Best Burrito in San Francisco: La Taqueria vs El Farolito

The Mission burrito is a San Francisco invention and the argument about who makes the best one is a local sport. There are two camps. One says La Taqueria, which leaves out the rice and sears the tortilla. The other says El Farolito, which puts everything in and hands you something the size of a forearm. Both camps are right about something.

What Is a Mission Burrito, Exactly?

A large flour tortilla, steamed to make it pliable, wrapped in foil, filled with meat, beans, salsa and usually rice, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. It was born in the taquerias of the Mission District in the 1960s and is now the default American burrito. The two things that distinguish it from a burrito elsewhere are the size and the foil, which lets you eat half now and half later.

Which Is Better, La Taqueria or El Farolito?

La Taqueria at 2889 Mission Street is the critics’ pick and the only San Francisco burrito with a national award: the James Beard Foundation gave it an America’s Classics award in 2017. Its burrito has no rice. The argument is that rice is filler and leaving it out gives you more meat, more beans and a better ratio. Order it dorado, which means the wrapped burrito goes back on the plancha until the tortilla crisps. It is the better-constructed burrito.

El Farolito at 2779 Mission Street is the people’s pick. Its super burrito has rice, and it is bigger, cheaper per ounce and open until three in the morning. Plenty of people who live here prefer it, and not only at two in the morning. It is the better value.

If you only have one burrito in you, go to La Taqueria. If you are feeding teenagers, go to El Farolito.

How Do the Main Mission Taquerias Compare?

Should a Burrito Have Rice in It?

This is the whole debate in one question. Rice makes a burrito bigger and cheaper to produce; leaving it out makes it denser and more intensely flavored. National food writers almost always side with the no-rice camp, which is why La Taqueria wins the awards. A large share of people who actually live in the Mission order rice anyway. You can settle it yourself for about thirty dollars by buying one of each and sharing both.

Where Are the Best Tacos, as Opposed to Burritos?

Different answer. El Farolito’s tacos get more unanimous praise than its burrito does, so order the al pastor or the shrimp. The El Gallo Giro truck at 23rd and Treat does the best value tacos in the city at roughly three to five dollars each, but it is a weekday lunch operation, open about 10am to 5pm, so it does not work for dinner. El Tonayense runs a small fleet of trucks at rotating corners; the one at 14th and Harrison has been the reliable one lately, but check before making a trip because individual trucks come and go.

Is This a Good Meal with Children?

Very. Taquerias are fast, cheap, noisy and completely unbothered by a messy toddler, which is more than can be said for most restaurants in this city. A kid will rarely finish a whole super burrito, so order one to share, or ask for a quesadilla, which every shop on this list makes. Most of these rooms are counter-service with a handful of formica tables and no high chairs, so a stroller parked by the window is normal. If you want to eat outside, buy at La Taqueria or El Farolito and walk ten minutes to Dolores Park.

Cash or Card, and How Long Is the Line?

All of the shops above take cards now, though several were cash-only within living memory and a card reader occasionally goes down. Bring twenty dollars in cash and you will never be stuck. Lines at La Taqueria and El Farolito run out the door at peak lunch and dinner but move quickly; these are assembly lines, not restaurants. Fifteen minutes is a long wait.

One Thing to Know Before You Go

Nick’s Crispy Tacos, which people still recommend, has closed. It moved to 3200 Fillmore Street, and its registration there ended on 15 February 2024 (the closure record). And there is more than one El Farolito: its own site lists four in San Francisco and more from Oakland and San Jose to Santa Rosa. If someone tells you to go to “the original”, they mean 2779 Mission Street.

Local Legend: Who Rolled the First Mission Burrito?

What is actually true: Both are claims, and nobody has settled it. Mission Local dates La Cumbre’s first burrito to 29 September 1969 and notes El Faro’s rival date of 26 September 1961; La Cumbre opened as a meat market in 1967 and became a taqueria in 1972. The SF Chronicle tells El Faro’s story as “the legend goes”.

Prices and hours were checked in September 2026 and can change, so confirm before you go. We take no payment for inclusion.