We had to split tickets and lady at the register over charged us. When we try to correct her she denied it and didn't refund us.

We came in on a Saturday morning and a table for two didn't take long. This place is one of the places listed in the San Antonio Taco Tour so we thought to get through as many of those places as we could. The parking lot is a little small but we took an Uber here so that wasn't an issue. They had $2.39 tacos (breakfast + regular) and they also have barbacoa but only on the weekends. We only decided to try 4 tacos between the two of us so we could have room in our stomachs to complete the Taco Tour, but we didn't realize how big the tacos were! We ordered the carne asada, beef tongue, barbacoa, and chicharron. My favorites in order would be the beef tongue, barbacoa, carne asada, and then the chicharron The beef tongue was very soft and tender and I really enjoyed it. The barbacoa and carne asada were nice as well. The chicharron wasn't as crispy as we hoped (part of me thinks the waitress didn't hear me) and the juices made the taco soggy which made it pretty hard to eat. The service was good and they were pretty quick with our meal. After you finish, you just go up to the cashier and pay. Be careful though: the men's restroom doesn't actually lock when you lock the door! That's what I thought and I was washing my hands and someone opened the door. Good thing I wasn't doing something else... I hope they fix that soon. This place is a decent distance north of downtown San Antonio where we were staying. We didn't have a car so it took a while to get there. This place is okay, try it out if you're in the area but if you're not, don't worry about it. It's just a normal-tasting super sized taco. read more

I have tried many places and this place is the best breakfast in San Antonio by far! The food and service are great!

This is a good mom & pop style restaurant, food is fresh and flour tortillas are great, recommend the lengua tacos or plate, good way to start your day read more

Good, basic and hearty Tex-Mex food. More than generous portions are served. Today I had lunch with my sister and brother-in-law. We had enchiladas verses, cheese enchiladas and huevos rancheros with crispy bacon. All were very good. My sister ordered a menudo to go. She says Rafas is just one of two places where she will eat the menudo. She says it's obvious that they really clean the tripe and remove part of the grease while preparing it. I'll have try it next time. I love good menudo. read more

Very good food!! Good service! I would give them a five star but the parking is horrible. Be prepared to park down the street and wait a bit if you come on the weekends for breakfast. Other than that I highly recommend. This place only has non sweet tea so be prepared to add sugar. read more

El Rafa's Cafe - This is a bean,egg, cheese and bacon taco. - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Pluses: Excellent homemade tortillas (corn and flour) Spanish rice Horchata Open late Minuses: Tough,fatty carne guisada read more

(Original review done 5 months ago on Google) This little place is truly one of San Antonio's hidden gems. It is located off the beaten path so to get there you either passed by the place or heard about it from someone else...lucky you! The venue is small, quaint and usually busy so expect a bit of a wait. Once you are seated you will be treated like family by a very attentive waitstaff. The food will come out hot and fresh and tasty and in hearty portions. You will be satisfied enough to return and bring friends/family. There is no anti-gun signage on the door so diners can feel safe. I highly recommend this place This place does not display any anti-gun signage so diners will feel safe. read more

Normally I come in with my son and wait. Today I came in and waited before I got a menu. The waitress took my order and then another tables order as well. Food came out and was good. Yet never was asked if I wanted a refill. So I asked another waitress for a refill and she went to check another table before my refill. I nearly waited for 20 min before I got a refill. I was completely done with my meal by the time I got a refill. So sad that the owners would tolerant such service to their customers when it's not even busy. read more

Amazing food! The prices were great and the service was fast and friendly. I ordered the machacado plate and my boyfriend got the huevos rancheros along with bacon and 2 tacos, and it was $18. Will definitely be coming back! read more

El Rafa's Cafe - Huevos Rancheros and Machacado. - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Delicious cousin took me and I had huevos rancheros. I'll get the menudo next time . Muy bueno.

This is another great place to eat Mexican food. I've had several different items here but I'm most fond of the breakfast; particularly the huevos rancheros. They make it with 3 eggs and the ranchero salsa is awesome! Their salsa verde is also great. They cut their papas kind of like thick fries, but I'm totally ok with that. The refried beans taste great here and their tortillas are awesome and have some size to em! Overall a great Mexican restaurant with friendly staff as well! read more

El Rafa's Cafe - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

We waited for literally an hour for our food and the waitress forgot to put our ticket up smh

Hella rude man. My family used to always come here. But my mom and dad had a few bad experiences but they are so sweet and never said anything but stopped going. I thought it would be fun to go and they were "Nah" Lol Still ordered and receive horrible service and a world of attitude. Ain't nobody got time for that. Now I know why my family gracefully declined. I'm always down for some good hood food, but they legit need to skip the serving of attitude. Will not be returning. read more

Ate here because I was craving enchiladas. I'm on a personal journey to find San Antonio's most delicious enchiladas! The "el Rafa" plate was absolutely delicious: white cheese enchiladas with rice and a side of carne guisada *kisses fingers*. The regular American cheese enchiladas on the other hand were NOT the best, good but not the best. The staff was friendly and very attentive! read more

This restaurant is really bad, my waitress was bad. My taco was gross. The waitress never came to my table to ask me if I want to coffee.The only thing I enjoyed was my coffee. That was supposed to be at taco of Carne Asada read more

El Rafa's Cafe - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

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A great gem for our community. I enjoyed their bean and cheese chalupa. It sounds simple but it tastes so good with the perfect salad and shredded cheese. I also enjoyed their crunchy tacos with well-cooked rice and refried beans. Their plates are reasonable prices. From the many restaurants in Hildebrand that are a great eatery, this restaurant is the few ones that are open in the evening for dinner. I became a frequent guest. read more

The service suck,the waitresses are not very friendly unless your from Mexico what I have notice.other then that I only go there for the breakfast which is very good. read more

I was invited by friend to go there for late lunch. It was so delicious without hesitate at all which I ordered myself a puffy taco plate. Also corn tortilla chips and salsa are great!!! I will go there as I will also recommend to anyone to go there.. read more

4 stars for amazing food but slow, inattentive service. We ordered the carne guisada plate and a cheese enchilada plate. The carne guisada was phenomenal. 9/10. The tortillas were fluffy, thick and perfectly cooked. The beans: I'd come back just for a bowl of frijoles. The cheese enchiladas were a solid 7/10. Slightly cold, but still tasty AF. All in all, 4/5. read more

Best Mexican place in San Antonio hands down! Had about everything on the menu and nothing compares to their amazing food! Chips & salsa are always on point, along with the queso. You won't be disappointed here. If you come enough you start feeling like family here. read more

Best breakfast tacos in SA and the Rafa Special is one of my favorites. Also love their Salsa Verde. Excellent Tex-Mex at the right price.

Excellent home made tortillas. Carne guisada is perfectly cooked. Service was fast and efficient. The chilaquiles....damn. read more

El Rafa's Cafe - Burp* - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

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Food is good but it takes a long time to get a table is always a long line owner needs to expand everything.

We've been coming here for years but we have never written a review on this gem. This place is a local favorite. In the past 5 years, I have never seen this place empty. The portions are HUGE and so are the tortillas. They are extremely reasonably priced and feels like a home environment. I don't understand why this place only has a 3.5 stars. Anytime we want breakfast we always choose Rafas. read more

Man, what happened? I used to come here once a week or so for years then I took a break. Came back for the first time in years and omg what happened? The food quality was terrible. Service was great, but the food was just bad. The fries that they give with your plate were soaked, SOAKED in oil. I don't think I'll be rushing back here anytime soon. I will say though that the service was great, friendly and attentive. I had the chorizo and egg plate and my mother had the chicharrón plate and she really liked hers. read more

Was in the Area. Yelp brought me here. Very efficient and friendly service. Had huevos rancheros. With sauce on top, refríes beans, potatoes and 2 flour tortillas. Always the first thing I try at a Mexican restaurant is never been to. It was delicious! And I can't wait to go back! read more

This place gets busy but worth the wait if you have the time and are serious about your menudo and Barbacoa ! Food is excellent and prices as well . If you ever need caldo this place is it without question . Repeat customer even if not close by ! read more

My husband introduced me to El Rafa's ten years ago and to this day we are still regulars. He knew one of my favorite things in life was simply a very delicious, homemade bean taco, so he brought me here. I ordered my bean taco and after my first bite I wrote in my taco journal "best beans in San Antonio". Then I tried their "papas" and wow!! Talk about a home run! What astounds me the most about El Rafa's is the food looks very simple and easily made BUT the taste and flavor of it all, is out of this world! My husband's favorite taco is their "lengua taco". Together, we have pretty much tried every item on the menu, and nothing has disappointed us. I also highly recommend their enchiladas. The only reason El Rafa's loses a star from me is because the wait between ordering and receiving your plate is sometimes too long and the service is not exceptional. Too many times I have to stand up and search for our waitress to ask for more coffee. read more

El Rafa's Cafe - Great size tacos with amazing homemade tortillas! - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

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Came here on a Sunday there was a bit of a wait about 15 minutes to be seated but the food was so worth it . Their homemade flour tortillas were so good & barbacoa was delicious. The tacos were pretty big in size. Very reasonable price and good service as well . read more

I rate this 3 Stars mainly because of the presentation of the cafe itself, it looked a bit run down from the outside and the tables felt a little to small but other then that the food and service were pretty good. read more

I went here yesterday b/c I heard great things. I ordered a Carne guisada and barbacoa taco. They were mediocre at best. Had to drown in salsa. Well, I GOT FOOD POISINING 8 hrs later. No it couldn't have been anything else bc that's the only thing I ate all day. I've been in the bathroom every 15 mins and had to call in to work. It's been 14hrs later and I'm still to weak to move but we'll enough to write. Beware the cleanliness/food handling. I am a Yelp Elite too... I just forgot my password. read more

Rafas cafe has some delicious food, and good sized tacos, but their service is terrible. Every time I go, the women at the register have a terrible attitude, never friendly, and have a face like they just smelled a bad fart all day. They're lucky their food is good. read more

Excellent! Found this place driving down Hildebrand and noticed it was packed. We know why now! We had lunch here and there was never an empty table. My husband told me to "get a room" with my Chapula while he continually, "mmm'd" his Fideo con Carne (the lunch special for Thursdays). Great homemade tortillas. Thank goodness we live near this place...we will be back to this gem! read more

Awful! Ordered a potato w/egg taco, was given a taco with egg and ... soggy French fries. They weren't even diced up. Didn't order anything else or will ever go back because, if you would serve THAT, then I don't want to find out what else you're capable of. read more

Great authentic flavors. Awesome salsas. Great price. People ask me about best Mexican I always point them here.

Even with my forgiving palate .... NO! This place single-highhandedly blew my theory that all you have to do to have a successful business in San Antonio is open a Mexican Restaurant. I was wrong. The place came highly recommended by my friend and business partner. Someone told him it was great so we both tried it for the first time. First off, the place is a converted house. Not the worst thing ever, but the floor plan and table set up was not convenient at all. When you walk in ... BOOM .. you're face to face with all the other diners looking right at you and right away it's uncomfortable. Not a big deal. We finally found a table which was by the busy kitchen door opening. I ordered the mexican plate which was 2 enchiladas and 1 crispy taco, rice n beans and tortillas. They only have unsweetened tea so good luck dissolving your sugar in an icee drink. Stir, stir, stir! When the plate got there, I was ready to taste what all the hooplah was about. No such luck! The enchiladas were heat lamped with this orangee brown enchilada sauce. No flavor what so ever and, if you looked close you could detect a smidgin' of american cheese. I realize that some mexican restaurants here now use american cheese in their enchiladas because it's cheaper. (thanks for caring for your customer) The original cheese for Texas enchiladas is Chedder/Longhorn. In Mexico it's a whole different type of cheese. American cheese is just flavorless and lazy. These were bland! I'm also a big fan of picadillo and thought the crispy taco might be better. It wasn't. In fact, it's the first time I could positively identify the flavoring and seasoning. It was finely minced meatloaf. complete with ketchup-ee sauce and all. The rest was just as bland and flavorless. Good luck if you're going to take the chance. read more

The service was friendly and fast, even though the place was packed. All I have to say is "the size of the tortillas!" The tacos go alongside the size of the tortillas, in general 2 tacos is plenty! The food was pretty cheap from what I saw. I ordered a lengua and a papas rancheras taco. The lengua was delicious with plenty of...lengua of course! The papas rancheras was not what I was expecting, they were French fries cooked with tomatoes and onions. I was expecting boiled potatoes not necessarily soggy French fries but nevertheless the flavors were good. Parking is tough in this place since it's quite popular but you can park in the streets at least. read more

The right price for some authentic home cooked food! The wait is. Little long but the food and service is worth it! Highly recommend to bring the family to come eat here. I came from Houston to eat there. read more

This place is a typical hole in the wall restaurant; however, the food was really very good. I had the enchiladas verdes which incld 2 very full enchiladas rice n beans. My other diners had eggs ala Mexicana and chilequilles which were accompanied by/French fries...unusual, yes but they were really really good fries!!! Not yur normal breakfast food by any means, but a surprising treat I must say! We ordered the bean n cheese nachos and they were served on nice thick chips, not quiet individual nachos like my friend prefers but were tasty and the jalapeños were spicy but not too too hot! Great flavor all around. The service was good, a slight wait upon our arrival but the staff moved quickly when diners finished. My only complaint, is that the tables are too small. There were 4 of us and by the time they put our drinks on the table along w/the napkins, salsa, S&P, sugar, cream, sweetner...there was NOOOO room for any plates!! It was very hard to enjoy our food all squished together, but we managed. Will definitely come back again. read more