Papalote
Hours
Profile
$ - inexpensive
Mexican
Popular Mexican near Mission with many vegan options
Papalote goes beyond the standard Mexican vegetarian option of a veggie burrito, including tofu and soy chorizo as options for burritos and tacos. They also have vegetarian mole sauce for tofu mole, a somewhat rare find.
At Valencia, near Mission and 24th BART
Added by Matt Mackall on Dec 11 04 (updated Sep 11 08)
Reviews
conde.kedar -
Sep 10 08
I tried to go here on a Friday night in July 2008. It was 9 p.m. when I got to the door, and still an hour to closing time, but they wouldn't let me in. They actually had a busboy keeping his hand on the door to not let anyone inside.
There were a few people inside and two or three waiting in line to order at the counter. Given that they were still one hour to close, I was pretty angry to be turned away with no explanation, especially as that neighborhood isn't so inviting at night. I ended up at Herbivore about a 15-minute walk down the road.
Make sure to call ahead to see that this place will let you in.
This is simply one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco. The music is great, the people are friendly, the space is clean, and feels good the next day. I agree with the other reviewer about the tofu mole, though I'll probably have it again. I often get the veggie burritos, and the "soyrizo" substitute is a pleasant surprise.
I tried the tofu mole and it was pretty good. I'd have liked it a bit better if the tofu had been cooked a bit longer, but it was pretty tasty. The salsa that comes with the chips is pretty good too.
Definitely worth a trip if you like Mexican food since vegan-friendly Mexican is not all that common, especially where I live (Minneapolis).
Papalote is my absolute favorite Mexican restaurant in San Francisco. Their salsa is amazing and the marinated tofu and grilled veggie quesadilla is to die for. I actually wrote Papalote into my will! (seriously...well not seriously... but you get the point)
This is one of the most vegan-friendly burrito joints I have ever visited. Not only does Papalote have a marinated tofu option, but they actually have a vegan "soyrizo" burrito! Best of all, all of the beans are vegan (none of them are fried in lard, as is the case with many "authentic" Mexican places). My only complaint is that they don't have vegan sour cream or soy cheese. If they had those options, I would give them a rating of "excellent."