Rico Mex

I mostly come here for their breakfast burrito, which ends at 10:30am. I loooooove how cheap it is — only $ 3.32 for my typical bacon and egg :) can’t get any better than that. BTW, it’s cash only for an orders less than $ 5.
I like to call their hot sauce, crack sauce because it’s so good! They have a small salsa and hot sauce bar in the back. No free chips. The salsa is really fresh though!
Across the street is the famous Uno Dos, but the line is long. I don’t think people realize that Rico Mex is a hidden gem tucked away in the ally way on Stevenson street.
SERVICE: the woman and man who usually work the cash register are really nice! I just get the feel of an authentic Mexican restaurant here.
Keep it up Rico Mex!

Came by for a breakfast burrito. The service was prompt as it was very early and there was no one here. The service was prompt, and the burrito was quite good. It was cheap as well. The place had a little bit of a strange smell…

Small mom & pop Mexican Food.
Breakfast Burritos are priced a little over $ 3.00.
(Awesome!)
I love the atmosphere and the lunch too.
I tend to support the non-​big chains,
and appreciate the customer service!

When I first whined to my pal that I’d be moving offices from SOMA to FiDi, he told me about this place. Rico Mex is nothing fancy, but it is delicious. It’s also one of the only spots around here where you can get lunch for under $ 10. It’s nothing I’m raving about, but it’s a lot better than some of the other spots in the area.

Very good tacos!
Great Chips and Salsa!

I’ve come here a couple times for lunch with co-​workers. I’m a chipotle fanatic so I probably lose all semblance of credibility when it comes to Mexican food but I actually think this place is pretty good! It’s well priced for the FiDi area, portions are pretty generous and food is fresh. I usually get the chicken fajita plate, they cook the chicken in the back and then bring it out where you have your choice of rice, beans, salsa, guac and sour cream (2 corn tortillas too!) for under 10 bucks.

Not bad, but I can’t say I was particularly blown away. This spot is literally about 30 seconds from my job, so I decided to stop by today for lunch. I ordered the super burrito with chicken and no guacamole (not a big guac fan). I also got a Mexican coke. I will say it was a bit pricey! I paid 11 bucks and it isn’t exactly a gigantic burrito. The food was good, but like I said earlier it didn’t blow my expectations away. The spot itself has a homie feel to it and it was clean. The people behind the counter were nice and I enjoyed them explaining what was in the burrito to me. Overall, it was one pricey burrito and coke, but I will still give them another chance and try one of their lunch plates next time!

Amazing, cheap (like $ 3-​$ 4!!!) breakfast burritos. Equally delicious anytime burritos. Great for a quick lunch — they are super fast!

This place was good. I think what I love about it is the fact that it is a mom&pop type place. Very old school. Nothing fancy but decent food. It was packed when I was there (which was around 12pm). Staff is super friendly and timely with the food. I got my order in 5 mins. Only downside for me is I didn’t really taste much seasoning. One thing I love about Mexican food is the flavoring. Not a whole lot here.

Got regular carne asada burrito. Meat was dry but rice and beans were good. :(
Their salsa bar had pico, spicy, and salsa verde. Pretty limited.
Pico tastes like tomatoes basically. Salsa verde watered down. Didnt try spicy salsa.
Their menus and stickied specials on the walls were a A big plus is that the price is low!

For FiDi Mexican, this is about as good as it gets. Which means pretty good, not great. Anyone who’s been to the Mission will tell you that you can get a burrito that’s about twice as big for the same price with fresher fixins. But that’s the Mission, and we worker drones are stuck here in the FiDi for lunch.
The food here is fairly standard taqueria fare. They offer a decent variety of meats, as well as a veggie and (garden?) option. I stick to the sauteed (stewed) chicken and the chile verde. Both are pretty well steeped in the flavors of the sauce and you know they’ll never be dry. They have a salsa bar and it’s pretty standard w/​a non-​spicy pico, mild green, and spicy red salsa available.
Like I said, it won’t wow you, but it’s pretty decent for the FiDi. Kinda like the crowd @ 83 Proof (whuuut?!?)

The flavors just aren’t as good as Caramba, which in my mind is the only competition. It is possibly a little cheaper.
The green salsa on the bar is the most flavorful thing on the menu. I maybe stop by once or twice a year, and nothing ever stand out one way or the other.
Several vegetarian options are present.

I decided to let the inner fat kid out today and grab a burrito for lunch.
I came here at about 12:30, the lunch rush hour. The line moved quick which was good.
I ordered a carne asada super burrito. For a quick and dirty (no, not literally) lunch, this does the trick. Fast service.
Burrito itself had great flavors. Usually, I have to drown my burritos in salsa to give it some flavor, but not here. I inhaled it.
If you are looking for a chipotle burrito, this is not the place for you. This is a Burrrrito (please roll the «r» with that).
They take credit cards — which is a plus.
It seems like those folks with the negative reviews ordered something other than a burrito. I was pleased.

Came here for lunch. The best things about this place were the prices and the tortilla chips (which were likely made by Doritos).
I ordered the Carne Asada Platter. The steak was slightly more tender than beef jerky (and just as dry), the beans/​rice were bland, and this was the first time I’ve had watery guacamole.
Further, the dim lighting (not in a cozy, romantic way) and messy jumble of papers stacked across the shelves made the restaurant feel more like a depressing office than a Mexican restaurant.
I’ve heard the breakfast burritos are decent, and I’d be willing to give those a chance sometime. However, in general, I’ll be going across the street to Unos Dos Tacos for my Mexican food in the future.

Very casual place. Order your food at the counter, pay, pick up, find a table, and enjoy your meal. My companion who works nearby suggested I try Mexican food here. We ordered 2 soft tacos; carnitas and steak and 2 Enchiladas. Of course, I always need to have spicy sauce on my tacos. Their sauce was very flavorful, had a lot of kick, but not very spicy. After being spoiled by the tacos truck in Stamford, CT, I didn’t think I would find a Mexican restaurant that serves yummy hot sauce again. Well. I was slightly wrong. It enhanced my tacos to another level!
I just wish that they would present precooked food at the counter a bit more appetizing. When I first glanced at my choices, I wasn’t really excited to order anything. But «don’t judge a book by its cover» right?
Food is at an affordable price. If you don’t have a lot of time for lunch and really hungry, you can get your food fast here!

As the quick grab-​and-​go burrito joint serving office workers in the 2^nd and Market corridor, Rico Mex is a Mexican lunchtime joint tucked away in a little alley between high-​rises.
Had the mole chicken burrito and I must say I didn’t get any mole flavor at all unfortunately. On the flipside, I found it to be pretty salty where even the salsa couldn’t help balance out. The folks that work here are really nice though and the prices are really reasonable.
For the salt factor alone, I doubt I’ll be back but perhaps in a pinch. Despite being whitewashed, at least places around the corner like Uno Dos Tacos or even Chipotle have better balanced flavors albeit longer lines.

I don’t understand all the negative reviews; this place is as awesome as it is authentic and it’s a nice alternative to the neighboring Mexican restaurants in SoMa.

A little about me in how I judge the authenticity of food; growing up in LA (which is taqueria central) — I was taught that the rule of thumb is, you can always tell a restaurants authenticity by its patrons. This is to say, when choosing to dine at a ethnic restaurant, if you notice most of its customers are of the same ethnicity, you can bet that the food is good, if not remarkable. I apply this rule of thumb straight across the board when choosing ethnic cuisines such as Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Italian, Greek, etc., and I’m very discerning and selective. BTW, I eat Mexican food at least 3’s a week — so I think I’m a pretty good judge as to who is authentic and who is not; and Rico Mex is rapidly becoming my FAVORITE SoMa spot.
Yes, Rico Mex is a little confusing to someone who is unfamiliar with the restaurant’s ORDERING SYSTEM, but once you learn it and master it, you will be hooked on the savory meats they create: carnitas, carne asada infused with onion & fresh tomatoes, pollo asada, chili verde, fajitas, shrimp.
So you know before you go, here is their MENU:

The SYSTEM:
Mornings — you can expect it to not be as busy at this time, so you walk up to the counter and order from the nice ladies behind it, then pay the nice man behind the register.
Lunch hour — like every other restaurant in SoMa (and every where else in SF), the restaurant gets packed with its regulars and what you should know is — the ordering LINE STARTS at the REAR of the restaurant (rather than in the front at the register where the menu is). If you know your Mexican food, you really don’t need to look at the menu and can order off the fly. The restaurants does have its specials listed all along the back of the counter in various places along the wall.
Once you order from the nice ladies behind the counter, you then make your way to the front of the restaurant and pay the nice man behind the register. It’s that simple.
One of my favorite dishes from Rico Mex (which turns me into a walking contradiction and a total hypocrite) is the CHILI VERDE. (I TRY to make a morally conscious decision not to eat pork because of the inhumane treatment of the pigs). I know, I know, HYPOCRITE! But the chili verde is sooooooo remarkably AWESOME that it is hard for me to resist and one of the main reason I frequent Rico Mex. My other favorite is the Carne Asada Plate — sooooo delicious my mouth waters when I think of it.
I will stop here as I have shamed myself in admitting to the public that I’m a walking contradiction (but if you knew me, you’d already know this).
As always, would I recommend Rico Mex — Absolutely, and for all the reasons mentioned above.
Enjoy.

I went here once during the lunch rush, and it was hectic and the food tasted not well prepared. I went back another day after the lunch rush, and the place still had an air of sloppiness about it. The ordering process is confusing, with a menu posted like an eye exam from the place where you make the order. The food, when only one or two other patrons are there still feels rushed and bland. And when they add chips to it, it’s literally 6 chips (they do sell a bag for 50 cents). Is that a weird sampler?
The whole place just seems like they could benefit from seeing how other eateries handle the basics and trying to emulate that experience.

I had a super burrito with carne asada, and I think I got what I expected for the price (about $ 8). The one frustrating part about this business is that they don’t have a menu that you can see (or at least that I could see) when I walked in. I read other people’s reviews saying that the burritos were $ 5 – 6, but when she asked me what I wanted on the burrito aside from meat, I said everything. Typically, if they charge extra for guacamole, they tell you that it’s extra, but I’m guessing that’s what happened here.
Since I just moved back to the US from New Zealand, I’m not going to complain about getting a burrito and chips for $ 9, because the same thing would have been close to $ 20 in NZ. Quality was to be expected for what you pay, but I thought that the tortilla tasted fresh, and the carne asada was actually more tender and moist than at a recent sit-​down Mexican restaurant that I went to in Novato.

Okay, I think my three star rating is slightly preemptive, in that the first time I ate at Rico Mex, I can’t remember, and the second time I opted for a no cheese burrito since it’s an extra dollar for cheese and I only had a five dolla bill (what?! Yes, never again).
There are several salsas/​hot sauces, of which I tried all, non of them really hit the spot for spice or flavor though, sadly. And chips are an extra dollar. So basically I got a tortilla filled with rice, pinto beans, and steak. Does that constitute as a burrito? Well, methinks not.
Overall, I must say I have had much better. I told my friend I got a burrito for lunch from Rico and she nearly slapped my wrist since I live in the Mission, and Financial Mexican is not the best, but I had a craving that needed to be satisfied by something other than Chipotle.