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Elena's, San Francisco, CA

Elena's

4.7
4.7
507 Reviews
$30 and under
Mexican

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 171 times today
  • Neighborhood gem
  • Lively
  • Good for special occasions
Welcome to Elena's -- a place where a family’s love for authentic Mexican food is celebrated and combined with California-inspired elements and signature Mexican-American dishes. We offer reservations for up to 8 guests via OpenTable. At the time of your reservation, we kindly request the entire party be present to be seated. Tables will be held for up to 10 minutes after the reservation time. For parties that arrive later, the table will be released but we will do our best to accommodate the reservation with the next available table. Reservation requests via phone or email are not available at this time. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you to Elena’s!

Order delivery or takeout

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Mexican
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 11:30 am–10:00 pm Fri 11:30 am–11:00 pm Sat 10:30 am–11:00 pm Sun 10:30 am–10:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (415) 622-4440
  • Dress code
    Business Casual

What 507 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.6Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.3Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • San Francisco Bay Area

    Mexican

  • San Francisco

    Most Booked

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Elena's is a beautifully decorated restaurant offering "fantastic" Mexican cuisine with generous portions. Guests rave about the chicken enchiladas, "insane" empanadas, and coconut margaritas. Service is consistently praised, especially by servers like Flora and Kayla. Despite occasional noise, the vibrant atmosphere and "wonderful" ambiance make it a beloved neighborhood spot.

507 Reviews
  1. Lynn

    VIP

    San Francisco

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined today

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Elena’s has tasty food and a really kind, attentive staff. They serve delicious, thin crunchy chips.

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  2. Eduardo

    San Francisco

    3 reviews

    4.0

    3 reviews

    Dined today

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    It's a fantastic spot with a welcoming vibe, offering great food and excellent service, making it perfect for people of all nationalities, ages, and backgrounds—truly a place for everyone to enjoy!

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  3. Mercedes

    VIP

    San Francisco

    46 reviews

    5.0

    46 reviews

    Dined today

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    It was a great experience. Food was excellent and the service was outstanding! All the servers seemed to enjoy working there. We will be back!

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  4. Michaela

    VIP

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    3.0

    4 reviews

    Dined today

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 4
    After waiting almost a year since it opened for the new restaurant kinks to work themselves out, we finally made it to Elena’s. We had a reservation for 4:30 so I wouldn’t say it was much of a dinner rush. I cannot say much for the service because the 2 times we ordered drinks, it took over 20 minutes to get them. The second time we ordered drinks with who I assume was the manager, he didn’t even end up putting the order in. We had to flag down our waitress. When she finally did return with the drinks, only 2 of the 3 arrived. They were consistent on filling up our water glasses though. The tortillas also came out a while after the mains arrived at the table. The food did live up to the hype. Although they could’ve put more sauce with the calamari. I’ll probably give it another chance but was somewhat disappointed with my first experience.

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  5. Elmira

    San Francisco

    5 reviews

    5.0

    5 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great experience everytime I’ve been here! Alma was great and food was amazing

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  6. Robin

    VIP

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Amazing food and service from Emma! Reminded us of the Mexican restaurants of our youth. Big plates of enchiladas and sizzling fajita plates coming out of the kitchen. Coconut margarita is not to be missed!

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  7. Elizabeth

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    AMAZING EVERYTHING !!! Food was so good and flavorful! Drinks were great and so cute and the servers and all workers were so nice and lovely❤️❤️

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  8. Patrick

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Amazing space, great food. Fajitas were awesome, appetizers were delicious and fun/easy to share (esquites).

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  9. kathy

    VIP

    San Francisco

    36 reviews

    2.0

    36 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    #1. You’re here for the ambiance #2. You’re here for food, not necessarily Mexican food We ordered the ceviche at the bar before our reservation. It didn’t have much fish in it but the flavor was good. The margarita and service were good. They sat us a little late and it was a tiny table and they said we had to be done eating in 60 minutes because they had another reservation after ours. Kinda funny since they sat us late. The ambiance was very nice and it wasn’t too loud. I ordered the wrong item for sure. I had the 3 crispy ground beef tacos. It tasted too much like Taco Bell. Believe it or not, it was too much meat inside a pre-made store-bought shell. They sprinkled a little lettuce and sour cream on top. The cheese was hidden in one taco at one end of one taco. The other ones had no cheese. When I saw “crispy tacos” on the menu I thought it meant they were fried- my mistake. I also didn’t want chicken and I knew something was “off” when I didn’t see “shredded beef.” My husband ordered the chicken enchiladas. They were made with flour tortillas. They were ok. The chips and salsa were very good. Our waitress was really sweet. I guess there was a change in shift because we started with a waiter but ended with a waitress. As we walked out we saw lots of good dishes on the tables…the Cesar salad look very good. The hamachi crudo looked good (but very small). I think we ordered the wrong things. I was going to order the taquitos but I saw a plate next to us that looked over cooked. I was also going to order the pozole but that can be super spicy. The lady next to me ordered it and she said it was super spicy so I’m glad I didn’t order it. But she also said it was good pozole. I really wanted to order something traditional because after all it’s a Mexican food restaurant.

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  10. OpenTable Diner

    Denver

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Service and quality of food. Hard to get reservations

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FAQs

You can order delivery directly from Elena's using the Order Online button.

Elena's is rated 4.7 stars by 507 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 171 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Elena's

255 W Portal Ave, San Francisco, CA 94127-1401

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Forest Hill / West Portal
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 11:30 am–10:00 pm Fri 11:30 am–11:00 pm Sat 10:30 am–11:00 pm Sun 10:30 am–10:00 pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Mexican
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    None
  • Additional
    Wheelchair Access
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