One of my favorite restaurants in the world!! I've been here 3 times on three different SF visits and loved it every time. Absolutely amazing combination of ambiance, great food and amazing service. It's a very loud and fun place! Reminds me of Barcelona for sure! The Sangria is to die for, just keep those karaf's coming. And the garlic sauce...WOW! Definitely stop by this place, order whatever looks good on the menu, I've tried lots of it and everything was beyond delicious. Don't miss out! read more

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Great place to enjoy tapas at decent prices. I love the cantimpalitos tapas and their paellas. The mariscada and the parrillada are excellent. Their sangria is also one of the best in town. The service is very good and the atmosphere is very relaxing. read more

one of my favorite restaurants in san francisco. it's delightfully crowded, all the staff is incredibly kind, and the food is both delicious and cheap. easy place for a date night, for a group dinner, or just somewhere to try delicious tapas. get the parrilada and load up on the brava sauce. read more

Popular paella spot in the Mission This place is Da place to go for awesome paella--it usually takes a long time for the kitchen to make, but pretty much every table orders paella and sangria, for good reason--those 2 items are really, really good. The paella is warm, soft, and bursting with flavor. The lobster tail was also quite fleshy, and had a taste of paella inside. The oysters we got as appetizers were not bad, and the pre-meal bread was pretty good as well--we pretty much ate all of it. Would definitely recommend this place for paella in the city, if you don't mind the wait. read more

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Went there on a Saturday night didn't have to wait long for a table and the food came really quick as well. The last photo was this potato dish and it's amazing. read more

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3.5 stars only? Inconceivable! We sat out on the back patio, by ourselves, and we caught up, and every dish that came out was EXACTLY what you picture from a tapas restaurant. Delicious and flavorful, everything was just what we wanted it to be. And inexpensive too, for what you get. Pretty much a homerun if you're a tapas fan. read more

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Younger cousin is a foodie so I told her to join Yelp! well sorry but wasn't impressed it was too loud couldn't hear yourself talk the food was mediocre was not impressed with the food only thing. t I really like was the shrimp garlic, bread with the garlic sauce ox tail soupwas so tender and flavored. We had grilled artichokes were nasty lobster I did not taste cuz I don't like. She ordered calamari, fried chicken that tastes like gooey cheese! :/ and the service was slow as hell so thats why its only getting the two stars! read more

Picaro - This is the only picture that I can get but it was like all kinds of different kinds of food seafood chicken artichoke - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

This has become our favorite place to visit during COVID when we need a break from the indoors. It's so nice to sit out on the sidewalk with my partner and pretend we're in Barcelona or Madrid, sipping sangria and enjoying allll the patatas bravas! Not only is the sangria AMAZING, it's actually affordable (not like most places in the city) and legit! They also have the best bravas sauce outside of Spain, and I don't say that lightly. Picaro is far and away my go-to place for sangria and Spanish tapas in SF. read more

I honestly come here at least every 3 months it is definitely worth it !! Get the bread & the sauce also i garlic muscles or clams (don't remember) and the seafood paella ! Ugh worth it all! read more

Picaro - Seafood Paella De Mariscos - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

Guantanamera Guajira Guantanamera Guantanamera!!! Guajira Guantanamera!!! I know, I know what you're thinking... That's Cuban! This restaurant is Spanish. Well tell that to the Mariachi Band who played Friday night next to our table. But it's all good, it all work together to make an enjoyable evening. I didn't know Picaro even existed despite it being a next door neighbor to Pork Store Cafe, one of my favorite breakfast spots in the city. Walking in, right away you'll realize how packed with people this restaurant is and stays all night. We had a party of eight so I was happy reservations were made. To the left is a bar area serving drinks and $1 oysters. To the right and straight ahead were tables full seafood and paella eaters. A real loud atmosphere between the large crowd and Mariachi Band. The menu has a lot of options of food to choose from. Here's what we got: Sangria: I'm not a drinker but I had a sip. Three bottles came to my table so I assume all the lushes (j/k) enjoyed the Sangria.. $1 Oysters: how can a person turn down one dollar oysters? That's like Ms. Universe asking a single guy out on a date and him saying "No Thank You, I'm not interested". Oysters hit the spot to start the meal off. Grilled Artichokes: it seems like an easy, plain appetizer but it was very tasty. Everybody at the table liked it. Tapas: we ordered a couple different tapas like garlic chicken and fried cheese and chicken. If I come back I'd stay clear of the tapas because they weren't memorable at all. Not bad but not good either. Seafood Paella: the menu warns for paella there would be a 30 minute wait to allow for cooking time. They are not joking because they used every second if not more before the paella came out. But I thought it was worth the wait. They used a generous amount of seafood which included tender calamari, scallops, clams, mussels, and shrimp. For a little extra I had them add chorizo to add a little variety which made it perfect. When I think of paella, it's simply just rice and seafood. But even visually it's simply beautiful, and beautifully simple. Yum. Service was ok. I understood how the wait staff really have they're hands full. But there is definitely room for improvement. Overall Picaro is good for a nice meal, a little entertainment, and a lot of Sangria. read more

Picaro - Oysters - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

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DAT SANGRIA DON'T PLAY! I wish I could remember all the delicious food my party ordered, but the sangria gets the best of you. Our party was huge with 15 people, and when we arrived the hostess had everything already set up perfectly for us. We came during happy hour and got the pitcher of sangria for $10! Since it was so cheap we figured why not get 12! Seriously, don't mess with this! At first you think it's sweet and yummy, and clearly not alcoholic. But, it creeps on you and pretty soon you've stayed at this restaurant for 4 hours, ordering tons of food, and are that damn party that's super loud and annoying. Picaro is AMAZING; coming back for that Sangria happy hour. read more

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Decent price + great food. Very traditional Spanish local restaurant. Highly recommend.

My favorite place for Spanish tapas. They were so nice to put my name on the waitlist, since I was driving from the east bay. We sat outside and there were plastic cover between each table. They were packed last night and were well staffs. Food was amazing and the friendly staffs checked on the tables constantly. Honestly the best thing is the free bread with their special sauce. I crave for it, and this is the only place I had ever tasted it. read more

Came here for a birthday party. Seemed that they get a lot of large groups for dinner. Overall, I wasn't impressed. It was extremely loud between the people in the small restaurant and the mariachi band. Hard to have conversations in there. Service you had to call them over quite a bit to get anything. Food and Drinks: Paella: This takes a long time to make, but they do let you know that. I ordered the Seafood paella. Bland. Gaspacho: Someone else had ordered this and I tried it. Yum! lots of flavor. Sangria: nice and cold. Tortilla de patata: not memorable. Potato and onion omelet. Supposed to be one of their popular dishes. Mejillones a la Vinaigrette: steamed mussels with vinaigrette. I don't remember this being particularly good or bad. Sorry! Probably won't be back unless it's for someone's birthday again. :) read more

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Great tapas and paella. The sangria is also very good. The restaurant can get a bit loud and chaotic, but it's a fun experience.

Food was great. But the moment we left our tummy's started hurting. One person in our party started throwing up and I felt queasy. Although food was good, it make us sick. read more

Picaro - Paella - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

My friends and I love this restaurant. The food is excellent, and there is even live music on certain days. I also enjoy their sangrias.

Tapas are always enjoyable. They're good on warm or cold days, and good for lunch, dinner, or a snack. I like the concept of small plates, because I like variety and it's fun to try a little of everything. But small plates are... well, small and not always that great for sharing, even though they are meant for sharing. If I could just change one thing, I'd make small plates bigger. Picaro looks like a typical taqueria from the street, but I'm really liking the Salvador Dali-themed artwork on the walls, mainly the nod to the Persistence of Memory up top. During the day, the restaurant is very bright & well-lit, and feels very family-friendly. The patio out back is great for warm days. In the evenings, it's a different crowd and pretty low-lit. They start you off with a basket of complimentary French bread & salsa brava. Additional bread is $2.75, but you may be tempted to get more. The bread tastes fresh and fluffy, but the aioli is an amazing creamy explosion of flavor. It's great for dipping nearly anything. Sangria is very good, not too sweet, & it's affordable. During happy hour, glasses are $2.50 and carafes are $10. After 7, sangria is $5.50 a glass, and $18 per carafe. Skip the green juice. Sangria has antioxidants too, and it's more affordable. Patatas Bravas (spicy potatoes) & Patatas Aioli (potatoes w/ garlic mayo): Both very tasty. The aioli just about covers all the roasted potatoes. It looks like the aioli and the sauce that accompanies the bread are the same, or at least, very similar. Both are creamy, savory, garlicky, and yummy. No need to order both. Either one is good. Actually, if you're not a devout potato lover, I'd say skip both and save space for meatier plates. Esparragos a la Plancha - grilled asparagus: Very good flavor. It was not as exciting as the other dishes, but I think we ordered this because we needed a vegetable. Mejillones a la Vinaigrette (steamed mussels w/ vinaigrette): Meaty & tasty, but not too chewy. Gambas al Ajillo (garlic shrimp): Sweet, plump, buttery shrimp with great flavor. Imagine shrimp scampi. However, if you don't like oily foods, this is not for you. The shrimp sits in a garlic oil. Calamares Fritos (fried calamari): Crunchy & tasty, not too chewy. The plate was mostly the ringed squid meat and some tentacle meat with light, crisp batter. Parrillada (grilled meat platter w/ chorizo, morcilla, chicken, pork kebabs, carne asada, over potatoes): A meat lovers' delight. I especially loved the blood sausage and chorizo. Plus, the fatty meat juices coat the potatoes. Their paellas are a little pricey, $15 per person. However, it is a pretty solid serving. The rice has a bit of crunch to it too. Paella de Carne (meat paella w/ chicken, pork ribs, chorizo) & Paella de Mariscos (seafood paella w/ calamari, shrimp, clams, mussels) are both good, but I prefer the seafood one. Flan: I feel like this is a polarizing dessert. People either like flan a lot or not at all. If you're a fan of this sweet, milky, custardy dessert, it's a great way to end the meal. After eating here a few times, I feel like I've tried a good fraction of the menu, but I'd still come back to try other dishes. I'll come back for the oxtail. and sangria. or a glass of white, maybe. read more

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The place has some nice small plates that pair well with the sangria. However the paella was a major letdown. All the seafood is overcooked and the rice tasted subpar. read more

Picaro - Overcooked paella - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

This is one of my fave places in SF! Yummy sangria and all the tapas are delicious. The paella's definitely take time. The service was ok they just seemed understaffed so not the employees fault. read more

I love their bread and special sauce, it's so delicious. The seafood paella was very yummy. Just keep in mind that the later it is, they may have run out of seafood paella! So try your best to dine earlier. There could be a wait! read more

Picaro - Seafood paella - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

If you're looking for an affordable delicious Spanish restaurant this is it! Hands down one of the best places in San Francisco! I went for the first time on a Friday night. Although it was very busy, we were offered an outside patio table for no wait! If you want to sit inside, I recommend making a reservation. The atmosphere was amazing and so were the vibes! We received great service as well. Now the food...Chef's kiss! If I could have ordered everything on the menu, I would have! I will definitely be back! read more

Picaro is a fun place in the Mission to get Spanish tapas. This restaurant makes me reminiscent on my time in Barcelona. My favorite part about this place is the ambiance and the Patatas Bravas. However the quality of seafood is average at best and everything is simply a combination of a lot of garlic, oil, pepper and salt. I would say this is more of a 3.5 stars. There is plenty on the menu to choose from and you are bound to find something you enjoy. Some of my favorites: patatas bravas, garlic shrimp, octopus, most of the seafood in general is decent. The sangria is quite good as well though it's hard to mess that up. The paella is decent for the price point but does not have that crunchy char at the end that I'm looking for. Not so great: garlic chicken, oysters (they are cheap, only $1.25 each but the quality is quite poor. Many of them had sand and looked like they had gone bad with a white creamy layer over it), lobster tail (it's very small and is overcooked). This place is a fun to place to go with friends and I would recommend it but just do not expect anything special in terms of food quality. Pro tip: make sure to chug a lot of water while you ear to minimize the lingering garlic/salt taste that will be in your mouth the next morning. read more

Was tempted by paella 2 person for $32 and 1.25 oysters, minimum of 3. Almost all the tables have carafe of sangria. The most delicious is their garlic sauce, I can drink it up. The basket of bread was almost dimished upon waiting 30 min for the paella. The potato with the same sauce was addicting. You got to eat quick while the potato skins were crunchy. The tasty potato was so soft inside. Paella finally came. Hot in the pan. We got the seafood paella (mussels, clams, shrimp, and lots of calamari rings). Tasted the saffron in the rice. The place was super noisy. The wait staff was super- So much attention with filling water, removing empty plates, getting more sauce (wink wink), asking if we needed anything. The place was packed but it was so big that the wait wasn't too long. Nicest thing was that people brought their infants to dinner. One mom had the cutest baby girl, well behaved, 16 month old, sat in the high chair, made no fuss, except tossing the cell phone on the floor twice. Two single non gender restrooms. I can see a bit of romantic atmosphere- couples eating tapas, gazing into each other's eyes. read more

Picaro - Seafood paella with rice. - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

This place knows paella. At this point in my life, finding a good paella somewhere in the United States seems like a great feat. Picaro KNOWS good paella. Its done just right, with the right crusting at the bottom of the pan, excellent use of seafood and combo of sauce with just the right amount of saffron. Come for paella, stay for the wine. read more

gotta bump this to a 5 star review, because I have the BEST dinners here with friends where you have such a solid happy time with good vibes, conversations, food, and sangria :) THE place to take visiting friends or a get together! dont forget to do reservations ~ pitcher sangria for happy hour till 7pm (now $14/each) sooo gooodd !! must get see previous review regarding food, but some add ons: - paella carne & maris (for 2 people, $34) - tortilla de patata (spanish omelette with potatoes, $7.50) read more

Best meal I've had out in a long time. We had reservations. Parking was tough but after circling the area for a few min we found a spot. We made it in time and we were seated right away. It was crowded and noisy but it was a very nice energy in the place. We started with tapas. We had the Iberico ham, tortilla de patatas and beet salad. Then we had the seafood paella for two and a glass of red sangria. Everything was so delicious. The portions were very generous. I didn't have room for dessert. I wish I did because I would have loved to try something. I can't wait to go back. read more

Overall, a good experience. There were plenty of tables, indoors and outdoors available on a Saturday evening, an entire vegetarian section of tapas on the menu, and very reasonable wait times for the food. I'd recommend any of the patatas tapas to anyone who comes here, those were my fav :) read more

I absolutely love this place! The food is amazing (EVERYTHING) the service is good and the prices are great! You can't go wrong with the paella, morcillas, artichokes, patatas bravas and the trout. It is noisy as all Spanish restaurants should be, not pretentious and the food is almost as good as eating in Spain! read more

Decent Spanish food, paella is not memorable, the tapas are better. Probably best is the sangria.

When you crave for some Latin flavor food, this place would hit the spot. Of course, found this spot through yelp and was not disappointed. Food: 4/5 Generous food and flavorful. They serve complimentary bread and orange sauce. The bread was good. Not too much, just enough to pre start dinner. We also had raw oysters. They were a dollar each and it's just part of the menu which was nice. No need to do happy hour. It's like all day 1$ HH oyster. For the main course, we got paella. We decided to do the squid ink paella and we weren't very impressed. But, the normal paella looked really good! Next time, I'll do the original/regular one. Service: 3/5 Nothing specular. Just normal. read more

Picaro - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

We came to Picaro for a celebratory work lunch with 20 people, which means we got to order A LOT of stuff. I can't comment on the pork-based items, since I don't dine on swine, but everything else I tried was great. They started us off with some bread and dipping sauce, and oh myyyy that sauce was good. If everything in life was slathered with that sauce, I'm sure world peace would be achieved! Then out came the small plates, of which I tried the garlic chicken, spicy potatoes (patatas bravas), grilled asparagus, and sautéed green beans. The patatas bravas was the star of the small plates, so good that we ordered another round at the end of the meal. The garlic chicken was great, especially the sauce which I ate with the aforementioned bread. The green beans were meh, but the asparagus was surprisingly delicious with a dollop of an unknown sauce. Finally, the paellas came out. The Paella de Mariscos (calamari, shrimp, clams and mussels) and the Paella Hortelana (vegetable). The vegetable paella was not memorable, but the seafood one was great with flavorful rice and tons of seafood. The food was great, worthy of five stars. But I'm knocking them down one star since their sauce has not delivered world peace. read more

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I love this place. I love to come here alone or with a group. The Tortilla de Patata is amazing, I order it every single time. The insider has not changed. Very old school. I think they have some of the best oysters in the city. Everything comes out super fast and the seafood is always delicately perfectly cooked. It is impressive. They get busy so sometimes service isn't super top notch - but it almost balances anyway because you are head down enjoying the delicious food! read more

Came here for my best friend's birthday dinner. She made reservations for 11 at 8:30pm. By 8:45pm, there wasn't a table set up for us and they rushed to squeeze all 11 of us in a small, crowded area close to the front of the restaurant. The food is good, inexpensive, and filling! They give you baskets of bread, LOTS OF BREAD, complimentary. the orange dipping sauce is almost as good as La Vic's orange sauce. The bread was just right there. Couldn't stop grabbing a piece, dipping it in the sauce, and devouring it. The advantage to eating that many carbs was that it absorbed all the alcohol we consumed. We ordered carafes of their sangria- SO SHWEEET AND SO GEWD!! You order little plates here and there where you share with everyone. We got the grilled mushrooms, potatos with aioli, garlic chicken, a dozen $1 oysters, and squid ink paella. I didn't try the paella, but those that did said it was bombdotcom. The sight of the black rice aka squid ink wasn't too appetizing to me. The other half of the group ordered the seafood paella, and they too, said it was worth the wait (takes them about 30 min to cook the paella). It was hot inside. Crowded. Chaotic. BUT the servers were quick! They were quick to clear our plates to make room for more. They were quick with our requests. They were quick with refilling our bread baskets! The parking SUCKS! It's all street parking. Busy, busy streets! It took us about 20 min to finally find parking two blocks away (it was a Friday night, so I guess it was expected). Just make sure they follow through with your reservations!! read more

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Always the best great food great price. Love the white sangria. The dinner plate combos are economical. OR enjoy the variety of tapas choices. read more

Picaro - Sangria - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

Came here last night on a date with my wife. Francisca and Joshua were the best waiters I've ever experienced here. The Food was excellent. I recommend the sea food paella and the red sangria.. we also had the white. and Can't forget the Patatas Bravas. Garlic shrimp. And the best chorizo salteado you will ever have. Delicioso!! read more

Picaro - Sangria. Seafood Paella - Spanish Near Me - San Francisco, California

Have been here a few times for a bite and drinks with friends. Their tortilla Española reminds me of my time in Spain and the asparagus is absolutely delicious. The sangria is great, not too sweet. Fair prices, fun ambiance-- a go to spot in my book! read more

I returned the day after my first visit which was superb, and unfortunately the food wasn't as good as the day before. On a very HOT SF afternoon, I had brought a friend who's never been to Spain and I wanted to show off the place. We sat in the back patio which reminds me so much of being in Andalucia. That was the only good point. Ordered Pinchos Morunos - (two Pork Kebabs on sticks with good-sized meat, atop paella rice - $5), Pollo al Ajillo (Garlic Chicken - $4.75 but never arrived) and at the very last minute Boquerones Fritos (Deep fried anchovies $5). The Pork Pinchos were almost raw and as a result tougher than bull horns; my friend refused to even try one watching me TRY to tear into them :( The boquerones was okay and unlike in Spain served without head and tails (that was strange indeed!) but instead of being crunchy like in Spain were tender and tasteless. I'll still return because I know the Gambas al Ajillo are delicious. I should've ordered that but wanted to try different stuff to compare with what I eat usually in Andalucia when I am there. read more

Doesn't look like much when u walk pass but once u entered its cozy and quiet decor is good bathrooms very clean staff very attentive food are good and tasty we have great time gem in the neighborhood if I am in the vicinity I will stop by and order in advance the famous paella and the sangria read more

I love, I love, I love! This place isn't pretentious or over priced. It's a comfy "little" nook of a tapas restaurant that serves up simple down home Spanish tapas. Your sangria is always flowing and the small plates keep coming. There's always a wait and it's first come first serve. But don't worry, you can start drinking while you wait, it's worth it. Love: Small plates: Grilled oyster Garlic shrimp Complimentary bread (first round only) and orange sauce Tiny sausages Potatoes Mushrooms Stewed Lamb Entree: Paella Drink: Sangria read more