La Palma Mexicatessen

Just your neighborhood Mexican foods shop with Wonderful tortillas in several flavores made onsite. Standard menu with some standouts. Friendly service.

Best place to buy tortillas. Far better than what you find in a grocery store. They also have yummy chips, salsa, and guacamole.
If I go here for lunch, I always get a torta– so good!
Service is pretty quick, and whenever I ask someone a question, they are very helpful!

Have been a regular at la Palma for a while. It’s definitely more of a to go kind of spot although there’s a few seats outdoors. It’s basically a market with a taco shop in the back. Great taco plates.

The torta that I tried was so good!
My boyfriend got mole & he loved it!
Just the way my mom makes it
Really good& the horchata was yummy
Recommend!
Oh & really nice people too

In our tireless mission to find truly traditional tamales for our Friendsmas, made up of all So Cal natives who crave truly Mexican tamales, we tried La Palma. They were absolutely incredible, even days later and after multiple reheatings. Enjoying their tamales will definitely be a new holiday tradition for my SF family! The salsa was pretty good, too!

I was taken here by my friend who moved to this city this past year. I was in town for last minute Christmas shopping and way dying for good food. La Palma was amazing! Sure, those who prefer a modern style of place may not like La Palma, but you can’t substitute quality and heritage. Not only do they sell food, but they also sell Hispanic groceries and homemade tortillas, which by the way are used with any of the food you order that comes or is made with tortillas. I had a roasted chicken burrito super, and it was amazing! I heard the sweet corn tamales were just as great, unfortunately they were out when I went. I will be making La Palma a stop whenever I am in the City and craving real Mexican food and dining in an authentic San Francisco taqueria.

This place has legitimate Mexican food. My «must go» for tortillas, guac, and salsas. Tortillas are made fresh around the clock daily — bag is always full of steaming/​warm tortillas as I walk out with my package. Can’t beat that for fresh!

Attention, il né s’agit pas à proprement parler d’un restaurant, mais avant tout d’une épicerie qui fait aussi vente à emporter… quoiqu’il y ait aussi des tables à l’extérieur pour manger sur place (pas à l’intérieur).
Comme il se doit, l’intérieur est assez bordélique, la commande doit être passée et payée tout au fond (slalomez entre les rayons et les gens qui attendent leur tour), et la commande récupérée au comptoir à l’entrée à droite (pourquoi pas au même endroit? mystère).
Si vous avez réussi à passer tous les obstacles, vous serez récompensés par de l’excellent fast food mexicain, «comfort» à souhait. Je recommande les chicharrones ! L’authenticité du lieu va jusqu’au Coca-​Cola (en bouteille en verre) directement importé du Mexique car, non, il n’a pas le même goût qu’aux US !
En résumé, une de ces excellentes adresses latino qui font le charme de Mission en général et de l’agréable 24ième rue en particulier.

I went there expecting to taste their yummy breakfast burrito and got a big disappointment. The breakfast burrito consist of Chorizo, egg, potatoes, rice&beans…thats it… Pure perfection and of course a little avocate and crema wouldn’t hurt. But No… There was no egg and no potatoes which if not for the hunger and the chorizo I would have went back.
Can we make sure the ingredients are always the same, especially if thats you are advertising.
No hating, just a little constructive criticism.
Keep it Brown

This place is simply wonderful– delicious food and great service! I ordered the taco bar from their catering menu for an event, and they required very little notice (the morning of) for ordering. The prices were reasonable, and we got SO MUCH food! They packaged things well so nothing spilled or leaked during transport, and the staff there even helped me put all the food in the car trunk. The food was very fresh with nice authentic flavors, everyone at the event said it was some the best food they’ve had in a while,
There are plenty of food places in the Mission and I have tried many, this one is definitely on the top of my list!

Morning tortas are the best! Excellent meal for those of us hungry at 11am. They sell complete meals as well as cooked rice, fried/​grilled meat and guacamole by pounds. They have Mexican cheese too. I recall menu said that they serve tilapia on the weekends

My food experience was good. Ladies behind the counter can be a little harsh, but hell, they are fucking busy. Did you see that line?
So, long story short, I ordered my chicharrone burrito and a small package or flour tortillas for later. Tortillas were killer, btw.
Burrito was awesome. Great flavor.
The problem was my boyfriend’s burrito. It was all bone and gristle. Seriously. It was bizarre.
They sell all their sauces and tortillas so you can take them with you. Everything but the tortillas was pretty pricey, but if the place was good, I would have definitely come back to buy some.
Will never come back because of my fella’s experience, Bones in your burrito. Seriously?

I was blown away by how bad this was… and that’s the first time in over 200 reviews I’ve said that! I found this place via Unilocal and it had a ranking of 4 ½ stars. I’ve posted a pic of all the gristle and bones I pulled from my carnitas burrito this afternoon. These pieces were either cartilege you couldn’t bite through, or full blown pieces of bone (2). After all that the taste was ok though… But that’s little satisfaction.
The lay out, and ordering process, is chaotic when there’s only 5 customers. I can only imagine what it’s like during mealtime. They advertised locally sourced ingredients for their food but when I asked where the cilantro came from they had no idea? (Recent food poisonings over Cilantro from Mexico)
They sell beer, and have seating, but you can’t consume beer with your food?
What were the other people that reviewed this place thinking? I have no idea… I will never return, and I’ll make sure no one I know goes here for sure!

I can go on and on about La Palma as I do to my friends but I will literally not stop raving about this place if I go on about writing it. So point blank– La Palma is hands down THE BEST Mexican food I have ever had. Burritos– excellent; Tacos-​excellent; Sopes-​amazing; Taco Dorados– amazing; Flautas-​magical; and I have never had carnitas that was so mouth watering that I can crave it any time of the week. I am so serious about La Palma. This place is amazing. I love coming here for breakfast/​brunch on the weekends.
Oh, and BTW it’s more like a grocery store/​taqueria so there’s no seating inside but they do have outdoor seating. CHECK THIS PLACE OUT!!!

Time: 1:33pm/64°F partly sunny
Purpose: Today came by to seek out a potential client, but she wasn’t in. Decided to stay and grab a bite.
Set-​up: Small corner shop with deli/​hot food section in the heart of Mission. Inside horseshoe shape shop with everything from tortilla equipments to fresh warm chicharones. Basically a small grocery store that has it all with special emphasis on ethnic eats. No don’t assume everything is offer here. They have things that they use for themselves made in house for sale. There’s no seating inside, however outside has a few tables and a walk up stand alone high table. L P also carries equipments and ingredients for those who may want to try and DIY at home. Lunch time waits can be over 20+ mins. So you may want to make an exception by allowing yourself more time. Don’t want to be standing there grumbling and piss off. You’ve been warn!!!
Staff: Place had a good amount of workers. Balance between guys and girls each has a specific task. I just dealt with two clerk, one at ordering counter and the cashier. Speaks spanish and english, I went ahead use spanish, again everywhere I go people seems shocked. Hey, I just happen to speak 5 languages. They were friendly gets you going with little or no wait time. No pressure or recommendation to buy higher price items. This itself tells me they’re doing alright no matter what.
Cleanliness: Grade A, for a long time business, I expect some filth overtime. The filth in question does not affect the food in general. Instead, its just the way the place looks and feels as a whole. Peeling paint, dusty lotto machine, unwipe shelves all minor details.
Eats/​Drinks: Tortas de cubano $ 8.99 was a mess to eat, but was so good. Bread toasted perfectly with slight crunch on certain parts of bread. Breaded fried chicken was massive, certainly no slacking. Both cheese and avacado were generous amount. Tomatoes along with lettuce just standard version, still wet from rinsing, but at least tomatoes weren’t under ripen. It did make bread soggy and mushy not the paper foil fault or me holding on too long. I ate it immediately on the only stand alone table outside. Sidewalk tables were all taken at the time. What I think of the torta cubano? Fabulous flavorful with no skimping. As for the price? Average pricing, but we’ll worth it. Will I get it again? You bet I will and some!
Main Features: Chicharrones, tortillas, Mexican cheese, pollo paquete, taco suave, menudo, torta, gorditas, sope, flautes.
Products/​Services: Nachos, enchiladas, tacos, posole, orden, birria, pupusa, tamale, burrito, chile rellenos, chile verde, taco doracos, hurache, carne, masa, cheese, tortillas, assorted juice/​sodas/​water, bottle/​can beer, DIY tortilla equipments, ethnic grocery, lotto, money transfer. Takes plastic (no minimum).
Punch Lines: Claustrophobic interior, no seating, full staff, made on site, average wait time, friendly, pleasing flavors, no slum dog, better than your average, drool-​worthy, always buzzing, well-​prepared, can’t go wrong, best cheap eats around, truly addictive, casual and delicious, is the place to be, business/​residential, street parking.
Tradeoffs: You get same consistent food no matter if, employees are newbie or inexperience. They’re all trained the same way as the ones who have left. That’s why L P has a strong hold of this area. The offerings sells themselves.
Final Thoughts: What can I say about L P? Nothing that I don’t like or disapproved of. Back then, I would buy bags of 8oz or less tortilla chips at $ 3.59 at grocery stores. It was gone within a day or two. Fast forward now a days, I buy fresh organic blue corn tortillas and baked them off at home. The amount I pay about the same, a little over $ 3.60 as it goes by weight, but I get more than a weeks worth to snack on. That’s how I discovered L P. Definitely a place to come for their huge portions with a modest price. You come with empty stomach and leave full only with one item purchase, usually under $ 10. How often you get that in SF?

This is a straight up deli/​market with a taqueria in the back. Visiting some friends who live in the Mission, they told us that this was their go to spot for cheap, authentic, filling Mexican eats. Sign me up.
Seating is first come first serve on a few tables outside. You order inside, wait and hope a table outside will be open. I went with the suggested roast chicken burrito with spicy beans and guac. This is what dreams are made of. This is why I moved to California. The burrito was oh so smooth with a delicious homemade tortilla, tender roast chicken and creamy beans and rice. Yes! Everything about this was fresh and just so damn good. Room for improvement? Always. I wish it was a bit more spicy and that goes with the burrito overall. However, this was my first and only time visiting, so I need to revisit often to check out other menu items.
The man loved his roast chicken tacos, which in hindsight I think I’d get next time for a less heavy meal and one that focus on that roast chicken. Home made chicharonnes and other Mexican delights make this spot a must visit when on the search for authentic eats.
A few other things:
Looking for hot sauce? You have to buy the whole bottle if you want to sprinkle it on your burrito. Boo.
Looking to host your own taco party? You can buy everything by the pound. Carnitas meat to go, a lb of that guac or roast chicken, or a pint of beans. Buy it and bring it home and eat at your leisure.

Food: 5.0
Ambiance: 2.0
Food/​Price: 5.0
Pros: Insanely delicious food, offers small grocery/​market items, CHEAP, Burritos so good they will induce food rage
Cons: Ambiance is a little dirty and is quite crowded.
Had a local not recommended this place I wouldn’t have even looked twice at La Palma an unassuming corner market/​fooderie in SF’s mission district. No contest there are flashier store fronts, more minimalist, more hipster, more modern, more Mexican, but this place’s rotisserie chicken burrito is a force to be reckoned with. I’ve eaten Mexican from Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Southern California you name it, but I’ve never had Mexican this good.
So good was this burrito deep in my belly welled a singular rage and I had to resist, with bovine aplomb, the urge to dash it against the pavement and then my head to obliterate even the memory of this heavenly savor. But I possessed neither the will nor the way and pounded gluttonously this diabolical mélange of beans and meat and rice and guac, forever casting into the gustatory abyss any Mexican comestible that would henceforth grace my palate. This is warning weary traveler to never go near this place for the sake of food posterity and your eternal soul.
Also this burrito was only like $ 7 and it was massive! Easily two meals, maybe even three for the average skinny-​jeaned hipster.

Handmade tortilla!
Lengua taco in fresh corn tortilla. Yum
Lots of pork fried goodness around this place with ton of fresh tortillas to go with it. It’s a small mkt so get all the cheese fixings as well!

BEST CHICKEN BURRITO EVER STILL!
If I had one LAST meal int he world, it would probably be La Palma’s Super Chicken Burrito and Phil’z Mint Mojito Coffee. Both are crack, no joke. Put them together, and it will give you superpowers for sure!
I still remember the day I took my first bite of La Palma’s super chicken burrito. It was LOVE at first sight. The angels sang as the flavors all melted together in harmony. I was hooked!
Give it a try. They make everything fresh in-​house. Quality and taste like no other!

Torta con carne

Y’all know what a delicatessen is? It’s a term meaning «delicacies» or «fine foods, or specially prepared food. La Palma is just like that but the Mexican equivalent. It’s a Mexicatessen, so much good looking baked goods, ready-​made meats like chicharron, fresh made tortillas, and all the foodie eye candy I could handle.
While I wanted to buy half the stuff in La Palma I chose to just order a burrito.
Chicharron Super Burrito: it was decent in size. The ingredients were mixed together nicely. As every Unilocaler mentions about this place, the tortillas are nice, chewy, and fresh. A nice touch. The flavors were great. The only complaint was the burrito had a ton of orange grease. It was a little unsettling but hey, it tasted fine.
The Mexicatessan is packed with employees helping customers. Also busy making those fresh tortillas they are so famous for. Overall 4 stars worthy as a great place for Mexican ingredients, and 3 star worthy spot for a average but decent burrito.

Stepping into this Mexicatessen, I felt the homely taqueria shop that this place offered!
They offer freshly made tortillas as well as having a side mini grocery section that has stacked up pre-​packaged tortillas, compelling fresh guacamole and salsas to purchase!
I loved their Pupusas, Tamales and Tacos! They have Chicharrons and Quesadillas as well! There is dining outdoors.
I love me some La Palma Mexicatessen!

Tacos dorados– carnitas. Muy delicioso.