Familiar

The interior is cozy and comfortable so hang around and bring some friends. I love the illustrations. Some rando ai company gave a few businesses on the block a facelift and am happy this business was chosen. It was cute before but now it’s very 2025 (maybe a bit too much, but what does generative ai know about being a mom and pop shop?) I can tell the lady running the counter loves her job because she gave us impeccable service. It was a great lunch and step outside of the house on a work from home day. Much love.

A great location Delicious food Good portions and kind service. Affordable prices

This restaurant is filled with rats, rodents. They are all over the tables and counters where the food be at. I seen it multiple times in the early morning when catching the bus through the restaurant window. The manager knows about it but now turns of lights to restaurant to avoid customers seeing the rats. Stay away.

Tru their Panes Rellenos, they taste so good. And the pupusas are so soft, my favorite ones are with zuccini.

The service it is ok, not the best . The lady in the cashier made an old lady ( handicap ) to move to another table because where she wanted to sit is only for the hand sanitizer. She was taking my order and she hushed me to take the order on the phone and she didn’t apologize . When I asked her what was one ingredient she looked at me like seriously . I’m not Salvadorian I wanted to know what was it , that’s all. Come on, have some manners and better customer service . You could moved the hand sanitizer somewhere else to let the old lady and her daughter sit where they wanted and you could told me :” hold on or please give me a minute” Thanks for waiting/ I’m sorry .

The food is delicious 😋 they make hand made corn tortillas. The red salsa and tortillas chips is so so delicious The restaurant is very clean and the service is great 👍

Don't let the look of place fool you. The workers are slow to acknowledged you, but they know you're there. Festive colorful interior with standard set up and palm tree mirror. Looks dated, but totally functional place. Drop a dollar into wall mounted juke box and let the music play while you wait for your order. I got two steak tacos that's loaded with hot off the grill steak. They don't skimp on meat here. Normally I like tacos that holds well with no meat pieces falling out. In this case, it fell out and I had to finished the rest with a with a fork. But, that's okay though. A good find in the excelsior if your craving Mexican. Can't go wrong and certainly no harm to try. Enjoy! Btw, Dosa is not done yet wait till spring of next year hehehe.

Ordered carne asada. Meat was gross tough and full of grissel. Tablespoon of beans which fit in a small ketchup container so you can imagine how small. Rice had no flavor and the meal was desperately needing salt. Yuk!!

Shout out to this restaurant for making me the best pupusa I ate in my life. You can see the masa in front of you and how they make it fresh per order on the plancha. I ordered one with cheese and Salvadoran herb. And the other one with cheese and chorizo. Everyone come here.

This place tasted familiar..so familiar that I thought I was in El Salvador again! Ordered 28 pupusas for that sad 49ers game and all my friends loved it! Also, I called in and the pupusas were ready in 20 minutes. I'm a big panchitas fan, but these are pretty stellar and one of the best in the city. The cortido and sauce were also really good and complimented the pupusas. I also loved that the pupusas were not too doughy or cheesy and they stayed solid even when you added all the sauce and cortido. The lady at the counter was also really nice and organized. I highly recommend going here for a quick bite or event! 3.50 for pupusas with different varieties? Can't wait to order from here again.

The food was delicious, the service was excellent and the price was incredibly reasonable. I will definitely be back to explore the menu! So many delicious options!

We love this place! Great food, great service, great great great I work nearby and order from here SO much! Thank you for being a delicious staple in our staff meetings, homes, and hearts!

this place is the best the fries are deliciouse and also i like the pupusas and curtido and it was the best food i have eaten and felt i went to the salvador again and the service was great i liked the music and 100% reccomanded.

Food was pretty good. Ordered a Mexican quesadilla and it was your basic quesadilla. Flour tortilla with cheese and it came with a small house salad with a thick almost thousand island kind of dressing. Son ordered a super carne asada burrito. I took a bite to taste for review purposes. It was tasty. The meat had this hint of lemon taste to it which tasted refreshing and different. The burrito was moist not dry and full of flavor. I would definitely come back here for a burrito again. Hubby ordered chicken nachos. It was OK. I wasn't a fan of their chips that come complimentary so I didn't bother tasting the chips from the nachos. The chips were thick which almost made me think they were stale but they weren't. They had no salt to them which I guess is good for you. I had a small piece of the chicken from his nachos and I didn't care much for the flavor. Stole some guacamole and sour cream though to add to my quesadilla. We also ordered a chicken tamale and 2 Papusas, one cheese one pork. When the tamale got delivered to the table the smell of the banana leaf was really strong which made me lose my appetite a bit. I pushed through and tried to eat the tamale, but forgetting that I was in a Salvadoran restaurant and tamales are made differently I didn't much like the flavor. The tamale is more wet than I guess the Mexican style. So I didn't bother finishing it. Took a bite of the cheese papusa and couldn't eat anymore. I think the smell of the banana leaf really got to me by this point and couldn't eat anymore. I also ordered their horchata and I tasted a hint of chocolate along with the cinnamon flavor. Food overall was good. I think the issue was my appetite was expecting one and got a different style. I would try this place again if in the area and can find parking. Parking is pretty hard to find but we were in the area for Sunday streets and walked up and down Mission Street. Inside was decent in terms of cleanliness. I didn't get any creepy feelings thinking it was dirty just the typical dropped food from little kids who dined in with their families. Very small inside. I seen a party of 7 adults and 3 kids sitting at 2 different tables. Not sure if the establishment joins tables together normally to accommodate to larger parties or not. Staff is friendly and pretty good about clearing and cleaning tables when patrons are done.

Was enjoying SF Sunday Streets with the family and came upon this place while walking in the Excelsior. I normally go to El Farolito or Taqueria Guadalajara. I am always up to trying new places as long as the family agrees so we walked into Restaurante Familiar. They serve Mexican and Salvadorian food. Place was packed but luckily we were able to grab a table. Waitress was very nice and courteous. We ordered a lot so here is the breakdown. Carne Asada super burrito: excellent flavor and pretty big not too wet or too dry 4 stars Familiar chicken nachos: very good, guacamole on point, chicken breast was used and surprisingly was not dry, flavor was great, kids and I enjoyed sharing 4 stars Mexican quesadilla: pretty standard in taste and appearance, flour tortilla, just as expected 3 stars Cheese papusa: excellent, nice and crisp on the outside, cheesy on the inside 4 stars Chicharron papusa: just carnitas inside no cheese, was expecting carnitas to be a little crispy but overall still good 3 stars Chicken tamale: served Salvadorian style in a banana leaf, if you had this style before it was pretty basic but again still good, tamal was not too big or too small 3 stars Would i come back again, probably, depends if i can find parking

This place fucked up my pupusas order. It was also $50 more than what the postmates app told me it was going to be BUT everything was hella delicious. Super coming back here and stopping in for food now. I've lived in the hood for 5 years now and I can't believe that I always walked past and never came by. Their specialty is salvadorean food. This is not a taqueria so if you're looking for that - there's plenty of other places that will cater and fancy you on that. But what they serve up is authentic and reminds me of my moms or grandmas cooking.

Is it just me or did the pupusas get way bigger? Happy dance, happy dance. Food is cheap and portions are huge. And the curtido ... oh the curtido. Life changing. This is my go to spot for pupusas y curtido. Muy rico!

You know those restaurants that are perfect when you can't decide on a single thing? This is it for Latin American, with the emphasis on Mexican and Salvadoran. I was craving Latin American food, didn't really know what yet, and had walked past Restaurante Familiar a number of times since moving nearby. Time to check it out! The menu is huge! All your standard Mexican dishes are there - tacos, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, and flautas. Then you have your standard entrees like fish, chicken, and beer dishes. A variety of soups, and of course pupusas. I went with a chicken and cheese pupusa and the bistec ala milanesa, which was one of my favorite dishes from Miami. And when I sat down was given chips and salsa, which had some nice heat to them. The pupusa was very similar to an arepa, but folded in. It was really good, and I can now see why they are so popular. The bistec was great, with the salad, frijoles, and french fries. Looking back, lots of fried carbs, but sometimes that's my favorite thing. If looking for a variety of affordable food, I can recommend this place.

Ate lunch here. Not expensive, several entrees to chose from. Salvadoran food , not Mexican. Service very good, not crowded at lunch time 1230pm. Street parking, meters. Ate Carne asada and flautas chicken, both very good.

I used Postmates to place an order here. The prices they show are reflected as one price but when my driver arrived to pick up my order they gave him a hard time that the price was almost double of what they had submitted online. I checked several sources and they reflect a different price that what they said in person. This issued made my order be delayed when it shouldn't have. Very deceiving, the food itself was bland and not worth it. Very disappointed and will not be returning.

One of MY SPOTS! You know how you can't really get egg nog until the holidays roll around? Well, you can't really get panes de pavo relleno unless you're at your abuela's house or it's Christmas. I took my boss here for lunch one day and he loved the mojarra (eh, my English no so good but it's some sort of fish). Pavo relleno is french bread stuffed with turkey and veggies. HELLA good! Their pupusas are also above-average. It's a very homey restaurant. Don't expect anything fancy but the food is cheap and you will get treated well.

I wanted to love this restuarant, but I felt guilty I didn't because it's a family kind of place, and there aren't many of those around nowadays. My husband had his first pupusas here, and he said he will not have pupusas again--the cheese one was really bland and greasy. He didn't like the pork one either. He also thought it was pricey for $7-something for 2 pupusas and some rice and beans when he could have a super burrito somewhere else. I thought the pupusas were OK--sort of tasted like Chinese onion pancakes without the onion, but with filling inside--homey things, comfort food. I could see myself eating them after a horrible day at work. The rice and beans were sort of cold though and that pissed me off. For $7+ dollars they could have done better. I might go there again to give it another try. My husband says he won't go back.

One of my favorite spot for pupusa. The pork and cheese and jalapeño and cheese . The ladies be in the kitchen hard at work making pupusa.They also give a real huge amount of salsa and cabbage slaw which I swear is the best slaw to go with the pupusa . The red head lady always generous and smiling which makes me come frequently to this location. One of the city best pupusa joints.

My go to place if im craving for some Menudo. Little hole in the wall place in Mission. Loved the warm soup on a rainy summer. Conveniently located near our house. Also loved their steak and shrimp combo. Very tasty and tender.

"Mar y Tierra" lemon flavor steak and 3 garlic prawns with salad, beans and rice and 2 hand made medium tortillas. Keep some red hot salsa from your chips to mix with rice and beans. Only issue are small mosquitoes coming out from decoration base wild grass with flowers, they are annoying, those bases needs to go or choose something different or a mosquito traps, that is reason of 3 stars for keep blowing above plate

The menu is confusing and all of the prices are whited out. They claim to be Mexican/Salvadorian but butchered every single Mexican dish we ordered. The only thing edible was the side of plantains, and I still don't know how much I paid for them. I walked in and ordered a vegetarian burrito, 2 carne asada tacos, and Chile relleno. The woman at the register looked super confused and said they didn't make Chile relleno, even though it was on the menu in 3 different places - she was pretty unpleasant overall. I asked if they had a shredded chicken or pollo asado burrito and they said they made their chicken shredded with special sauce, so I opted for that instead. 20 minutes later, she bags up the food. I should have checked everything!! They gave 5 chips per order, 1 salsa, and there was something wrong with EVERY ORDER. the vegetarian burrito was supposed to be beans, rice, sour cream, onions, lettuce, tomato, and avocado - mine had no avocado and the whole burrito was mostly ends of lettuce with refried beans. The carne asada tacos were chopped chicken and the shredded chicken burrito was the same old, dry, chopped chicken that they decided to put on the tacos instead of what I ordered. Weird experience, would not recommend.

Popusas are decent, everything else on the menu sucks and worst service ever! Rude owner and workers

I'm not usually perapatetic when it comes to acquiring food to eat for dinner, but I'll literally take the 49 (plus the 40 minute ride) all the way down to Mission and Santa Rosa just to get here. The pupusas are always handmade, fresh, and come in a plethora of varieties, however the best thing is the price point, of which pupusas start at 2.25 a pupusa--the best deal you can find in the area. They're excellent--there is no other way to put it. Loroco and Cheese is my favourite, but traditional pork and cheese you can't go wrong with either!

It's a very simple hole in the wall. The lady that takes your order is not very pleasant or helpful nor does she smile. The bathroom is SO SO dirty and dark. There was no soap in the dispenser either.As you approach the door that leads to the bathroom , adjacent to the kitchen you will see little flies gathered there. The door had no knob but just a hole. As for the food, the pupusas were good but not sure I'd go there again. The cold slaw was good though. I guess I need to give this place another try but would cringe if I needed to visit their deplorable bathroom.

From the minute we walked in we were greeted and treated so great! The food was incredible! Every plate we ordered was so beautifully presented and the taste was just beyond!

They need help with their pupusas!! I don't know what part of extra cheese they don't understand. We've been coming here for a few years and my husband since he was a teenager and it just seems like it's quality is going down. Pupusas are dry and have hardly any filling. Beans and rice are delicious but that's about all.

What do you when you're with a group of friends and you can't decide between Mexican and Salvadorean? Split the difference and come to Restaurante Familiar! The service is friendly, the prices are reasonable, and the food is... acceptable. It tastes a bit like compromise to me. I've had better Mexican and better Salvadorean in the Excelsior and in general, but that's what happens when you compromise: everybody kind of gets what they want, but not one gets exactly what they want. You could do much much worse, though.

The best pupusas I've had. I'm so picky with mine, and I was finally able to find some good, well filled pupusas.

There's scads of Mexican Restaurants in the Excelsior. Some have larger portions, some have nicer decor, some are cheaper, and some are more expensive. But when looking at things from a perspective of "The Whole Enchilada", this one winds up being my favorite in the area. Small in size, The interior of Restaurante Familiar is fire-engine-red up to a waist-high white divider, and blaze-yellow from there on up. Mexican music dominates the jukebox, and it's never too loud. Service is quick and polite, the dining area is spotless, and the pleasant and thankful attitude of the staff gives you a solid feeling that you're patronizing a family operated business. And typical of Excelsior establishments, crowds are light and seating is never a problem. Myself and my sidekick Tassie stumbled onto this place about a year ago while we were out on foot, and on something of an ongoing a quest for a good affordable Mexican place. This was the fourth one we tried. Immediately thereafter, the searching ceased. The last time we were out there we got two dinners, a glass of wine, and a beer. Both our dinners were prepared to order...a rare thing in the Mission's modern breed of scoop-it-from-the-steam-trays Taquerias. Portions weren't humongous, but pleasantly adequate. Tassie remarked that her white wine was good for a house bottle, which was surprising since she rates most non-call wine as "drinkable". On another note, the little bowl of Salsa they brought out wasn't TOO hot, but I was pleased to find it much spicier than normal. After comparing notes, we agreed that this was definitely the best Mexican place we'd tried in the Excelsior. The big surprise was the check....the whole thing came to well under twenty bucks! I've been back here about half-a-dozen times, and I've never spent more than $9.00 on myself (with a bottled beer), or $20.00 with a date. Best of all, whoever has been manning the kitchen had never failed to please.... It's a ways off the beaten path. But still, if you ever find yourself in the hood, stop by and you'll enjoy sit-down chow for around what a steam-tray burrito will run you in the trendier parts of the Mission.

The best place on Hispanic restaurants in the mission st. I always go there to take lunch or dinner and it's always amazing

1. Pupusas come from El Salvador, NOT Mexico. I'm throwing up a little bit in the back of my mouth from all of y'all thinking that because people speak Spanish, they're Mexican. Take an Ethnic Studies class. 2. The pupusas here are tender, fluffy, and delicious. I love the platanos fritos, and the curtido is perfect - sour, crunchy, flavorful. 3. They catered an event at the high school I teach at nearby, and were willing to cut a deal with us. The students, guest speakers, and teachers were all happy with the scent of delicious comida Salvadoreña wafting down the halls! I love it here - I get a delicious vegan meal for $5.50, and can grab something greasy for my carnivorous co-workers at the same time!

Nice, Mexican/Salvadorean food in my new neighborhood and no shortage of it. This was the first place that we ate at upon moving to the area. Got pupusas revueltas and chicken and pork tamales. I think the pupusas were about $2-2.50 each, which is about standard. The Tamales were about the same, which is on the lower end. My friend was with us and her ordered some kind of burrito. It was really cool watching the older grandmother-looking lady in the back hand-making our pupusas to order. She was very sweet too and told me at the end to make sure that I come back. My friend's burrito was, "pretty good", but he is from San Diego, so to call a burrito up here pretty good is a huge compliment. Our pupusas were very good, if a little on the smaller side. They were not as cheesy as the wifey likes them either, but they were fine with me. The tamales were pretty good too, but nothing amazing. I think this place is about a 3.5, but I will have to come back again to really judge any further. Still haven't tried the mexican either.

This restaurant is off the 14, 49, and 52 bus lines, and a short 2 block walk from the 44. This mexican restaurant is a) inexpensive b) clean c) friendly As soon as you sit down, the nice waitress serves a small plate of chips and a small bowl of salsa. Brad and I ordered the large Caldo De Res and Pupusas de Puerco (I'll explain what these are in a minute) with housemade, fresh tortillas. Caldo de Res is basically a Rich and hearty beef and vegetable soup Hers has: Fresh tender chunks of Beef Tender Carrots Tender Cabbage potatoes Chayote (green vegetable) Pupusas de puerco. This is a shredded pork (no fat) and cheese concoction. Think of homemade pork and cheese in 2 tortillas. But its enclosed all around. Its a soft and tender and delicious. It comes with a cabbage salad. Oh my god its sooo good Their homemade tortillas are thick and excellent when eaten right then and there when they are fresh off the griddle. It's unlike any tortilla you've ever had. So come on...what are you waiting for. Try this place out.

This is the best place to have pupusas and all Salvadorian dishes. Their natural juice is so fresh, on point. We come here all the time and food don't change. Best one in town. Authentic Salvadorian food 100%

They are very tricky the don't give a ckeck to see what u are charge the food it's ok but be careful about your check.

This place is a few doors down from my job and the pupusas are the best! not too greasy and with lots of filling! the salsa for the chips is homemade and always hits the spot. My favorite is the carne asada w/ french fries instead of rice! Sooo good and the staff is really nice :)

I was on my way to another restaurant located in the same block when I remember reading a review on Yelp. So, a friend and myself decided to go in and give it a try. The place is small but had a relax feeling, there were a few customers already having lunch and the best thing about it was that they were having beer with their lunch. This was a selling point, since the other place that we were going to, does not sell beer or wine. My friend ordered "Pollo (Chicken) Salvadoreno" and ordered "Sopa de Res" (Beef Soup). My friend was extremely satisfied with his selection, the "pollo" was tender and well condiment. My soup came in a rather small bowl, (compared to other restaurants) but it has enough pieces of beef, cabbage, carrots, onions, green bell peppers. It was enough for me, so I was glad that it was served not on a larger bowl. I ordered 6 pupusas to go. The pupusas were yummy, the curtido was a little bland to my taste. The staff was friendly and you don't have to wait a long time for the food to arrive. More people show up while we were there and the place was full when we left. The bill came to $43.50 including 2 Coronas and 2 Pilsner (Salvadorean) beers. Great deal! I will definitely go back! My friend and I went back to try other dishes. He had the shrimp and fish soup. It had large chunks of fish and shrimp. I tasted the shrimp and a good flavor to it. I had the mondongo with pata which came with small pieces of yuca, wished they could had serve more. Overall, it was good but it was lacking flavor, I had to put more lemon and salt. Posted pictures.

Pupusas were really good! Service was really quick too. Also got the horchata which is Salvadoran style not Mexican but still really good!

Having some rice flour pupusas with arroz and arroz and frijoles right now. Mucho delicious. Always had the pupsas here only and they are top notch. Nice and friendly neighboorhood place

It was our first time at the restaurant -- Sara made us feel so at home. We loved the guacamole with lettuce and chips. The papusas and fried tamal with sour cream were very good. Don't forget to have the empanadas for dessert! The beer ain't bad either!

I got a chicken and a bean pupusa here. What an affordable meal ($4.80)! They threw in chips and salsa and the coleslaw-like salad for nothing. I've only had pupusas one other time in my life, at Balompie. I preferred these. They were really tasty and not at all too greasy like the other ones I'd had. The place has a homey feel, which was accentuated by the owner's two adorable young kids hanging out at a table near the counter. They provided some great entertainment during my meal. Little boy: What happened to my fish? His mom: Se murio. No sugar-coating the facts of life there. He looked shocked but seemed to take it in stride. It was also fun to hear people's selections on the juke box they have in the restaurant.

I've stopped in for dinner at this place a few months ago after they reopened/renamed. I was pleased with both the food and service. I've been going back regularly for the sopa de res and pupusas. I went back this past weekend and had VERY BAD service. I was overcharged, my atole de elote was cold. I noticed it sitting on the counter for awhile. So by the time I got it it was cold. The older ladies who work at the restaurant are very friendly. I can't say that about the other young lady. I noticed every one else being served before our food was brought to the table. I was sitting close to the back 2 table and so this makes 4 to 6 tables in the front area. I noticed the waitress serving those tables first. Mind you the tables were empty when I arrived. I didn't want to sit near the door since it was cold.

My coworker brought their pupusas for a Thanksgiving potluck at work, and they were the star of the show. I was so impressed that he made them until today I discovered that he didn't cook at all and had gotten them here!!

When I worked across the street, I made the mistake of coming here for a pupusa. I do mean mistake. My pupusa looked and tasted more like a piroshki. It was just nasty.

They were rude didn't smile. Didn't greet me when I walked in or left. Came with a small group of kids they wasn't kid friendly @ all. Forgot to give me a soda with my food that I ordered & had to go back. The food is ok but not that good to deal with the attitudes that the cook & cashier had.

I've only been top this place twice now and each time was for the pupupas. I really like Panchita's, but it's slightly out if my way, so this is my second go to place now. I could eat from here everyday. The pupusas were delicious!

Great tasting Pupusas, the service is a bit slow but it's definitely worth the wait. The interior is pretty clean and decorated with very festive colors. Definitely will come back again for the food not the service.

Delicious! All the items had interesting flavors- in the GOOD way not bad. We went around 8 pm on a weekday night. It wasn't very crowded. Complimentary chips and salsa. The salsa has celery in it. It gives it a neat flavor. I got an enchilada with beans, rice, and salad for $6.95. He got a $10 chicken with tomatos and spices, beans, rice, and salad. The enchilada was not that tomato-ey. It had a sauce on it that reminded me of an enchilada sauce gravy. It wasn't spicy, but it was delicious. The beans are soooo yummy! There's lots of cheese on 'em. The rice was a little heavy on butter for me, but it's good to eat with other things. His tomato chicken with spices was excellent. The chicken was very tender. For dessert we had Empuyanas? Not sure if I spelled that right. We heard the sound of them going in the deep fryer- lots of crackeling and popping . Having never had them, I didn't know what to expect. They are not my ideal dessert, but still tasted all right. Cons: -Not sure if it's always like this, but the waitress didn't understand English very well. We got tortillas with our meal and didn't really know why and tried to ask. There were a lot of blank looks. :) However, the effort was made to communicate and apologies given when we were confused. -The neighborhood: We heard a homeless guy outside on the street screaming profanities a few times during our meal. Then I saw him knock down a homeless woman. We went out and made sure she was okay. She started crying. It was heartbreaking :( I'd still eat here again, tho.

Excellent Salvadoranean food at a little hole-in-the-wall place. Love the pupusas...not too greasy. They cook to order so the service is slow. I like the dish where you get one of each - pupusa, pastellio (sp?), tamale and empenada.

I've been going here for years. I love their pupusas. I usually get the chicken or the pork. Two are usually good to keep me satisfied. The pickled veggies go great with them. Their nachos are pretty good too, it's the pupusas you want to try.

Our neighborhood Salvadorean restaurant is our favorite! The staff are very kind and everything on the menu is delicious. These days I order rice and beans or pupusas, and back when I ate fish I used to order the fantastic steamed fish with tomatoes and onions. The portions are enormous, the folks behind the counter warm and lovely, and the neighborhood crowd, especially on Sundays after church, jolly and familial. Yay!

This restaurant is very clean, the food is really good, and the owner is very nice with her clients as well as the staff. i recommend this restaurant.