I gave Caramba a try to day and it was pretty good. The line moves very fast, so you need to know what you want when you get up to the counter. I had the steak burrito w/ out beans and a can of diet coke for $6.50, not bad! My only complaint is they had REALLY loud music playing. I know, I sound like an old lady, but it was loud! One guy even got up and moved away from the speakers. UPDATE 1/29/2007 Went back today for lunch and the music level was much better! Also happened to see a yelp crew of four walk in. Can't wait to see their review! read more

I can't believe I haven't written a review about Caramba earlier. This is THE best Mexican restaurant in the FiDi that I have found. The name is cornball and I initially had no faith this place would be good but I've fallen in love. Skip the chain restaurants and walk another block over to some better Mexican food. The food here is fresh, authentic and beyond satisfactory every time! They make the food right in front of you so if you are picky or have food allergies make sure to watch them and be very clear. This is an authentic spot so many of the workers have thick accents and a coworker of mine with food allergies had a bad experience due to a language barrier. Many of my Yelp peeps know how much I love their chile verde burrito (CVB). It is like no other from anywhere I have ever had. And for the record the sauce is actually green (I know that sounds like a no brainer but trust me, it's not always green at other places). My coworker loves and orders the chicken mole burrito. Personally, I have not tried it but he swears it's bomb. They serve breakfast and lunch but I'm not sure about dinner. They now use Order Ahead to take individual on-line orders (ALWAYS a fan of that service). I just recently tried their breakfast burritos and they are to DIE for! However, they are pretty small and it will leave you craving more (sad face). They also have a healthy variety in their salsa bar: a couple hot, a couple mild and a green salsa. I believe they have chopped, pickled carrots and jalapenos too. The cons about this place besides a potential language barrier is sometimes they don't honor their check-in deals such as Yelp app (ahem) or other programs unless you have a physical paper print out (how you print out a mobile check-in offer is beyond me). Perhaps they lack internal communication of how to accept such deals but don't count on that free agua fresca or soda with check-in. Besides the cons, the food speaks for itself. Also, you might want to add a nice cold brew with your lunch. They have a pretty good selection of Mexican beer such as Modelo, Pacifico, and Dos Equis. read more

Quick speedy service and average prices (~$10 for a burrito.) convenient location in soma but inconveniently placed menu. Call me old fashioned, but I think tortilla chips should never cost extra. It'll do if you need a quick lunch. I had the regular chicken burrito and it wasn't too dry or soggy, and definitely was heavy on onions. Good, but it's not even close competition to being the best burrito in the city. read more

BEST CHILE VERDE ANYWHERE!!! Their Chile Verde is like Steph Curry! MVP caliber! Full disclosure: I get food from here once a week. Our office gets food catered from here approx. once a quarter. We affectionately call this place "Grandma's" because the food has such a home cooked feel to it, it's like eating at your Grandma's house. The staff is super nice. Grandma, herself, is awesome! Lety is super efficient. Chuy cooks up the best Chile Verde north of Mexico. I've been meaning to write a review for a long time, but just never quite executed. Tonight, however, is Cinco de Mayo and we were too far from Grandma's, so we settled for Gordo's instead. I ordered Chile Verde....it was awful. So, Gordo's reminded me that this is another place that doesn't stand up to Grandma's. I've been to several Taquerias in the Mission too and they don't stand up to Grandma's. So, NOW I have to share with the world about how AWESOME Grandma's Chile Verde is. Hands down! No competition whatsoever. Give Grandma's (Caramba) a try...order the Chile Verde! (in burrito form or as a plato/plate) One more note, I often gauge a restaurant by its clientele. Often times, you will see Hispanic construction workers having lunch at this place. To me, that speaks volume about how authentic this place is. If Caramba was in the Mission, everybody would be talking how great this place is. Don't let the location fool you! Grandma's is as authentic as they come! read more

Came here on my lunch break today and I wish I spent my money elsewhere . The two steak tacos I ordered were sooooooo bland and flavorless. The Salt, salsa and pico de Gallo I used couldn't even save it. Two stars only for the friendly service. That's about it read more

I ordered a breakfast burrito and it was delicious! Overall the service and community was overall amazing! You should totally check this place out. read more

There's only one reason to go to Caramba: can you say "breakfast burrito?" I tried a regular burrito here once, and it wasn't particularly good. But the breakfast burritos are something else entirely. Get the "Caramba" with bacon, which nets you egg, bacon, bell peppers, onion, and hot sauce in a perfectly sized morning gut bomb. It's somehow otherworldly. and only costs a couple of bucks. Delicious, though probably not all that nutritious. read more

I was severely hungover walking to work this morning, so I decided on a breakfast burrito to cure my morning. After walking about 1 block from BART, I stumbled into Caramba. The menu is quite confusing. There's lots of regular breakfast choices, and then it just has a breakfast burrito "extras" section. Even in my cloudy hungover state of mind, I'm fairly sure that there's nothing stating what comes in the burrito to start with. So I proceeded to just order my ideal breakfast burrito and ignored the menu altogether. Service was fairly slow. I ordered take out thinking it was going to be just some eggs, potatoes, and cheese in a tortilla. From ordering to leaving was a good 10 minutes. I would not recommend coming here if you are in any sort of rush. $5 minimum on credit cards, which is reasonable. I just added a water bottle to my order to bring it up to min. The overall quality of the breakfast burrito was great and helped me jump start my day. read more

This place looked sketchy the moment I walked in. So I saw a sign outside showing, FREE coffee, water, or tea with purchase of breakfeast burrito $3.75+. I go inside, ordered a bacon and cheese, with cheese (add another 70 cents) total cost of a breakfeast burrito $3.80. So I asked, "Does this come with tea?". The lady's reply "No. That is only on Wednesday and Friday". I replied back but the sign says breakfast menu and it does not have specifc dates listed. Then she said, "Oh that is for lunch only". I was thinking why would you have a breakfeast menu for lunch? Then she asked another co-worker and they said something in Spanish and laughed it off. The breakfeast burrito tasted nasty anyways. YUCK! read more

I got two tacos here. One Al Pastor and one Carne Asada, I left feeling aSADa. Word play aside, the meat was lacking in flavor and wasn't very tender. That doesn't make a good taco, since there aren't many other ingredients. The salsa was good. I think I'd go for a quesadilla or something else next time, though my coworker didn't finish her quesadilla either so it doesn't seem that appealing. No bueno. read more

This restaurant illegally charges the customer a $.40 transaction fee for using a credit card. This is against California Penal Code and also against credit card vendor policies. Why should the customer pay for you to do business? The nickel and diming here is out of control. A bag of stale tortillla chips will coat you $1. Guacamole is extra, but check your burrito if you order it. I ordered it, paid for it, and found a small fleck of avocado in the entire burrito. I'm done with this place, their poor business practices and their mediocre food. Go to Tropisueno at Yerba Buena lane. Much better food and prices. read more

Damn, There is just no excuse for a bland burritto with crunchy, tasteless meat. I mean if I had a burritto like this in Iowa or something, I would say "no shock there," but no excuse for this in SF. I would take Chipotle over this any day! Very disappointing rubbish read more

Absolutely terrible. If I could rate 0 stars, this Caramba deserves it. Ordered a combination fajita plate to get a feel of the restaurant's tastes... which were completely absent. The carne asada, chicken, and shrimp were ALL overcooked. Inedible. If you don't mind burnt meat, you may enjoy this place. The beans tasted smokey (smoked beans?), the rice was tasteless as was the meat. Service is non-existent, and if you buy guacamole dip, be prepared to pay extra for chips to dip in it. Speaking of which the guacamole is definately not homemade. Save your money, I walked away hungry. read more

I met my bff at Henry's today for lunch and they were closed. We opted for the next restaurant closest by...which was Caramba. I got the Banderilla-chicken skewers, which came with rice and salad, Jen got the veggie quesadilla, and we split the menudo...that's right..tripe soup for lunch. The menudo was actually pretty good..but the chicken skewers was not good at all. It was too charcoaled on the outside and tasteless inside :( I think next time I will stick with something safer..a burrito or taco. read more

Back in the day, both Caramba here and Rico Mex on Stevenson used to be called 'Si Senor.' While the names have changed, I think it's still the same owners... Well, at least I recognized the cashier at Caramba. I got the 3 taquitos especial to go, which basically means that some dude heads out back and throws a couple of frozen taquitos into the deep-fryer... Some couple of minutes later, he comes back and they ask you what kind of beans you want... I highly recommend the refried beans, a great choice for plenty of afternoon flatulence. Of course, it being the especial, they'll ask you if you want guacomole and sour cream. "Yes, plenty of both," should be your reply. Might I suggest that you also ask for spicy salsa spread over the whole thing? So they hand me this to-go box, I pay my $8 (includes a soda), and I head back to my office to eat in front of my computer. What'd I think? Baaahhh... While it was certainly not bad, it wasn't good either... I think Rico Mex is at least as good as this place, and they're closer to my work. Don't expect to see me at Caramba much... That said, it's solid Mexican food... assuming of course you're never spent a long amount of time in Southern California or, better yet, Mexico... in which case you'll think this food sucks donkey balls. Of course, if you're a European who's spent all his life in Stockholm and just moved to SF 2 or 3 years ago, you'll probably think this stuff is the best Mexican food you've ever tasted.... and you'd probably be right. read more

If you work around the area, you probably work at some tech company. Which means you're probably in your early-mid 20s and you're out drinking on weekdays. Here's where you get that breakfast burrito to cure your hangover. Bring it back and eat it at your desk with your sunglasses on like a champ. Don't forget the red/green salsas. read more

I'm best friends with the super burrito. Get it with spicy chicken, spicy salsa and everything else. Yummy. Also, free horchata on Fridays! read more

Went here to get breakfast for a vegetarian friend. Burritos came out fairly quickly and looked decent - until my friend took a bite of hers and discovered a bunch of ham. I went back and explained what happened (ham in a veggie burrito). The cashier looked in the bag, saw the ham, and said I must have ordered a ham burrito. I explained that I hadn't, and that the foil had "veggie" marked on the side. Then the cook came over, dumped the bag out on the counter, and started yelling that it was veggie, despite the pieces of ham clearly visable. They then agree to make a new burrito, and proceed to give me the smallest burrito I've ever seen (about the size of an Altoid tin) and told me to get out. Rude, terrible customer service like this ensures that I will never be coming back. I'd rather walk to 1st Street and go to El Faro - they have better food anyway. read more

I came here from a recommendation from a friend who also works nearby. I got breakfast burritos for myself and a coworker. You do have to add rice, beans, cheese or potatoes as extra but the original eggs and meat burrito is only $3.50. You also have to ask for salsa cups at the register because I guess people have taken water cup size salsa in the past. I took my first bite of the burrito and my stomach seriously swooned! I couldn't have been happier! My coworker did the exact same thing on his first bite as well. The salsa was good but not very spicy. I will definitely be back for more breakfast burritos and to try their lunch! read more

Food was excellent. Taste like my grandma was cooking in the back. Their salsas are authentic. Had the chilaquiles with the black beans. The black beans AMAZING, can't go wrong with anything on the menu read more

Bad service at this place. Lady came out of the bathroom or closet (not really sure as I didn't look in there) but she had her bare hands touching the door handle. She took my order and proceeded to make my super burrito. I was kinda shocked because she literally didn't wash her hands and put on gloves. I asked her if she could start my burrito over and place on some gloves. She acted like she didn't understand what I was saying and gave me a bad attitude. So I just walked out while she was making my burrito. How are you going to get an attitude with me for telling you to put on some gloves? read more

This place is convenient, fast, and filling. It's also sort of bland (referring to the super burrito with al pastor, black beans, rice, cheese, guac, sour cream, and salsa on a whole wheat tortilla, $7.34). Then again, coming from San Diego, I have extremely high standards for Mexican food. Will probably come again for the California burrito (burrito with fries), but if the fries are crispy, then they'll probably miss me. read more

Here's how the San Francisco taqueria review process works: 1. White kids from Arcata move here to go to art school and sell weed having grown up on a steady diet of Chevy's and Hey Juan's. 2. They get some shitty dive apartment in the Mission where they can play their god-awful screamo music as loud as they want and their stoner roommate takes them to some random restaurant within walking distance. 3. The monster bong rips that made them hilarious and creative observational humorists also make them think that the food they encounter is the best thing on earth (and that Chrome bags are things they need to ask their parents to purchase for them). 4. They get jobs at GitHub or AirBnB and go post negative reviews of every other Mexican restaurant in town, claiming that they're not "authentic." There's nothing particularly amazing about Caramba, but it's about as good as most of the other places all these one-star-givers rant and rave about, and it's as cheap as it gets in this neighborhood. Yeah, I've gotten a couple clumps of dried-out rice, and the horchata is grainy as hell, but the same can be said of 90% of the "authentic" places. I like it and I'm going back. read more

It's my boss' favorite near-work restaurant, so I don't have much of a choice about this one. It's your run-of-the-mill, average burrito shop, one of very few in SOMA. But, despite my occasional transgressions, this place does not deserve to be patronized. Si Senor is the restaurant that paid illegal immigrants less than minimum wage, then retaliated against them when they tried to claim restitution (here's the Chron article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/11/MNGR8IPK9E1.DTL ) . The liberal guilt factor is not worth their mediocre (and occasionally soggy) burritos. read more

OK Mexican in the FiDi. It is difficult to find authentic taqueria food in the FiDi, so Caramba is a Mecca for burrito and taco lovers. The portions are huge, the prices reasonable. The super burrito was really super-sized. Do not order it, if you are on a diet. (Note: This is a down-scale place, so no whole wheat, spinach, or tomato tortillas; it's flour, plain and simple.). If you like spicy, order the spicy chicken with spicy salsa; it'll blow your socks off. The nacho fries are to-die-for: nachos and fries all in one. Duh! Someone should have thought of this sooner. With enough cheese to shame Wisconsin, the quesadillas are awesome. Gooey, sticky, and stringy. Yum. This is not a frou-frou Mexican place, must copious portions of generally tasty Mexican food. There are better tacos and burritos in The City, but considering the (lack of) selection/competition in the FiDi, Caramba rocks. read more

Ok, so, I'm not getting all the positive reviews for the Breakfast Burritos. I ordered a simple Chorizo & Egg Burrito with potatoes and cheese. Service was very scattered, they couldn't figure out whose order to take, but my burrito was made pretty quickly, though the joint was empty at 9 a.m. On to the burrito....my first impression.... "Man that sucker's tiny!" Like itty bitty. I know it's breakfast, and I know it's the financial district, but I could have gotten a bigger burrito at McDonalds. And it came to over $4 dollars. The chorizo wasn't too plentiful and cooked directly into the eggs. I counted about 4 small chunks of potato, which I paid an extra $.80 for. A decent sprinkling of cheese, albeit flavorless cheese, but it was there and only $.06 extra. Couldn't find the salsa in there, thankfully I brought some back with me from their salsa bar. All in all...below average and disappointing. Toall the reviewers that raved about the breakfast burritos: Seriously guys, get out to the Mission once in awhile. read more

Why can't anyone in the Fidi/SOMA area make a decent burrito?! Went here today for lunch hoping to find something better than Chipotle or Il Faro. I hate to say this, but Chipotle is better. The veggie burrito w/guac that I ordered was bland and just icky. There's some kind of weird black-magic synergy between the rice, beans, etc that makes a burrito good. This place doesn't have that. Furthermore, their ordering system (or lack thereof) is annoying. The people taking orders mixed mine up with the guy standing next to me and spent the next several moments trying to figure out who got the plain tortilla (me) and who got the sun-dried tomato tortilla (him). One star for having an okay salsa bar, and one star for being close to work. read more

This review is only for the breakfast burritos. I work within a few feet of Caramba and I used to stop by in the morning because they have cheap and good breakfast burritos. They are small and if you get just the ham and egg, they're pretty healthy. I used to love them. What changed? The OIL. They started using so much oil that when you unwrap the foil it actually drips out all over your hands and desk. I've asked them the last two times to not use oil (or at least use a very small amount) and still, absolutely dripping. I've given up. I may still go in for the veggie tacos on lunch, since they don't drown those in oil. But no more breakfast burritos for me. Bummer. read more

I may go back, but I was not impressed. The carne asada platter is not great. The meat was just okay and not even cut up. So the to-go box and the plastic fork and knife were not ideal for cutting the beer. The rice was dry and too orange (seemed like coloring?) and the beans were watery and un-flavorful. They skimped on the guacamole and the lettuce was watery and shredded. In all I'd say the meal was just okay and tolerable, but nothing tasty. Service: Though they line you up and take orders quickly in an assembly line, they somehow forgot to make my order when I got to the cash register. I had to wait on the side while I then gave instructions again on what I wanted. Go to Chipotle down the street. read more

After much thought, careful consideration, many hollow promises and many failed attempts, I have finally found a "go to taqueria" in downtown SF. I have worked in Financial District for several years and I have been consistently underwhelmed with every burrito place I have gone. Finally I have found my spot. Caramba is a no-nonsense taqueria style Mexican joint. You're not going to find tre-sheik burrito/taco concoctions, but if you want a solid burrito, give them a go. They are very efficient, even with long lines you won't be waiting for more than 5 minutes max. Also, they are open for breakfast and they have the best breakfast burritos I have ever had! There's another taco place across the street and Caramba blows them out of the water. Doesn't look like much from the outside, but don't let the innocuous black banner fool you. If you're a burrito/taqueria lover, it's the best in all of Financial District/SOMA IMO. read more

I'm from Southern California and I know my Mexican food. This ain't it. I really wish it was because it's close by to where I am all day and the Chipotle down the street is the stingiest, crappiest Chipotle in existence so I would love a reasonable alternative. It's not terrible or anything, but it's definitely not very good either. Everything I've had is bland and unexceptional. Anyone who tells you it's amazing is probably from the midwest. read more

I can't believe I've worked in SOMA for all these years without me ever stepping foot into Caramba. Well, popped my cherry today, thanks to Yelp! Caramba quesadilla (spinach, mushroom and cheese) on spinach tortilla. Side of sour cream (I'm bad, I know...). Side of salsa. So tasty. So filling. Food coma, now. Total damage: $5.37 read more

Their breakfast burrito is perfect. Egg, bacon, salsa, under $3. Not huge, but delicious, and the perfect size for a quick grab-n-go breakfast. I absolutely love it. Lunch looked of the boring "steam tray" variety, so that's why no 5 stars. read more

Pretty mediocre California burrito. Fries were sub-par and had the taste of freezer burn. Won't be going back for that.

Love this place! Just wish they were open during nights and weekends since I live a block away! Very friendly staff. read more

Yum. They open at 7a and some days, I just needed that kick in the pants. I'm no longer in the neighborhood for work, but there was many a morning when nothing but a bacon + egg burrito with hot sauce would do me right. Even at 7a there would be people in line. The woman who takes your (breakfast) order is the same who cooks the eggs on a tiny hot plate behind the register. Bonus - you can watch them making the guac for the day while you wait for your breakfast burrito. In all honesty, the tortilla is a bit gummy, but I scarf it down nonetheless and am ready for the day. The two women who work mornings - always the same - are always pleasant and end it with a "have a good day!" All this for like three bucks. read more

Average Mexican joint. The chicken burrito was good. Chips do not come with the burritos. They do have a salsa bar though. Ehhh. I wouldn't go out of my way to go here again. read more

Picked up a Carne Asada Supper Burrito for a quick lunch, and it was better than I expected. I don't know if it will become a usual lunch spot, but I'm sure I'll be back. The place was a little dirty, but there was someone actively cleaning like a lunch rush just ended. Not a bud lunch spot for sub $10. Going to try a breakfast burrito next time. read more

I love this place, burritos are great (dispite the rare occasional mis-wrap or the tear from the lady banging the rice spoon on the tortilla to get the rice off the spoon but can you be mad at her for giving you all the food you can get?), line is usually long until about 2pm but moves every fast! It's only open for a couple of hours on weekdays but it's quick, convenient, reasonably priced, really good AND the very attractive, friendly woman at the register keeps me coming back daily (literally). I wish they were open later and on weekends. read more

No bull indeed. I was going to give four stars even before discovering the awesome bull logo on their website. Always. Fresh. No Bull. That's a bold promise to live up too. And they did. Shrimp burrito is one of the best downtown. Packed with both shrimp and grilled peppers. Lettuce at no charge instead of rice. Plenty of black beans. Wheat tortilla. Less than seven bucks. I made a mess eating while walking back the office. The plan was just one bite. Could stop until it was all gone. That's no bull. read more