacan dishes, including pupusas, tamales, yucca chips, and mole made from scratch. There's plenty of seating for their dine-in breakfast and lunch, but dinner is pick-up only. " - ricky rodriguez, julia chen 1
"After years of serving pupusas and other Salvadoran dishes at the Heart of the City Famers Market and the now-closed La Cocina Municipal Marketplace, Estrellita’s Snacks transitioned into a quick-service restaurant in the Tenderloin. Their grilled-to-order pupusas remain a constant, though, with over a dozen cheese-filled varieties, including pork, spinach, mushrooms, and our favorite, loroco. Palm-sized and served with a generous heap of curtido, the pupusas here make for a substantial snack. But if you’re looking for a full-on meal, opt for one of their platters. The breakfast pupusa platter comes with one of these masa pockets stuffed with chorizo, eggs, and cheese with fried plantains and refried beans on the side. At lunchtime, we like the plato pupusa with your choice of two pupusas and rice and beans. (If you arrive shortly after 11am when breakfast service ends, you can usually still ask for the breakfast pupusa.)" - Patrick Wong
