The Castro Republic

We went during their Friday happy hour (which also happens on Thursdays) so we order the $5 nachos, fried avocado tacos, and garlic fries. Everything was very authentic and tasted amazing. Some of the best fries I've ever had. We also enjoyed some beers for $5.

TL;DR - super cute taqueria style spot in the Castro for small plates and drinks For some reason, in my head, this place was a dark and dingy bar serving pub snacks and beer. I can't tell you why I thought that, but I did. And while there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, I was pleasantly surprised to find this place was the total opposite. Ambiance - 5 stars. I came in around 6:30pm on a Tuesday with three friends and we had no trouble grabbing a spot for four. The place feels clean and modern with tall windows bringing in lots of daylight. Though nearly empty at 6:30pm, the place was full by 9pm, and while it generated a pleasant buzz it never got overly loud or packed. Service - 4 stars. Our server was incredibly friendly and initially very attentive. She let us try both the red and white sangria before we committed to a carafe of either and answered questions for us. That said, she seemed to be the only server for the place, and as they got more crowded, our service slowed. Not her fault, just something to be aware of. Food - 4 stars. Breakdown: Mole tacos - 5 stars. I have to be honest, mole isn't my thing. I would have never ordered these tacos but a friend was set on them, so we went for it. I'm glad we did! To be fair, I don't think these really tasted like mole. I found them to have almost no chocolate flavor, though they were earthy and slightly sweet. A decent amount of pickled jalapeño, some acidity from pickled onions, super tender meat, and two perfect corn tortillas. A little oily but not horribly so, and just a subtle kick. I would DEFINITELY order these again, though sadly, I'd be hesitant to order other tacos because I'd be worried they wouldn't be as good as these. Nachos - 4 stars. Nice, thick flour tortillas chips piled high with guac, sour cream, black beans, pickled jalapeños, pickled onions, cheese, and salsa. The only thing really stopping these from being 5 star nachos was the lack of layering... the toppings were all on the top layer of chips and they were sectioned, meaning you didn't get an even distribution of topping types across chips, nor an even distribution of topping across the pieces of chips. That said... YUM. With a fork and some creativity I could pick chips out from the bottom of the pile, grab a little of each ingredient to throw on top, and bam! The plate also finished with leftover "stuff" as opposed to leftover chips, which is definitely how I prefer it. I'd order these again, though I also want to demand they layer next time ;) Wings - 3 stars. I need to just stop right here and say that this is the first place I've seen absolutely NAIL the sauce execution. SF spots seem to have trouble understanding that sauce needs to stick to the wings, not puddle underneath them in a sad pool of loneliness. These were SAAAAAAWCY wings and I loved it. That said, the wings themselves left more to be desired. On the smaller side, they didn't feel very plentiful with meat, and the crust was soggy, almost tasting like an additional layer of fat as opposed to a crispy coating. Flavors on point but technical execution just ok. Overall, I enjoyed my visit here. I'd definitely come back.

A great neighborhood Americanized Mexican restaurant. Good number of interesting dishes and the food is good and the service is excellent. I like the location with a view of all the people walking by on Market Street, perfect for brunch on the weekends.

The tapas festival on Fridays is very good! The tapas as great - we tried the tacos (pork, chicken and fries avocado) and the fried plantain, they all tasted great! Staff is super friendly. Bonus for the note on the check - see photo!

Happy hour was a good deal, but they were out of tequila which was a bummer.