Just got back from this place less than 15 minutes ago. My boyfriend and I wanted Mexican so we decided that Olivo's would be good because of the reviews. Sometimes even Yelp can lead you awry. We walked in and were ignored, and asked the lady behind the counter if we should just seat ourselves. She nodded. The place was decent looking so we had a seat. The waitress was very rude to us the whole time. Everyone else was served complimentary chips except for us. We asked for them multiple times to no avail. My boyfriend finally went up to the counter to ask again, and the ladies just laughed at him. What is that about? I asked if I could have my fish tacos on hard shells instead of soft. The waitress immediately said "Probably not. No." Then when she asked the chef she told me it would be fine. The food was okay, definitely nothing to yelp about. 3 or 3.5 stars. The service in the negative stars. When the check came the numbers were a mess so I couldn't read the prices. Before leaving, I looked back into the kitchen and the lady making the guacamole was also licking it up off her fingers and double dipping. Needless to say, that turned me off to my leftovers so I quickly unloaded by doggie box on the nearest homeless person. Highly unrecommended and we will never return. read more

This place is a HUGE BUMMER. It's right across the street from my house, and the food is pretty damn good, but the service isn't just bad, it's HORRIBLE. I can usually overlook poor service if the food is good enough, but this is just ridiculous. I don't know what these people are doing in the service industry when they clearly hate every human being. Obvious dirty looks, scowls, and eye rolling every time. Seat yourself, get up to ask for water and refills, get up and get your own menu, get up to order... The women working at this place are not to be bothered with doing their job. Oh well. Olivo's, what a shame. You are dead to me. read more

I have been coming here at least once a week for the last few months and have yet to be disappointed. Great food, really affordable, quick service. It's nice to be able to support a small family business while getting stuffed on nachos. Really friendly staff and pleasant service. Reminds me of a place I used to go back home. Also - The breakfast burritos are the best in the neighborhood. read more

Pupusas, chili verde, and trannys are way better when put in a sack and shaken. Olivo's is that sack! read more

A burrito with discrete ingredients is a rarity this far north of the border, and it's always nice to find one of the places where such a treat can be acquired. Wrapped inside a tortilla is actually one of the few places I prefer meat to vegetables, and the carnitas at Olivo's makes my taste buds happy every time. It manages to have crispy edges while maintaining a deliciously tender, chewable texture, and partnering excellently with the smooth flour, flavorful rice, better-than-usual-quality cheese, fresh salsa, and delectable beans that make up the remainder of said burrito. Aside from the famous carne asada fries and signature pupusas, the nachos are solid alternative, with the same tempting components piled high on chips that actually have some body - so that you can taste more than a hint of corn - instead of simply being a wafer-thin vehicle for condiments. The staff are all incredibly friendly people, more than willing to accommodate a special request or recommend something to fill your stomach. The very first time I came here it was near closing time, and having failed to notice the prominent "Cash Only" signs, was only packing plastic. The lovely woman working the counter was nice enough to let me take my dinner away sans payment, and with only the promise of returning tomorrow with the eight bucks I owed. As a last note, while the transvestites that flock to the corner of Post and Larkin can be rather intimidating, I find that carrying an extra cigarette or two to hand out will turn them friendly in a hurry, although that has a tendency to make them think I want to proposition them - do I really look all that much like someone who would engage their services? read more

Awesome little hole in the wall serving up some Salvadorian dishes. While not in the cleanest part of the city- the restaurant itself clean, simple and spacious- doesn't look like it but when you step in you actually see they have lots of seating in the back. Their menu runs 4 pages front and back filled with Americanized items like the California burrito (a burrito with freakin' FRIES inside.... be horrified or delighted) to made fresh Pupusas. Came here to try the pupusas since it's on this 7X7 Best 20 Dishes Under $10 List http://www.7x7.com/eat-drink/20-best-dishes-under-10-tenderloin-tendernob Amazing deal you get your choices of 2 pupusas (comes with pickled slaw and spicy salsa) for only $4.50!! They have 4 choices: 1. Cheese 2. Cheese & Fried Pork 3. Cheese & beans 4. Cheese & Loroco ("vine flower" according to the menu) I got the fried pork- it was Mmmmmmmmm delicioso. The Loroco was also very tasty and unique. Service was great- the lady who took our orders was very nice. read more

Carne Asada Fries - They have them and its reason enough to come here and they're better than at other places. Just step over the crackheads on the sidewalk, run past the tranny hookers and come to Olivo's. I'd recommend the Chicken Quesadilla or anything with Steak. The menu is extensive and the prices are reasonable (easily under $12 per person with appetizers) The proprietors seem pretty nice and the service isn't bad. But you will have to go up and pay yourself, just fyi. Also remember to bring cash, since that's all the take. The place has a nice vibe too, some other review mentioned NY feel and I agree. Their Salvadorean food is delicious and you should try it if you want to stray from the regular taco or burrito you always get. Bottom Line: Just give Olivo's one try. You could pretend you're going to Central America and a beautiful seniorita (Olivia?) comes up to you and winks and asks you to follow. Intrigued, you go along and discover that not only is she gorgeous but also extremely competent... at cooking. read more

Pupusas: black bean and cheese with the house salsa was DELICIOUS. Service: disinterested and forgetful. Bathroom: very dirty. I tried the cheese and loroco pupusa but the flower taste was strange and overwhelmed the pupusa. My mistake in ordering it. Also, I tried the chicken soup. The broth was oddly yellow (maybe they used a lot of chicken bouillon to make it) and the soup may have had the loroco in it because there was a similar strange and overpowering flowery taste to it. I scavenged the chicken from the soup to stuff in my pupusa. I had high hopes for Olivo's but may have ordered poorly. My boyfriend had the California burrito and thought it was okay. read more

This was the only place my husband and I did not like on our vacation in SF. The waitress/hostess was BEYOND RUDE. The place was completely empty besides one guy at the bar who already had food. She acted like it was killing her to serve us and was not interested in smiling at us, wanting to help with questions we had or anything. If I was the owner of this place, I would be ashamed of this girl. I wish I got her name. The food was not great at all which made being here even worse. I wish we would have left the second we walked in. Mexican food places to me have standards when it comes to their chips and these ones were just awful. Stale and overall crappy. AND I PAID FOR THEM!!!!!!! Ridiculous. I would never go back here. Our food took a long time to come out and I was not impressed at all. Charge too much for food that is not great and the horrible service we experienced made it an awful time. read more

Good, inexpensive Salvadorean/Southern Mexican food. Breakfast served until 11:00. Generous portions with combinations; I'll have to go back to try the Pupusas. A bit heavy on the cheese. Tamal tasted good, moist, and healthy (not coronary inspiring amounts of lard). They have aforementioned beers, wine, aguas frescas, and sodas. Staff is friendly, with Mexican style hospitality (they don't bring the check to you before you're finished; you may have to get up and walk to the register). read more

I hit this place up last weekend for a friend's birthday. Being a part of the fantastically helpful online community that is Yelp, I knew what to expect......and to also order the carne asada fries. One of my friends took a look and just simply said, "I can't eat those. I'm afraid I'll shit my pants later." A valid excuse to be sure, but the mere threat of self defecation isn't enough to stop me from indulging in this bit of artery clogging heaven. The rest of the grub was great as well. Having never been to an El Salvodoran restaurant before, I hit up the pupusas and were not disappointed. Someone else had the flank steak and it was cooked and spiced to perfection. The massive Regia beers washed all of this culinary goodness down perfectly. And the best part? The total bill was $81 for 7 of us. Yes, you read that correctly. The only knock on this place is that the service was a little slow, but that's to be forgiven as I only spied 3 people working in the entire restaurant - and that includes the cook. But you can bet your ass that I'll be back. read more

A couple of months ago, I went kind of SoCal nostalgic and wanted carne asada fries, so a friend and I searched Yelp and lo and behold - a restaurant IN the city that carries one of my favorite (and missed) meals. The first couple of times I've gone, the restaurant was closed or was just closing. That annoyed the heck out of me, so one day, as soon as I got off work - my buttocks drove out to Olivo's just so that i can sample the NorCal version of carne asada fries. It's not on the menu - it's like one of those secret orders kinda things - so you have to ask for it. It took awhile to make it, and i have to say that i'm impressed. It will definitely satisfy my cravings for carne asada fries if ever i have a moment of weakness, and want it. The only thing that was different was the amount of condiments on it. Guacomole could be more, and the fries could be a little bit bigger. But hey, you can't be picky about something that isn't as readily available as it is in SoCal, so I say, "yay! i'm a fan of Olivo's carne asada fries!" =) anyone wanna go? read more

I was sooo excited that there was a place in SF with carne asada fries. However, it was nothing like from what I remembered when I had it in San Diego. The fat fries came out hot and soaked in oil and it seemed like there were at least 5 layers of cheese on top of the fries. After a couple bites I felt like a I was shaving a couple of years of my life expectancy. read more

The last two times I came here I got food poisoning. My date also got sick. Not cute... There is no real reason why I would make this a destination spot even if i had not gotten sick... save your money read more

Come here for the huge portions and GOOOOOD Salvadorian/Mexican food, NOT the ambiance. The 4 stars are for the delicious ingredients and big portions. You'll end up feeling STUFFED. I ordered an all meat chicken burrito w/guacamole on the side and I seriously savored EVERY bite. The meat was so deliciously seasoned and grilled. The burrito comes with beans, rice, sour cream, and cheese. I want to try other items on the menu the next time I venture out to SF. The area is somewhat old and ghetto, but if you appreciate mom & pop restaurants, you'll enjoy your meal here. CASH ONLY!!! read more

Pupusas. They're almost as much fun to say as they are to eat. Gosh, the corn meal is just so freaking good. It reminds me of my jefita's freshly made tortillas de maiz. Why is it that we don't have many places that serve those amazing little things in Phoenix? You've got more Mexican food joints on every street corner than Starbucks there, and that's saying a lot. Very few Central American restaurants, for shame. I introduced my little bro to pupusas through this joint, and I've got him hooked. Affordable, quick, delicious. Or, as Dora has taught little blonde-haired, blue-eyed kids all across the US to say, "Delicioso!" So what if they screwed up the kind of beans I ordered (I said black, not pinto). They were still so good, I almost wanted to give them a call to thank them. What's all this talk about carne asada fries? Hrmm. read more

I'm not always in the mood to trek to the Mission and Olivos is a solid option. So far everything I've had has been great, or at least very tasty. The carne asada fries are great hangover food (not that I would know anything about hangovers). Burritos are great, I've tried 'em all. Love the pupusas. Generous portions, good prices. As for the service - I give five stars. Friendly and smiles all around! This is one of the few places that I go to regularly where they actually recognize me, even if I haven't been around in a long time. read more

Salsa was DEE-licious! Carne asada burrito was one of the best burritos I've ever had! Their food proportions are very satisfactory. Our server was VERY accommodating to the four of us and had a great personality. She even let us stay a few minutes past closing to order more beers! Speaking of beers, those were only 2-3 bucks apiece! Hard to beat! The only issues were that they only take cash and the restroom. The restroom seemed to be a bit on the fritz. These things happen. We didn't care, food was great, server was great. Olivo's is very unassuming, but deserves a chance. read more

this place was cheap, but it was okay i had carne asada fries i was kinda disappointed in them, it had no comparison to the real deal in san diego. their good for what you can find in san francisco, but not as good as san diego. my friend had the puposas, she said they were okay and her carne asada was kind of hard to cut. service was friendly though. read more

Olivo's is hands to the pants amazeballs. You absolutely must try this place. I am only saddened that I didn't find this place earlier. The super Carne Asada burritos are top notch as well as any of the quesadillas. If you want to try a variety of items get the combo with 3 items so you can see a range of what they have to offer. I also tried their papusas, maybe they just aren't my thing, but other things on their menu are better. read more

Olivo's - Front desk at Olivo's - Mexican Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Oh heck yes this place is good! Cheap and delicious! Never had I ever had a pupusa before coming here and I've decided that they complete me. Black beans and cheese wrapped in warm fluffy goodness? I've decided that one of my favorite textures for food is melty (like good melty cheese) and pupusa's are exactly that. I got the soup to go along with my pupusas which I decided was a good choice, because it's always good to have some vegetables, and they give you big pieces of veggies in their soup. Salsa here is good and spicy too! And you can get the real Mexican coke. read more

I'm giving Olivo's 4 stars, I wish i could give it 4.5 but yelp is only into integers so 4 stars will do, and that is good in my book, I'm a tough critic when it comes to this type of Latin American food. The queso y frijol Pupusas are great, chips are good, salsa is great, atmosphere is really chill (reminds me of a NY spot) , oh and the plantains are very good as well, i love plantains and they are hard to go wrong on, but surprisingly people do falter on plantain preparation, not here at Olivo's. I got a fish burrito from Olivo's yesterday for lunch and it was huge and tasty, one thing that i would have appreciated is if they had grilled the outside of the tortilla a bit more (as places like Can cun do so well), but i didnt know and next time i will ask. Downsides is closed on Sundays (temores) and no take out menu, you have to know the menu well or do as i did a while ago and took pictures of the entire menu to have on file. Overall though, thumbs up- foods is tasty and family who runs it is nice - i almost wish they were one block closer to van ness on polk cause they would get more business most likely (people i think just dont know it is there) but as is its fine and tasty, Support them ! read more

I'm going to begin this tale by saying I'm lactose intolerant. That being said, I find most Mexican restaurants tend to... How to put this.. Taste like cardboard dipped in salsa if there's no cheese on it. Olivo's, however, doesn't. My first time at any Mexican restaurant, I order a regular Carne asada burrito to gage it against a common mean. I often don't expect much. Olivo's prepared it extremely flavorfully. I was pleasantly surprised. I hardly noticed the salsa that subtly spiced the abundant amount of meat, which drove the flavor. The staff was friendly, the service fast, the prices cheap. Oh and the chips were crisp and fresh. read more

1 star for service and for food. The lady at front was very rude. She didn't take our order correct and when I told her the pupusa I ordered was incorrect, she stared angrily at me, walked away, and threw the plate to the counter near kitchen. She didn't apologize for having our order wrong. The pupusa i ordered was "revueltas" and it was mostly cheese and maybe half a teaspoon of pork, no beans. Have never had a bad pupusa in Sf, but this one was. The lady might've been the owner... horrible service. Maybe she shouldn't work if she's going to be in a bad mood. Customer service : awful. read more

HELL YEAH! Este lugar es el mas chingon de la vecinidad! No bullshit, brothas and sistas... Whenever I am hungry the first place I think of going to is Olivo's. The food is very traditional, and the environment is like my grandma's kitchen. Recommend the milanesa, which is very tender, and the papusas rebueltas con frijoles refritos y arrozzzzzz. Also, don't forget to wash it all down with a delicious Regia brew and if you got a sweet tooth try some Horchata,which is the best this side of market street. Good neighborhood eatin' and the family that runs the place is very sweet and polite. Highly recommend it. read more

Hard one to write, I have mixed feelings. Been putting it off but here it goes - I have been coming since this place opened. Was super excited to have some Pupusas in the neighborhood. I'm glad Olivo's seems to be doing well, I imagine the family has busted much butt, and I am really glad they've remained open and running in the pit hole block they are on. Really, no one does well in this location, you have to stand out. I'm there less frequently lately (well the past year) for a reason. The quality is going downhill. Upon the their grand opening, it would take a little while to get Pupusas out but I honestly think it was because it was done with a lot more care - I assume high standards for the food were set. I won't speculate why, but it just seems like that has changed. The food is still good, they need to stay around. This location has seen way too many small eateries fail. Olivo's has held strong and has gained loyalty, They dont need to be perfect - but I wish they'd show a little more welcome to customers and make the food super awesome again. I'm rooting for them nonetheless, why I gotta be honest. read more

Based on Liz' review - I had to check out this place. I love pupusas and feel the tenderloin is a trove full of tiny gems of restaurants - tiny gems which think they are rhinestones, specifically. We split a dish of pupusas (pork & cheese and bean & cheese) and plaintains with beans. -- You can probably tell, I'm a bean fan. This was a family run restaurant and it felt like it. The greetings were warm and friendly. Questions were answered politely and there was a nice vibe. While waiting for everything to arrive, we scoped out everyone else's food - there was a wonderful looking fried fish that I nearly snatched off an elderly woman's plate. I will have to try it if I can ever bring myself to step away from the pupusas. The food was hearty, very reasonably priced and tasty. It's not chez panise, but if you want some home style stick to your ribs food for under a fiver, you've got your spot. If I could, I'd call it a 3.5, but based on the friendly atmosphere and prices, I'll push it to 4 stars. read more

Great food. Caters to my vegan needs. This restaurant is ran mostly by a family from El Salvador. They are all super friendly and cheery. When "Mom" makes the green salsa (which isn't very often because it is very time consuming) I am a very happy person. Good and cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. DO IT! read more

I can't believe no one has reviewed this place yet. Well, to be fair, until a few months ago there was a Vietnamese restaurant at the same location and I only stumbled into it b/c I was looking for mediocre cheap food and figured I'd run across the street. OMG. Cheesy goodness. The vegetarian combo was huge, delicious, and cheap. I strongly recommend checking this place out. The staff is friendly, the food is cheap, and one meal is really 2 meals. Eat there. Did I mention it's cheap? read more

This is my favorite Mexican/Salvadorean restaurant in the neighborhood. It's a casual, family-owned restaurant that serves excellent home-cooked meals. The portions are HUGE, so you'll never go hungry. The meal starts off with complimentary salsa and chips. Let me say, they serve THE BEST homemade salsa in the CITY! The carne asada fries are considered appetizers, but it's a meal in itself. You get a heap of fries with diced beef, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, and jalapenos. For a lighter fare, the pork pupusas are perfect, and they come with vinegar coleslaw. Some of my favorite dinner plates: carne asada with fries; carne asada with cheese enchilada(warning, this comes with a lot of food); salvadoreno steak with bell peppers, tomatoes and onions; pork chops with casamiento and plantains. Casamiento (fried rice with black beans and onions) is considered a breakfast item in El Salvador, but I could eat this all day! The plaintains are freaking awesome. If I only had a pint of vanilla ice cream with it, it would be perfect! Apparently, they tried various locations in the city and finally settled in our neighborhood. Lucky us! I hope they never, ever move!!! read more

Serving up massive slabs. The lack of wheat tortillas was made up for and then some with a ridiculous amount of tasty grilled chicken, generous helping of black beans and lettuce at no charge. Make that serving up massive slabs of goodness. read more

Really solid place, I went because I was desperate for some Chile Relleno and ended up going back to try other stuff on the menu. Their Pupusas are amazing, true, I might have gained a few pounds from it, but I'm pretty hooked, I have constant cravings for it. Also, menudo is a great hangover stew. read more

Came here because the pictures of the carne asada fries looked amazing. I was not disappoint. Thick fat fries that were hot and fresh out the fryer and super crispy, covered in real cheese and steak and goodness. Pupusas are pretty decent too, and I was quite happy that they provided chips and salsa. service ain't great but come on, this isn't some fancy pancy restaurant. Same level of service you'd expect from an Asian restaurant which I'm perfectly fine with. read more

tried this terrible place again, still terrible. Yelp censored my first review, and its still bad. dont censor me, yelp. this place is truly dirty and terrible. flies and bugs ARE NEVER ACCEPTABLE. Not only were there flies and bugs, but there is a whole laundry list of things that went wrong. Please dont go here. go to filtered to see my first review. read more

I LOVE OLIVO'S!!! I live around the corner and I have to fight the urge to eat there several times a week. My favorites are: 1. super burrito with chicken and black beans: the guacamole they put on it is amazing and I have to stop myself from trying to eat the whole burrito in one sitting 2. cheese pupusas: so good and the rice that comes with it is really flavorful 3. chicken noodle soup: I am a big fan of pho but when I have a cold or flu the chicken noodle soup is the best comfort EVER. Everyone that works there is really nice and the service is great. There are a lot of burritos in the city but if I ever moved out of the TL I would still go back to get Olivos. read more

Aye Dios mío. Friendly mama at the counter, fresh salsa and chips, and a burrito the size of my leg. You'll fancy this joint. Support local San Franciscans, not chipotle. read more

This is a tiny Mexican-Salvadoran place in the tenderloin. I discovered this because of a tip from a hotel bell hop who told me that even if they claim not to they will make a pupusa revuelta even if they may not say it on the menu. yes..I have had better, but the friendly owners and the reasonably well made fillings are always fairly toothsome...and somehow it always happens to be slightly chilly when I make my way there...which may be biasing me a bit more. The pupusas are made to order and with a gently prodding they will make them browner on the outside and do a simple garlic and cheese filling if you want along with the bean and chicharron one! Oh..I recently discovered that they made some crazy version of chilli fries by putting a carne asada and cheese on the fries. i have tried them twice and the fries by themselves are always nice a crispy...but the carne asada has been great once and ehnn on a recent trip. Perhaps the thing to do is to walk in with cold beer in a sack and eat the fries...maybe that will make them good all the time. No need to go out of your way to go here...but if you are doing a divey eating tour of the tenderloin...do put this spot on your list. read more

We love this place... the food is delicious and they give you huge portions. I'm not kidding you when I say my chile verde super burrito was the size of a newborn baby. My husband usually gets the carne asada combo with a cheese enchilada and my go-to is the super burrito. Sometimes when I'm going a little lighter on dinner, I get pupusas instead. No matter what we've had, it's been very tasty. The service is always fast and friendly which is what also keeps us going back. Try the food here--you won't regret it! But, don't forget to get extra salsa because their house made salsa is good sh#*! Also, keep in mind that they are cash only but there is an ATM inside. read more

I use to go to this place often. But you know how it happens: you find a place that makes an incredible tongue dish for little coin and other Latin eateries fade into the distance. Well, a recent visit to Olivio's resulted in a still overall favorable impression, but nothing even approaching eye-rolling bliss. Neat, pleasantly decorated and maintained place (especially for the dicey neighborhood). The salsa was good, the chips (the basket contained what looked like only smaller, broken fragments -sigh-) contained a little kick that goes well with a beer. The grilled meats were strangely inconsistent: chicken and beef both nicely flavorful in one mouthful, overly salty in the next, and bland in another). The black beans were the kind of plumpness and inkiness that I really appreciate in casual surroundings. (I love mixing other foods into the beans for different taste sensations.) Finally, I seem to remember the salad being more than a pile of shredded iceberg and a thin twist of tomato. read more

The food is yummy, the service is horrible. I would just like to make this clear, the staff is totally capable of great service! It is just completely conditional and based on whether or not you appear to be a big tipper (I guess). Although my friend and I arrived there first, our waitress took the order of a table of hip thirty-somethings, all the while laughing and suggesting items from the menu. When she got to our table her smile was gone, her mood had shifted, and we realized we must of looked hella poor. My friend and I laughed about this and talked (what must have been loudly) about the fact that there was an obvious difference in service. Long story short she must have herd because she was in a much better mood after! So all is well that ends well! read more