Belmar – La Gallinita Meat Market

No bueno… Their meat are not fresh and their food is not tasty. I don’t think it is a good idea to have a meat shop and a restaurant in the same place. They may use their old meat and cook it for the clients. Who knows… No wonder why the meat was hard, has a lot of condiments and is close to burned just to cover the bad old flavor.

Amazingly delicious tacos in a shop run by a lovely family. Can’t wait to go back. :)

great place for fresh Mexican seasoned meats. their rice and (meaty) beans (which they sell in half pint, pint and gallon jars) is some of the best we’ve had.

We had the cabeza tacos here. You order your tacos and pay at the register first and then they cook the meat and make the tortilla right in front of you. It took about 5 – 7 minutes from start to finish. There’s also an area to top it off with cilantro, onions, and the like.
Everyone was super friendly. There are a couple small tables to sit at near the front of the market. There’s also plenty of other authentic spices, meats, and other goods in the store so make sure to poke around.
This was the second taco out of our 6 taco spot tour. We ranked this #5 but only because I got a bit grossed out after eating half of the taco by the fact it was cabeza and a bit slimy in texture. But I’m still giving 5 stars because of the friendly service, the freshness of the veggies and meat, and the slightly thicker tortilla (a little crunchy). It was our fault we thought we’d like the choice of meat.

Great taco place with a butcher stand in the way back. I really liked the carne asada and carnitas tacos and the cecina (salted beef) was pretty good as well. The prices are great — $ 1.75 for taquitos, $ 2.99 for tacos ($ 3.99 for super tacos) and $ 4.99 for burritos. They have a little condiment bar where you can squeeze lemon/​lime juice onto your tacos, add onions, or add one of their homemade sauces.
I think the tacos were better than the overhyped La Taqueria. I ordered and was served in about 4 minutes on a Saturday at 1pm — good luck doing that at 25^th and Mission.

Oh baby. I gotta say that this place has the best tacos I have ever tried.
Cecina tacos sounded disgusting (beef head), but were oh so worth the try, as I proceeded to taste the verifiable definition of melt-​in-​your-​mouth carnivorous pleasure.
The brisket taco was also amazing. The meat is just out of this world.
For less than two dollars a taco, the price is almost impossible to beat, and the taste is definitely impossible.
Only downside to the place is that it closes so early on Sunday, but I guess we can’t have it all!

Authentic, family ran establishment on 24^th and Harrison. I tried the carne asada and carnitas taquitos for $ 1.75! Best deal compared to some street style taco places. Taquitos come with the classic cilantro, onions, and choice of sauce (green or red). They have a good size list of meats for your taquitos. They have pozole, soups, and burritos! They have a carneseria right next door! If your around these parts and want some real tacos come here!

Visited as part of the food tour. I had great cecina and chorizo tacos wrapped with rich tortillas and fresh toppings. Enjoyed the story about how Sal created the carne asada and flap steak. Will visit in the future for sure!

Truly a gem. No other place in the mission will
a) make the meat for your taco when you order it
b) has a meat market they pull from
c) is served by grandmas
d) has chorizo papas taquitos
e) or piles of chicharones
f) give you a free taste of things
g) has incredibly good homemade salsa
I nearly regret saying how good this place. Thankfully it closes at a normal time otherwise it would be super crowded.
Order the secina.

this is my local go to place when i wanna grill!
everyone was so happy with the meat I purchased here.
Nice and friendly staff.
NOW WHAT I REALLY LOVE! The chicharrones… THE CHICHARRONES ARE TO DIE FOR!!! so fatty crispy and some meat left on them.
OH JEEEZ So good.

uugghhhh chicharrones son muuuuuuuuy bueno~!!!
They’re so fatty. so fried and good. you know why? They still have a bit of meat on them too.
This place is a dirty little hole in the wall but I don’t care. My gf introduced me to the chicharrones and I’m not going to think about it. She’s thrown bbqs and told me the tasty meats we grilled up are from here as well. Decently priced, but get the chicharrones. Saw a guy eating some pozole this past weekend. Looked bomb.

The people who run it are pretty friendly and polite, but it’s way over rated. I still haven’t found that amazing arrachera butcher in SF. Closest bad ass butcher for me is in Redwood city and Hayward. At $ 8 a pound I can get double the quality and double the flavor elsewhere. Skip it if you have high standards and go to Whole foods for something organic and prepare it yourself for a little more. I feel like I sound like a yuppy, but I’m just disappointed. You can inbox me for the real deal as well.
Also, got my card returned with blood and spices after the ol man ran the card. Yuck!

This is truly a community meat market in the Mission district of SF.
It’s right on the corner of 24^th St and Harrison, the South East corner.
We bought some chicken w/​their wonderful dry rub, for Easter supper. OMG, the best chicken ever — moist, flavorful. The skin crisped perfectly.
I’m sold on the high quality meats et al, and I will forever sing their praises.
Superb service, care, friendliness, beautiful smiles.
These folks really put alot of TLC into their work here.
Now this is the real deal, a place we need to fight to keep in the Mission. With all the changes ongoing in the Mission, La Gallinita is one place to KEEP, to treasure.
If their rent soars so high they cant stay, there will be war.
I’ll have to check out their tacos. Blessings to La Gallinita!!!

I have purchased from this place for a number of my BBQs and the carne is amazing. Today, I called to purchase a good amount of meat, tortillas, salsa roja, and pico de gallo, etc. for a bbq for a nonprofit I am working with. They really helped work with our budget to put together an awesome menu and I am STOKED to pick up our ingredients and grill for everyone.
Also, stop by on the weekends — I think it is only on the weekends, but I may be wrong — for the tacos they made. Hand made tortillas and amazingly fresh/​well seasoned meats. Can’t lose.

Great meat! Owner is willing to work with you to make your dining a welcome and rewarding experience!

Say if one thousand people write about a place, and it’s featured in every email about food, then it gets a spotlight that creates buzz, and pays back the restaurant investors within the first six months. Well… La Gallinita should be featured in every email, and should be abuzz… They’re as ambitious as a new restaurant, as great at what they do, and serve up fascinating, traditional delectable handheld meat stuff.
A corner market with a meat market in the back and a kitchen in the rear corner. Pull sodas and beers (into red party cups) from the cooler, buy fresh traditional mexican cut meat for your self and/​or order from the taco list. It’s all about the Suadero. Simply, if a place is serving tacos and does not have suadero on the menu, you’ve gone to the wrong place.
A smattering of tables in the front for seating in the store for the tacos. A salsa bar along with onions, cilantro, et al.
And they’re deep frying chorizo tacos here too.
If Belmar remains a 24^th street neighborhood standby without ever attracting the gentrified set and it’s able to sustain itself… I’ll be just as happy as I am. If I’m a part of the upcoming problem of luring people from other trendy taco bars to the more authentic taco stand, I think we’re all going to walk away thankful and with a meat high.

The tacos & chicharones were awesome!

LATIN-​AMERICAN FOOD CRAWL IN THE MISSION: Taco de sesos (brain taco)
You know you’re a leader of humanity (or at least your friends) when you can convince them to eat something like cow brains… and like it! *Must only use powers for good. Must only use powers for good.*
For the next stop in our Latin-​American food crawl, a few of us tried La Gallinitia’s beef brains taco. I’ve had brains several times, but this was a first for my friends. If you’re ever interested in trying the grey stuff for the first time, this is the right kind of place to do it. The brains were cooked to a tender, almost roast-​like texture, with a savory sauce, served in a crispy tortilla. Good job on that, but unfortunately, I found the tortilla rather stale and dry, which kind of detracted from the enjoyment of the sesos.
This is a great meat market if you’re looking for quality meat without being overwhelmed by choice, and also hoping to grab a quick bite. There’s plenty of seating to go with the taco bar in the back and the staff here are quite nice.

I’ve been back to Belmar-​La Gallinita a couple of times since my original review, and my experiences on these visits have been so positive that I’m upgrading to maximum stars.
On the first of these occasions, I didn’t realize that I was walking in as they were closing. When I got to the counter and saw the butchers cleaning up, I panicked a little. The same nice man who is always there cheerfully told me not to worry and asked me what I wanted. On the spot, he seasoned up a few pounds of carne asada and sent me on my way.
Then, yesterday, after he rang up my purchase of salsa, beer, tortillas, and more of that tender, tasty carne asada, he told me to choose from several types of sausage and cut me off a 3-​foot length, FREE.
I love it when nice men give me free sausage.

A friend recommended this market for good chorizo so I bought a pound yesterday and had it with scrambled eggs for breakfast today.
My partner and I enjoyed very much. The chorizo was very flavorful yet not greasy at all. I think we have found our source for good chorizo!
Now I’d like to try some of their prepared foods.