Cha Cha Cha

Think I’m addicted to their fried platanos. And I’m starting to get dangerous cravings for their cajun shrimp and seafood paella.

I think my favorites are the Cajun shrimp and the Fried Platanos Maduros. It’s rare to find a Caribbean place in the bay. So it’s nice that this place exists to serve as a gateway for the real deal. Thanks for the introduction!

Cha cha cha is a nice place to go to for tapa style food. The food is cooked well and not a bad price. It’s a while wait if you don’t have a reservation otherwise they have a bar where you can sit down.

I’ve never understood why this Cha Cha Cha location doesn’t get higher reviews. I’ve dropped by on many occasions during my many years in SF and I can’t recall ever having a bad experience.
The place is quite large, with additional upstairs seating in the back that can accommodate large parties, but it can still get crowded (and loud) on weekend evenings. That said, it is usually the go-​to spot for my friends and I to grab dinner in the Mission when we haven’t made plans or everyone is too lazy to investigate other options.
I recommend that everyone try the Chicken Paillard and Fried Platanos Maduros from the tapas portion of the menu. You’ll find other tasty items on the menu too, but these two never disappoint. The Chicken Paillard in particular is so incredibly addictive! Just wait until you find yourself asking for more bread so as to not let any of its delicious dijon mustard cream sauce go to waste.
And what would a trip to Cha Cha Cha be without sampling some of the sangria? If you’re with a few friends, treat yourself to a pitcher (or two) and enjoy your evening. Be careful though as the sweet taste hides the potency of this concoction.

Who doesn’t like food?
This place has a «unique «bbq quesadilla and plantains just a great place to meet with friends once in a while

I don’t have another experience to compare my first Cha Cha Cha to, so this was solely based on first impressions. The location itself is in a somewhat less populated part of town and parking is a pain to find (but what part of the city isn’t). It took a couple of rounds, passed an ongoing police scene and some illicit transactions and found a nearby spot around the corner. It’s not hard to spot Cha Cha Cha, but the doors can get a little confusing to the place next door.
It’s huge inside, where the bar is a huge island in the middle of the place that extends from the front to the end. There are smaller tables on either side of the restaurant, but really meant to be a hangout/​bar environment. We came early around 6pm, so no need for reservations and go seated right away. The idea of tapas makes the menu shorter and simpler (with portions that are decent for sharing).
House sangria: You can have your options of full or half pitcher. We opted for full and polished that off without a hitch. It was fruity and strong, a must try when you’re here. Sangria (insert emoji of lady in red dress dancing) is what the sangria makes me feel.
Fried Calamari (10.5): comes with lemon garlic aioli which was one of the best calamari that I’ve had in a long time. The breading was light and crispy, NOT soggy at all. It coated the rings and tentacles perfectly and the aioli didn’t overpower the natural bite of the calamari. The portion was definitely big enough for three people to share (even more). + 3 lemon wedges!
Steamed Black Mussels (14): in a garlic, tomatoes, fresh herbs and saffron broth which blew my mind. Depending on the season I assume, that our mussels were a lot smaller than expected. But the broth was amazing and great for dipping that house bread. Loved all the flavors that blended into the mussels and it came covered in a ceramic pot (which kept the heat it and allowed the mussels to fully open).
Sauteed Mushrooms (12): with sherry wine, fresh herbs and garlic. This was the highlight of the night and something unexpected. We needed some veggies since a lot of the food was something I considered «unhealthy» in a sense since it was fried or baked. But the mushrooms were whole capped and sauteed to perfection. Every bite sank right into the mushroom, bursted with flavors, and it wasn’t soggy.
I came for the sangria and the paella (sing that phrase to the Trey Songz 2 reasons song). «i came for the ladies and the dranks.» Anyways, the seafood paella (25) I wanted to be the hero of the night, but it feel short. The rice wasn’t fluffy enough (hard) and the flavors didn’t blend well together. It was decent serving size to be shared, mixed with sauteed spanish rice with saffron, mussels, mixed fish, shrimp, calamari, chicken, andouille sausage and bay scallops. Honestly, I didn’t find any chicken or mixed fish and probably like 1 scallop. It was alright, but at 25 a dish, I wouldn’t order it again at this location.
The food was definitely filling and we had a great time. It doesn’t get too loud but the bar gets filled pretty quickly. The experience and environment was something I’d find myself coming back to though. Decent selection of tapas, I didn’t even crack the extensive drink menu (just sangria which was bomb AF).
They have an atm, but take card. Bathrooms are in the back and clean. There’s some tables near the back for a larger crowd, but it’s not a good location for any parties over 5 if you want to be comfortable!

Be careful these are not tapas! I repeat these are not tapas!
Not in the traditional sense these are large American sized portions passing as tapas. I ordered ceviche, empanada, and something else i don’t recall and only ate the ceviche because it filled me up! I received the plates like wtf??? Not TAPAS.
The ceviche was delicious tho no complaints. And keep drinking sangria

I remember cha cha cha to be better than this but last visit was just ok. Sat at the bar and had tapas with hubby.
Selection is pretty small. We had
— warm spinach salad. Just okay over dressed a bit. Nothing special
— glazed chicken wings. Again just ok.
— sautéed mushroom recommend. This was tasty especially with the bread dipped in the sauce yum
— Spanish rice. A good side
The music and atmosphere was lively which is why we decided to go. Bartender was a little odd. First couldn’t hear me and then later on just abruptly jumped into a conversation Hubby and I was having.
Probably won’t be back any time soon.

Good food | Three tapas | Good service
$$
I’ve never been to the Haight location, but this place was pretty good! We found parking right around the corner, so we were pretty lucky.
I did Open Table reservations for 4 people and we didn’t have any problems getting a spot for 6:30pm. Actually, when we got there it wasn’t even crowded. I think it gets more crowded later on, especially when a game is going on.
Between two people, three tapas is enough. I was SO full.
Chicken Paillard.
Ricotta Spinach Empanada.
Salmon — a special that night
We never had to ask the waiter for anything. Good service. They put a pitcher of water at your table and refill it. They give you bread and ask if you want more after you’re done :)

If you want to pay high prices for mediocre food, this is the place to go.
We ordered the seafood paella, fried calamari, cajun shrimp, ceviche, and the tri tip.
Seafood paella was the best thing on this list; however, it wasn’t much seafood. Gave us about four small schrimp with little calamari and tons of sausage. Please don’t call it Seafood Paella when there’s more sausage than seafood. ³⁄₅
Fried Calamari — greasy as shit. learn how to drain the oil. Crispy became soggy. Please season after they get out of the fryer. ²⁄₅
Cajun Shrimp — Cream with side of shrimp. Gave us about 5 – 6 shrimp. tasted terrible. ¹⁄₅
Ceviche — It was standard. Nothing to rave about or even worth mentioning. ³⁄₅
Tri Tip — small ass 4oz steak platter. not even 4oz. Shit was rubbery and the sides even tasted better than this boo boo ass steak.
Overall, had a shitty meal in a decent environment where the food is overpriced.
Will never come back…
Boo boo ass restaurant

Came here on a double date with my best friend. We were hanging out around Mission and decided to give this place a try.
It was pretty packed when we went so we sat at the bar and ordered and waited for a table. We just got little appetizers since we weren’t that hungry.
We ordered:
Cajun Shrimp: MUST ORDER. The sauce is crack I swear. So creamy and great with beard
Ceviche: Pretty good amount of seafood, but didn’t look too fresh
Marinated Chicken Wings: Sweet and salty, I liked it, very saucy.
McCarthy’s Burger: It was SOOO big, my best friend’s boyfriend literally took 3 bites and was like I’m done. Comes with potatoes.
Pitcher of Sangria: Fruity indeed, not too sweet, right tasting
Great place to hang out with friends and watch the game. Love their appetizers, will come again and try more!

We came here because of the high reviews, but this location Cha Cha Cha food is not flavorful and not worth a penny.
We got fried calamari, too much batter and a puddle of oil was at the bottom because they were not properly drained of the excess. Dipping Sauce? You get a cup of mayo. Picture attached!
Cajun shrimp is just 1 cup of cream with some spices, and 5 small pieces of shrimp. We literally got flavored cream.
Ceviche was good but comes with no chips.
Grilled tri-​tip was smaller than the size of my palm, but had good flavor minus the chewiness.
The «paella» had no saffron, no crispy rice portion, and NOT worth $ 25 for rice. Fried rice at fast food Chinese tastes better.
I told the waiter that the food was terrible and all he said was «that hurts». We also told him that the Cajun shrimp came out very late and he did not know what to do, he looked confused and just went to another table.
The best part was the very strong drinks and décor.
If you love bad food and love getting ripped off, this is your place.

Good Grief!
Gross. Disgusting. I actually think Taco Bell is better and tastier. This place uses the most boring big white bucket ingredients to make bland Mexican food with no character. The chicken salad is a piece of defrosted chicken on a bed of grocery store greens. They serve you tap water, unfiltered. The shrimp tapas tastes like swamp garbage. For some inexplicable reason they serve bread instead of chips and salsa.
The margarita tastes like toilet cleaner and no doubt come from a cheap chemical mix.
Also, did I mention that the seating is falling apart?
This place needs a restaurant rescue ASAP, or at least a new chef.

Well, hate to say it but this place has gone down hill in all areas– drinks, food and service.
Drinks– we ordered margaritas. I ordered a virgin margarita and it literally was sprite with a margarita mixer float and the other one was straight tequilla with a shot of squirt. And to top it off, mine had a mysterious slimy slug looking thing in it.— no bueno—
Food– we ordered 3 small plates. The potatoes are def not what they used to be. They are now over fried and cut really small in shape. In the past they used to lightly fried, super moist and didn’t have the texture of cornnuts. The other 2 small plates we ordered were delivered to another table! In the end, we were only served 2 of the 3 ordered dishes with one being subpar.
Service– the bartender was a clown! He couldn’t make drinks, didn’t remember the order when we placed it with him and never came back to check on us.
Overall, I am saddened that Cha Cha Cha’s is now on our WONT GO BACK list.

I came here for a mini reunion with my old coworkers. Wow, this place is amazing. We got 2 pitchers of sangria for 6 girls, I’m a fan! All the alcohol is in the fruits so if you want to get to a good level of tipsy, I definitely recommend eating the fruits. As for food, I ordered the Cajun Shrimp and shared the Calamari.
Wow, let me talk about the Cajun Shrimp. IT IS SO BOMB. I can eat that and just bread for the whole meal, it’s like nonstop goodness! The calamari came with a nice dip. But with the cajun shrimp, I could barely concentrate on the calamari. I ate about half the cajun shrimp and brought the rest home. It’s like something between a curry and boiling crab sauce. It is so amazing, out of anything on the menu, definitely go for the cajun shrimp.

I like tooo cha cha! This place is a fun place to go eat, with many different quality of small plates. Also the atmosphere is usually loud here which gets people in the mood to party or have a good time or a drink. The wait for this place ususally runs from 30 to 60 min wait to get seated. My favorite item is the Cajun shrimp with there bread. Yummmy to dip the bread into the Cajun shrimp sauce! Best thing there!

Came here with a group on a Sunday night and they were pretty busy – good sign! It was full, but the noise level permitted conversation. Seating can feel tight, but didn’t keep us from ordering a lot of food:
Fried New Potatoes: really good! Perfectly fried, they paired perfectly with the aioli it came with on the side. The aioli could have been a little more seasoned, but I still enjoyed it.
Ceviche: me and my tablemates agreed this is one of the best we’ve had. Tangy!
Jerk Chicken: this was my favorite. Tender chicken, flavorful seasoning, fluffy rice on the side.
Fried Plantanos Maduros: I am not a plantain or banana person, but appreciated the way this was prepared. Those who like plantains will love this. It’s not overly sweet so it was great alongside savory entrees.
Chicken Wings: pretty good, and came with some yummy guacamole.
Chicken Curry Empanada: yummy curry flavor in a flaky crust.
We shared a pitcher of sangria and I devoured a couple of pieces of the house bread… everything was so good!
Side note: the area is sketchy at night so go in a group and walk each other to your cars.

No wait on a Sunday around 7 or 8pm.
The servers have a very chill vibe, we joked around with a couple of them. It’s a fun, laid back place.
None of the food was particularly amazing or lived up to what we’d heard. See below, as well as my photos for more details.
* Free bread basket — 3 stars
A little stale/​plain, but we were hungry & it was good at soaking up the extra sauce.
* Sangria (red, pitcher) — 3 stars
Sweet. Very sweet. Not amazing. Plenty of fruit.
* Cevice — 1.5 stars
Ingredients tasted like they’d been sitting out for hours. Not appetizing.
SPECIAL TAPAS
* Cha3 Jerk Chicken (over white rice, toped w/​spicy habanero-​raisin jerk sauce $ 13) — 3.5 stars
Pretty good sauce, chicken meat is dark and pretty moist, but dish overall is quite plain.
TAPAS
* Cajun Shrimp (sauteed in a spicy cream sauce $ 12)
Sauce has a kick but is a bit watery. Shrimp has a decent crunch.
* Fried Platanos Maduros (Tropical sweet bananas w/​back beans & sour cream $ 9.25) — 3.5 stars
Plantains are good, soft and sweet, though the black beans a little overcooked. The plantains and beans do offer a nice contrast in flavors.

There’s something to be said about this long time Mission staple that ignores all the hipster cliches that’s become «The Mish.» No hidden sign, no steampunk designs in front… in fact, I can’t even recall the ambiance of the venue. All I know is that when I leave Cha Cha Cha, I’m pretty much wasted drunk having inane conversations with my friends on our way back home. I blame this on one thing at Cha Cha Cha: their potent sangria pitchers. At happy hour prices, this sangria is no joke. If it can get my friends who drink like fish having amnesia about the night before, I’ll choose this place’s sangria over overpriced cocktails at any other hipster joint.
While imbibing our sangria, we ordered pulled pork quesadilla, seafood paella, and marinated chicken wings. It tasted delicious to our drunken palates.
Let’s cha cha cha that the Mission still retains some of its dive scene.

Love love love Cha Cha Cha!
I came in here with some of my girlfriends just looking to get a pitcher of sangria at the bar. But after we ordered that, we realized we HAD to get some food too. My girls had the calamari and empanada, which they loved. I tried the calamari too, so I can totally vouch for that one!
I personally shared the jerk chicken dish. It was only $ 13 for 2 thighs, and a side of rice. Omg! If that wasn’t the most delicious piece of chicken I’ve had in awhile… I don’t know what is. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. It was too perfect. The $ 30 pitcher of sangria was great as well. Tasted delicious and had me at a good little buzz.
I will be back for sure!