Don Ramon’s

1 of my favorites, I eat here often, and I’m never disappointed. I would come here just for the rice and beans. AND they treat me like family.

Such a adorable and fun interior design. The outside doesn’t do it justice. The food and service was great. I went on a date, who is a regular customer. We got a free appetizer because they are family owned and remember their regular customers. I felt very welcomed and appreciated there. I will definitely go back. And those crab enchiladas were amazing.

I took three friends there when we were going to a show at Oasis across the street. never again. The service was terrible. There was probably just six tables of customers… not many… and to get water was a real effort. The food tastes as if it was made some time ago and just heated to serve. I had the enchilada/​burrito combination and the burrito’s tortilla was thick and dry. Really bad. The others had chimichanga and truthfully they seemed to like it. The prices were high for Mexican food but you know what? Its the only restaurant around that neighborhood. Pretty place though. Will not go back

Great margaritas, strong and tasty and homemade Habenero syrup. Staff is super friendly. One drawback is the chips taste like cornflakes

Been here twice now and have been satisfied each time. Great enchiladas and tamales. The vibe in there is authentic. Doesn’t feel like a restaurant in San Francisco.

A typical hacienda-​style mexican restaurant. Free chips, cardboard Corona fliers on the table, Frida Kahlo posters on the wall. A little pricy for my tastes. If you search the menu you’ll find hidden in the back is a taco platter for a little cheaper.

Awesome place. Stumbled upon it while trying to find a place to eat in the area. (Everything opens late) So glad I chose this. Great salsa and fast friendly service. I had the shrimp burrito, which was amazing. My friend got the beef tiquitos which were crispy and not dried out like most places. Will defiantly be returning.

Trio of tacos, and two house margarita’s. I challenge anybody to do it better that these guys.

The chicken enchiladas made me do cartwheels in the restaurant they were so good. This super nice woman there, I think her name was Gina, helped me focus on finishing my enchiladas instead of continuing my cartwheel routine. Amazing authentic mexican cuisine, wonderful people. I’ll be back again even if I can’t do my happy tummy cartwheels again.

Don Ramon’s is a sure bet for tasty Mexican cuisine. And its an affordable price. I have had it to go, and have eaten in. First the personnel are very welcoming and attentive. The atmosphere is cozy. Don Ramon’s is in SOMA so it does not benefit from the location of an establishment on the pier or the financial district. Don’t let that deter you, they pull of great service. I tend to go with the Carne asada super burrito, and it was very good, generous portions of well flavored steak and fresh ingredients. If you want to beat the crowds in the touristy sections and get some good Mexican cuisine at a reasonable price, then Don Ramon’s is the place for you.

food was good and hot
priced well
clean and friendly

I went with a group of 10 people during lunch hours and it was pretty empty. We did still make reservations since we had a party of 10, but had we known it would be empty, we would have skipped that.
The menu is two pages but nothing stands out, everything sounds the same. After contemplating for over 10 minutes, I picked to build my own combination. You can choose one choice or two choices for about $ 5 more. I picked the beef chimichanga which came with shredded beef and the chicken enchilada. The dish also came with rice and beans only, though I believe the menu said it comes with salad and warm corn tortillas.
The food comes in a huge plate but I have had better Mexican food. I only ate my chicken enchilada because after the first cut into my chimichanga, I could already tell it was not going to be my favorite. The beef is way over cooked and extremely dry. You taste nothing but some heat and the texture of cardboard plus the slight crunch from the fried tortilla. I picked at my plate after the enchilada and was debating if I should even pack the pretty much the whole chimichanga to go after all, it did cost me about $ 20 with tax and tip. I ended up packing it to go but now I have no idea what to do with it, as I am writing this review, I took a bite out of it and I still do not like it.
I guess if you do not care for the quality of the food but have a large party, you could consider this place.
The prices are also on the higher end but the servers were (kind of) friendly. Well the server (ones dressed in black) was very nice about replacing our chips and salsa. I’m guessing the one woman standing around is the owner? She seem really angry and rude, practically mean mugging the entire time we were there– at least that’s what it felt like each time I caught a glimpse of her.
With everything in consideration, I will stick to Mexican food in the Mission.

When I crave Mexican Food, I always think of Don Ramon’s. We have been going to this family establishment for 30 years now. Wow, just realized that! They have consistently great food. I must admit, I end up taking food home for next day’s lunch as I LOVE their chips and salsa. That is dinner for me. Oh yes, and the margaritas. The owners, Don Ramon’s children, run it and have been friendly since the beginning. They watched our daughter grow up and ask about her if she isn’t with us. Their staff is long standing and very friendly.
It’s a great place to eat.

I’ve lived in SoMa for quite some time by now, but I had never eaten at this place, not even for some community mixer where I wouldn’t have had any choice in the matter. Its lackluster reputation preceded me as neighborhood friends would accompany mention of Don Ramon’s with the inevitable sigh that implied «Oh yeah, that place.» Consequently, my motivation for coming here was somewhere between a root canal and a foot scraping. What changed my mind was Pride. Not mine per se, but walking in the parade and feeling euphoric about the reality of my civil rights and the prospect of a taco. Apparently other people had that prospect in mind since the place was packed.
There were actual children in here, not like children of the corn. I’m not sure where they hide in the daytime, but when they get hungry, they must come here. I thought I was in a shopping center in the suburbs for the customer base I was seeing. The menu was pretty standard with nothing all that unique that stood out. That’s what probably drew us to the $ 18 Design Your Own Platter Double Combos since we decided to go for maximum bang for the buck. Jamie W. went for the Shredded Chicken Burrito and the Chicken Taco double-​play which came with an intensely orange rice, refried beans and a side salad with an inexplicably red dressing (photo:
). It was pretty good for a combo plate, and Jamie looked satisfied.
Mine wasn’t hugely different except that I bypassed the burrito and ordered the Chile Relleno instead. It was an oddly bloated Anaheim chile shaped like a burger but stuffed with Monterey jack cheese. It was encrusted in a deep-​fried egg batter that didn’t quite crisp up because it was ladled liberally with what was described as Chef Ramon’s spicy tomato, pepper and onion sauce (photo:
). I kinda liked it even though it got mushy fast. I found that if I ate more of the complimentary chips as a chaser that it made the overall meal better. The $ 4.50 Flan is not a bad way to end the meal either (photo:
). Service was admittedly spotty, but I have gotten over my phobia over Don Ramon’s. Now I can say with conviction that I’m in no hurry to come back.
FOOD — 3 stars… not as offensive as rumor would have it… hits the spot for the indiscrminate eater of Mexican food
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… ah, here are where the niños des SoMa eat
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… rather spotty when it gets crowded
TOTAL — 3 stars… if you have a big party and the food is not your priority, well, bienvenidos!

My family and I cross the bridge to go to this restaurant for my aunt’s retirement party and it was so worth the drive. The seafood was fresh, the chips and salsa was amazing and the margaritas were to die for. I will drive another 40 minutes just for beans and rice and a margarita any day of the week. We set upstairs and the service was pleasant and fast.
My only complaint is the parking — STREET PARKING ONLY and good luck finding that.

This place never fails me. I’ve been coming here for over 10 years now, and it is always amazing. Whenever I have out of town guests, I take them here. I’ve yet to have a guest that didn’t love it.
The red enchilada gravy sauce is truly heaven. The margaritas are good and strong (although a little expensive.)
The family that runs this place is always there, and are super friendly. They always seem to remember me and say hi every time I come in.

What a joke of a burrito.
Ordered a steak Ultimate Jay’s Burrito — -got a boring burrito with a spoonful of guacamole, sour cream and some strange, sweet-​tasting sauce on the side. Not sure if our inattentive waiter grabbed the wrong sauce by mistake. It did not go with a burrito.
There was nothing ultimate about this burrito – especially for $ 11. I could’ve gone to El Farolito and paid half the price for a REAL burrito.
Why doesn’t this place serve their margaritas in MARGARITA GLASSES?
Service was also terrible.
This place is not in the Mission for a reason. Never again.

#228. Convenient hours, nearby location, no wait. That’s about how much I’ll give them.
I got the ultimate Jay’s chicken burrito and mango margarita. The drink was strong. The food didn’t hold up its end though. They definitely could’ve done better, especially on an empty weekday night. Service was minimal.
I guess this is why people say you should get your burritos in the Mission. Cheap and fulfilling burritos do sound better.

After having many of good beer at local bear bar Lone Star, we set off in search of something yummy, comforting and, good for a group. As we staggered onto the street one of our pals recommends a Mexican place close by, of course Im a Mexican food snob coming from Arizona. Hell I was born with a enchilada in my mouth, well, not really but you know what I mean. Anyways, I figured this place was going to suck and surprisingly it didn’t. In fact it wasn’t to bad but also remember I was kind of plowed.
Another surprised was when we entered the restaurant how cavernous this place was. If this place was packed, which it wasn’t, I could see it being really loud and festive. We were greeted with a smile and immediately sat. Within moments we were brought bowls of chips and salsa and our drink order was taken. Service was obviously prompt and friendly however I will mention that while the restaurant seemed slow there was a huge party upstairs so the kitchen was kind of backed up. While they didn’t mention this to us as we waited for our entrees, they did send out an additional quesadilla app for the table along with our other apps. Maybe a preemptive, sorry for the long ass wait.
Now that I’ve mentioned it a few times lets talk about the food. We were a group of 5 and all but 2 of us ordered the chicken mole enchiladas so I don’t really have that much to write about food wise but Ill try my best.
Chips and Salsa — The chips were kind of room temp and not seasoned with salt but they held a nice crunch which was acceptable. The salsa was tomato based, not chunky, and had a nice fiery kick. I really liked their salsa.
Cheese Quesadilla — So much cheese which I loved. The flour tortilla was nice and crispy so it didn’t fold over when I scooped up salsa, big plus in my book.
Random free-​for-​waiting-​so-​long Beef Quesadilla — Not to look a gift horse in the mouth but I would have bashed this one so hard if I had paid for it. While there was ample cheese and meat inside, the ground meat tasted like the taco seasoning you can buy in packets from the grocery store. It wasn’t bad but just disappointing.
Then we waited.
.and waited.
.and waited.
Yay entrees!
Design your own platter — I chose the cheese enchilada and the beef chimchanga. Both were on the small side given the price tag thank goodness for chips and apps. The chimi was dolloped with sour cream and guacamole and was covered in red chile sauce. Inside the crispy flour tortilla shell hid more tortilla. Yep, there was hardly any meat inside. I mean come on, why skimp? The enchilada was fine, just cheese and red chile sauce, decent enough.
Chicken Mole Enchiladas — I can’t go into great detail about these since I only had one bite. To me the sauce was on the sweet side and wasn’t particularly complex like some moles can be. My dining pals didn’t complain and gobbled up everything on their plates.
I think DR is a good fit for the drunken bear.

4÷5÷14 Dinner
Friends in town say they want Mexican. Lots of options in town but I decide to try Don Ramon’s because I have driven by this place so many times and it never occurred to me to come here. Why? It’s tugged in the SoMA on very quiet 11^th Street. I called and asked if reservation is needed, they only accept reservation for party of 6+. We got there at about 8PM and it was not busy. Unlike many Mexican places in town, especially those with full bars on Mission Street, Don Ramon’s closes fairly early at around 9:30PM. So we might be the last seating for the evening.
It’s a family-​run restaurant. The décor reminds me of an old event space. Walls punctuated by arches with a wrap-​around balcony on the mezzanine. It’s homely but also nondescript. I like how this is where locals and tourists in-​the-​know gather for good home-​style Mexican food. I emphasize home-​style because Momma actually came out to check out on customers’ food.
*Uncle Jay’s Burrito ($ 11) is a feast. Giant-​size burrito wrapped with beans, grilled beef, salsa, rice, and a dollop of sour cream. No wonder it’s famous for its size and taste. Despite the size, the tortilla managed to sustain throughout consumption. It’s a winner especially if you’re hungry!
*Enchilada + Enchilada Verde ($ 18): the combination allows you to choose any two items on their regular menu, including a burrito, taco (soft or fried) and carnitas. The enchilada with beef is one of the best I’ve had. The beef is so tender that it literally melted in my mouth. The red sauce is a gravy that has a hint of wine. I sopped it up with chips and tortilla. Enchilada verde is a pollo for me, with a zesty green sauce. It was covered with tomatillo, cilantro salsa and sour cream.
*House margarita on the rocks ($ 7) is a 16-​oz affair. It’s tasty and pretty stiff. Their bar showcases a variety of tequila so I’m sure you can make your own margarita depending on your preference. I’m back for happy hour!
What a gem! The food here is simple, without much of twist, all fresh out of Momma’s kitchen. I really love this place and see many more return visits. Price is the only (slight) downsize (and thus 4-​star instead of a perfect 5). You do have to pay a little more here. A single item combo plate with rice and bean is $ 14 — and the lunch and dinner menu is the same.
Easy street parking.