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Elena's, San Francisco, CA

Elena's

4.7
4.7
589 Reviews
$30 and under
Mexican

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2 people
19:00
Booked 122 times today
  • Neighbourhood gem
  • Lively
  • Good for special occasions
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. 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 11:30–22:00 Fri 11:30–23:00 Sat 10:30–23:00 Sun 10:30–22:00
  • Phone number
    (415) 622-4440
  • Website
    http://www.elenasmexican.com/
  • Dress code
    Business Casual

Featured in

Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

What 589 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
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.3Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

  • San Francisco Bay Area

    Mexican

  • San Francisco Bay Area

    Most Booked

  • San Francisco

    Most Booked

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Elena's offers a "fantastic" dining experience with "excellent food" and a "beautiful ambiance." Guests rave about the "inventive delicious drinks" and "stellar service," describing the restaurant as a "neighborhood gem" with "perfect" margaritas and "delicious" dishes. While reservations may be challenging, the "vibrant" atmosphere makes it worth the effort.

589 Reviews

  1. Juliette

    Caribbean

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    The ambience of this restaurant was very nice and it was perfect for our date night on Valentine’s Day! I would definitely recommend and will be coming back in the future.

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  2. Jazmin

    Central Coast

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We’ve been dying to try Elena’s and it did not disappoint! Food and vibes were amazing. Thank you to Flora and the rest of the staff for making our night so special!

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  3. Kathryn

    VIP

    San Francisco

    147 reviews

    4.0

    147 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Lovely ambience with attentive server. Brusk reception and good food but not out of the ordinary.

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  4. Geoffrey

    San Francisco

    27 reviews

    1.0

    27 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    We had a reservation and arrived 20 minutes early. Plenty of open tables. Hostess did not seat us and other waiting guests for 20 minutes! As we’re being seated, she tells us that they’re booked back to back, so they need our table in 1.5 hours. This established a horrible experience from the start. We then sat for another 20 minutes waiting for our waitress to take our order. Drinks arrived 15 minutes after ordering. We had to flag another waitress to serve us. Calamari was great! Chips and salsa just ok. Entrees just ok. Music too loud. Never acknowledged my wife’s birthday. So disappointed in our dining experience. We had anticipated so much more.

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  5. Julie

    VIP

    San Francisco

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Beautiful spot. Felt transported to magical Mexico….upscale, attention to details, service- impeccable. I had the chicken and steak enchiladas, the guacamole and the churros….with a special birthday sparkler. When can I go again!?

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  6. JR

    San Francisco

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Everything was great. Did notice that for a fairly new restaurant the plates were chipped and seemed worn out.

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  7. Steve

    VIP

    San Francisco

    74 reviews

    5.0

    74 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This is the second time I have beern at Elena's, the food and service is great.

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  8. chris

    VIP

    San Francisco

    13 reviews

    4.0

    13 reviews

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Fun atmosphere, excellent service, solid Mexican food

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  9. Maggie

    San Francisco

    5 reviews

    3.0

    5 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 5
    This was my second visit to Elena’s. Expectations were high as my first visit was fantastic. Food was okay to lackluster. The fish tacos were okay, not as good as my first visit and the potato taquitos tasted like cheesy mash potatoes with no discernible chili verde flavor. We ordered Chico flan and churros. Again not as good as first visit with churros a bit overcooked. I had talked these up as well. However,salsa and chips were very good. Service was definitely not up to par. We asked for water several times as initial request was either forgotten or ignored. No one was unpleasant but certainly not the attentiveness we’ve come to enjoy from this family of restaurants. Hopefully it was just an off day.

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  10. Robert

    VIP

    San Francisco

    16 reviews

    4.0

    16 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    First time there and it was busy, but the place is outstanding the music is everything’s energetic  the food was great. The service was awesome. We will be back for sure. 

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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 589 OpenTable diners.

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

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
Booked 122 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Elena's

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

Additional information

  • Area
    Forest Hill / West Portal
  • Hours of Operation
    Mon–Thu 11:30–22:00 Fri 11:30–23:00 Sat 10:30–23:00 Sun 10:30–22:00
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Mexican
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    None
  • Additional
    Wheelchair Access

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