Chavo's Mexican Restaurant
595 Bryant St
(between 4th St & Zoe St)
San Francisco, CA 94107 (415) 495-5822
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
132 reviews
Neighborhood: Mission
"La Cumbre is the wind beneath my wings! I don't think there is any better burrito than the big juicy meaty ones here! I love how they…" read more »
73 Reviews for Chavo's Mexican Restaurant
Number one - do not even think about eating inside on a hot day. There is no air conditioning at all. There are tables and chairs outside that make the meal much more enjoyable - unless you like sweating through your dinner, then by all means, sit inside.
I had nachos with carne asada. Yummy! They don't skimp on the meat, which is a plus for me. Hubby got a carne asada burrito, only because they didn't have any grilled chicken available. He said it was pretty good.
Not the best in the city, but it's close and cheap.
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This place rocks, with huge servings and well prepared guacamole.
You can get a wide variety of bottled sodas indigenous to Mexico as well as beer.
Their dining area is very large and they have an easy buffet style ordering line.
The service is used to dealing with dumb ass white people, so most of you yelpers will be put at ease. (I'm one too - don't hate who you are)
Parking is tricky, but the portions are so huge - I love that - well priced too.
Here's the thing that I really like about this place: I've eaten here quite a few times now and have never "gotten sick" afterwards, if you know what I mean - ".... cha, cha, cha" :)
THAT means a lot to me, there isn't another mexican food place in the city that hasn't at one time or another resulted in drastically increased consumption of tissue paper for me.
Ahem, sorry, I felt it necessary.
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It's becoming a daily endeavor searching around SOMA and the FiDi in search of a great restaurant that stays open past 5:00 p.m., offers al fresco dining and is decently priced..Although, there are more than a handful of restaurants that fit into some of those categories, most of them become at least $10 more expensive once the sun goes down.
SORRY, I DIGRESS...............
We've walked past this corner restaurant with the chain link fence more than a few times and have never found it opened..Until yesterday when by luck we were both home in the afternoon and in need of some serious grub. Thankfully, this hole in the wall was open and serving some killer mexican cantina fare. Burritos as big as your head, enchilada's done to your liking, tacos and other traditional offerings.
So, here's the DL on Chavo's:
Walk up to the counter and you'll notice the large menu situated just below the ceiling. You either order 1 or 2 of whatever it is that you'd like. You get your choice of filling; chicken, pork, steak or veggie, Mexican rice and your choice of beans; refried, black or pinto and options such as Queso Fresco, lettuce, hot sauce and guacamole...Most of these dishes can be had for less than $8!
They do offer a small selection of local or imported beers, wine, sodas, Mexican sodas and water. Grab one of the small tables inside and watch what is surely one of the largest flat screen televisions I've ever seen or grab one of the concrete slab of a tables on the front patio and enjoy some decent Mexican fare.
Although, our dishes were good, there were some issues that could have easily been diverted; Bay leaves in both of our enchiladas, overly salted enchilada sauce..which by the way reminded me of a dark mole..and the fact that they nuked our dishes prior to handing them over...
Umm..hello! Isn't that stuff already hot?
Not a bad place to grab some tacos and a cold one and watch San Francisco pass by on a nice warm...or cold..summer day!
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OK I have a big problem with this place. They have a policy for credit card purchases that states "minimum charge $7". To add insult to injury, if you buy an item that is below $7, they charge your card the $7, PLUS TAX. This reeks of a scam because most of their items hover below $7.
So in the end I get a $6.25 bland tostada from a grungy mexican restaurant for $7.54. I won't be back.
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This is the go-to place for many of my coworkers. I'm sure they find my criticisms of chavo's heretical, but here goes:
not throwing the carnitas on the grill = some amateur hour B.S.
Also: no al pastor and no chorizo. Tacos are of the giant, everything-on-'em variety, which is fine and dandy except, being essentially inside-out burritos, they are kind of redundant. I'd much rather have meat+cilantro+onions. They can get stingy with the chips, too.
It's not all bad, though. I like the chili verde and I hear the ground beef is good. They can do quesadillas, too.
Sometimes goodness is right under your nose.
I first started working in the Fourth and Bryant area eight years ago. Recently, I came back to this hood, and it had been four months without Chavo's. I ride my bike by the place every morning, but no.
Apparently, I'm not alone. A friend who's worked nearby five years straight has still never been.
I mosied over today for a totally delightful outdoor lunch.
I wanted a tostada, but, to my embarrassment, I didn't know what it was on the menu. See, where I come from, we call those fried-tortilla-shell things "taco salad." No such thing seems to exist out here. So instead I got nachos. Carne asada nachos. I was not disappointed.
Salsa is decent, refried beans are silky and delicious, and prices are right.
In the neverending (okay, there aren't that many, so it may end) quest to find the best Mexican food in the Third/Bryant era, I have to say, Chavo's gives Mexico au Parc a run for its money.
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I was racking my brains trying to think of what I remembered about Chavo's. I used to eat there when I lived in the Yerba Buena Commons (anyone familiar with that building) about 8 years ago.
Driving by today, I decided I need to revisit.
Two things I figured out right away:
1. I stopped eating there because they don't have grilled chicken.
2. Their chips taste like Fritos.
Not a bad carne asada burrito.
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If you're not deterred by the Guantanamo Bay-esque exterior, inside you'll find above average, reasonably priced Mexican food served by a friendly staff. Yeah, it's not comparable quality wise to anything in the Mission, but you're not in the Mission! Make sense?
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Maybe I'm not as picky as other people, but I like this place. I enjoy the food, the staff are nice and it's cheap. I usually get the lunch steak taco meal...
The WORST thing about this place is the hours. Near as I can tell it is open weekdays for lunch, early evening Thursday and Friday and later in the evening on Saturdays (8pm or later). I would probably go more often if I knew the hours!
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Mediocre enchiladas & other Mexican dishes with multiple meat options. The chopped steak is nothing to write home about. The chicken in red sauce is ok. Nothing here is really that impressive, except for the size of the dishes. They're huge.
Also, basic Spanish is helpful here. The workers seem to go back and forth b/w English & Spanish.
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I lived near this place for how long now and I rarely see it open. How are they still up and running?
Although I'm originally from Southern California & picky about my Mexican food, I finally did get a late nite carne asada nacho run that hit the spot.
The chips are crunchy and salty & the staff is friendly, but for those prices I'd rather take a bus to the Mission instead of walking down the block.
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Now I've seen some large burritos in my time (don't get any ideas!) but their serving size had me going, "Wow, that's pretty big" " I ordered my go-to favorite, chicken burrito (with black beans). Sadly, it all falls apart when you want to pick it up so I was stuck ferrying the contents to my mouth with a spoon. Taste-wise, it's your standard City burrito, just slightly cheaper.
Now, the aguas frescas, they are must-try item here! The strawberry is divine, and horchata is not far behind. If you like to live on the edge, you can't go wrong with the strawberry / horchata mix.
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It's the closest taqueria to my office, and I used to eat here all the time. I can't tell if the burritos have gotten bland, or if I've been spoiled by eating more of the far superior burritos of the Mission. Dry and not very flavorful. Getting salsa is much harder than it should be; again, maybe I'm spoiled, but I've come to expect salsa bars, veritable salsa safaris where tomatoes and cilantro can roam free, not salsa relegated to the small jars that other restaurants use for breakfast jams.
The burritos are served in awkwardly small paper bags, seemingly designed to tear as you're halfway across Bryant Street, endangering your burrito and making you stumble embarrassingly in front of all the drivers exiting the freeway. Not good times.
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where's the love? we rallied up the work posse for a brisk walk under the freeway to chavo's. although the outside is reminiscent of the scene from Stand By Me with the run for the fence... (Narraotr: "now, he said 'sick 'em boy', but what I heard was, "Chopper, sick balls")... the inside was quite colorful and spacious. the 45" HDTV was a bit of an eyesore for a cheapo mexican place, but this is a developed city.
the food hit the spot. a carne asada burrito as big as my calf, or the co-workers bicep... which got us thinking about potential promos for the mexican joint... flat rate burritos as big as your biceps.... the bigger your guns, the bigger the burrito. ok, maybe that's why i'm not in marketing.
Not at all impressed. We have a wealth of great taquerias in SF, so this one can be skipped. Unfortunately it's the closest to my office, but I won't be returning. Burrito was bad, I asked for tomatoes and cheese but somehow it got left out. Not worth it.
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They call it "authentic," I call it "throw up in my mouth and force myself to gulp down anything that will wash that taste out of my mouth."
Trust me on this one, pass on this place....you can thank me later.
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Chavo's is great for lunch on a bright sunny day with a bunch of friends! Sit out on the goofy patio, drink a nice mexican beer or coke, eat gi-normous burritos you need to eat with a fork or the tamales...
Yeah, that's a win.
I like the vibe of this joint, so it gets one star.
I went there yesterday for the first, only, and last time. I had a carne asada taco. mistake. The meat was bad, it had that old meat odor, you know like when the meat turns from red to grey. The meat tasted bad, I had a few bites of it that I tried to make more palatable by mixing it up with refried beans, but it was still pretty gnar. Don't eat here, you'll be sad.
Average mexican food but the people are cool. I like that they bake the tacos for a bit to melt the cheese. Thats some good shit. I have to reiterate what many are saying. Go for the tortilla bowl if you are hungry.
My co-worker Patrick , who is mildly disturbed like "the rest of us" , had a great commentary about the tortilla bowl that we all participated in over a lunch at Chavos. It boils down to, edible bowls are awesome. You could imagine every piece of dishwear becoming edible. You know, finish your plate, and then literally fucking finish your plate. No more dishes, just fat asses. I love it. I want flavored dishes. I want bacon flavored plates for my breakfast. Fuck yeah!
Anyway, Chavos.. decent if you are over here. Otherwise, go to the Mission.
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After weaving madly through the masses and speed-walking home from the Montgomery BART station, what could sound better than a big, hot burrito, freshly prepared for me to my exact specifications?
Well, a lot of things, like a pint of Stella or a plate of sashimi or a run on the beach or a hot bath... but Chavo's is where I went to reward myself for a day of hard work. The super vegetarian burrito was satisfactory. No cheese or fresh tomatoes, although I did plan to cut down on my cheese consumption anyway and there were tomatoes in the salsa. $5.43 was a decent/average price for a veggie burrito. I'm glad I asked for 2 to-go hot sauces instead of one; the picante salsa I asked for in the burrito was neglected, or maybe they thought I couldn't handle the picante I asked for... either way, the to-go cups of hot sauce were just spicy enough. The chips (no charge) were crispy, not quite as thin as I prefer, but good. I ate at home so I can't really comment on the atmosphere. It seemed peaceful enough.
Bonus: they're open late-night. I ate here after the bars one evening but didn't feel at liberty to comment on the food, as late-night food often tastes amazing at the time but not quite so during a sober, daytime meal.
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I used to go to this place back in the day when we would go to Glass Kat. Turns out this place isn't so good anymore when you're older and less drunk. Extra star because the lady is so nice. But seriously, the nachos were blech.
Ok, I'm most certainly hoping this doesn't come out the wrong way, but... um.. have you ever wondered how crazy people get dressed? I don' t mean "I'm on a little prozac, but I still hold a full-time job" crazy. Heck, I've been on the "Please calm her the hell down" Rx myself a couple of times in my life so I completely understand that type of functional crazy. I mean "I AM CRACK COCAINED OUTTA MY MIND FOOL SO DON'T EVEN THINK OF COMING CLOSE TO ME OR I WILL EAT YOUR EAR OFF MUTHA!" crazy.
I mean, when I have PMS, my boss is lucky I come to work with shoes and a bra on, let alone come to work at all. There was that one time I wore my orange pajama bottoms and just did the Pippi Longstocking thing with my hair. I was forbidden to come out from behind my desk until 5:30. Actually, I was forbidden from even discussing the incident, so let me just stop now before he ever comes across this review. They really need to work on a PMS pill for that cuz a bitch does not feel like wearing jeans that hug her bloated midsection and combing her hair on those days.
Anyhoo, I'm enjoying a lunch with co-workers at Chavo's and I see this man walking across the street. He looks as though, ya know, he'd eat your ear off if you got too close (Hmmm.. note to self: Mike Tyson is more than probably on crack). He was muttering something (well - yelling loudly) about baby dolls, pirates, paper clips and airplanes. I couldn't quite keep up, he was talking much too fast. Actually, he was yelling at the little lady walking just in front of him much too fast.
What struck me was that he was dressed to the hilt. The man had on trousers, a white button down shirt, loafers, suspenders, red tie and a trench coat. Now, don't take my word, but I bet he even had on underwear that had his name written in them.
I mean, what does he do, mutter at the mirror while he's getting ready?
THIS COAT IS TOO DAMNED BIG AND THE COCKROACHES WHO WENT OUT DANCING LAST NIGHT GOT THEIR RED LIPSTICK ALL OVER IT AND MY MOTHER AND HER MARIONETTE BOYFRIEND CLARENCE CUT A LOCK OF MY HAIR OFF WHEN I WAS SIX AND JUST HAD A DEBATE WITH TELLY SAVALES' BALD HEAD THAT SAID THESE LOAFERS DON'T QUITE MATCH THAT BALD HEAD BUT MY IMAGINARY FRIEND CLETUS THE ARMADILLO SAYS IT'S ALRIGHT IF I WEAR THEM AS LONG AS I PUT ON THESE SUSPENDERS TOO TOMMY CAN YOU HEAR ME TOMMY CAN YOU FEEL ME DAMN YOU TOMMY BITCH CRAP DONKEY BUTT SHIT ASS WHO THE HELL VOTED FOR GEORGE BUSH BOOBIES?!?!?!
I totally don't get it. More power to him though. I'll remember this man every 21st through 25th of the month when the PMS is upon me and I don't feel like wearing pants. He is now my new hero. Straight up.
Oh! Chavo's is interesting. The portions are HUGE, so if you have a small appetite you'll probably be sharing with someone, taking to go or tossing out food. I ordered a chicken quesadilla sans guacamole and sour cream and the tortilla was the size of my boobs. Which means... really big. There are definitely better spots for a Mexican meal in the city, but for the area, it's nice to have Chavo's around. They offer an outdoor patio to eat your meal as well. It's not high class or anything, but it's a nice place to sit and watch the crack fiends dress to the hilt while you dine.
I wonder where crack man got those suspenders cuz they were kinda dope. I would have asked him but I like my ear.
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Rockin Enchiladas, and real Coca Cola. I think the Burritos and the enchiladas are excellent. The service here is quick, so suitable for us ultra busy SOMA tech people. Great for a quick lunch with a friend on a busy day.
Ah...I felt sick after eating here. Burrito....arrgh....never again. And they charged me extra for a little cup of salsa....
Chavo's is not, and does not try to be, Mission-style (thank god). I'm giving it 5 stars because 1) it is delicious and 2) I need to offset that guy that subtracted points because they are not open when he is drunk.
Dude: they close at 3:00 pm, you either need to reevaluate your scoring system or get your drink on earlier.
Really, Chavo's is good stuff. I eat a lot of Mexican food (about 50% of my diet) and have sampled the Mexican cuisine from the southern Mexican border through Canada and from the East to West (Best) Coast. Chavo's is not the crema de la crema, but the slapped together stuff in the Mission isn't all that either.
I ate here at least weekly for about five years. They have some solid chile verde (great in a burrito on in tacos) and decent tamale plates. This is no Cafe Tacuba, but hell, you're not in Mexico City....
BTW: sometimes I feel ill after cramming 2 pounds of beans in my gut as well. The problem is that you don't stop eating when you're full because it tastes so good.
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Great mexican food place for people working in SOMA to grab decent Burrito or Tacos as a lunch-to-go in a very cheap price like $5-7.
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You know the old saying "Never eat at the place closest to your house or office", you don't? Well, this place is a half a block from my office.
A
I am going to Chavos tonight and will review later. But I just have to say - if your main claim to fame on being a burrito connoisseur is living in the mission you need to stop. Mission burritos, to quote another Yelper, are not all that.
Hey - you love what you love, and that's great. Mission Burritos are good. But every time people write about a mexican place on Yelp, they always preface it with, "Well I lived in the Mission for like 9 years and so bla-di bla bla bla" and go on to say why every burrito served elsewhere sucks by comparison. Tell me you lived in Mexico and then I'll be impressed.
To be fair - if you have tried Burritos from everywhere and you contend that Mission Burritos are the best, then hats off to you senor. You truly would know. But if you're experience is like, taco bell, chipotle, some shitty place in the mall, and then Mission Burritos - it's a no go.
Edit: OK I went the other night and it was delish! Yay to the quesadilla and to the carne asada nachos!
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This is a very average taqueria. I disagree that what they serve is authentic from what their sign says. It's not horrible, but I probably won't go to this place unless every other taqueria in the city shuts down.
I don't really get this place. I live very close by, walk by it all the time. It's almost never open. I think they might be open during lunch hours, and on random late nights (perhaps for post-clubbers from Tabu across the street?)
I've eaten here twice. Their burritos....are horrible. Maybe if it were in NY (where there's a dearth of taquerias), it would be passable. Then again, NY at least has Burritoville, and Burritoville kick's Chavo's ass. For a burrito joint in SF, Chavo's is sad, sad, sad. I don't even know where to begin. BUT, I'm still giving it two stars because beggars can't be choosers, and since there are no other taquerias in SoMa, I'll settle for Chavo's since sometimes, you just NEED nachos at 12 am.
I've had one absolutely delicious carnitas super burrito here. (+5 stars)
However, I've eaten here (on average) once a week for the past 9 months.
And I've never eaten here drunk. (-1 star)
And afterward, you'll find me slouched over my keyboard in a food-induced coma.
And on more than one occasion, I've ended up feeling not-so-hot shortly thereafter. (-1 star)
So why do I go back? That single burrito was quite incredible. Perhaps I have too much faith in humanity, but I hope that someday the experience may be recreated. Plus, I work 2 blocks away, my coworkers who swoon over Chavo's consistently invite me to join them for lunch. Eh, sometimes it's better than microwaved mac and cheese from the Safeway down the street... sadly, though, most of the time it's not.
Specific observations and cautions: carnitas is possibly the best thing on the menu.
Carne asada is fair to mediocre (at best).
Chile rellenos are microwaved.
MICROWAVED?!? Jinkies. Get there around 11.30, as all the meat is prepared well in advance, and after noon rolls around, it shows. (-1 star)
Salsas: Never had the mild (I like it hot!). The hot salsa reminds me of a pico with too-large chunks of jalapeno that do little to lend flavor; not well balanced at all.
Oh yeah, one more thing: NO SALSA VERDE! (-25 stars)
p.s. Please don't tell my manager or other coworkers about this review... I would like to keep my job. Thank you.
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Good consistant, and Cheap mexican food. Good service. Not a whole lot to say. I dont' know anywhere that has as cheap (or as large) of a burrito.
Drinks are a bit spendy, a bottle of corona will run you $4, unless it's happy hour. Great place to hit up after bars close in SOMA on a weekend. Open really late.
There are plenty of good burrito places in this city, and Chavos makes 'em as good as anyone.
I actually have no idea how late they stay open, and I have been in there way past my bedtime.
If you want a good burrito late, Chavos is rolling them.
Not bad. Not great. The portions are phenomenal, and the prices aren't bad, but the overall quality definitely leaves a lot to be desired.
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Tastes exactly like you think it might when you walk up to the busy
intersection on 4th and Bryant and find this joint hidden behind a
chain link fence.
6 bites into my burrito until I finally hit the guacamole jackpot that
I paid 1 dollar extra for. Things are looking up from here. A few bites later I uncover a couple of bites with rice that not completely cooked but then the sour cream hits and I power through to the finish line.
If I wasn't so hungry and the guy behind the counter wasn't so pleasant, I would have given this place 2 stars.
Friendly counter service? Check.
Tables available? Check.
Outdoor seating for sunny days? Check.
Food logs of moderate tastiness? Check.
Feeling of churning illness for 24 hours after every meal I eat there?
Sadly, double check.
If I could choose, I'd get my food logs somewhere else, maybe El Farolito. But choices are limited down at 4th and Bryant. So Chavo's fits the bill every now and then. Not bad for the neighborhood. Nothing to write home about. If I didn't work around the corner, I wouldn't bother. But I do. So I do.
Big plates of decently flavored cheap gut-wrenching food, served in simple surrounds by pleasant people. 2.5 starry stars.
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Wow, talk about a lot of bad reviews. I'll be frank, I've only been once and that was at lunch on a weekday.
The place was not packed, but soon after I entered, there was a large line developing with what appeared to be local workers. It was obvious that it was not a destination lunch adventure.
Pricing: not bad, not great. It's what I would expect for a burrito: $4.50 for regular, $6 for a super, depending on your meat choice.
Look & Feel: definitely what I would expect, mismatched chairs and tables, steam trays galore, huge flat screen with futbol, and a fairly large indoor space for seating. The people working the food were polite and yes, they appeared to charge 80 cents for chips.
Taste: I had the carne asada super B - hot. It was not that hot, honestly, and the salsa was a chunky type. Nothing was necessarily excellent, but it was indeed still tasty. The meat was not grissled out and I appeared to have received all chewable pieces. The had 3 other meats in the steam tray that looked more tasty, so I would definitely investigate those next time. Can't forget to mention they have Pineapple AND strawberry Fanta, this is a super bonus.
I'll be back if I am craving a burrito in SOMA.
I hate Chavos. Please allow me to express why.
I live in the Mission.
I am surrounded by superior burritos and tacos EVERY DAY.
Hell, I pass probably 4 just on my way to work in the morning. Unfortunately for me, the last Mexican food I pass before getting to work is Chavos.
I've been there twice. It's the biggest joke of a restaurant at work. We bond over our traumatic experiences from Chavos.
I don't know how you can a) charge more for a taco than a burrito. b) mess up a vegetarian burrito (It's just rice, cheese and beans! Not rocket science!). It's not that they are SO horrible, but the quality is piss poor and there is nothing remarkable about the place except the chance you'll regret your decision.
But take it from me. Just keep walking. About a block and a half away (in South Park) is a fantastic place named Mexico Au Parc. Go THERE.
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Pros: Open until 3am on weekends, around the corner from my place, cool owner and decent food.
Cons: Pricey, charges for chips and way too convenient for drunk Brent to get a burrito at 2am.
Chavo's can be habit forming.
I don't live in the mission. Chavo's is the closest thing in my 'hood to satiate that need for some greasy ol' breakfast burrito.
Seriously this isn't a place you should eat every day. And the regular burritos might come back to haunt you later. But the breakfast burrito? Damn good. tasty. Heck, it's downright rejuvenating. Alright, so I've only had it once. but i liked it!
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