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Elena's, San Francisco, CA

Elena's

4.7
4.7
462 Reviews
$30 and under
Mexican
A photo of Elena's restaurant

Elena's

4.7
$30 and under
Mexican
Forest Hill / West Portal

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 92 times today
  • Neighborhood gem
  • Good for special occasions
  • Lively
Welcome to Elena's -- a place where a family’s love for authentic Mexican food is celebrated and combined with California-inspired elements and signature Mexican-American dishes. We offer reservations for up to 8 guests via OpenTable. At the time of your reservation, we kindly request the entire party be present to be seated. Tables will be held for up to 10 minutes after the reservation time. For parties that arrive later, the table will be released but we will do our best to accommodate the reservation with the next available table. Reservation requests via phone or email are not available at this time. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you to Elena’s!

Order delivery or takeout

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Mexican
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 11:30 am–10:00 pm Fri 11:30 am–11:00 pm Sat 10:30 am–11:00 pm Sun 10:30 am–10:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (415) 622-4440
  • Dress code
    Business Casual

What 462 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.6Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.8Ambience
  • 4.3Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • San Francisco Bay Area

    Mexican

  • San Francisco

    Most Booked

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Elena's is a beautifully decorated restaurant offering "fantastic" Mexican cuisine with generous portions. Guests rave about the chicken enchiladas, "insane" empanadas, and coconut margaritas. Service is consistently praised, especially by servers like Flora and Kayla. Despite occasional noise, the vibrant atmosphere and "wonderful" ambiance make it a beloved neighborhood spot.

462 Reviews
  1. Deborah

    San Francisco

    18 reviews

    4.0

    18 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Beautiful restaurant. Great service. 4 of us dines. Guacamole had sour taste. Three of us returned main entree. Chiles Rellenos ice cold inside. Our steak fajitas had to also be returned as we ordered rare, were given well done. Were happy to redo and was perfect. Gracious hospitality.

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  2. Jea

    VIP

    San Francisco

    23 reviews

    3.0

    23 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    Beautiful ambiance. Margarita is so so. To go food was poorly packed.

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  3. Dave

    New York City

    19 reviews

    4.0

    19 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    interesting place for mexican food, varied menu. fresh ingredients. nice environment. great service. good bar drinks. chips and chile relleno had an oily off taste. salsa excellent for chip dipping but a hotter one is really needed for food. good bit not great place.

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  4. Jennifer

    VIP

    San Francisco

    15 reviews

    5.0

    15 reviews

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    First time here, great experience from beginning to end. Our server was Laurel, she was amazing. The Christmas decor was nice, the food and drinks were great. Happy I was able to get a reservation.

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  5. Christine

    VIP

    San Francisco

    24 reviews

    4.0

    24 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The ambiance and service were excellent. Good portion (crab enchilada) was large with food to feed 2. In the future I would order crab tacos to avoid large quantities of beans, etc. - the crab meat was just sufficient. Cocktails were excellent.

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  6. Larry

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This was my first visit to Elena's The restaurant is beautiful and the food delicious. I'll definitely come back.

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  7. Kate

    VIP

    San Francisco

    22 reviews

    5.0

    22 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Incredible experience - been there 3x in 4 months and already have made my next res for next month. Food, ambiance, service - 10 out of 10!!

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  8. Jennifer

    VIP

    San Francisco

    20 reviews

    5.0

    20 reviews

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    First time dining here. Went with a friend for a late lunch and had an amazing time. The service was top-notch! We ordered 3 things to share, and the pacing was perfect: slow yet attentive. The Trio of Tostadas was delicious, can’t even pick a favorite between the ahi, halibut and crab. The veggie tacos (roasted mushrooms and butternut squash) were amazing. We ended with the Chile Relleno Plate, which was good but not outstanding (compared to the rest). Highly recommend The Spicy marg. Will be back.

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  9. ROBERT

    Tahoe

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great spot, good food , nice ambiance , and sum damn good drinks. We will be back!

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  10. Rita

    San Francisco

    201 reviews

    3.0

    201 reviews

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This is my 4th time to Elena's as I brought a friend along to celebrate his birthday and he's never been there. Our waitress was very attentive and checked in on us frequently. The thin chips were filled generously and they were delicious. We shared a Caesar's salad, it was good and easily shared by 2. He liked his chicken enchiladas. I tried the carnitas tacos $16 and came with 2. I asked for hard shell tacos and not the soft tacos. The carnitas was too dry and bland even with the guacamole, it didn't wow me. The meal with one coffee was over $70. They do charge a 5% health mandate on the bill.

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FAQs

You can order delivery directly from Elena's using the Order Online button.

Elena's is rated 4.7 stars by 462 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

A photo of Elena's restaurant

Elena's

4.7
$30 and under
Mexican
Forest Hill / West Portal

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 92 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Elena's

255 W Portal Ave, San Francisco, CA 94127-1401

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Forest Hill / West Portal
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 11:30 am–10:00 pm Fri 11:30 am–11:00 pm Sat 10:30 am–11:00 pm Sun 10:30 am–10:00 pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Mexican
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    None
  • Additional
    Wheelchair Access
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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