La Palma Mexicatessen
2884 24th St
(between Bryant St & Florida St)
San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 647-1500
144 reviews
Neighborhood: Financial District
"Good Salsa makes me weak in the knees. Tlaloc garlic salsa made me weak in the knees. And so did the watermelon juice."
116 Reviews for La Palma Mexicatessen
Weird. I found myself speaking really bad Spanglish ordering my food, though I had the accent going. The chicken taco, in a handmade tortilla, w/black beans and fresh salsa was delicious. Same for the chicharron taco, but that one was a bit too tough for me.
Rookies: get a number, order your food, pay at the front counter. You should've seen how lost I looked. :-)
Delicous Mexican taco and tamales for real affordable price. I love the huaraches but it comes in a bag of eight and that's just too much for me. But it is always baked fresh....you can tell from the steam in the bag. Also, the corn tamales are the best, it's sweet not savory. Grab-the mexican Coca Cola sold in bottles that are a tad sweeter and has real sugar. (The U.S. Colas are made with high corn fructose). I had tacos, tamales and Mexican coca cola for under five dollars. So forget about the taqueria go straight to Mexico via 24th street. Just a cultural experience, you'll love the idea of the Mexican women cooking in action behind the station. Also, eat your tacos at the church steps across the streets and looked at the surrounding murals all over 24th street. Muy rico!!!
I really don't understand how it took me so long to finally visit La Palma. It's super hyped on Yelp. It's in the Food Lover's Guide to SF. And it's only a 15 minute bike ride from my apt. Not to mention I've been to this area regularly recently to explore all the food options. Why oh why haven't I stopped in?!
It's a tiny Mexican deli that dishes up hot food and tortillas in the back, also has lots of other dried/canned goods in the aisles. Almost everything you need to throw together a dinner except for fresh veg. I would stick to the hot stuff in back and their deli items, which is their specialty. Most of the dried/canned goods can be got elsewhere for slightly cheaper (if 50 cents is important to you - it is for me!).
I love, love, love how nice everyone is here! Maybe I'm used to the surly non-smiling people who work in Chinese markets, but these ladies are so sweet! They can tell I'm lost and have no idea where anything is, so they come up to me with a smile and help me out.
I love how this place looks like it's just a tiny Mexican supermarket but man, it is so much more than just that. Had the best chicken soft taco of my life here. 5 stars goes to the amazing homemade Mexican food. You can actually see the workers making all of the tortilla by hand in the back. If I lived in SF, I'd totally be in line with the rest of the Mexican mamas ordering bags of handmade tortillas to-go. I can't wait to come back and try everything else on the menu!
HOMEMADE BORINGNESS.
Look, I love the women making tortillas by hand in the back. And for only 10 cents added to any regular taco, you can get one instead of a machine-made one! The handmade ones are soft and corny and irregular, they way they should be.
BUT: the tacos are bland. I had one carne asada and one carnitas. Neither excited my taste buds, despite the usual salsa & onions, and the unusual beans and large quantity of meat. (Note: price is $2.40 each, so not it's not really a steal.)
PLUS the place took forever. We waited 15 minutes to order, 10 minutes to get our food made, and 10 minutes to pay. And this is not even a restaurant! It's a grocery store, with a deli in the back. What gives?
So two stars for the tortilla, and la experiencia autentica.... but not for the tacos, really.
Looking for more Mexican? See my Mexican food list here:
http://www.yelp.com/li...
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (2)
Best tortillas in the city. If you are eating gluten-free and want to pick up some delicious corn tortillas, this is the place to do it. They also sell masa, chiles, husks, spices, produce and anything else you might need to cook up your favorite gluten-free Mexican dishes at home.
I really like this Mexicatessen. I love to make Pazole. But before I discovered La Palma, I would have to go to several different stores for all of the spices and sides I needed. They have the ancho chili peppers and lots of them. This is key to a true Pazole. They also have ground pasilla peppers. And any spice you would ever possibly need for a Mexican dish.
The daily made tortillas and tortilla chips are among the best. And their salsas, the tomatilla, pico di gallo and the Chile X Picante. Why even bother trying to choose among them? Just buy all three.
So far I'm just a customer of the grocery store. But they do serve prepared food to go in the back and one of these days I will try it.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Just broke my only-free-range-meat rule to try the lauded huaraches con pollo here and they've made a believer out of me.
Seriously, the combination of toppings and the chicken prep was nothing short of mexican heaven, and all for $3.50!
The cozy visual of the tortillas being made by the women in the back only heightened the experience (which was good because it took around 15 minutes to get my order). I really had to resist buying a huge bag of warm tortillas and queso (as I'm headed out of town tomorrow) but I will be back to stock my fridge very soon.
Here's a better idea. Put in your order, scoot down the street for a Phil's coffee, and return for some of the best cheap authentic mex I've had in this city.
the BEST carnitas in town! buy by the pound, take home some tortillas, handmade on the spot... grab some crema, some avocado, add your favorite salsa, a bit o' lime... and you got CrAzY good! I'm mexi... I know.
Man I feel like an dick giving this place only a 3 star rating because all of you like it SOOOO much.
Granted, it does have white person appeal (see my favorite website http://stuffwhitepeopl...). See concept #71 . I am white fyi so stop asking.
It is as follows:
In most situations, white people are very comforted by seeing their own kind. However, when they are eating at a new ethnic restaurant or traveling to a foreign nation, nothing spoils their fun more than seeing another white person.
Many white people will look into the window of an ethnic restaurant to see if there are other white people in there. It is determined to be an acceptable restaurant if the white people in there are accompanied by ethnic friends. But if there is a table occupied entirely by white people, it is deemed unacceptable.
The arrival of the "other white people" to either restaurants or vacation spots instantly means that lines will grow, authenticity will be lost, and the euphoria of being a cultural pioneer will be over.
So yea- this place is an AUTHENTIC mexican joint on 24th thats for sure. My gringo authentico meter tells me so and I must say that makes it exciting in itself. The menu is in spanish not english (sweet!). When they yell out your number, its in spanish not english (the food here must be amazing!).
If you want to have some fun, take your friend who isn't from California and doesn't speak a lick of spanish and watch them tremble in terror as they try to figure everything out and place an order. They place will confuse the shit out of them and make them very uncomfortable.
Alright onto the food. This is just for tacos nothing else. They DO make their own tortillas in the back (bonus) but you know what? These were tasty I admit but really thick and by the time I took my to go order back to where I was eating they were also soggy (perhaps this is my fault). I'm also not a huge fan of the carne asada. Its fine, nothing special though. You can find meat and salsa and cilantro better than this in the mission (If I catch you putting beans on your taco I will kick you in the balls, or the...well...you will get kicked in the crotch region)
I still say Farolito up the street on Mission and 24th kicks this places ass.
Morgan gives you 3 stars...
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (6)
Funny (9)
Cool (8)
Best chips IN THE WORLD. amazing fresh tortillas too, but don't get tempted to buy a ton because of how cheap they are - they don't keep even a day, nor do they freeze well. gotta chow 'em all down in one sitting.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
I ordered a chicken taco on a handmade tortilla, with guacamole. SO GOOD. Lots of really good chicken, perfect tortilla, great guacamole. It was a suprising amount of food - usually one taco isn't much, but this was substantial. and delicious!
I also had a tamale (chicken), which was fine, but left much to be desired, especially compared to the taco of awesomeness. It was a little dry, not bad, but not really good either.
Bonus points because no one laughed at me when I ordered in Spanish. I got exactly what I wanted, so my spanish must be at least understandable, if not good. Good to know.
5 stars? Oh boy, there is something wrong with the rating system when this "restaurant" gets 5 stars. First of all, it is a grocery store with a food counter and no tables = not a restaurant. Second of all, the food isn't all that amazing. Don't get me wrong, because I think it is quaint and authentic neighborhood hotspot. But other "restaurants" like Starbucks, (which has a pretty good egg muffin and... *gasp*, seating) should never deserve 5 stars. Sorry hipsters.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Funny (2)
Every now and then, I'm in need of carnitas...BY THE POUND! What a perfect was of being super lazy on a weekend afternoon that merges into the evening: grabbing some carnitas and fresh corn tortillas, some salsa fresca, or getting cilantro and onions (and chopping it up), avocados. Perfect.
They cater as well (as you could see by the menu)...Super Bowl Sunday is coming up. Hmmm...
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
yes please !!! the back of la palma is a tortilla factory. You can also by masa and carnitas by the pound. the tacos are amazing thanks to fresh and thick tortillas. They are a little bigger than what I like but still yummy!! there is no seating but on a nice day grabbing some tacos and a jaritos or even a negra modelo and sitting on a stoop is worth the delicousness.
mucho deliciouso !! The tamales are bloody fab! I haven't had good Mexican food in ages till I visited this hot spot. I am in Heaven!
This place makes the best tortillas ever. They make them in the back. You can get them hand made if you want them a bit thicker or machine made if you want them thinner. Their chips are also awesome. If they're a bit soft after a day or two, just stick them in the oven for 20 minutes at 225 F and they will be fine. I don't know how the rest of the stuff is and I don't care. I schlep my tortillas all the way to Oakland from this place because they are exactly like (and in some cases better than) the ones I used to get in Mexico when I was a little kid and I would go to the tortilla factory with my mom and sit with the other ladies and wait for a fresh kilo of tortillas. As for rating this place as a restaurant, anybody with an IQ higher than 60 can walk into this place and recognize it is not a restaurant. It's basically a tortilla factory with a few other miscellaneous things. The other things may not be as good as the tortillas but I refuse to give it less than 5 stars. The tortillas are that good.
As that overexposed tart on the food network likes to say "YUMMO". Awesome food and the best tortilla chips., albeit best mexi-deli in the city. "Obilgation Free-Weekends" and no reason to leave the house, except to get chips, guacamole, salsa from this place is WORTH IT!
The tacos caseros de chicharron & the pupusas are top-notch and worth the wait on Saturday afternoons. SCIENCE EXPERIMENT: Eat half a bag of blue-corn tortilla chips and see what happens. It'll blow your mind.
I really like the food here especially the burritos. Every is mostly fresh and delicious. They offer a large variety of food and have all the fixings fresh too. I come here whenever Im in the area. Highly recommended.
Hot fresh delicious tortillas and other Mexican goodies. This is my first choice for any and all Mexican cooking staples. Note: Cash only! I'm noticing that others have said they take cards, but they sure didn't the day I was there last there in early January 2008 - there were big signs up, and I remember because I didn't have enough cash for my queso (even though my total was over $10). Sadness!
I have been on a month-long 'healthy eating' binge and decided to break it with a nice 1000-calorie burrito. Holy crap it was good. I felt like a douche for walking up to the front of the line--didn't realize they had a ticket system until after ordering. Don't be like me. I'll be back.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Great neighborhood store! I miss the roast chicken, but the pupusas are some of the best! Haven't tried the other restaurant items.
My sister in law and I decided to make tamales ( first time ever, no previous experience. How crazy is that for 2 white girls to take on this
task)?. We decided that we would use the prepared masa dough from
La Palma and handle all other elements of tamale making on our own. What a hoot we had making tamales and drinking beer and wine. We ended up making 80 tamales and they were absolutely delicious. I give
70 percent of the credit to the masa from La Palma and the rest of the credit to the two crazy drunk white girls.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Funny (4)
Cool (3)
I tried this spot becuase of yelp.
It's not a big place, but it's oozing with all of the mexican food essentials.
The salsas are AMAZING! Especially the green one with avocado (not guacamole). Man, I could eat that shit on my breakfast cereal.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Funny (1)
For the past year I saw La Palma on the front page of Yelp and wondered why? So I finally went to see if it made sense.
This is a little slice of Mexico in the mission, imagine that :). Very unique. Basically it's a Mexican deli where you can get fresh dough for your tortillas and chips. The salsa is priced pretty reasonably 3.60 for a tub. The chips were super salty but good.
I got a burrito when I visited. I wasn't blown away but I don't think this place is for burritos.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Cool (3)
I first heard of La Palma while my husband was courting me back in college way way back in the day. He was trying to enthrall me with the wonders of San Francisco. He told me these grandmas would make these delicious papusas, slapping it with their hands, right in front of you. I was fascinated. I was a small town East Coast girl, I had no idea what papusas or burritos were. Fast forward to the present and I am now intimately familiar with La Palma and her offerings of papusas, tortas, quesadillas, chicharron and masa by the pound. They still make papusas by hand right in front of you. And they will make it without cheese if you ask, but you have to wait about ten minutes. They do take credit/debit because I've done it several times but there is a $10 limit I believe. A lot of things have changed on 24th Street. There is much whirring of expresso machines and clicking of lap tops, but rhythm of slap slap slapping of papusas coming from La Palma has remain constant.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Funny (3)
Cool (3)
My dad liked it, that's good enough for me.
So I stopped in La Palma for lunch one afternoon, excited after reading all of the impressive Yelp reviews. I was so eager to finally have my La Palma experience and couldn't wait to run home and yelp my 5 star review. Hell, I even brought my friend from Mexico to order so that I didn't miss out on any of the authenticity.
Now maybe it was over-hyped for me, but I was incredibly underwhelmed. I'm not at all the type of person who tries to defy the crowd, and hand out overly critical reviews, but honestly, it just wasn't THAT amazing. The tortillas for the tacos were quite good, I'll definitely give you that - freshly made and delicious, but the toppings and the rest of the condiments were really mediocre. Aside from the tortillas, the rest was just like any other taqueria in the Mission. The tacos weren't all that flavorful and the other items we tried were all pretty greasy. Now, I may sound like a snob, but my Mexican friend completely agreed. The fact that the food was super cheap did help to make up for the fact that it wasn't anything outstanding. It made me think "hey, you get what you pay for."
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (4)
I saw the other La Palma reviews and had to chime in.
I've been enjoying this place for 40+ years! La Palma has always been a destination for me. I used to live in the North Bay and I would drive down just for the tortillas and carnitas.
I'm spoiled now, living very close.
I can't think of many things that have remained consistently great over such a long period of time, but La Palma is definitely one!
Avoid coming here during Christmas and New Years! The food is soooo darn good that practically every family in San Francisco has to come here to buy their party ingredients. Seriously this place is awesome! The carnitas are the best and I've never tasted anything better. If you only can make it during the weekend or holidays, be prepared for the long lines!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Mex deli heaven - cheap, fresh and amazing. I haven't had guacamole this good in months. It's on the thick side, uneven and chunky, just as I prefer. You can see chunks of ripe avocado. And the salsa fresca is great. I didn't see a salsa bar but they sell a couple of types of salsa a la carte. I saw the army of women making tortillas and putting tortillas in a machine...they come out on a conveyor belt.
I touched the bag of huaraches and the warmth made them irresistible. Huaraches remind me of pupusas but they're longer and flatter (a little smaller than Trader Joe's naan but similar in shape and thickness). They're made with fresh masa and filled with mashed black beans. They're cooked on a griddle. Slight chewy, they're great as a base for toppings. They're about 60 cents each (a steal). Top them with guacamole and salsa and you can feed two people for $8. The chicken tamale was only $2! And it was delicious with that dreamy guacamole.
I didn't spend too much time looking at the grocery items since it's such a small, cramped space. I didn't see any pan dulce though but there are plenty of places to pick that up in the neighborhood (try La Victoria's or Dominguez Bakery).
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Two words: homemade tortillas.
Need I say more?
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Cool (1)
I love this place. The best home-made corn tortillas I've ever bought in a store. Their salsa is also excellent. I only give it 4 stars because I haven't tried everything in there and their flour tortillas didn't necessarily thrill me.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (3)
We found La Palma while doing research on the best place to buy a large amount of carnitas for our housewarming party. We were delighted to find that this Mexicatessen's version of the tasty delight of carnivores everywhere lived up to expectations. The burritos are killer, the flat flour quesadillas only rivaled by La Taq, and their selection is the most authentic I've seen in San Francisco. Chicharron, anyone? La Palma is even complete with little old abuelas in the back hand rolling thick, doughy tortillas and hacking up huge mounds of crispy pork.
Don't forget to grab a ticket as you enter, or you'll end up standing around like an idiot waiting for your turn. Oh, and it's extremely helpful to brush up on your Spanish ordering skills beforehand. As it's a Mexicatessen and not a restaurant or taqueria, all orders are take-out only. The plus side is that you can stock up on taco sauce and other grocery items while you wait.
By the way - 10 pounds of carnitas is more than you think. We could have done with half as much, but then wouldn't have had the joy of days of carnitas burritos at home and even a special carnitas chili I invented to use the leftovers. We still had to throw out 2 or 3 pounds, despite our best efforts. And we never even opened our second pack of 100 tortillas. Oops.
My mission was to do make-your-own "sopes" for the weekly poker gang.
First and only stop necessary: La Palma Mexicatessen: you can buy freshly made, warm sope masa boats in packets of 12 for about $3. Then, I asked for 2 pounds of carnitas meat. Perfect. Next, I grabbed a small tub of Mexican crema, some refried beans, avocados, salsa. Presto: authentic sopes for the poker crew to gobble down while looking for that inside straight.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
I've never been here but my roommate keeps bringing home bags of chips and I can't stop eating them... and their salsa is spicy.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Funny (1)
This place is whats really real. I came here looking for masa to make tamales and I see a bunch of old mexican women feeling up packs of tortillas trying to find the warmest ones. It was at that point that I realized I made the right move heading down there. I ordered 20 lbs of masa cause that's how I roll. When they brought out the giant bag all the old ladies started looking at each other wondering who was about to wreck all that shit. They all shook their heads and then one looked at me. The expression on her face was pretty much "no it can't be" then they saw me take the masa. One of them asked me if it was for my mother, I told her no, I was making tamales and she told me I better call my mother.
the chips and tapatio packs are a good look too.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (4)
Funny (2)
Cool (2)
My ma and I bought some masa preparada for tamale makin a while back and she claimed this was the best pre-prepped masa she's ever used - my ma would know. I also happen to know that the Tamale Lady uses this masa (I asked her), so nuff said.
Oh! - and the carnitas are the real deal; the best I've had in the City. Nuff said take two.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
???? Highly advise to bring a Spanish speaking friend if you don't speak Spanish. The menu on the board is in Spanish and they call out your number in Spanish.
I had a meal plate with meat, rice and beans. It was OK. Others -- soft tortillas, tortilla chips and guacamole -- were also OK.
Overall, the food was average, or little better for some. Just didn't get the hype.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (4)
Funny (2)
Cool (4)
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
Related Lists
-
My Hot Latin
Ranked in order of spicy to mild...a list for you… -
Latin Food
Mexican, Spanish, Cuban, you name it and I'll eat… -
Burrito Eater
Here's where I go to get the best of the best… -
Taco Quest 2008
After travelling in Mexico too much, I am… -
Mission-Potrero
This is what I call the part of the Mission east… -
Muni Food
Food to be easily eaten while waiting for Muni to… -
my old barrio
places i miss now that i no longer live in the… -
Mexican or Mexi-can't?
Some thoughts about San Francisco's favorite…
Hot and New
- Muracci's Japanese Curry &…
49 reviews
Neighborhood: Financial District
- Shabu House
115 reviews
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
- Ironwood BBQ
16 reviews
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
- 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar
193 reviews
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
- Capannina
161 reviews
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow