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Categories: Spanish, Basque, Tapas Bars
Neighborhood: Mission"Bocatas!" Hot Spanish Sandwiches $5.00 or $6.00 for Lunch Only. ~ Happy Hour! Sangria Carafe $10. Sangria Glass $2.50 - until 7PM Daily.
Mon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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i came here on a thursday night. the four of us, my boyfriend and another couple walked right in. I have been coming here for years. Since i am from so. cal, i try to make a stop every single time i am in the sf area. Unfortunately it has been a year since my last visit, i was trying to remember why i liked this place so much.
Once we sat down, we quickly ordered a carafe of sangria. It came very quickly. The moment I took my first sip of my glass of sangria, i instantly remembered why i loved this place.
My bf, is a picaro virgin, the three of us instantly remarked after drinking the sangria with "uh-oh"
the sangria is very dangerous! it should come with a warning....it does not taste like alcohol is even in it...however, after 2 glasses, i am red and extremely hot...
the bread and the orange dipping sauce" garlicy" come out...absolutely delicious
you could just live off the the carafe of sangria and the bread basket.
However we ordered the paella for 4 (big mistake! it is huge and the boys are not small either)
garlic potatoes,
green beans
shrimp
chicken croquettes
pork skewers
all of it was tasty! but the true winners of the night...the sangria, the bread and dip and the paella!
i love this place and it still is as good as it was the first time i came here
Protected my wallet with some decent food. I didn't get that Wham Bam Thank you Maam kind of feeling eating here but they get huge props for being able to seat a table of 13 of us and we were not the only large group in the place.
Sangria was decent but not divine, I haven't yet found a place in SF with better "Blood" though, so that's props for now until someone else raises the bar.
Garlic chicken was OK but seemed average.
Spicy Potatoes were fantastic, who would have thunk it?
Pork on the stick was also above average.
There was some cheesy egg pie sort of thing that I don't know the name for. TO DIE FOR.
Last but not least the dipping sauce that comes with the bread and various of the Tapas might be one of my favorite sauces in the Bay Area. They better be careful though, I might go, order drinks and never order anything except the bread (since it comes with sauce).
Tapas are always a good choice when it comes to serving large parties. While people are so keen on the idea of ordering, "family style," I don't know about you, but I always eat that way. Quit hovering over your own plate and pass me the croquetas!
Walking up Mission I kept thinking to myself: Cha Cha Cha is always good. But is it really, or am I always drunk with sangria by the time they finally seat me?
Nay, I say. So we go to Picaro's. We order the Albondigas among a plethora of other dishes and I sink into a satisfactory slump. ((pats belly))
I only dock one star because the light above us was flickering so much it could have induced epilepsy. Luckily, the food kept me occupied.
Great for an intimate dinner or a large group. We just had dinner here with 12 people and we were all seated quite comfortably (star - especially in the mission).
The dipping sauce is awesome (star). I usually don't like sangrias but theirs is delicious! (tar) More like an alcoholic fruit juice. The paella is so-so. We ordered a bunch of tapas. The food was good but not fantastic. The paella was ok but same as other reviews not to-die-for.
I've heard that the owners also own Esperpento a few blocks away. The food is much better at Esperpento but it is also tiny and very difficult to get parties of more than 4 (maybe 6 if you are intimate with each other) into the restaurant.
Extra star for the overall experience. There were the roving musicians. There was the crowd left over from love fest (think butt cheeks exposed). Very much a local feel to the place. (star)
The sangria here is pretty tasty and has a sweet happy hour deal.
mmm drunk deal.
the tapas are okay here. nothing really stood out to me. i had the chicken with garlic but there really was no galic, the patatas bravas but i had far more delicious ones the night before...somewhere else.
a bit disappointing really.
oh and there's no air conditioning.
This place has really yummy tapas! I've been here a couple of times for dinner with friends (once with a really large group). The bread and garlic dip they serve is soo good! The price is really affordable and definitely worth it. Not to mention the sangria, in the words of Rachel Ray: yumm-o! The servers are really friendly and know the menu well, which is helpful if you need suggestions on what to get. Pretty much everything I've tasted was good. The only negative is the parking situation. If you drive there, you could be looking for parking for over 30 minutes, unless you get lucky! Better take BART here if you want to avoid the hassle.
It would be a one-star place, except the dipping sauce for the bread is absolutely amazing. Their paella isn't better than several other places near by - their shell fish is not fresh enough and overcooked in the seafood paella, and it didn't have any depth of flavor. The tapas are decent, but nothing I've got there is actually that good - the best I had was the grilled artichoke, the worst the fried calamari.
My other big problem: it was very overpriced for what you get. Last time I was there (i've been there twice) it ran us like $35 per person, for a place that's very loud with mediocre service.
Overall: I would not recommend in any situation, but their dipping sauce is good.
Holy mole! Again... something I have not reviewed that I have been going to for YEARS! Ok... This review would have been very different if it had been written about 4-5 years ago. I thought this place to be excellent, but as of late, I noticed the food doesn't taste the same. Did they change cooks? Recipe's? Ingredients? It is not the same as it used to be. It is by no means bad, but when you have been for so many years, you definitely notice the difference. The sangria is still great and I noticed that now they have happy hour specials. The sauce is not as good as it used to be, but it is still tasty. I will still go there, but I really wish they would go back to the old days.
I give it three stars because they have always been great to me, I love the sangria and the staff/service has always been 5 star to me. Perhaps I just need to get used to it all over again... hmm... I will update when I go back to visit.
Picaro has seen better days.
My cousins and I planned to meet here for Tapas. Two of us got there at 7:00pm. We sat down and then our waitress made her way over to our table around 7:10pm. At which point we tried to get a carafe of Sangria at the happy hour price and she told us it was too late and that we needed to have ordered the sangria as soon as we walked in (seriously?!).
We were irritated but we let it go and ordered calamari and patatas bravas to keep us busy while the rest of our party arrived. The food was just not on point. For some reason the patatas had the skin taken off and although the sauce was still good the potatoes weren't even "golden and crispy". We ended up calling the rest of the group and moving the party over to ChaChaCha.
It's not worth dealing with finding parking on 16th to eat mediocre food. I don't know how they can be linked to Esperpento when Esperpento is sooo much better.
Been here 3 times, last time was a solid 4.
I'm iffy about the ambiance, it has potential but it's too dark and needs a makeover (imo). We randomly sat outside in back this particular (warm) night, which was wonderful...I'm also a big fan of smoking a ciggy after a well deserved gorging.
We ordered:
Morcilla: (5 stars) The only place I know of to get it in SF. REALLY good stuff if you're into a fried onion sausage plate.
Garlic Gambas (5 stars) Beautiful white wine garlic sauce included. Make sure you keep some of the yummy French bread they give you for dipping here.
Potato Tortilla (3.5 stars) I know the ingredients are boring but I also thought it was cooked 'boringly'. I like it a little greasier and crisper. Still good stuff though, with the ridiculously delicious aoili pepper sauce you get before your food arrives.
Fried calamari (4.5 stars): the calamari is fresh and plentiful. I happen to like the crunchy leg bits and there's always a few mixed in. Just one of my staples I always get, love and recommend!
The tapas are actually quite large and the complimentary bread and (rediculously good) aoili dipping sauce is rich appetizer. Th prices are definitely affordable and the food is much more Spanish/authentic than other places I've been to in the city (check my reviews if curious).
*note*: on a previous visits I have had a long wait for food and service, but not the case this time. Everything was delicious, the service was awesome, and the outside setting was romantic and warm. Would recommend to anyone into Spanish/Basque food. The paella is also very good.
I could drink Picaro's special sauce by itself!!! Fortunately they have great sangrias as well, so sauce drinking is not necessary. They have great outdoor seating on 16th but be prepared to mingle with a few of the local panhandlers if you choose to sit outside. Also, If you don't like being serenaded my one of the mission's mariachi groups I would avoid coming after 6:00pm
The menu is not quite at large as Cha Cha Cha but I would say the food is a tad bit better here. And did I mention the sauces!!!
We came here on a couples night out and it was a nice chill place to hang out and eat. The food was either a hit or a miss though.
My friend said that they ordered the paella last time and was really disappointed so we opted not to order it. Instead we stuck with their small plate, most of which were pretty tasty and satisfy. The most disappointing small plate was the pork skewers. The meat was kind of tough although the seasonings were nicely done. It was hard to enjoy since it was so hard to chew. The beet and mushroom salad was kind of bland. Their spicy potatoes were awesome as was their potato/onion omelet. But by far, their best item was their dipping sauce for the bread. It was this spicy cream garlicy goodness that made everything taste better.
Went here Saturday night. Wanted Tapas, but all other places had an hour wait. Here we were seated right away. A little bright for dinner, but we were hungry and the food was decent.
We tried the salmon, asparagus, mixed salad, chicken crockets. I also had a small glass of white wine. When I say small, boy do I mean small, but what the hell the whole meal was inexpensive and tasty. Nothing out of the ordinary, but good. Service was polite and good as well.
Eh, this place is kind of a joke:
My roommate mentioned Tapas and my eyes lit up with joy! I LOVE TAPAS. I love them because you can try so many different plates and you get to share with everyone at the table and if you don't like one there's like 10 different other ones to choose from. I especially love Tapas because they are more inexpensive than a single item at a restaurant.
But not here at Picaro, nope Tapas are a whopping $7-10 per plate. Mind you they are decent sizes but you just can't charge that much for 'small plates' IMO.
The Sangria was really really sweet and the service wasn't all the personable.
However the food was delicious. Garlic everywhere, which I love. I had the meatball stew which was amazing and the potatas with the aoli was delectable.
The actual platters that they serve ($11) are of large portions.
Being a long time, almost native, to San Francisco, I have to say this was a huge disappointment. Unfortunately, compared to other Tapas bars, this place was quite inadequate. San Francisco is a placed filled with people who are proud of the food that this beautiful city has to offer, therefore you have to come with a strong food game, and unfortunately this is not the place. However, I have to say they do have a rather extensive and interesting menu.
I love TAPAS because it's not just all about the food--it's about the company you are eating your meal with. Tapas are fun and meant to be shared with your BBF's. That's why it's "YAY! Picaro!"
Date: May 21, 2009 @ 6PM
Occasion: Heather's Birthday Celebration FILIPINO-STYLE***
Girlfriends: Janette, Alexis and the Beautiful Celebrant
Ambiance/Decor: Spanish colors of sun-kissed yellow and brick red. Large. Spacious. Rustic. Festive and Fun!!!!
Social Scene: Loud girls (us), families and neighborhood people
Service: Prompt and efficient. Our tapas were spaced out and arrived in a timely manner.
We ordered:
SALUD!: 4 (FOUR) carafes of Sangria @ $18 ea
(I will try to remember what we ordered in my drunken state. I remember eating and enjoying one or two orders of the following:)
SEAFOOD:
-Calamares Fritos
-Deep Fried Snapper with Aioli
-Steamed Mussels in Vinaigrette
- Garlic Shrimp
MEAT:
- Chicken Croquettes
- Ropa Vieja (Beef, Chicken and Chorizo Stew)
VEGETARIAN:
- Patatas Bravas
- Grilled Fresh Artichoke
DESSERT:
Crema Catalana
Tab: 159.04 (including tax and tip) *I think this is how much the Bday girl paid.
Overall;
1.SANGRIA: Not the best I've had but good! Nicely chilled, not very sweet with the fruit juice and wine nicely balanced.
2. FRIED TAPAS: All the fried dishes (snapper, potatoes, calamari, etc.) were freshly hot off the frying pan, still hot and nicely seasoned.
3. CHICKEN CROQUETTES: I am usually grossed out by chicken croquettes but the ones we had at Picaro were creamy, hot and melted in my mouth.
4. ROPA VIEJA: My gfs liked the Ropa Vieja but I'm not big fan. Picaro's version includes beef and chicken, usually it's just a sausage stew.
5. CREMA CATALANA: Delicious, creamy, rich and decadent as expected. A good way to end a fun and enjoyable girl-bonding dinner!
All the tapas were very tasty unless our taste buds were numbed out by too much alcohol!
My friends went home happily tipsy while I went home staggering drunk (low alc tolerance.) Picaro's is BARTable, thank God! BF ended up picking me up from BART and I ended up walking to BART to pickup my car the next morning. It was all worth it!
******************
Celebrating your birthday FILIPINO STYLE means you treat your friends and family to dinner and YOU PICK UP THE TAB! Thanks, Heather, for the wonderful birthday treat although it was your birthday, not ours!!!!!
I really like this place. Good service, good decor is cool, and good tapas. You rarely have to wait for a seat, you can go here on a date or with a group of people. I like the paella, but I have had better.
Nice little place to get a chilled sangria (very good) during happy hours (4-7) and some tapas on the side (food is okay), expect a very limited (not to say terrible) service. Average rating overall.
[also note that if you are sitting out front the wind blows quite a bit on 16th]
extremely mediocre. maybe even sub-par. our food was cold. wasnt even that good. lacked flavor.
we came here because we heard it was the sister restaurant of ESPERPENTO, our fav tapas place. this place doesnt even compare. dont bother coming here.
BOOOOO
I think this might have been the first time in about a year that I went to a restaurant without being armed with a Yelp review. The food was pretty good for a rainy Friday night, but unless I write it down now I'll forget that the girlfriend and I split the Ropa Vieja, Chicken Croquettes, House Salad and Cheese Platter in a couple of weeks. None were bad, but none were truly memorable either.
That's not to say this place isn't without its pluses. The spicy potatoes, I will remember a couple of months down the road. The fact that the spicy aiolli sauce that topped the potatoes is served on the side so you can dip bread in it was a plus, too. It was also kind of nice to get out of a restaurant for around $50 for a change, which is especially amazing when you consider that the bill included a pitcher of sangria (which was more like the first couple of dishes mentioned, okay, but forgettable). The Tapas portions also seemed a little bigger than the normal dish in the "small plate" concept, as five dishes were way too much.
If you're in the Mission and are looking for a nice sit down place, you can do worse. But it's not worth going out of your way for.
another great laid back restaurant in our neck of the woods!... in love with their sangria! I love tapas and I think this place is great, service is attentive, and prices are quite decent.... their patatas bravas are oh so delish... i love thier spicy aioli... their sausages is also to die for... beautifully cooked and juicy. The dish that was a bit disappointing was the Ropa Veija, i find the meat a bit on the drier side, overcooked, but the stew itself was very flavorful. The jamon serrano is quite tasty as well, very flavorful, although sometimes the cured ham may be a tad hard to eat, chewy, but i must say i do love the saltiness of it... the decor is pretty awesome as well, i love the outdoor seating and the Dali paintings....very cozy and colorful decor.
I liked everything about this place except the food:
Paella de Mariscos: It was basically just poorly seasoned and the mariscos weren't very fresh-tasting. I try a paella everywhere I go that serves it, and as far as SF is concerned, this has been the least impressive.
Gambas al Ajillo and Patatas Aioli: Tasted okay, but definitely over-priced for the size and quality.
That being said, it's a great space for groups or parties, and the Sangria is tasty!
Spanish tapas, I HEART you.
The garlic shrimp was the tastiest, most garlicky shrimp I've had in a long time. Even after having drinks later, brushing my teeth at night, and again in the morning, I have to admit there is still an aroma of garlic sticking around in my mouth like relatives who stay over too long.
The portions were about twice as big as other tapas I have eaten in the past, so we made the mistake of ordering WAAAY too much. Go with someone who has similar tastes as you so that you can split all the tapas! I'd imagine this is a great place to come with a group! Everything's delicious and there's too much on one dish to be eaten by a single person.
Things I liked:
Bread with FANTASTIC spicy garlic mayonnaise for dipping... Aow Yeah!
Garlic shrimp... delicious and garlicky, as I said!
Garlic chicken... I tried a bite, it was very tender and pretty tasty
Grilled Artichoke... yummy
Tortilla de Patata... mmmm so good!
Manchego cheese platter... Autumn, stop complaining about the olive oil, girl! You know you loved it!!
Thing I did NOT like:
The Sangria... It was so sickeningly sweet, I actually sent my drink back. I have NEVER done that before.
Even when my cocktail later that night that tasted like cough syrup, I didn't bother to complain. The sangria was just undrinkable for me. And I am usually a huge fan of Sangrias... Fly bar has a great one, only $4. So minus one fat juicy star for Picaro! Ordinarily I would take off more points for such a big offense, but otherwise this place was phenomenal, so I can't give less than 4 stars.
Next time I return, I will be sure to
1. order a beer instead of Sangria
2. only get the shrimp if I'm not going to make out with anyone for a few days.
3. buy fewer dishes!... with two people, it's probably best to get your own main dish and split a veggie tapas and maybe an appetizer, although the bread fills you up because you can't stop eating it because it's soooo damn good.
I think birthday parties would be fun here. (note to future-self: Let's do it!)
Picaro did an AWESOME job in hosting a 14 person sit down dinner for my fiance's birthday. Typically I dread trying to find restaurants who can host that many people, not to mention trying to get everyone to bring cash and make sure they pay the correct amount. It was not a problem at all with Picaro. I only made reservations one day ahead, and changed the head-count and time on them twice on the day-of, they had no problem accommodating the changes.
We ate tapas family style, which is how it should be, and ordered a little bit of everything. I loved the rabbit stew (surpisingly!), garlic shrimp, potatoes with creme, grilled asparagus, and SANGRIA. After the bill came each person paid an easy $24, not bad at all.
Sooo happy this place is finally open for lunch! I work just 1/2 a block away from Picaro and have always wanted to have Spanish tapas food for lunch but they've only been open for dinner so never got a chance. Recently they changed their hours and I can't get the smile off my face! I just had a great lunch yesterday and for only $5 got a large delicious vegetarian sandwich with nicely cooked veggies and flavorful sauce. Also you get a choice of side and my spinach dish was perfect. The space really has great decor and makes you feel like you're abroad. Also the guy behind the counter who waited on our table was very nice and super cute!
I love this place. It's garlic lover's paradise. There is this amazing garlic sauce they serve with good crusty bread. Everything else is wonderful. The tapas are not small, and they are delicious. Nicely seasoned (and garlicky, but not overwhelming,) cooked to perfection. The seafood is great, and the sangria is wonderful. And the price is right.
The atmosphere is pretty simple and straightforward, the service was relatively good (although I wouldn't say excellent, but I care way, way more about how good the food is than just about anything else.
I thought this place was a sister restaurant to Esperpento (a place I've grown to love more and more over time), so I decided to try it out with a friend. After all, it was a whole 6 blocks closer to than Esperpento and is literally right off the 16th and Valencia stop on the 22 line.
Disappointment.
The spicy potatoes were not as good, with the sauce consisting of pretty much what tasted like raw garlic. I love garlic, but this? Too much. The food overall was sub par in comparison and although they have a larger space, there were fewer diners.
Also: so-so- sangria.
I have been walking those 6 blocks down to 22nd and Valencia. I'll work a little harder to get what I want. I'm not getting any from Picaro.
I don't know why anyone would ever come here, when there are way better alternatives in the vicinity. Their technique seems to be: drown everything in salt, garlic, and/or oil. Now I am usually a fan of all those things, but the results are just not very good here. It is cheaper than Andalu, but really not much cheaper than Ramblas, and both of those places have way better tapas. You might like it if you want a dive bar atmosphere for your tapas and sangria, or you prefer a large amount of mediocre food rather than a small amount of great food. But definitely not for me.
One of my many platonic girlfriends and I made a date for Picaro on Friday, and I got to frettin' and fussin' about what to expect.
You can really get boned by a tapas joint. There's more than a few (oh, like Cha Cha Cha's, just pulling one out of the air) which take the small plate concept very seriously, but they use large plate pricing. I usually avoid tapas places for this reason, because nothing makes me sadder than a $12 plate of 8 mussels, or a $15 bowl of black beans.
Picaro's walks in the fucking LIGHT, my friends. Don't get me wrong, these are Spanish tapas small plates, not American diner style troughs, but with just three dishes, there was plenty of food for the two of us.
Garlic chicken was tender and tasty, swimming in a rich chunky tomato pool of liquid just waiting to get sopped up with their warm baguettes (which, hello, they replenished without prompting--that's a star right there). Patatas bravas was good, but they give you a big bowl of the sauce when they bring the complementary bread, so by the time those crisp and golden potatoes come, while they are welcome and delicious, they are generously covered with the same stuff you've been guzzling with bread. Kind of boring by then.
We each got a side of rice, which was a mistake; they size their "sides" generously, and one would have been plenty. Seriously, they charge $2 for the rice, we figured it'd come in a ramiking, but no, Picaro does it right.
And the sangria--yes, it's a sweet one. But I (who do *not* like sweet) found this one perfectly enjoyable, I think because while sweet, their sangria is *not* thick or syrupy. Um, it also helped that we went at happy hour and got the jug-size sangria for $10. YES.
Perfect places get 5 stars, and Picaro's not perfect. But it's flawed in a human way--nothing to get bent out of shape about, not with such friendly and attentive service, such generously sized portions, and well constructed food. I'm comin' back.
We accidentally found this restaurant I am glad we did. The smell of the food was amazing. We couldn't wait to try it out. They have a lot to choose from there menu. We ordered there seafood and meat combo paella it was to die for. It was three of us and Damn it was a lot of food. Not complaining at all. They are not skippin on this dish. Bring on the Paella!! We tried out there sangria and was not disappointed in our choice.
The service was good and the waiter checked on us from time to time to refill our water, or if we needed another glass of sangria.
Maybe I came on an off day, but the food was pretty amazing overall here. The sangria doesn't hold a candle to Cha Cha Cha, but it pulls it's weight in goodness. We ordered the zucchini and onion dish along with the grilled artichokes to start. Both came piping hot and fresh; the artichokes are usually undercooked at tapas places, but these were tender, perfectly crisped with olive oil- add some fresh lemon, and it was gold.
The true stand-out is the grilled seafood platter for around $30 which is supposed to feed about 2-3 people. When it came around to us, the two men at the table next to us gasped and asked us when our other guests would be arriving. It was a behemoth: fresh scallops, snapper, prawns, shrimp, mussels, clams- a seafood heaven. The best part is that nothing was over/undercooked, none of it had that briny taste in the mussels or clams...just pure ocean delights. The space is really open inside, and I have to admit I'm a sucker for Salvador Dali's melting clock...a great deal for excellent fresh seafood and sangria-
This place was such a disappointment!
The service was horrendous; No one greeted us at the door so we figured it would be fine to sit ourselves. We wanted to sit outside so we took the only free table which was dirty with plates, food and such from the people before. we figured it's ok, we would just wait and the table would get cleaned up. At least ten minutes went by and no one came, so one of us went inside and got menus. We weren't in a hurry but still it took forever! finally someone came out and took our order but even after that the service was not consistent. he food was not very good at all either. Even the chicken was tough. Not a very good experience.
The only good thing was the sangria but that was about it. and what's with the penis looking drawing on the menu??? ha!
I like this place, will definitely be back. Went in on a Monday night at 5:30 with a friend. They have $2.50 sangrias during happy hour from 5-8pm! The sangrias were really, really REALLY sweet... next time I'm asking for ice with mine! The food was quite good. We ordered the fried calamari, meatball soup, and I ordered a dinner plate with Salmon, rice, and a salad. My friend and I could not get OVER the wonderful dipping sauce that came with the bread, I might go back just for that. I wonder if it's a staple for Spanish restaurants or just something that just Picaro does. Whatever it is, it's amazing. We absolutely adored the sauce. Our entire meal was flavorful and wonderful and came out quickly as there were only two other people in the restaurant besides us! Towards the end of our meal it started getting busy, and I'm not surprised. The food, service, and ambience is fantastic, and the place is HUGE! Perfect for your dinner groups!
Although Tapas places are quickly sprouting up all over the city, I firmly believe that Picaro holds its own against any of them. Located in one of the busiest (and liveiest) streets of the Mission district, whenever you go there, it is always bustling with people.
Sitting inside you can enjoy the rustic Spanish style interior, but if you take a seat in the outside patio (weather permitting), watching people as they pass by on 16th street is a gret way to leisurely enjoy your sangria and tapas.
As for the fare--must haves are the traditional tortilla espanola, patatas bravas, grilled vegetables, and of course, the paella (vegetarian or carnivorian--doesn't matter, they are both delicious).
Pretty decent Spanish cuisine. I started off with a glass of red Spanish wine (wish I could remember the name), which was awesome.
BEWARE that the small plates are larger than most other places I've had tapas.
For small plates, we shared these croquettes, which were fried with chicken and cheese. They were amazing. We also had a zucchini stew (which was my least fav, but fixed my veggie craving). The potatoes were awesome as well - they came doused with this orange sauce, which reminded me of Mediterranean style Tahini sauce. It was a pretty spicy sauce. We also had grilled garlic shrimp, which were covered in a bit too much olive oil for me. The last tapas we had was the broccoli, which i highly recommend. It was one of my fav small plates.
Next came the meat PAELLA (let me start by saying the three of us were already full when it arrived). I think it came with rabbit, chicken, and sausage. The sausage was the best for sure, and rice of course. It was great and of course, our fatasses finished the entire platter.
I'll be back. This place is a pretty good tapas joint.
We've been here a few times now for birthdays and such.
The sangria is a good start to any meal and Picaro's is no exception. I've had everything on the menu I think and everything is pretty good. The calamari is just standard. Not in any way exceptional. The patatas con alioli are really good. I loved the grilled clams and the garlic chicken. What I really love is going to any restaurant that things are served in such a way that it doesn't feel like you're invading someone else's plate when you want to share things and this is a restaurant that accommodates- perhaps even requires - sharing.
The downside.... it's very cramped especially on weekends when they are trying to accommodate very large parties. This, in turn, leads me to my next issue with this place. It's soooo loud in there! Almost to the point that it's hard to carry on a conversation. I wouldn't take a date her because you won't be able to hear each other but it's OK when you're with a large party. I also feel very rushed when they've got a queue of people waiting. The food almost comes out too fast but it's still really good.
So, if you have a big party of people, let's say before you go out to a club for a birthday or something, and you don't mind waiting usually about 20 minutes for a table while you have some sangria, this would be a great place for you to head to.
I wound up here for a birthday party. I quickly learned that the secret to eating everything you'd like to try is LOTS of sangria. We were one of 3 HUGE groups here, so it was quite lively that night. The food was abundent, service was decent, and the food had more hits than misses in my opinion.
My favorite dishes of the nights included:
-Tortilla de patata - onion and potato omelette
-Patatas aioli - potatoes with garlic aioli
-Chorizo salteado - my waistline has a love/hate relationship w/sausages
-Champinones al Ajillo - mushrooms sauteed in garlic (did I mention I also love garlic?)
Shortly thereafter, I went a little overboard thanks to some taunting from my coworker and good friend. I wound up downing 2 pitchers of sangria back to back and lost track of what else I ate. I think I actually wound up drinking a total of 4 pitchers... it's not my favorite sangria, but it's one of the sneakiest ones I've had the pleasure of drinking. Everything was fine and then BAM! I'm trying to kiss the foxy Laotian lady with the Southern accent (no, I didn't forget that I'm gay), and giving tips on pillow talk to the cute Jewish girl to my right with the smokin' hot Filipino boyfriend (I told you I didn't forget).
We won't mention what happened when we had tequila shots back at my friend's house... *sigh* if only I had been born a forgetful lush. At least there are no incriminating photos! Thanks Picaro for getting me properly pickled for first time in a year. It was a blast!
probably the worst tapas restaurant i've eaten at. bland food...and served cold! tried about 6 different plates...all equally mediocre. just terrible.
always a solid spot for tapas - have been coming here for years and still like the food and sangria (and i've had some BAD sangria before)
notable menu items - patatas bravas (what is that sauce? i need to bring home that sauce!!!), the garlic shrimp, sauteed garlic mushrooms, and the meat/seafood paella. i am still dreaming about that paella....rice cooked just perfectly so...the smell of the chorizo...and the size of the pan - that paella could feed a family!
we had 5 people, ordered 5 small dishes and a paella, finished everything and was stuffed! came out to $100 inc taxes/tips - can't beat that.
Perhaps I was more focused on discussing my woes with a good friend of mine while having dinner at Picaro, but I can't say it left a strong impression on my palette.
Bread and dipping sauce was just weird...it was like eating salad dressing on bread, and while tasty, just wasn't reminiscint of South American style. We went for combinations instead of tapas, perhaps the main reason for the food disconcert, me getting the rabbit stew with spinach bechamel and potatoes.
I drank more the enough sangria to compensate while picked at my food. There were a lot of bones to massage from the meat and the potatoes needed more seasoning and didn't really mess well with anything else on my plate.
Our server was nice, but seeing as how the restaurant was dead and she definitely wasn't that busy, it took awhile for her to come back to give us our bill when I'd intentionally put down a $20 so she'd know were ready.
I'd say stick with Ramblas - at least they have some amazing cocktails and their bread dipping oil has a nice kick.
Join Us for Happy Hour!
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
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Neighborhood: North…
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Tapas Bars
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Spanish
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Tapas Bars
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Tapas Bars
San Francisco, CA
Category: Spanish
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