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El Majahual Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Latin American Latin American [Edit]
1142 Valencia St(between 22nd St & 23rd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Neighborhood: Mission
(415) 821-7514
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 9 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
138 reviews for El Majahual Restaurant
Review Highlights
"...your Colombian and love authentic Colombian food, don't go."
(in 23 reviews)
"But the pupusas totally made up for it."
(in 38 reviews)
"I had the "Bandeja Paisa" and it was really blend."
(in 9 reviews)
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138 reviews in English
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Review from Julio A.
1/25/2012 1 Check-in Here
When I was a kid, my mother had a close friend from Colombia who would invite us over and cook traditional Colombian food she'd learned from her mother. Colombian rice and beans tasted remarkably similar to Guatemalan rice and beans, but those Colombian soups (sancocho, ajiaco) always blew me away.
After years of biking by this place on my way up and down Valencia Street, I finally paid a formal visit this week.
First things first, this isn't a fancy place. It's earnest and authentic, both in ambience and in its food.
Part of me didn't want to risk messing with the warm and cozy ajiaco memories of my childhood. But luckily, El Majahual's interpretation was as good as I remembered. Milky white chicken broth with generous chunks of potatoes, chicken, and corn, served with side orders of cream, capers, avocado and rice. All perfect, all traditional, and all delicious.
Will definitely not be going another 15 years before my next fix. -
Review from Karmic K.
Medford, OR
1/12/2012
While they do serve typical dishes from Colombia and El Salvador, these guys seem to focus on the latter of the two. For
Those who have never tried Colombian food please dont expect mexican or anything spicy. Colombian fare is simple with few spices... Meat and potatoes, avocado, rice and beans is quite typical.
Though everything we had was great, my
Colombian wifie wished they served a few more Colombian dishes she was missing Nevertheless, their flavors and scents satiated our palates. The bandeja paisa was spot on, and with eyes closed we could feel like we were back in Medellin! The jugos they serve of the many tropical fruits that are so common in Colombia (and much more rare here) where an awesome surprise as well. Im pretty sure we left with a few extra pounds.
After our first time here we now typically stock up on 10-20 lbs of raw sausage to take home as there are zero Colombian restaurants within a 200 mile radius of where we live. -
Review from Nick B.
San Francisco, CA
11/6/2011
I love this place!
My partner and I order from here at least once a week!
Their jugo de maracuya with milk (passion fruit juice with milk) is absolutely amazing;, also their empanadas, pupusas and arepas are DELICIOUS!!!
And this is not Colombian but they have it on the menu and it is the best burrito in the city! Don't leave without trying their amazing beef super burrito!! it's a killer :) -
Review from Jennifer L.
Oakland, CA
11/27/2011
My friend and I were on a mission to consume papusas. We tried two stops before this one, and each one was closed for very different reasons. But we are so lucky this place was open. We both got some papusas. Enjoyed lovely service, great prices and yummy food.
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Review from Garen C.
San Francisco, CA
12/12/2011
Go for the pupusas, stay for the batidas.
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Review from Graeson L.
Boulder, CO
12/3/2011
Decent Colombian food on Mission St. IMO, a bit pricey for the setting, but a must if you're missing authentic food from home.
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Review from David M.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 9/14/2011
I cant believe this place has 4 stars, that discourages me from ever trusting a yelp rating again! I finally tried Mr. Pollo and it was good but not Colombian, just a chef's chance to show off his culinary skills for 3 or 4 tables as he capriciously prepares small dishes inspired by Latin American cuisines; so I was able to conclude that there is absolutely no real Colombian food in SF. Amazing that a city with so many great cuisines well-represented, lacks both a decent Colombian restaurant and Cuban restaurant :(
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/2/2011
It makes me want to cry when I'm dying for Colombian food and this is the only place in SF.… Read more »
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Review from Kevin L.
Ann Arbor, MI
4/15/2011
Stopped in here for a quick snack before dinner with the family. Ended up eating way too much of these fabulous pupusas instead. Was way too full to have a complete dinner.
Friend and I each had an order of pupusas since we figured that one order would be too small for a snack. Oh how wrong we were! It came with a side of slaw that had some kind of amazing vinegar dressing that we topped the pupusa with. The pupusas were lovely cheesy and chock full of goodness.
Would so come back to this tiny place for a real meal and eat more things. MmMmmm. -
Review from Melissa H.
San Francisco, CA
5/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
If I only ate the pupusas I would be giving this Colombian + Salvadorian restaurant 4 stars. The pupusas are delicious and filling, and come with a tasty slaw and fresh salsa.
Unfortunately I also tried 5 other dishes and the empanadas. The entrées were bland, boring, and reminded me of cafeteria food.
This place is pretty small and dive-y. If you are stuck in the area, perhaps waiting for a reservation somewhere else, you could split a few pupusas with your party to hold you over. -
Review from Dylan S.
Salinas, CA
11/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
I enjoyed the food and will go back. The menu is large and the service is good. Excellent fruit with milk drinks reminds me of Costa Rica.
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Review from Jeff H.
San Francisco, CA
3/8/2011
Pretty gosh-dang good South American, even down to the lax service. Choose between Salvadoran things you've never heard of but are somewhat familiar-ish and Colombian things of the same nature. Neither will disappoint.
Can get a little pricey, but very delicious and well worth it. -
Review from Nilu r.
San Francisco, CA
9/23/2011
pros:
-delicious pupusa
-spicy salsa
-delicious pickled cabbage
cons:
-tongue entree and the "grandma's" recipe steak entree were not that special.
-The tongue was a little chewy.
-The steak was just ok.
I would go back...and possibly will go back, this time I will get only pupusas. -
Review from Jacquee p.
San Francisco, CA
4/15/2011
Beautiful interiors and comfortable seating.
The papusas are substantial, perfectly formed, and smell like they're fried in lard or shortening. Mmmmmm. Smells so meaty-good. -
Review from Melanie C.
San Francisco, CA
3/12/2011
Super tender pupusas, melty (yet oily) plantain + bean empenadas, super fluffy tamales.... Very fresh, very tasty.
For lunch, we were the only dine-in people, but there was a steady stream of couples picking up big orders to take home to their families.
Very homey feeling. -
Review from Isaac A.
Hayward, CA
10/8/2011
This place is located on Valencia in San Francisco, they have a great variety of plates. The owner is from Cali, Colombia, so you know this place has great colombian food. Their pupusas have are famous among salvadorian people who know this place, they are HUGE.
Their food taste great and just to be clear, if you order a Colombian plate, 100% of what is on that plate is Colombian, and same goes for the Salvadorian plates. I say this because i've heard a lot of people ask if they mix the two and let me tell you, they do not.
The owners are friendly people, they are the one who will make the food right when you order and the place is family-friendly.
Great food, good price. Highly recommend their Pupusas and/or their Bandeja Paisa. GOOD! -
Review from Stacy C.
Marin, CA
3/6/2011
After doing a search for Colombian food, I found this place and came in on a Sunday afternoon .. around 2 pm. The place was packed. I ordered Bistec a la Criolla. This is a very popular dish served in Colombia, it consists of skirt steak with a creole style sauce served with rice, salad, avocado, y plantains. It was good. Nothing fancy, nothing over the top. It reminded me of my ex boyfriends Spanish mothers' cooking. She was a great cook-- homestyle.
It wasn't spectacular, but it is a place I would return to and try other dishes. The woman who waited on me was attentive, but I will say that the place was very slow in the turn around of food. -
Review from Samantha M.
San Francisco, CA
12/31/2010
Best pupusas I've had in SF, no joke! I saw this little middle aged latin lady in the back making them so I knew even before I tried they were going to be good! I also had a seafood soup, it was just okay. But the pupusas totally did it for me.
Service was okay, I think it was an older gentleman and son. They were fast to serve me but did dissappear towards the end of my meal and i had to walk up to the counter to ask for my check. But the pupusas were so good I will definitely come back here. -
Review from NAEL K.
San Francisco, CA
8/27/2011
The best pupusas in the mission..............
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Review from Yasmin A.
7/11/2011
Salvadorian food Yes sir! I have only been once, the initial response is like "this place looks kinda shabby even for ghetto ass mission" but once you get your food you forget about the decor and enjoy the bombiggty food. I ordered two platos one with pescado and the other with rice and beef, should have gotten some papusas but we didnt want to over do it. The fish was just like my best frineds mom used to fry up really brought me some good vibes. My hubby's dish was just as good and the drinks are more of a desert for me, sweet, rich and thick but addicting once you try it.
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Review from Yelena K.
San Francisco, CA
2/12/2011
My hubs is Ecuadorian and I lived and travelled South America, including Colombia, for about 2 years, so when we saw this place we were pretty excited. Sad to say our hopes were let down by mixed and only mediocre experience.
When we walked in, the place was pretty empty. We looked at the menu and immediately flipped to the Colombian side. Down the list we go to the drinks, and YAY, they have Pilsener beer. SCORE! For those who know, it's an Ecuadorian beer I haven't seen in the US yet. The menu looks great and I decide on Sancocho de Pescado and hubs wants Sancocho de Pollo/Gallina. The waitress comes up to take the order and the disappointments begin.
I ordered the Pilsener. They didn't have it. Damn, don't want a beer, so I order a diet coke and the sancochos. Here it gets even worse.
They don't have diet coke or anything else diet. I'm starting to wonder. What place doesn't have diet coke?! Oh well, water then.
5 minutes pass and the waitress comes by again. Not a good sign. They are out of sancocho de pescado. Seriously? Shouldn't you have known that to start off with? Now I'm irritated and don't want anything else. I'll just share my hubs' sancocho.
The food arrives and the portion is huge. Nice bowl, rice and avocado on the side and the waitress was nice enough to bring another smaller size bowl for me and a ladle. Kudos on the service. This is where the good and the bad come in.
The broth is heavy, just as it should be, yuca (cassava, though I haven't heard anyone else call it that) is perfectly tender without any bruise spots, chicken is soft and flaky. Then both of us taste the broth and start laughing. The broth is so salty that it's almost spicy. I reach for the rice, and yep, the rice is even saltier than the broth. It's so salty that I chugged three glasses of water while eating it, and I only had half the usual portion. Now I do know from experience that Latin people love their salt. But this was beyond love, this was salt obsession. The traditional sancocho has a great flavor cause it's cooked for a while and adding so much salt frankly ruined it for me.
Now I would be willing to come here and see if they have the Pilsener beer and if maybe that was just an off night. Im hoping cause I miss the cuisine. Otherwise there are better Colombian places in the city that serve yummy dishes that don't have a pound of salt in them. -
Review from Amir B.
Sunnyvale, CA
8/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ajiaco was ok. Not the best but it was good.
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Review from Sharjah D.
San Francisco, CA
7/28/2011
My mom and I were around the neighborhood last Tuesday and she was craving burrito so we ended up in this restaurant. What caught our attention was it was advertised as Colombian Food outside but inside was advertised as Salvadorian food. There was a confusion there but anyway my mom ordered the Beef burrito and I ordered the Vegetarian Pupusas. We took it to go and it was my first time eating pupusas and it was filling and really good! As for my mom's order, it was definitely different from the burritos we usually order at the Mexican restaurants. Their burrito was quite salty and had lots of fats but if I were ever in the area again, I would definitely order some pupusas again!
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Review from Danny C.
San Francisco, CA
7/25/2011
It was... different. Got the fish stew, etc. Didn't blow me away, but I'm willing to give this place another shot since the menu is so diverse...
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Review from Ems K.
San Francisco, CA
11/11/2010
Really like this place for warm and home-y food.
My bf and I are repeat customers, we've tried a lot off the big menu.
The chorizo+arepa is a good starter, so are the papusas and Salvadorian tamales. They have a "street food" taste and feel to them which makes them saliva-worthy.
For me, I LOVE their soup.
Whenever I'm craving for a bowl of steamy, hearty soup, El Majahual I go. Such delicious bowls of satisfying broth, veggies, and proteins ... there's many to choose from (oxtail is my favorite).
Don't expect toooooo much service but they're ALWAYS attentive and friendly :) -
Review from Alice C.
10/11/2010
Been there a few times, pupusas are great here. 3.5 stars... but round down for slow service.
Definitely not a fancy place, local restaurant.
A bit on the greasy side, but it is tasty and fresh.
The place is small, minimum decor, not a fancy place but a place to get some eating done! -
Review from Alex A.
San Francisco, CA
7/14/2011 2 Check-ins Here
2 papusas are $5 and totally filling. But, stick to the papusas... some of the other items I've tried were a little too... authentic... home made and bland.
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Review from Paula H.
San Francisco, CA
5/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
Maybe I just don't like Colombian food that much. I think it was the first time I'd ever been in a Colombian restaurant. Food seemed bland and the steak I ordered was tough and gray. Served with mashed potatoes and canned veggies, one could say it is like "home" cooking- if one grew up in Kansas during the Depression!
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Review from Erica J.
San Francisco, CA
2/28/2010
Let me start by saying that I believe in this review SO MUCH I am battling the horrificly slow internet at Philz coffee to write this.
SO. This place is a shining piece of soul in San Francisco. It's a family-owned restaurant created to give people a glimpse of their Salvadorian/Colombian home/roots :). While I'm mexican, I absolutely resonate with the vibe of the place. The wait staff is always kind, eager to answer questions, and quite attractive ;). I want to bear hug the one guy that's always there. Maybe next time...I wonder how many pupusa's I'd have to order to qualify?
My favorite is the Old Chicken Soup!! AKA- the hen soup (on the back of the menu). The mom of the place explained that the difference between the Caldo de Pollo and Caldo de (hen...in spanish) is that the hen is an older chicken. Well obviously, I don't want no GIRL when I can have a WOMAN. So now my heart and stomach is ALWAYS satisfied with the Old Chicken Soup.
Note: If you are more familiar with Mexican things... DEFINITELY come here to try the alternative universe of the things you're used to having. ie: tamales are different (yet similar). Agua Fresca (different fruits than I'm used to). and Atole! It's not the vanilla drink from my youth! It's like a sweet, corn, soupy thing.
Weird but good ;). -
Review from Kevin D.
Ypsilanti Township, MI
Delicious food. Reasonably priced. The number 60 was incredible. I would recommend this place to anyone. The empanadas were awesome....I can still taste them :) All I have to say is don't judge a book by its cover....this place isn't pretty but the food is worth the trip.
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Review from Josua P.
San Francisco, CA
4/9/2007
I was first introduced to papusas by an old girlfriend.
"Do you like eating papusas?" she asked.
This elicited a sly grin from me. "You know I like eating...wait, did you say 'paPUSAS?'"
"Yeah, they're like fat griddled tortillas stuffed with meat or cheese or both."
"Mmmm. Meat...or cheese...or both."
And thus was my introduction to papusas.
This place is right next to a plumbing supply company or something like that and is hardly on the sweet spot of Valencia St. but when I get a craving for papusas this is where I come.
There's usually just one older woman in the back making everything so if there are people who have ordered ahead of you or you're hungry it could be a while. As soon as you order you can hear the rhythmic spanking sound of papusas being made. If you listen closely you can hear, "What's my name? What's my NAME!?!"
OK, this review is spinning out of control so I guess I'll wrap this up with some actual useful information. The menu is predominantly Columbian and Salvadorean food with papusas and tamales and traditional Columbian plates. If you go, be sure to have the fried plantains with refried beans and sour cream. So fucking good. You know, if you're into that kind of thing. This, and a couple of papusas and you're stoked.
They also have burritos and tacos but, I'm sorry, if you're in the Mission and you go to a Columbian restaurant to get a burrito, you're retarded. -
Review from Robin K.
Hayward, CA
Updated - 1/4/2010
Still loving this place.
Pupusa's are delicious, but it's all about the Colombian Empanadas.
The empanadas are the bizzomb, and the aji is always tasty.
I'll be a Bridge and Tunnel Lifer for the Empanadas?
Expand to the East Bay. We are in desperate need of a closer Empanada pleaser.
Can you tell that I love the Empanadas.Listed in: The Good, the Bad, and the…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/25/2009
The wifey and I came here for pre-marriage empanada's before our 11:30 appointment at SF city hall.… Read more »
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Review from Jen D.
6/30/2008
I don't know the difference between Colombian, El Salvadorean, Messican and any other spanish influenced food. So I don't know if this place is authentic, but it sure was good!
I went with Bistek El Salvadoreno. Thin steak in a tomato onion sauce with tomatoes, onions and green pepper. Came with rice, beans and salad. It was really good! Not the best cut of meat, but it tasted really good with all the other veggies and the sauce.
Got one pork pupusa and one zucchini and cheese pupusa. I could just eat these over rice with spicy salsa. YUM!!!!! The pickled cabbage that was on the side was REALLY good too...
I also had a guanabana con leche shake. In my head I kept singing:
"Don't cha wanna wanna a guanabana?"
It's just really fun to say. :) -
Review from Beth D.
San Francisco, CA
5/12/2010
I've been living in the Mission for two weeks and have been trying a different place every night, so far El Majahual is my absolute favorite!
I went with a group of 5 and we all walked away stuffed to the brim! Honestly, I have no idea how "authentic" this food is, but it was like a party in my mouth. I ordered a chile relleno and some pupusas. I was so full from the pupusas I almost didn't have room for the main course. The menu says you have to order a minimum of two, but I think this means for the whole table because my friend only ordered one. We also had some great beers.
They take credit cards and have a counter for take out. The tables are long so you could accommodate a large group of people even though the place is small. There was a family birthday party happening behind us.
It takes everything in me when I walk past now to not walk in and order an armload of pupusas. Even though it would be a total waste to order a burrito here, with how many great entrees they have, I kind of want to just because it would probably be amazing. If I had any complaints it would be that the table wasn't big enough for all the food we had! -
Review from Boiled H.
San Mateo, CA
2/10/2009
As a close friend, please take my advice. If you're used to mexican style horchata (wasn't aware there was any other) please give it some thought before you order one from here.
I literally spit out the first sip...and the second...and the third. It's not the same, they add some sort of weird... seed? I had to run over to El Tonayense to clean my mouth.
That said, the empanadas are crispy and buttfucking delicious. They're filled with potato and beef and salsa of some kind . I was sad that I only got one for myself, especially since it was like $1.50. I also tried my first arepa here. Not into it. I have a feeling they get much better than this. -
Review from Lindsay T.
Brooklyn, NY
7/18/2008
I LOVE ME SOME AREPAS
As far as Colombian food goes, this hit it right on the money. I wasn't expecting to spend so much money, but it was plenty of food! Arepas, check! Plantains, check! Camarones, check! -
Review from Pablo G.
San Francisco, CA
9/20/2009
My mother decided to visit me one Saturday, and so I decided to treat her to some Colombian food. I looked on yelp, and found this place with good reviews. After I took her, I noticed that all these reviews were kinda false... Its not that cheap, and its really not good at all.
The Empanadas we had were cheaply made, burnt, and stuffed only with Potatoes. Their beans were beans straight from the can, nothing Colombian about them. Their chicharron was smoked, real soft, and not crispy at all. The arepas they served us were still white and raw, not golden crispy. The salad I got with my liver was gross and looked worse than what you would put on tacos.
We as Colombians were highly disappointed of their food, it was tasteless and really low quality. If your Colombian and love authentic Colombian food, don't go. If your not Colombian, do as you please... -
Review from Milena B.
San Francisco, CA
2/19/2011
NOT A COLOMBIAN RESTAURANT.
This is a Salvadorian Restaurant, I've never had Salvadorian before, but because they advertise as Colombian as well I thought I would give it a try.
The beans are bland, the portions are small, and the taste is not Colombian at all.
The Restaurant looks like a take-out place, the bathroom is located in the kitchen, and the price is too expensive for the location, food, and type of ambiance. If you're in dire need for rice and beans and you want to pay $40+ for them, then this is your place.
The owner is nice, and the service is quick, but there is much to be desired for the food, especially in a city with so many other options. -
Review from Jonathan C.
San Francisco, CA
4/25/2009
My brother and his wife came to town to visit for the weekend. She is Colombian and he thought it would be a good idea to surprise her with a trip to a good Colombian restaurant. That was the beginning of a series of disastrous choices that led to embarrassment and apologies on behalf of all the people of San Francisco to my visiting family.
We scoured the Internet for good Colombian restaurants in San Francisco. Believe it or not, there are very few within San Francisco. El Majahual consistently came back from Google as the only one. So, I checked out the Yelp reviews and figured it would be a safe bet with 4 stars by 60-something people. Wrong, wrong, wrong... wrong wrong...
We showed up for lunch. Very few people were there (like 2 others). The waitress took our order. We ordered some very basic and easy Colombian meals that are usually the sure-bet. You can't screw these up if you try. They're like the Macaroni-and-Cheese of Colombia.
We waited for over an hour. An hour went by with an incredible awkwardness. There were so few people in the restaurant and we could hear the cook in the back working away. It baffles me as to how it could have taken as long as it did. The crowning moment was when the waitress came out and told us that she had no guacamole. (Guacamole is a very standard part of Colombian food and everyone should have these in lots of supply) She asked us if we would mind not having it. My brother's wife said not to worry about it. Of course, the waitress then runs out of the restaurant, leaving everyone there to fend for themselves while she runs to get some Guacamole. Literally, all these patrons with no food and left to basically stare at each other in this awkward silence.
She was gone for over 10 minutes and came back to serve our meal. The whole time, we were debating about how we were going to abandon this plan and go to the McDonald's across the street instead (yes, McDonald's!). She brought out some really really average beans and rice with a shitty slice of Guacamole. So much time for so little effort... apparently, the Colombian food that was prepared had a really heavy El Salvadorian slant and really wasn't Colombian at all.
The final blow was the $55 bill for some extremely shitty beans and rice that we could've made ourselves for like $5 and in less than 15 minutes. It was such an embarrassing experience and I tried to assure my brother and company that San Francisco has an amazing array of restaurants and the service was normally really good.
Please please please, for the love of god, do not get sucked into going here for the "Colombian" food. Anyone who thinks this is "Colombian" does not know what they are talking about.
On a positive note, my brother and I still laugh over the entire experience and how ridiculous it was from beginning to end. -
Review from Kristen R.
Mountain View, CA
10/19/2008
El Majahual is a gem. I've been looking for some good Latin American comfort food for a while now. The menu is huge, with a section focusing on dishes from El Salvador and a section with Colombian offerings. I knew I wanted a beef dish, so I went with the sobrebarriaga a la criolla, which was a stew of potatoes, beef, and cassava. The flavors of this dish were outstanding and the meat was so tender. I also love the flavor of the cassava, which is a good contrast to the potato. It was really the plantain and rice that topped it off for me. Something about those flavors just took me back to a time and place that no other dish has been able to achieve.
The staff was so friendly, even when we couldn't decide what to order for the longest time. Also, the prices were very reasonable. I don't know what it is about this place, but once you take that first bite into your food you know that this stuff was made a lot of care. It takes a lot to replicate the flavors and quality I've been looking for and El Mahajual achieved it. Can't wait to go back here. -
Review from Francisco G.
San Francisco, CA
4/17/2010
First time for me eating Salvadoran.
Ordered the arepas plate to share. Neither that nor my tamale were the slightest bit greasy. So, either the kitchen is inconsistent or this place has been visited by more than its share of wacko yelpers.
Overall, I was satisfied, found the service friendly and efficient (especially considering everything seemed cooked to order), and appreciated the simple, spotless dining area.
My lunch companion and I were just a bit underwhelmed (he had the plantains with beans and crema). But I'm going to return next time I'm hungry and in the neighborhood. I'll try the empanadas, as they've garnered so many raves. And either the whole fish plate or the hen soup; intuition tells me there's potential for a one-star upgrade here.
