Came here for Father's Day at my dad's request. Heads-up that there is a $10 holiday surcharge on…read moresome days. The meat options were great--there was beef, pork, chicken, and pineapple options. Nothing was overly salty, and they were happy to take requests. If you liked something and haven't seen it come around again, don't be shy about asking a waiter. My dad wanted the beef ribs with the bone, and our waiter had no problem bringing one out. Only the cheese bread is brought to the table now. The plantains and fried polenta are at the salad bar, which was okay and had a decent variety of options. All of the waiters were amazing, and my water glass was never empty. I was foolish and forgot to ask for chimichurri sauce, so definitely don't make that mistake. Save room for dessert--the peanut butter thing is amazing. Silly name, but it's really great.

Overall, Espetus was just okay for me. They offer a great variety of meats, including picanha,…read morewhich I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately, I found most of the meats to be quite bland and lacking flavor. The beef ribs, on the other hand, were the complete opposite--they were way too salty. It felt like there wasn't much middle ground. I even tried adding hot sauce, hoping it would give the meat the kick I was looking for, but it still didn't do much for me. The surprise highlight of the meal was the chicken wings. They were incredibly tender and flavorful inside and out. I also really enjoyed the grilled pineapple--it was perfectly sweet and delicious. The salad bar was decent with a good selection, but nothing particularly memorable. One thing that really stood out, though, was the staff. They were amazing--friendly, attentive, and constantly checking in to make sure we had everything we needed. Their excellent service definitely made the experience more enjoyable. Overall, the experience didn't quite live up to my expectations, especially considering all the praise the restaurant gets. While I loved the chicken wings, grilled pineapple, and outstanding service, I wish the signature meats had more balanced seasoning and flavor. Given the price, I expected the quality and taste of the food to match the cost. For a premium dining experience, the food should leave you feeling completely satisfied, and unfortunately, it fell short of that for me.

Limón is one of my favorites, and I've been to a couple of their other locations over the years…read more The Burlingame location is right on the main street, with plenty of seating both inside and outside. The staff are always friendly and attentive. We ordered a variety of dishes to share, with the half chicken as our main course. It comes with two sides, and this time we went with double salad, but the fries and plantains are also great options. The ceviche had wonderful flavor with fresh toppings and delicious house-made plantain chips. The green beans were cooked perfectly, still crisp and topped with garlic and ginger that added great flavor. I've tried all of the empanadas, but this time I went with the veggie truffle mushroom, and it was delicious. The dipping sauce that comes with both the empanadas and the chicken is so yummy! My absolute favorite dish is the truffle mac and cheese. It's rich, creamy, and incredibly flavorful without feeling too heavy. The truffle is perfectly balanced and makes it one of the best! Limón continues to be one of my go-to spots because the food is consistently fresh and flavorful!

I generally like Limon but we ordered takeout last night (6/4 evening) and I was extremely…read moredisappointed by how dry the thigh meat was in my Saltado de Pollo. Either that or they inexplicably used breast meat (and still dried it out). Check out the photo, the meat looks mummified. For a $28 (not including tax or tip) dish, what is that? Another issue, the Arroz con Mariscos (rice with shrimp) came with no rice. I am actually pretty blown away by how badly this takeout meal got botched. I almost never leave negative reviews but this was probably one of the actually bad meals I've received from a restaurant. I'm mad, chef.

24k burrito was gas... It def wasn't a typical burrito! rice was replaced w tater tots but so yum…read more Loved the garlic prawn! Quesabirria was yummy! loved all the fillings. Not the absolute best one l've had but still good taquitos were delicious!!! Chicken inside was so tender Guac was yummy! Wish it was a bit chunkier but that's just personal preference. The chips were rly good. Horchata was def my fav drink! Sooo good and I feel like alot of places make it so grainy Service was fantastic and great open space.

Summary: Flavorful, but HEAVY…read more Details: They just opened up a new branch in SF, but we wanted an excuse to hit up San Mateo, and Latin American is always a good enough excuse. While photos of their SF location suggest some seeing, this OG location is pretty much pickup/delivery only: a fairly literal hole in the wall, located along a random quiet street. Most folks would probably opt to take home or eat at one of the "nearby" parks, but we've gotten in the habit of just eating in the car, which... not so great for something as messy as birria lol. I'll say that for most folks, this would probably easily be more a 4 star spot, while for us, it's more a 2 star since we're unlikely to come back. That's not to say the food was bad: on the contrary, the flavors were quite good, and the consomme was less salty than some of the others we've tried. But their food is HEAVY. Not just the birria itself, but also the burrito we got, and heavier than other places we've been for some reason, with the birria sitting in a pool of oil soon after we picked it up. This probably isn't a deterrent for most people though, so take this as you will. Accessibility: Not too relevant since this is really just a pickup spot, with the pickup window being at the usual height you'd find elsewhere.

While I'm not a pupusa snob, I do know what's good and what isn't growing up in the mission (SF)…read moremost of my life and visiting El Salvador every other year I've learned to detect my ideal taste and this spot does not disappoint! Ordered 2 pupusas (Revueltas) with the curtido and the salsa. These were really tasty and would come back in the near future. Place across the street is also known for their pupusas but have not been great the last couple visits of mine. Which led me to today's new adventure. Highly recommend! One of the few places you can get 2 pupusas and a drink for around $10. As fas as dining in, the vibe is definitely El Salvador.

Straight forward, real deal pupusas. Off the downtown, but it will transport you to El Salvador.read more

This was one of the first restaurants my family and I started coming to when we first moved to San…read moreMateo, CA. If you're Honduran, Salvadoran, or Mexican, you know about La Piñata! The best pupusas in San Mateo County IMO. We typically take it to go because the restaurant is always so jammed packed with customers. I highly recommend this place if you're looking for the real deal Salvadoran food!

This place was yummy! I needed some soup since I haven't been feeling well and this helped me feel…read morebetter. I ordered the sopa de pollo. It had a piece of leg and thigh and it was so tender. It fell off the bone! The broth was comforting and it came with carrots, celery and potato. The rice alongside was so delicious though the portion was tiny! They made up for it with the thick tortillas. Overall the dish was amazing and great comfort food. I ordered this to go.

We came here to celebrate an early Mother's Day brunch, and it was such a fantastic experience! The…read moremimosas were amazing, with a great selection of juices and the food was absolutely outstanding. Khin was our server she mentioned she was fairly new, but you wouldn't have known it. She was incredibly sweet, attentive, and took great care of our entire party. Thank you, Khin! We had a large group, and I really appreciated that they accommodated us inside since it was a bit chilly that day. They seated us in the front area, which we loved. Everything we ordered from the appetizers, to the main dishes was packed with flavor. Nothing missed the mark. Truly one of the best brunch experiences in town! I had the chilaquiles along with a champagne drink that came with different juice options and fresh fruit such an adorable and fun presentation. My family couldn't stop raving about how delicious everything was, including the dessert. We'll definitely be back for future family gatherings and next time, we're excited to try the outdoor patio seating!

We walked by this place on our way to another restaurant that ended up having a 55-minute wait so…read morewe ended up coming back. We arrived at about 1:00-1:30 and the inside main dining area was already closed to patrons as staff prepared for the evening service. The host's tone did not encourage potential customers to dine there during the transition to dinner prep. Not a great first impression that gave off a late arrival so you'll get what's leftover vibe which was exacerbated by being forgotten for what seemed to be a half hour before our waitperson came to take our order. We chose to sit in the front sidewalk patio which was cold and windy not an alternate choice we will need to make again. We ended up sitting across from two loud, self-centered, immature, foul-mouthed college grad girls bragging about studying for their masters attempting to appear cultured were distracting everyone on that patio. After we placed our order, we finished up the app and hubbs was furious they forgot about his glass of pinot which arrived without an apology for the delay preceding our plate arrivals. I had the ny strip steak on the breakfast menu which came out perfectly med-well & added cilantro rice which was good although a little sticky not fluffy. Hubbs had the salmon which looked amazing and he enjoyed the mango sauce--the dish just didn't fill him up. Good thing we ordered fresh chips, salsa& guac.--which was very well prepared; the freshest guac I've ever had. It had fresh chopped tomatoes & green chiles all perfectly combined. Our wait person/food server made up for the less than stellar first impression of the host. And the food was flavorful. The ambiance was ruined by the diners across from us and the forgetfulness of taking our orders timely and serving the wine after the appetizer couldn't bring us back from what started out as negative experience. There are many restaurants up & down the bay that we aren't bothered. This wasn't the best reception nor dining experience and we are moving on. We hope it's a lesson and possibly could've just been a bad day for the crew, and unfortunately there is so much competition out there. We highly recommend the food for its freshness and flavor; recommend the salmon dish for its flavor and balance but not for its portion size. And wish this place nothing but the best and to improve where they dropped the ball.

My Peruvian coworker took me here as his favorite authentic local spot. It did not disappoint! We…read moreordered a variety of items to share. The ceviche was absolutely delicious, very fresh and wonderful flavor. We also got the classic lomo saltado and bisteck. Both were very well prepared and it was an overall great meal. It is low key vibes with attentive and friendly staff!

Food below par. The "Chaufa con mariscos" or "Seafood fried…read morerice", the seafood had a leathery texture, Overcooked. The rice itself no "chaufa" taste. The "Tallarines verdes con bistec" or "Spaghetti with creamy pesto and NY steak", we send the NY steak back as it was very wiry and hard to cut. Subbed with meat from their "Lomo saltado", ir was OK. The creamy pesto sauce missed the flavor profile, too garlicky. The "Papa rellena", The potato was OK, the filling overcooked.

Great tacos and ceviche! I understand why it received Michelin Guide recognition now…read more I ordered the ceviche trio, which included cóctel verde de camarón, dorado, and pescado. I also ordered the pescado taco and the cochinita taco. The food was flavorful and fresh. To end the meal, we ordered churros with some chocolate sauce, which were piping hot. I wish this place were closer to me because I want to try everything on the menu!

Service and Staff: - Came here on a Friday evening and beat…read morethe dinner rush. Staff members were nice and quick to help Food and Drinks: - Tacos: can get small tacos à la carte or via a meal. 8 kinds of tacos to choose from. We got salmon and pescado. Both were good - Enchiladas: these were quite spicy. If you don't like spice at all, definitely don't get these. I like spice, so the flavor was good. The meat was weird though - Torre de Salmon: salmon ceviche dish - was in a tower form, so a little difficult to eat. It the flavors were good - Arroz con Mariscos: flavorful with the chorizo Miscellaneous: - Parking is available via street parking - There was a line by the time we left, so definitely time it right to go before or after the dinner rush - Good for small and medium groups - not sure if there were bigger tables in the back, but I didn't see any large tables - Indoor and outdoor seating available - Big bar in the middle of the restaurant - they have good drinks