Charanga

Great food! Recently had a dinner here with a group of 4, including drinks, and tip under $ 100! What?!? Amazing.
Food was consistently good. The «coconut rice» was only ok. Service was a little slow, but the sangria was tasty and not too sweet, and the yucas fritas, plantains, chicken mole, and sweet potatoes were all delightful.
Definitely a more relaxed atmosphere that nearby cha cha cha.

I’ve eaten here several times with the wife, but only now getting around to writing a review. We’ve had everything on the menu here but I always come back to the picadillo cubano. One night in particular I gorged myself on a plate of this wonderful dish all by myself. While our plates were being cleared, I asked our server «May I have another, please?» «Absolutely! We love hearing that!» she replied.
Yes… I ate a whole second main course by my self.
The service is fast, the drinks are delicious, and the atmosphere is cozy and at the same time makes you feel like you’ve gotten away from SF for the night.
After most visits, I can be seen getting rolled like Violet Beauregarde out the front door of this establishment. It’s that damn good.

Closer to 3.5 stars than 4 for great service and very decent food. Sick the margaritas unless you like super sweet and sticky ones and go straight to the mix drinks with alcohol.
We had a selection of plates from the menu for 6 of us and everyone enjoyed what they had. Standouts included the ceviche and the pork dish.
Be sure to use the Unilocal check in to receive 15% off.

My Giant and I could not get into Cha Cha Cha, but we were so happy to find this cute restaurant down the road. Busy for a Friday night, but we got lucky since it was just the two of us. I had the cerviche, which was pretty good. I actually walked back to the restroom and passed the kitchen, where I literally saw the cooks cracking open oysters. My Giant had a steak, which he said was not bad as well. Sangria was delicious.

Me and the wifey sought out this destination on our Happy Hour crawl because of the great specials. Not a true 4, but slightly more than a 3.5 I guess so far. Tues-​Sun 4 – 6 $ 5 cubans and fish tacos, free chips and salsa (1^st order only), and $ 2.50 Sangria (½ off pitchers), $ 3 beers, and $ 4 wells.
Atmosphere (4): It’s got a cute little café vibe. Tables and whatnot with a small bar. Some tables out in the front windows make it feel kind of coffee shopish, which is actually pretty cool. Very clean and comfy. and GREAT music playing!!!
Clientele (4): Very chill crowd of people, very diverse crowd of people, it was a very laid back vibe here, which we could appreciate.
Food (Incomplete): Honestly, we came here thinking we would get a cuban, but ended up not even trying the food. We got the chips and salsa though and the salsa was actually pretty good.
Drinks (4): I don’t know, I kind of wanted to give them a 3 on this because the Sangria was not that great (much better and maybe even cheaper next door at Cha Cha Cha). Tried the red and the white. However, we tried this really great Peruvian beer whose name escapes me at the moment, but I think it was the only one on the menu. They have a few latin American beers, but this was one of the best that I have ever had.
Value (4): Great deals and a great place to just unwind. If you can get here in time or are in the area on the weekend, definitely check it out for some food and/​or drinks.
Service (2): We did not get the friendliest or most attentive service, but I would have to come back to see if this is consistent. We felt like we got a little bit of attitude when we asked for the chips and salsa and nearly were charged for them. We also felt somewhat of a guilt trip for not ordering food and just enjoying our drinks. Sorry, just not that hungry.
Wifey’s two cents: «Cool place, but we should either order food or move on I think.»

Good food, but small portions and slightly overpriced.
This is the first time I’ve ever gone on a PBS «Check, Please» recommendation and I did not share the experience they sold me on. It was not busy (almost empty for a Thursday night). The waitress was very nice, but again the small portions and price tag sort of turned me off.
$ 80 bucks for 3 ppl.: small white sangria and 4 pretty small tapas, but we left hungry and in need of BiRite.
One dish that was really worthy of coming back to was the chifrijo (layers of rice, beans, pico de gallo with crackling pig).

This is a small restaurant on Mission street but very friendly atmosphere. The staff were very attentive and the food was tasty. I had the ceviche tico and love that it had hearts of palm and cucumbers. We also had the sweet potato with queso fresco which was surprisingly good. It was very sweet. Loved it. Their sangria was also tasty. I wish I had arrived in time for their happy hour since they had reasonable drink prices. This would be a fun place to eat with a group. I’d definitely go back.

Came here for brunch today; and didn’t realize it until we walked in, but this is definitely the same place I had my birthday dinner a couple of years ago. I’ll have to trawl throuh my reviews to figure out if the restaurant changed name, or if I just forgot to update my review.
Anyways, the quality of everything was on par with last time. Staff were friendly enough, but in terms of service provided, it was okay I guess if you’re not working for large tips. We didn’t get checked back on once we got our brunch items, and my glass of water sat empty for the rest of the meal; we only ordered one iced tea but we were both two — albeit after explaining she gave us the second one on the house, but it’s the overall listening skills that concerned me.
The rice, eggs and pork crackling dish was just ok — reading from te other Unilocal reviews my expectations were extremely high. I grew up having Sunday Roast Pork at last once a month, and I know what really good dripping crackling tastes like, and this stuff wasn’t it. That’s not to say what they served was bad — it just wasn’t what I was expecting.
Overall my dish was just ok.
My husband had anothe breakfast dish, Huevos (Ranchebos?) something (not rancheros but I can’t remember what — sorry) and it was meant to have Chroizo, unfortunately the kitchen was out of Chorizo (a little bit disappointing considering we were one of the customers there on a Sunday) but we were able to substitute with pulled pork. It was ok, Chorizo really would have hit the spot though.
I’m glad I came for breakfast after reading all the good reviews, and perhaps my rating is affected by just my overall impression rather than food specific?

After discovering that there was a 2 hour wait for 3 people at Cha Cha Cha’s I was so excited to come across Charaga just a few doors down. Instantly, I was sucked in by the ambiance and blaring Latin tunes which really kicked up the energy! The place is small and intimate, has a mom and pop, authentic, cozy at home feel to it which I liked.
NOTE: I was able to get 25% OFF MY BILL through Unilocal!With 6 tapas, our bill ended up coming out to $ 100 so the discount totally made a difference.
OK ON TO THE FOOD!
The food was fantastic!!! The dishes are small, tapas style.
My favorites were:
*Albondigas — Little cuban meatballs. OMG these were little slices of heaven. Perfectly cooked, JUICY, and bursts of flavor from the pimentonsauce.
*Aroz con Pollo — Costa Rican style chicken and rice. Delicious! The chicken (Breast I think) is cut up into little pieces and basically mixed in with the rice which also contains olives, raisins, peas, herbs. You can’t really taste the raisins and olives if you’re not a fan of these two ingredients.
*Tostones a la Tica — Plantains. Perfectly cooked, not too hard, not too soft.
We also ordered:
Ceviche Chino Latino — Ahi tuna marinated in lime, soy sauce and ginger with avo. This dish was really good, but not my favorite just because I thought the cubes were a little harder than I’m used to. I guess on the drier side. I think because I’m used to Japanese style tuna with a kick of Wasabi did I feel that this dish was a little bland and lacked some major taste. My friend however thought it was her favorite dish.
Good thing Cha Cha Cha’s does not take reservations and has an insane wait. I wouldn’t have stumbled across this gem!

After all the reading about the bad service and sicknesses, I was quite worried. One of the most useful skills I have learned as a philosophy student is to question everything. Happy be me!
I came here on a Sunday afternoon in hopes of filling my ever so empty stomach. I was anticipating my first meal of the day, and my tummy wanted to make that clear to everybody. When I came in, I was immediately offered a seat at the bar. Sweet. Food menu and drink menu, all ready for my pickiness. I ordered yucca frita, tostones a la tica, and a Cuban sandwich with a passionfruit mojito. Luckily, happy hour made my Cuban sandwich $ 5. Hurrah!
The yucca frita was hands-​down the best fried yucca I’ve ever had, and I don’t even like yucca that much! It was too hot, so I had to split every piece in half and wait 3 – 4 minutes to dip it in the yummy chipotle sauce and nomnomnom it. Mmm! The tostones were good, but could have used a little more flavor. They was still better than average, especially since I had been searching for tostones for years. The Cuban sandwich was average. It was drippy with borderline-​hard bread: not enough to chip a tooth, but it did make my teeth a bit achey. It was a very filling meal, but I wasn’t sure if it was worth $ 50. The passionfruit mojito was yummy.
Service was very good, I had nice conversation with the bartender/​server. She told me she makes tostones at home on a regular basis, mmm. Other than that, she was very friendly, helpful (I’m very indecisive), and brought out my food quickly.
What are all those angry reviewers talking about?

Best Dish was Civiche Chino Latino!
I wanted to try something new so I ended up trying Charanga Pan-​Latin Cuisine. Delicious food, good lively crowd, good service. I went on a Saturday night with my auntie and we sat at the bar. The bartender kept filling our drinks up which was good for us.
Cocktails were good. Also had Arroz con Pollo, Lechon Asado, and Yucca Frita. All delicious dishes. First time having this food. I will definitely have more.

We were in the area and hungry. Had a choice of Charanga or Cha Cha Cha of which neither I’d been to. I chose Charanga because it seemed to have less hype – which can sometimes be good, sometimes be bad.
In this case it was good! We had the Patatas Bravas, Camarones Puerto Viejo and the Grilled Niman Ranch Steak.
All were very tasty. The shrimp were my favorite. The wait staff was very friendly to boot!

Casually wandered in here after the wait for Cha Cha Cha’s was about an hour and a half or something equally ridiculous.
All we wanted was tapas and sangria, and since there was no one inside here, we came in.
The Sangria really wasn’t all that great. It was extremely watered down and we could barely taste any alcohol.
Some of the dishes however were pretty decent, and quite surprising.
The Ceviche Chino Latino was without a doubt our favorite. We were stunned by how much tuna was actually stuffed into the glass it is served in.
When all is said and done however, I think we prefer Cha Cha Cha’s over Charanga for the food and drink. However, if you’re with a large party and want to just eat w/​o a wait, Charanga might be an ok option.

Ok, I’ll have to admit that I had never even heard of Charanga before it was featured on Bay Area Check Please. Damn Leslie Sbrocco gets you every time ;)
We had dinner with some friends here and had a great time. It’s quaint on the inside but has a nice friendly feeling. Our waitress was very nice and patient with us as it took a while to figure out what we wanted to eat since we were busy catching up and talking. My only ask of Charanga would be that there would be more chips that are included when you order chips and salsa. Otherwise everything was excellent.
I really enjoyed the pork dish and the meatballs were very tasty too. They had a good drink selection as well. The portions are not huge so make sure you order enough plates to make sure you’re full. For dessert we had ginger cake and coconut ice cream. I thought that the ice cream made the dish.
Very inexpensive but very tasty food in a welcoming envionment!

I don’t know Cuban food all that well other than lechon but don’t all great cultures have some form of yummy crispy greasy pig? So lechon, cuban sandwiches, black beans and rice, and platinos are my frame of reference.
After much hype from my roomy’s visiting family we came here at a funny time of day (well for Americans) lunch at 2:30pm! :shock: The place was empty and we had the wait staff to ourselves. We ordered a large pitcher of sangria, decent, and all shared 2 ceviches. For my palate it was a bit bland — I wanted something a little more spicy and flavorful — the soy marinade was interesting and I enjoyed the pea shoots the most. I ordered the chicken mole. I think that the best way to get an idea of the place if they can make a good mole I’m there — it was bland and it seemed to be cut with some kind of cream and just smeared on top of some chicken breasts that had no flavor and were dry.
Now I’m a picky eater when I go out, in this budgeting-​time I know i can get good food on the cheap but Charanga didn’t really do anything for me. I left wanting more flavor, richer food with spice and depth. I don’t think I got that.

Happy Hour review:
$ 2 Sangria, $ 5 Fish tacos
$ 2 Sangria — Tasted decent, a little on the too much wine side for me.
$ 5 fish tacos — A lot better than many other places I’ve tried. It’s not a fish fillet, but the taste makes it worth it.
Customer service was really great!

How can a restaurant manage to serve better drinks than food, but even worse is when the drink comes from a bottle? Well, Charanga manages to do it well…
First off, you know there must be a reason on Friday night when there’s no one waiting and there’s several tables available while there’s a crowd of people outside of Cha Cha Cha’s…
Come Friday, I was trying to decide on a nearby place to eat before hitting up Bruno’s. Naturally, Cha Cha Cha’s came to mind, however, the long wait and no reservation had me turning to Unilocal. Charanga seemed like a viable alternative with a 3.5 STAR rating and because it was just a couple of door down from Bruno’s. HUGE FAIL!
We had reservations at 9:00 pm; arrived at 9:12 pm and was promptly seated.
FOOD:
*Yucca Frita w/​chipotle aioli: The best dish out of all our dishes b/​c you can’t go wrong with something fried right? The yucca was diced into 1 – 2 inch pieces and fried to light golden brown color. It was crisp outside and soft in the center. It tasted just like a potato except it had more texture and is slightly sweet. The chipotle aioli was on point; creamy and had a fiery kick to it.
*Arroz con Pollo: Eck! The rice was undercooked and the liquid from the black beans had run underneath and around the rice creating a crunchy hard and soggy rice dish at the same time. The chicken breast pieces were dry and the entire dish itself was flavorless, even with the olives and raisins which should have added a salty and sweet flavor.
*Carribean Paella (cococut curry rice w/​shrimp): Sounds good doesn’t it? But, it was plain NASTY! The paella arrived on a white plate with the rice on one side topped with four shrimps with a veggie mixture of kale, asparagus, and mushrooms. This dish was wrong on so many levels. The rice looked a like a globular mess of a risotto; it was mushy, caked together, and the rice wasn’t fully cooked resulting in a hard center. There was some coconut flavor but the curry added more color than seasoning. The shrimp… b/​c some of the crust had fell off, some parts were very salty and some parts had no flavor at all. The veggie mixture was the best part of the dish, although I never knew paella was served with kale and asparagus, much less as a side dish?
SERVICE:
Very friendly and attentive and is the only reason why Charanga is getting 2 STARS. Our waitress was very down-​to-​earth and did a great job of recommending the Imperial beer b/​c it was awesome (light like Corona with a sweet, smooth finish). The food didn’t take too long to come out… about 7 – 8 min for the app, and then another 7 – 8 minutes for the mains.
AMBIANCE:
The restaurant itself was very vibrant with it’s red brick wall and bright blue/​teal walls with Spanish accents of artwork and vases. However, we were seated at the table near the door and the chair is literally inches from the door. Every time someone left or walked in, the door would SLAM and SLAM HARD which was very distracting.
PARKING:
Street parking… but it is The Mission after all and parking may be difficult given all the surrounding restaurants, bars, and clubs. There is a parking lot on the same block which is a $ 10 flat fee at night.
Overall, a very disappointing meal and I would never come back again. And, you know the food is bad when you’re trying to force down your meal just to get something in your stomach before drinking and the fact you’re already talking about your next meal from the nearby BACON WRAPPED HOTDOG CART…*Sigh*

I HEART Charanga!
$ 2 sangria during happy hour. 5 – 7 EVERYDAY.
Ten minute walk from house.
Great service.
Nice simple environment.
Made it to work the next day without mofo hangover. Now that’s priceless.
And thank you Dan for getting our pitcher of sangria and dessert, that was super, super cool of you!

Let me go ahead and set the record straight about what an amazing place this is.
Last weekend I had a brown friend in town, a.k.a. she speaks Spanish and is from Puerto Rico. We decided to explore The Mission on a … mission… to dispel the rumors we’d heard that this area of town wasn’t safe.
What I have to say is that the best night I’ve ever had in San Francisco was spent at an outside table of Charanga, enjoying happy hour, «sipping» on sangria, devouring tuna ceviche and eventually salsa dancing on the street in front of the restaurant.
We sort of chanced upon Charanga. We parked on Mission & 16^th and made our way down the street. We heard music coming from a doorway, walked toward it (push IN), found an amazing happy hour (50% off sangia, and $ 5 cuban sandwiches & fish tacos), and eventually stayed for 5 hours.
As far as food goes I give this place 5+ stars. The FREE happy hour chips and salsa are BOTH fresh made and delicious. The Cuban sandwich was amazing, and oh my God the tuna ceviche was like heaven in my mouth (splurge on it!).
Ok so I’ve covered food (amazing) and booze (cheap & great sangria), so let’s talk atmosphere. The music here is great, the mood is fun, and even better, the owners are always at the restaurant to make sure everything runs smoothly. Heather & Gabby run a great restaurant and really care about their customer’s experience.
As for salsa dancing on the front porch/​street, well you might have to bring that party yourself. For now they have speakers outside, so if you’re feeling the rhythm after a pitcher of sangria, I highly suggest creating your own dance floor. Rumor is that in the future Charanga might be bringing in live entertainment (at which point I will give them 6 stars).
When we left the restaurant around 10 or 11p the place was hoppin’! And yet another great thing about this place is its placement right next to lots of cool bars & places to dance after dinner.
I also give The Mission 5 stars for giving my car back to me in one piece, and not on blocks.
So mission accomplished — The Mission is an amazing place, safe, fun, and has a great restaurant called Charanga!

Dearest Fidel,
Como esta, brother? It eez your leetle brother Raul. America been berry, berry good to me. I write thees letter from San Francisco, last stop of my goodweell treep before I return to our beloved Habana. I stay in luxury American hotel in Meeshun. It eez nice. I share toilet with only twelve people. The people, they are nice. I give my hotel soap to man on street. He no give back. The women, they are nice. Their breasts, they are nice. They no give back either. I try and meet Gaveen Newsom, the mayor, but he no give back either. His hair, it eez nice.
I eat plenty bueno in America. They have much wealth. I got you pink iPod mini for cheap. They have much food. I eat at Charanga, nice Cubano place but I see no Cubanos except in pictures on wall. Menu eez like home but cost more dinero. It eez no cheap here. I start with $ 7 Mojito Rumbero. Yes, you heard it right, brother…$ 7. It has mint and lime but no rum since they no have hard liquor license. They use Coral Reef. It not same but still tasty. Remind me of that leetle chica in Santiago. Remember, Fidel? Ay carumba!
I share appetizer with my new American gringo friends. We had $ 7.75 casa special with butter lettuce, red potatoes and asparagus in light dressing. It eez nice. We had $ 13.50 Ceviche Chino Latino. It had ahi tuna with avocado, but I think it eez in soy and lime marinade a leetle too long. Tuna leetle dry. We had $ 17.25 Lechon Asado, shredded pork just like Mamacita make with citrus, garlic and oregano. It come with plantain hash and watercress. It eez nice.
We had $ 12.50 Pinchos de Pollo. It had cheeken breast chunks marinated in lime with green papaya and pea sprout salad. It eez best dish I ever have. Don’t tell Mamacita. We got stuffed in belly, but we need sweet. We had $ 6.50 Mexican Chocolate Almond Torte. It eez nice and no too sweet. I take siesta with my new American friends. My wallet gone. And we no get trade embargo lifted. Bummer. But Charanga been berry, berry good to me. I no forget to buy you Mickey Mouse hat at airport.
Your loyal brother,
Raul Castro
First Vice Presidente of the Cubano Council of State
P.S…Your uniform, it fit fine. I ready to take over anytime now. Anytime.
FOOD — 4 stars… it eez nice, some dishes disappoint but others, they are tasty
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… it eez the Meeshun… rustic dining room, kinda empty… bar was hopping for a Thursday
SERVICE — 4 stars… waiter is a friendly, helpful newcomer to SF from Trenton, New Jersey
TOTAL — 4 stars… worthy Cuban alternative in a town lacking them… what’s good enough for Castro is good enough for America