Taqueria El Castillito Star

I was happy to find a Mexican spot so close to work. After reading all the great reviews I made my way here. Unfortunately, I came during the peak of lunch hour rush and had to wait in a long line before being served, which was ok since it bought me time to look at all the different menu options. I ordered their meat quesadilla, which was huge and very filling. I would definitely recommend this place. If you plan on going during lunch, know that you can order over the phone so it’s ready by the time you arrive.

Visiting San Francisco (and the US), I’ve made it a goal to visit as many taquerias as possible. No where else have I had such good Mexican food (though I haven’t been to South America yet!).
Unfortunately, I didn’t feel this restaurant lived up to the standard in other places around town.
Firstly, the area is not the best. I can’t blame the restaurant for that but it would be much nicer if they took card. There’s currently a cash machine by the entrance but since it’s not from a brand bank (and once again since the area doesn’t feel the safest), I don’t feel especially comfortable taking money out.
Regarding the food: I was recommended to try the California burrito-​which I did-​but I wasn’t satisfied. It tasted pretty bland. The portions where big so that’s a benefit I guess.
What really put me off though, was the apparent hygiene and sanitary standards. To get the nachos, clients themselves grab a little bucket of chips from a pile of these buckets. You inevitably touch other people’s and this could be instantly improved by just handing it to people. Someone else’s review also mentioned a cockroach or something. I don’t think this is too crazy considering the look of the place. I think a deep clean is in order.
The staff were nice and helpful though, a redeeming feature of the restaurant. Also, I think some of the other burritos could be good — I was put off by the apparent sanitation and may have judged the food too early.

Quesadillas con pollo are a bit dry. However, the quantity is very decent.

This place has the best carne asada burrito! The service is great, and everyone’s always so cheerful and friendly!

We found a cockroach in the juice. They refunded our money but continued to serve the juice. Eat at your own risk.

Sometimes when I go there in the morning a little hungover I feel as if they take advantage of my situation by not giving me the super when I ask for the super. Don’t know if I am imagining it or not.

As fantastic as other reviewers led me to believe! Well worth the price and the fish tacos were fantastic. The salsa bar is on point and the atmosphere is laid back. Don’t miss it.

First time having Castillos in two years and it’s still as good as I remember! Yum!
Most authentic Mexican taqueria in sf outside of the mission in my opinion. Food is affordable and fulfilling. I always get the street tacos which never disappoint. Especially the hot sauce.
There’s about 3 of these taquerias. It’s in a sketchier part of SF but if your in the area give them a try.

Nothing special. Mediocre food and service.

Native San Diegan here. This place makes a decent California burrito by Northern CA standards. They let you choose the meat but anything other than carne asada on a California burrito is a cardinal sin.
They are heavy on guac so let them know if you’d rather go without it.
Don’t leave without visiting the salsa bar.
Place is cash-​only but there is an ATM in the corner that charges a $ 3 withdrawal fee.

This review is by a Mexican who loves tacos:
The tacos here are hella good.
Got two carnitas tacos for lunch. Together with the bag of chips, my tummy was set until dinner time.
The tacos are done properly on a double layer of small corn tortillas along with the standard taco fixings. Just the right amount of spiciness — not too mild, not too hot. The carnitas tacos juice dripped in such a way that made me proud of my people.
They don’t skimp on the meat. I shared some carnitas chunks with a friendly dog friend, not just because I’m nice but because I ate too many chips and wanted to be able to fold together the last bites of my taco. I had too much meat to fold it– and that is an excellent problem to have.
Bravo, El Castillito on your fine taco-​making. You made my heart swoon.

Average at best. Tried the carne asada super taco, but will try another Mexican place or two before trying this again.

I came here today for lunch and had the carne esada tacos with cilantro and pico de gallo it came with chips. They make the carne esada fresh made to order. They have complimentary water if you don’t want to purchase a drink. The staff are friendly and pleasant. You can watch a soccer game while you eat. This is my fifth or sixth time coming here. I highly recommend it for lunch or dinner.

One of the better burritos that I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot of burritos. The chips were just OK, the salsa was good, but the chicken and cheese in the burrito were very nearly perfect. Definitely a hidden gem. I am glad The Hall was closed tonight domain could not only eat a tastier meal, but I saved at least $ 5. Delicious!

Tasty burrito! They also have a California burrito with fries instead of rice and beans — will come back to try next time!
Salsa verde goes great with free accompanying chips.

We went to this restaurant during the Pride parade and it was one of the very few places that accepts credit cards because I usually don’t carry cash.
The line was pretty long, about 10 minutes. The burritos are what they are known for and I decided to get the breakfast burrito and had it cooked spicy. The burrito itself was AMAZING. They also give you free chips and the salsa verde was spicy which was perfect!
Although the only negative experience I had was that they messed up on my transaction and charged me for the wrong thing.
Overall, I recommend this place and try their burritos! I would love to come back here and try some more of their entrees.

This burrito was great because the cheese was added first, to a tortilla that had just been heated up, so the cheese was melty and fantastic.
Really no complaints here. Good burrito, good price, friendly and quick service. Made a great study break from Philz down the street!

Time: 12:17pm/61°F sunny
Purpose: Korean place up the street had a wait time of 20+ mins. Time that I don’t have when I’m going around for meet ups.
Ambiance: Place is a 32 seater with two flat-​screen tv, indoor ATM, three door beverages fridge and electronic jukebox. Lots of neon beer lights flashing around the place. During peak lunch time are the worst in there. You won’t have a seat even if you share a table, the people will be grumpy. Some just sits there hogging the table till their colleagues brings order over. Could be upwards of 15+ mins. I could’ve sit and eat half my food already. Its a challenge to get a spot. Just saying!
Staff: About 4 – 5 workers three in front with one cashier. Cashier was friendly trying to keep lunch time flow moving along. The line counter workers were not talkative. I know why already? So, no biggie there. Too busy to even look up at customers other than grabbing a tag order handed by cashier. Didn’t have any problems while there. Just pay my order watch what ever was on TV till order was call out.
Cleanliness: Grade C, there were areas that needs a good wipe down. Couple of rocky tables, walls and window coated with splashes from past patrons. Cashier counter smells somewhat disorganized not sure why?
Eats/​Drinks: Two fish tacos with everything $ 6.99. Both tacos well made with all fixings even included quarter wedge of ripen avacado planted on top. Fish were boneless fillet lightly fried on a skillet. I went ahead and crush the included chips to use as crunchy toppings. I know, I’m a weird eater. Washing it down with bottle of Jarritos tamarind ends my lunch on a happy note.
Products/​Services: Burritos, quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, nachos, tortas, sopas, fish & chips, chips & guac, tamales, carne asada, pico de gallo, beans, chicken/​steak/​prawn, fajitas, plates, pollo asado, carnitas, chile verde, chile relleno, huevos, imported Mexican sodas, aqua fresca, bottle beers-​domestic/​imported, sangria, flan.
Punch Lines: Close-​together table, pleasing flavors, inexpensive, harried staff, always buzzing, imaginable toppings, well-​prepared, kitschy décor, zippy service, loud and busy, can’t go wrong, casual and delicious, worth the wait, kept its standards, struggling service during peak hours, satisfactory, more than adequate job.
Tradeoffs: Food turnovers are quick due to nearby federal workers. Making it possible to have fresh food no matter what time you come.
Final Thoughts: It’s not one of those higher up corporate own wanna taqueria. This place main focus is the food and food only. Sells just enough to get you in/​out quickly. I came because of a place having long wait time and left satisfied. Totally worth coming for, anything else forget it. Can’t remember the last time, I order fish taco that came with fresh avacado instead of guacamole. That itself is worth coming for. Area can be sketchy however, should be alright during day time. I won’t encourage coming after dark especially single ladies.

#224. One word: impressive. For a burrito shop that’s not in the Mission, this place is amazing.
I got the super burrito with pollo asado. It was SO FAT. Took me two meals to get through it. I love love love the fact that they add avocado, not guacamole. +1 for keeping it real.
I also like their setup of the sides– the chips are already in bags/​trays and the salsas are already prepared in small containers. It’s more sanitary and convenient for customers.
Yes, $ 9 for a burrito is pricey, but they justify it well. I don’t mind supporting this local business because they know what they’re doing.

Extremely delicious. We thought this place closed at 5pm and we almost skipped it but we were glad to find out they close at 9:30 pm.
I got the California burrito with half pastor and asada. Delicious… especially the salsa selection.
My husband had the wet burrito half chicken and half asada… Both our meals were hot and very fresh.
The employees are nice… so thank you for the awesome food.
We walked out spending $ 20 on both meals with one drink (not bad).
If it wasn’t because the horchata was watered down I would have given it 5 stars.

Last night I had the worst burrito of my life here. I really should have trusted my gut and run far away from this place the moment I arrived. I arrived at 7pm, but it was dark and sketchy outside and there was not a single customer inside. I refused to believe the place could be bad based on the other Unilocal reviews. Bad idea.
I ordered a super burrito to go. It had carnitas, avocado, black beans, no sour cream upon my request. Based on the other reviews of this place, I was expecting pure bliss as I took my first bite, but was sorely surprised by how dry it was. What was it missing? Cheese! Why doesn’t this burrito have any cheese??? I was tempted to go buy cheese to add to this terrible mistake of a dinner.
Not only was it missing cheese, it was also missing any sort of moisture at all. The carnitas were the saltiest, driest pieces of meat I have ever had in my life. My friend who got the wet burrito with carne asada was also disappointed. His also had no cheese and his steak was tough and dry.
Luckily, I found some hot sauce back home and drenched the burrito in it to make it at least edible. For $ 10, the burrito was not a good value at all. It was not that large or tasty. I’ll never come back again.

Absolutely love their prawn burrito. Twelve monster prawns nestled in a hot bed of rice, beans of your choosing, salsa, sour cream, and avocado slices (which is way better than guac on a burrito). I mean, really, what’s not to love?
Also, they make an amazing salsa verde that has a delicious kick to it. Pair it with chips or your burrito and you are in for an awesome taste sensation!

Really fantastic burritos the size of your head! My neighborhood (Hayes Valley) doesn’t have a lot of options for simple Mexican food, so being able to walk to this place is a godsend. Too bad about the neighborhood but it is what it is. Don’t be like me and ride your bike over here or else it will be stolen in 30 seconds as mine was.
But back to the point. Great burritos!

Health score 100 out of 100! Boo yeah! This place just keeps getting better. So affordable. So good. So quick. So filling.