ELENA'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Elena's Mexican Restaurant is newest latest trending new restaurant in San Francisco. It is owned by the Originial Joe's restaurant group. We had to go check it out. This restaurant is located in the West Portal neighborhood. It is far away from the downtown madness and closer to the ocean. It was quiet the drive to get to this location and parking Karma had left me. There are only coveted metered spots that one will be lucky to find. I parked several blocks away in a residental neighborhood and walked in the pouring rain.

We arrived at 12:30 p.m. and had a 45 minute wait. I understand without a reservation the wait time for dinner can be 3 hours. Elena's is a very modern restaurant with the trademark Originial Joe's open kitchen. We were seated at a very small table. There were people to the left of us and the right of us that I could of touched. We were close. Privacy is not an option in this modern establishment.

Our waitress was topnotch. Everybody that worked here was polite and welcoming. It was very crowded and our food did take awhile. Our waitress comped us a dessert for our wait. This was a nice touch. How was the food you ask?

The food was very good. The salsa pictured is a fermented guajillo pepper sauce. It lit up my taste buds with heat and flavor. Ms. Goofy loved her enchilada and my steak was cooked to medium rare to perfection. Was this the best Mexican food ever? No, but the ingredients seemed fresh and attention to detail was appreciated. I do need to mention the price. Our lunch with one beer came out to 120 dollars. 

    Would I return? Probably not. In the Bay Area we have many options for great Mexican food at a fraction of the price. I do think Elana's will do well. The neighborhood the restaurant is located is a tony area of San Francisco. Time will tell.