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If a woman could live on chilaquiles and chicken mole alone, then I'd be one superold, happy lady.
Like eating in your Grandma's kitchen. Grab an agua fresca, bring a newspaper, and settle in.
I live pretty much next door and yet I kept walking by, day after day with out stopping. The place looks like... well, pretty much nothing from the street. You see a long hallway and it appears empty, Pastores really is a hidden gem.
We walked in on Saturday morning, hungry. Struggling with my poor Spanish speaking skills, an older woman taking our order sort of stared, trying to figure out what we were looking for. The decor at Pastores is sparse, a bunch of stockpiled chairs and a few tables, lots of tile and an open kitchen. The walls are bare. There was a TV on and the two older ladies behind the counter were watching the History channel in Spanish- The Joan Rivers Story.
The food arrived in minutes, we both got the Chilaquiles with fried eggs for $8. Everything on was my plate was something considered and special. The tomatillo sauce was freshly made (I heard the blender). The rice and beans on the plate are nothing like other restaurants in the Mission - they were not heavy/greasy, no rice pilaf and none of the heavy melted cheeses you find elsewhere. It was so good it made me want to order one more order.
I will be back for the huevos ranchos next week! So so good
The reviews of this one are pretty much spot on. I think I finally found my favorite version of huevos rancheros in the City. It has a tomatilla ranchero sauce instead of the usual red and is topped with crumbled queso fresco instead of a mound of melted jack cheese. Very nice. And the coffee was a step up from your usual Mexican restaurant. I loved the fact that there are no burritos on the menu - we have Cancun for that.
A simple, pleasant and very clean room and there's music but not a blaring juke box.
Irma is the best. Her chilaquiles are the best around town. The perfect spiciness. Perfect crispiness of chips which start to soften as the delicious sauce begins to moisten them. All around deliciousness.
Saturday morning. My friend lives at the corner of Mission and Cortland, and yes, it's true - this place sure is easy to miss.
Five of us (at my recommendation) decided to give Pastores a try. You walk down this narrow passage into the dining area and I believe this used to be a former diner of some kind.
Since there's only one woman cooking, food took a LOOONGGG time to come out, and all the dishes were staggered. The first person finished his meal before the second person even go theirs. It's definitely charming; food is served by a grandmother-type and she spoke to us in Spanish, with the assumption that at least one of us 5 asian kids will actually know the language.
I tried the Huevos Rancheros and it was definitely good. Excellent runny friend egg and the taste was subtle and not overpowering at all, which I enjoyed. Tried the flautas and that was delicious too with fresh chicken inside the fried taco. I didn't try the chorizo or ham dishes that my friends had, but they didn't look as good as the huevos rancheros.
Most meals are $8.50 which is a bit pricey for Mexican food and the long wait. The portions are enough for one person, but not for two. The food is good, but it wasn't fantastic to the point where I definitely want to go there every weekend.
I agree with past reviews: Irma is just like my mom. If my mom were Latina and a good cook.
Ignore the sparesely tidy surroundings. Ignore the chips from the institutional-sized Costco bag. Dig the fresh salsa.
Then order. I got flautas. They were hand-rolled by Irma while I waited, pan-fried, and smothered with crema and 2 kinds of cheeses with a criminally-large scoop of fresh guacamole. Her rice and beans are very simple but flavorful and with great texture. Throw in a Modelo and I was in heaven.
The best part: A hug after lunch. The worst part: rattling off 3 sentences to the server in Spanish, watching her expression change to confused, and hearing her say she was French.
Thanks Irma, I'll be back!!
Wow....this place is amazing!! Irma (the owner) is so warming. If you go there, it feels as if you mom is cooking for you. Irma actually does it all there. I had the chilaquiles with steak and it was delicious, a bit spicy though. If you order the chilaquiles make sure and tell her not too spicy if you don't like spice. My wife loves spicy food and the chilaquiles were too spicy even for her, but they were very tasty.
The only thing about this place is that it is not always open. We've tried going there a couple of times and it has actually been closed, but if you are driving by and see that it is open then you should not think twice and go eat there!! You will not regret it.
I love brunch here. Low-key, delicious food, served by two old ladies. The chilaquiles are something special, and different. She fries the chips so they're crispy when they're tossed in the tangy tomatillo sauce. The beans and rice are uncommonly good too.
Pastores is tiny, so much so that you might not know it existed unless you were standing right in front and it was open. It's like the Order of the Phoenix in that way. The only reason they don't get 5 stars is that they don't seem to have any particular hours. This feature makes them awesome in a down-home authentic way--"we're only open Wednesdays from 3 to 3:15!" But I would go there A LOT more, as it is in my neighborhood, if I knew when it would be open. I walk by all the time, and it's never open, so I rush in on the rare occasion that it is.
Besides the perfect chilaquiles, the other thing I really like about this restaurant was that it was more like you are sitting in someones kitchen.
I had the Chilaquiles with carne asada.... I was expecting the meat to be chopped in with the chips, but it came on the bone on top of the chips.
Either way the dish was excellent.
The homemade chili verde sauce was off the hook. served warm....with tortillas.
I'm hooked.
This place is amazing. Sopes will bring tears to your eyes if you have a heart and concentrate on the food. These are thick little fried tortillas covered in shredded beef or chicken, shredded lettuce, Mexican cream and tomatoes. The man and woman who own this place are so sweet, I truly felt like I was in a house in some little Mexican village. The decor is not much to look at, so come only with another foodie, not a date you are trying to impress (which is stupid in its own right but that's another question) Chilaquiles with fried egg were amazing as well. Something about the simplicity of the food is the catch. It is subtle... the antithesis of a Chili's or chain restaurant. Have an agua fresca any time you can, drink the soft drink somewhere else. I had pineapple. It was not too sweet and totally refreshing on a day where the rest of the city was cold and the Mission was sweaty
This place is amazing. The attention to detail in each of the ingredients is amazing. The rice, beans, home made chips, verde sauce, each have very clear flavors. And the overall effect of the chilaquiles is amazing, it compares with the best I've had in Mexico City.
It's also clean inside and the ladies who run it could not be nicer. I'll be back soon.
Good enchiladas. Low key ambiance. Hostess/waitress/chef lady was friendly. I couldn't decide between verde or mole sauces for the enchiladas so she brought one of each. The green was superior. I do wish they had roja/red as a sauce option. Felt very neighborhoody. There were two kinds of salsa for the chips, which was a plus.
Worth checking out. cash only, I believe. Small menu. I did not have to wait long for my food, unlike some other yelpers, as I went for a late lunch...
If you are craving AUTHENTIC Mexican food, Los Pastores is as good as it gets. The owners of this restaurant cook all of the food themselves to order, even salsa and chips. Talk about fresh! You will feel like you were invited to their home for breakfast. The chilaquiles are to die for.
Me and my sister went here on her quest to finish the 100 Things To Eat & Drink List. This is a small place with just one cook. We were greeted by a nice man, order the Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs and got sitted down. It actually took a while for us to get our food but it was made all fresh. The rice was cooked to perfection, not too hard and not too soft. The sauce they have on the chips was spicy but good. Overall, it was a good meal and a good experience at a new place to dine in.
I'm always excited about real sit-down Mexican restaurants, so when I saw Pastores in the Chronicle's Bargain Bites list, I had to check it out. Unfortunately the atmosphere is pretty much exactly like a taqueria, right down to the bright fluorescent lights. The only difference is that the friendly owner takes your order at the table. Also, be warned that the menu is quite limited. However, the food is worth it. They claim the food is "Mexico City" style--I've never been so I don't know exactly what that means, but I do know that the enchiladas and fajitas were very simple and very fresh, and they came with some nice creative-tasting salsas. In fact, the only weak link is the tortillas, which were store-bought instead of homemade.
Now that I'm reading all the other Yelp reviews, I'm starting to think I should have come for breakfast and had the chilaquiles. It seems like the kind of place where they'd be awesome. Next time...
I love this place! The service is incredibly friendly, the food is satisfying in a very hearty sort of way, and the price is right.
The owner is also the cook, waitress, hostess, and some nights the bus woman and dishwasher, so don't expect the service to be fast. However, she is always attentive, with a smile, a beer, or warm tortillas. And, they never kick you out... seriously I think last time I was there we stayed at the table for a good hour after the meal. Instead of getting annoyed, she brought us a bowl of fresh chopped strawberries... and then 20 minutes later a Ghiradelli chocolate-caramel square.
If you like spice, try the "pollo con rajas" which is chicken breast, pounded flat and griddled with garlic butter and salt, COVERED with sauteed chili strips. YUM!
Had breakfast here a couple weekends ago. Good huevos rancheros, but the chilaquiles were OUT OF THIS WORLD. And it's cheap! Breakfast comes with (mediocre) coffee, but you can also get yummy mexican chocolate.
I can't wait to go back and try more stuff. Next time, dinner.
They've got their liquor license now, too. iCerveza!
----
Update: Went back today for lunch, and... hmmm. Had chicken enchiladas in green sauce. Wow, the sauce was volcanically picante, almost inedibly so. The beans, served in their cooking liquid, were bland and the rice was nothing much to write home about. Downgrading to 3 stars, rather sadly.
Great Chilaquiles and Enchiladas. I also love her tomatillo sauces and use of queso fresco on the dishes.
Skip the coffee (like pencil shavings and water) and the aqua fresca. Also, the service is homestyle, but pretty slow.
Come for the basic foods, but be patient with the service.
I can no longer live without Irma's chilaquiles.
This place is always quiet, very down-home and relaxed. Irma, the chef/waitress/maitre d' comes over and talks to you about the food, asks you how you want it prepared and then executes your order to perfection.
Come in, take a load off, enjoy a Mexican Coke and relax while you smell your deliciousness being prepared.
Went here for brunch. I had chilaquiles, he had huevos rancheros. Both excellent.
The place is run by one woman who takes your order and then runs behind the counter to make it. There's something so great about that.
No ambiance, but at least it's really, really clean.
So I checked out their menu before coming in, and when I saw that they had sopes, I was super excited. Jeffery and I were scheduled to meet at 12:30, but I I wanted to go NOW.
I immediately got that comfortable "home" vibe, not from the decor or anything, but more like I'm at a friend's house and their mom is cooking up a meal for us.
Anyway, my sopes were sooo good. Jeffery's chilaquiles were amazing (normally, I'm not a big fan). They were crispy. It can take a bit of time to get your food, but just sit back and mellow out. It's worth the wait.
Easily some of the best Mexican food in San Francisco. Hands down. The ownership is wonderful, and the food is unqeustionably good--that home-cooked kind of good that needs little explanation.
Service can be slow, but that's the cost for the food like this.
Just like mamma used to make! This is my favorite little mexican food place in the city. Authentic, tasty, hot and spicy. Just don't go expecting fast service. It is literally like walking into la cocina de su abuela para comer.
There is only one cook in this place and many times the cook is also the waitress and the cashier. Irma is warm and inviting and cooks up a great meal. My favorite is the chile relleno. She makes the best in town, but call before you go so that she can start to prep them. Amazing! They are not the out of the box type that most restaurants in the bay serve. This is the real deal.
If you like real, authentic, tasty mexican food, then this is the place for you. Be prepared for some inconsistency in the service department if it is busy, but the food is worth the wait.
Updated review***
The best mexican restaurant on Mission St. Simple and short menu. The Chilaquiles, Pollo Encebollado, Fajitas, Sopes and enchiladas are all fantastic! Call ahead to make sure she is open but I cannot eat anywhere else for Mexican food. The rice and beans are even great.
Irma is my fantasy Mexican mom. I've been going to Pastores for a couple of years now, and she always remembers me and takes good care of me. I brought my real parents in once (visiting from the Other Coast), and she was so sweet - genuinely flattered that I'd brought my folks. They loved her food as much as I do; white-bread though we are, we loves us our spicy food.
She was gracious even when the Chronicle put her in their annual Bargain Bites list without telling her - she had a sudden deluge of customers, and must have felt a bit overwhelmed, but she soldiered through.
Her huevos rancheros and chilaquiles are - well, I'm salivating right now just thinking about them. The aguas frescas (blended fruit drinks) are made fresh and are not as sugary as at most Mexican restaurants. Her salsas are slightly different every time, depending upon what's good that day.
The menu is small, yes, but believe me, you don;t need anything that is not on there. Small selection, high quality. Ask if there are any specials; if it's available, the mole is subtle and complex.
Irma gets extra points for being incredibly accommodating when I brought a friend, her twin toddlers, and their Aussie nanny. The Australian turned out to be unused to spicy food; Irma noticed that she was just picking at her enchiladas, asked if they were too spicy, and insisted on making her a new plate of milder food. She was going to do this for free(!), but of course we insisted on paying for both meals, and I took the first batch of enchiladas home for a delicious lunch the next day.
Hours can be a little unpredictable, as she sometimes closes to do catering work, and because it's such a small operation it's not fast like the local taquerias, but kick back, chat or watch the futbol or telenovelas on the overhead TV, and enjoy the food when it gets there.
I feel like I've been invited over to a relatives house to eat when I go
to Pastores. Irma is so warm and friendly not to mention that she really,
really, really knows how to cook. The menu is not extensive but all the
meals I've ever had were the bomb. Today I had the steak and shrimp
plate. There were about 15 small to medium shrimp piled on top of a
not so tender cut of beef but very very flavorful. My husband ate shrimp off my plate and I ate shrimp and we still couldn't finish. The salsa's are incredible. I'm glad I can just pop in on Irma and not have to wait for an
invitation.
Okay, so ever since the old Roosevelt Tamale Parlor shut down, I'd been on the hunt for a replacement for the best chicken flautas in San Francisco. I found the review for Pastores here on Yelp and decided to check it out.
Without fail or question, my favorite flautas ever. Perfectly crispy without ever being greasy, fresh, fresh ingredients, the flavor is so savory and delicious that I spend way too much time thinking about them, the chicken meat is slow cooked, flavorful and a perfect texture and the beans and rice are excellent too. I've tried a few other dishes here, and they've all been equally wonderful.
Another huge plus, as other reviewers have mentioned, is how sweet and warm and friendly the owner is. It's rarely crowded when I go, and I've not had a problem with waiting long for my food. As other Yelpers have mentioned, the restaurant doesn't keep consistent hours, so call before you go to make sure they're open. Tell everyone you know about this place--because there's rarely many folks in here, I worry about her closing shop.
Are you serious? Out of all the other reviews on this wonderful diamond in the rough restaurant there is only one mention of the FLAUTAS!?!?!?!?!?! BEST FLAUTAS EVER!!! I'm serious; I've never had a better flauta, period. They're always prepared and cooked fresh (as with all her food) and they are not greasy flautas that sit in your stomach all day like you've had at Chevy's. (I can't believe I mentioned Chevy's in this review) But these are orgasmic, nut-in-your-pants good. They don't come served in a puddle of fryer juice you're used to; she pan fries them to perfection. May I remind you they are flautas, not taquitos (taquitos are frozen and fried/microwaved, flautas are home-style handmade goodness). They come with sour cream and sprinkled cheese on top with a side of rice and beans. I order them every time I go there. Unless I'm hungover, then I get the chorizo and eggs which are really good as well, served with hand-scalding tortillas and excellent salsa. Coffee is great; on cold days ask if she has any Mexican hot chocolate, it warms the soul. There are vegetarian options (multiple options) as well that are equally good.
Irma (the owner/chef/waitress/hostess/goddess of the Mexican culinary world) is lovely. Not only is she one of the nicest human beings in the world (which makes me hate that her neighbors at Carlos' Auto Electric who towed her car when she parked there for five minutes in their junkyard of a parking lot), she cooks a damn good meal. I went in on Thanksgiving morning and she was basting one turkey, pulling another out of the oven, while somebody was picking one up at the cash register. I swear she must have cooked at least twenty birds that day and still served us a great meal. Whenever I see her on the street (I live right around the corner) she always says hi and greets me with a kiss on the cheek. I took my mom and dad there to eat too, pops loved it (he's finicky) and she complimented how I look like my mom (which mom loved because I'm a hot piece of ass). Irma is down to earth and genuine, you just want to pick her up and steal her into your own kitchen (but that would be kidnaping). It feels like you are walking into her home and she's cooking you a meal. I've never taken anybody here and they didn't fall in love with Irma or her food.
The only drawback, since she's the only one there most of the time; it could take a while if there are people at multiple tables. It's a little hard to find this restaurant, from the outside it looks like a hallway that enters onto the street. But it's easy to find, right on the corner of Cortland and Mission, across the street from Spicy Bite (kitty corner to Zante's), look for the sandwich board with "Los Pastores Mexican Food".
Great food and very nice service... when you actually get service! These women seem one-tracked, i.e., grabs a can of soda, brings it out, goes back to the counter to grab a glass and brings it out, goes to another table to take their order, take the order to the back, come back out to take another order, take the order to the back... And when they cook, they only cook one dish at a time. If you have the patience or if you're hungry during an off peak hour, definitely try this place out. The food is really good! I had their chilaquiles. Otherwise, don't say I didn't warn you.
Chi-la-qui-les, chi-la-qui-les, chiiiiii-laaaaaaa-quiiiiii-lesssssss! La senora del restaurante pastores es magnifica! Yup, I sat my booty down after work and a long commute to Pastores. Why? Because I had heard of the miraculous and astounding chilaquiles to be found there. And after witnessing the magic unfold before my very eyes, wherein the lovely Mexican lady prepared my food with such care and love, I consumed the most delicious and simply scrumptious plate of chilaquiles ever! No fancy sauces, just a smattering of onions and spices, fried tortillas, cheese and strips of steak (asada). The day's toils and the long commute soon disappeared as I took bite after bite of my meal. Ahh... life is good.
OMG!!!!!!!!!!! Viva Mexico City! I am in love with Pastores. By far my favorite for mole and aquillos. It is a tad out of the way for most city dwellers- but I advise making your way out of your hood. The food is great, the service is better.
BEST VERDE SAUSE EVER!!!! and chilequiles....O.M.G. Irma is awesome, I can't believe this place is so empty whenever I'm there (maybe it's me...*sad face*) but wow, homemade mexican with so much love. Go there.....NOW!!! :)
A Chronicle cheap eats restaurant that lives up to the hype. Wonderful flautas at good prices.
Growing up in Texas I have strong opinions about salsa and I don't think I have ever had better salsa - yum!!! Don't be intimidated by the empty tables, this place has great food. I had incredibly delicious cheese enchiladas and my friend had chicken enchiladas. The mole sauce (which is vegitarian) was really fabulous. Everything was really fresh and homemade. Irma, the owner and chef, who is like a Jewish Mexican mom, also made us chile rellenos which were super. We ate a lot and I defintiely plan to come back for more. Excited to try the heuvos rancheros next time. Irma apparently also sells her salsa which I plan to stop by and purchase some this weekend. I've never written a yelp review before, but this place is worth discovering.
Amazing chilaquiles, chips still crunchy and homemade green sauce instead of the ubiquitous red sauce from a can. Cheese and crema are the real deal as other yelpers have noted. You can order your chilaquiles spicy or mild. Coffee not awful but not great either. Real ice water, with ice, and water already chilled. Nice big glass of it in fact. Definitely going back. And don't fear the long odd hallway -- the inside of the place may be a bit hard to see from the street but it's actually recently renovated, bright and clean and quite quiet so you can actually hear your dining companion talk!
The chilaquiles and flautas rock! Okay, the ambience may be non-existent, but Irma makes you feel at home with complimentary agua frescas, appetizers or desserts--- and most of all with her awesome home-cooked dishes (cooked from scratch, man!). She makes her salsas fresh everyday and you can taste the difference.
i went for dinner tonight, had amazing sopes and my husband had good "flautas" (they were really just slightly large rolled tacos). definitely going back to try the huevos rancheros and chilaquiles soon. our waitress was very pleasant and everything on our plates was great.
Fine, the food here is pretty good. And the agua frescas? Divine. So why only three stars? I'll tell you why: the most horrific coffee in town, or possibly the whole state. It tastes as if it's made with dirty dishwater. So foul, it nearly ruined what would otherwise have been a tasty, enjoyable meal. Sure, the coffee comes free with your breakfast, but when "no charge" is still a rip off, you know it's bad news.
Went for an awesome late mexi-brekkie last Saturday, and hoo-boy, we were diggin' it! Huevos Rancheros and Chilaquiles... both utter perfection, and not a speck left on the plates when we were done. Tasty sides of rice and beans with both, and Cotija cheese instead of the entirely inappropriate cheddar or jack most places use. We ordered the super delicioso Watermelon Agua Fresca (Irma plopped a full pitcher down on our table when we ordered two glasses... thanks Irma!). Luckily avoided the coffee thanks to warnings by fellow yelpers, so everything we had was perfect. I hope this place sticks around, I think the imposing narrow hallway at the front keeps people out. It's such a nice change from the standard taquerias (which I love too, for their own specific merits).
If you don't have a Mexican mama come here and be adopted. The enchiladas with mole are outrageously good. Know how usually an order is 2 enchiladas? Here you get 3. All the sauces are made from scratch. The breakfasts are a super good deal, served all day only 6-7 bucks and include a big mug of coffee.
We got so much free stuff!
Neighborhood: SOMA
Happy Hour: $1 Tacos & $2…
Neighborhood: Mission
Neighborhood: SOMA
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Mexican
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Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Mexican
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