The Little Chihuahua Mexican Restaurant: Reviews | restaurant info + video | full episode video

Karen Halstead
Name: Karen
Occupation: Media Marketing Professional
Location: San Francisco
Favorite Restaurant: The Little Chihuahua Mexican Restaurant
Reviewed The Little Chihuahua Mexican Restaurant: Wednesday, December 11, 2013

If you’re looking for a great Mexican place that’s a few notches above a corner taqueria but that still gives you change for a $20 bill, The Little Chihuahua is the place for you. This is a “pay before you eat” kind of place, which makes it an easy choice for a casual dinner.

The chips are so crunchy and good! They’re warm, have just the right amount of salt, and are the perfect size to scoop one of the salsas available at the salsa bar (my favorite is the tomatillo). They have a wide variety of Mexican beers on tap and in bottles. But my favorite drink is the Agave Margarita, made with agave wine and a perfect (big) start to a delicious meal. My kids love the Strawberry Agua Fresca, so we all win.

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For dinner, I always make a point of ordering the Salmon Taco- it’s a big piece of grilled salmon with a delicious green salsa and crema topping. The Pozole is a huge bowl of hearty hominy, big enough for two people to split easily. They offer Guacamole Enchiladas on the menu, which you can try with either green or red sauce, or both. And if you’re a burrito person, I’d highly recommend the Fried Plantain and Black Bean Burrito. It’s sweet and savory – a taste combination you typically don’t see in burrito form. The Chicken Tortilla Soup is also a great choice- it has huge chunks of chicken, avocado, cheese, corn, and more. It seems like an endless bowl once you dig into it! And almost every dish comes with a small side of their slaw- light, healthy, and crunchy!

Don’t leave without trying the ice cream- it’s from Humphry Slocombe, so you know it’s good. I’ve tried both flavors, the Mexican chocolate and the tequila. Mmmm!

Shahnam Davani
Name: Shahnam
Occupation: Corporate Sales Manager
Location: San Francisco
Favorite Restaurant: Maykadeh Restaurant
Reviewed The Little Chihuahua Mexican Restaurant: Friday, December 6, 2013

We visited this restaurant on a Friday night and it wasn’t crowded; 5-6 tables with steady to-go orders. The décor, clientele, and overall ambience are geared toward the trendy crowd. I noticed the outside patio was handicapped equipped. Nicely done!

We ordered our food at the walk-up counter and self-served our silverware and napkins. Fantastic salsa bar! Many varieties and kept clean. A testament to its upscale clientele or is it continuously kept clean by the staff? Most self-serve salsa bars can become messy.

As for the food, we ordered a small Steak Burrito and Enchiladas with green sauce as well as red sauce. The quality of the ingredients is good and one can tell it’s fresh. But our enchiladas were served lukewarm and not hot enough. Perhaps they don’t microwave like many taquerias do (hot plate). Side Cabbage Salad was excellent, as was the Black Beans! Your food is served not on paper plates (like most taquerias) and since you bus your own table, it becomes a bit messy by the recycle bins they have created.

If you’re looking for an authentic taqueria, you’ll be disappointed here. As there are multiple Pancho Villa pictures on the wall, the background music was Cheap Trick, “I Want You To Want Me!”

Overall, this is a neighborhood place and not a destination one. It’s good, but not great.

Jody Brettkelly
Name: Jody
Occupation: Lifestyle Blogger/Journalist
Location: Oakland
Favorite Restaurant: Picán
Reviewed The Little Chihuahua Mexican Restaurant: Friday, December 6, 2013

I ended up having to go to Little Chihuahua by myself (Nora No-Friends), but still had a really pleasant experience. The restaurant is in a cluster of stores in a residential area of Noe Valley. The food had heartiness about it but with an eclectic combination of flavors that zinged your tongue. Mexican food is never my go-to, but really enjoyed this place.

The restaurant is small from the front but has four seating areas. The blue walls, big chalkboard specials, and a completely open kitchen give it a nice buzz. You order at the till, gather condiments and spices from a nearby bar tucked to the left and bus your own table.

The Pozole Rojo is a pork stew with purple corn, garlic, guajilo chilies and onions and is topped with cabbage salad, cilantro, onions and radishes. The pork was tender and the tastes of the rich meat and sweetness of the corn with the crunch of the radishes and cabbage was in a word: sublime. You could sop up the broth with a soft nutty-tasting corn tortilla.

The Plantain Burrito was brilliant - the candied, caramelized taste plantain was a great foil to the roasted red peppers and the smoky chile salsa, pico de gallo and fresh cilantro. I can see why people have found this one burrito really addictive. The Jarritos orange fizzy drink in a glass bottle made me really feel I was back in Sayulita, Mexico even though it was a freezing day in San Francisco.

Because this restaurant is so casual, I doubt you would find yourself lingering long. But it's a great stop-off neighborhood place with a bright take on Mexican food.

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