El Mercado Urbano at La Urbana

This is my first review on Unilocal and it’s inspired by my disappointment in our dinner.
The hip aspect had me thinking we’d get something more adventurous than can be had at the Mexican joints further up Divis, but I was WAY disappointed.
I picked up take-​out, spent $ 48, and grew suspicious as I left as the weight of the to go bag was a bit light My suspicion was confirmed as it was definitely low on the quantity front.
The disappointment was unfortunately not offset by flavor — the food was dull and boring, nothing especial whatsoever.
I’m frankly suspicious of the source of all of the four star reviews I see on this page. I feel like we’re talking about two different places. I definitely would not recommend this joint at all.

This place is simply amazing! I can come here after a long day at work, bring my dog, enjoy GREAT tacos and be waited on by truly kind staff. Plus the taco Tuesday prices are the best I’ve seen in the city for the quality of the food you get!

These little tacos make me so happy. Fave taco stuffings:
–costillas (short rib)
–carne asada
–chorizo con papas
–carnitas
The tacos are authentic, but slightly elevated. The meats are delicious. Personally, I did not find the fish tacos to be anything to write home about. Stick with the other meats (they’re cheaper than the fish tacos too).
Taco happy hour ($ 2 tacos, $ 4 draft modelo especial, $ 6 Sangria) 4 – 6 Mon — Fri.
Atmosphere: a place where people often gather with friends. It’s in a converted garage with a few tables. Three 4 tops, one 3 top, one 6 top, two 10 tops. It can be hard to get a table during popular times as people tend to hang out for a while. The staff is excellent and friendly. Definitely worth checking out!

On a nice summer night, sitting in the open air garage, sipping mezcal, and eating corn chips is pretty awesome so despite the low star rating I do come back here. I like their fish tacos but unfortunately, the place only gets 3 stars because I just don’t really like their other tacos… my friends seem to like them so maybe it’s just me but I don’t find their sauces to be well balanced. Sometimes too acid, sometimes a little too bitter. I’ll just say that there’s so much potential for the tacos to be better!

Delicious! Great place all around. Cool modern Mexican interior with lots of seating and interesting art on the walls.
$ 3 tacos are fantastic– great flavors and heaped high with fresh ingredients.
$ 17 ceviche comes in a ball jar and has perfect balance.
Staff is really nice and accommodating!

We really love this place and frequent it on Tuesdays for Taco Tuesday. I think they make their own corn tortillas and we like the short rib, pork, chorizo and often try the special taco. Drafts are $ 4 and tacos are $ 2. We can usually eat 4 each but we do walk 2 miles before and after eating there to offset. Staff is great and the hot sauce is awesome. I hope they an reopen the garage to the outdoor once it warms up. Inside with the door closed it get pretty toasty.

Loved their taco tuesday! Each taco was unbelievably delicious and well-​priced. I tried one taco off the taco tuesday menu and didn’t like it as much as anything on the normal Tuesday menu (not to mention it cost 3x as much…, so I recommend sticking to their daily specials. Would definitely return, my mouth is watering so much just writing this review.

Come here for Taco Tuesday specials that runs 11:30am to close! $ 2 tacos with your choice of protein (warning for non-​spicy eaters, it’s hella spicy!!) $ 4 draft beers, $ 6 house sangria, $ 6 shots and they have a full bar as well if you’re not into those options.
There was also a Bacon Dog on the menu that is a must-​try. It takes awhile to prepare but it’s worth the wait. Will definitely be back!

We went there on a Sunday and were able to get a table for 5 people for brunch at 11 — yayy! The food was great, and their drinks were very good too. I will absolutely come back here, especially since we live close by.
Why only 3 starts though? I’m not going to make this a long comment, because I think it’s a great place, BUT they have to work a bit to train their staff. The drink service was super slow (the food came out very fast) and we only got our coffees at the end of the meal — about an hour later — because they ran out of coffee cups?! I guess this can happen (although it shouldn’t be a big deal to buy more cups, especially since the restaurant wasn’t full) but my biggest issue was that the waiter didn’t tell us this — we had to ask him a few times where our coffee was, until he revealed the main cause — and yes I did see him legitimately waiting for cups.
Again, great food & drinks, but a bit more communication from the staff (and more cups) would help make it a ⁴⁄₅ star place.

Great job! Yummy tacos and great service!
What else do you need? The waiter with the shirt buttoned all the way up is super. Thank you.

Two words: HAPPY HOUR. At first I was confused because I didn’t realize that La Urbana is the restaurant, and El Mercado Urbano is the smaller place in the garage next door. Order food and drinks at the counter then find a seat somewhere in the dimly lit room. I love how casual this place is – perfect for a second date (not entirely sure what that means) or just hanging out with friends.
There are great happy hour prices, but I definitely did not enjoy the food as much as I enjoyed the company I was wish. Perhaps I should have ordered a margarita from next door, but I was in the mood for beer so I got that instead. The tacos were unimpressive, and I felt like my hands were covered in dripping oil by the end of stuffing my face. Not fun. Then again they were $ 2 so I’m not really complaining.
Needless to say, the verdict is that I would actually come back here for the cool vibe and to give this place another chance. Great concept!

I got a late Friday dinner at El Mercado on a recent trip to San Francisco. I’d been driving most of the day and was pretty happy with this choice of restaurant, which was easy to walk into and had great drinks.
El Mercado is attached to a fancier restaurant – technically, I think the space is a garage, tricked out with some hip mural art by an artist of some renown. We were a party of four and had no trouble seating ourselves. We ordered both food and drink up at a bar/​counter from a very friendly server. The whole set-​up was very casual and relaxed.
The drinks were excellent. El Mercado only has a few on its menu, but I think you can order from the La Urbana side without much difficulty. I had La Urbana Margarita, which was on the El Mercado list, and a Mexican Dude, which I only knew about because one of my friends had had it here before. The margarita was great, smokey and well balanced, made with mezcal, fresh lime, agave syrup, and chimolera extracted citrus oils, served on the rocks. The Mexican Dude was delicious, a variation on a White Russian (love that this drink is forever tied to The Big Lebowski) with vodka, mezcal, coffee liqueur, and horchata. I love horchatas, so this drink sounded right up my alley and it delivered in full. I also took a sip of my friends watermelon agua fresca with a kick of mezcal and it was good if not my favorite – the mezcal (which I enjoy plain when in the right mood) came off strong and didn’t mix quite right with the juice.
I was a little less taken with the food. Three of us shared an order of ceviche, and this was probably my favorite thing we got. It was tangy and bright, firm hunks of fresh fish mixed with avocado, cilantro, lime, and orange. The ceviche came in a mason jar, with a side of tortilla chips that were tasty but so hard I worried about damaging my teeth. I got two tacos for the rest of my meal, and these were not as good as I’d hoped. I got the carnitas and the chicken tinga, both served with salsa, avocado, and onion on blue corn tortillas. The flavors were good, but the pork and the chicken were both slightly dry, and the blue tortillas, while lovely, were on the stale side. Maybe it was just an off night, particularly for the housemade tortillas, but I wouldn’t seek out El Mercado for the tacos.
If I lived in the city, I’d definitely go back, though, at least for the vibe and the wonderful drinks. We had a great time at El Mercado – it was fun without hassle, a great start to a night out in San Francisco.

Perfect experience at EL mercado last night!!!
FOOD
Their tacos are honestly really delicious, even if my advice is: do go there during happy hour because they’re only $ 2 each and I’m not gonna lie they are quite small so I wouldn’t pay more than that. BUT they are really good. I tried the carnitas, pollo and short ribs ones. The latter was a little dry to my taste, but the other two were supremely delicious.
DRINKS
Had a delicious and non expensive Mexican beer! $ 4 it was I think.
ATMOSPHERE
Really casual, if you get there at 6 ish you will probably have to sit with other people because the sitting area is quite small, but since the atmosphere is very chill and vibrant, you will probably get to meet really nice people!
So I say if you’re looking for a casual Happy Hour place with good food and great service/​vibe; ain’t gonna say more than: check this place out.

Love this place. Especially at happy hour time. The food is amazing and unlike La Urbana next door, the prices are super reasonable. The tacos and only $ 2 during happy hour. The cocktails are amazing. Family friendly. Great before sunset so it doesn’t get cold in this open air space.
I love the vibe — slightly hipster but still a bit trendy, edgy and grunge at the same time.

I tried to be conservative by getting two tacos. But i HAD to do four eventually. They ask you if you want to keep your tab open when you pay– THEY KNOW. I’m sure I could have gotten more to be honest.
Favorite is the chicken– so juicy and flavorful. Something about that blue corn tortilla makes me happy too :) The atmosphere is laid back, open, and vibrant. A local artist decorated the walls with an amazing mural and big garage doors open to the streets! Lovely spot to grub with a few friends and kick back!

Wow! 5 stars especially for their in-​house hot sauce! I would buy that by the case. Tried the fish taco, chicken, short rib and carnitas. I have to admit the short rib was by far my favorite. All were topped by shredded cabbage, cilantro, red onion, avocado on all but the fish, carnitas had tomatillo sauce, short rib had Cotixa crumbles and other goodness I didn’t have the patience to identify because I was so hungry I inhaled it in 30 seconds. The chicken was delicious too with a sweet tangy sauce and tender meat. The blue corn tortillas were perfection! Not crumbly at all, just the right thickness and chewiness.
Oh did I mention? $ 2/​taco!!!

Dishes are high quality and fresh. But be advised — eat a small snack before hand, portions are small and expensive!
Ambiance gets a B+. Trendy Mexican, day of the dead-​like décor, but community tables can make for an awkward date!

I used to live down in La Jolla which meant that Tijuana was only a short 30 minute drive away. Tijuana = AMAZING tacos for me and set the new bar in terms of what street tacos and carnitas should taste like. A friend of mine took me to this obscure street taco stand that literally I could not tell you where it was since I have no freaking clue. I just remember driving through some residential area and BAM there it was. On the street. A dude making tacos. And a HUGE ASS line. Those were some of the BEST tacos I’ve ever had. Nowadays, a bit older and a bit wiser, I probably wouldn’t wander so naively.
I was dead set on eating at Nopa and since it was decided the morning of, the only way to score a juicy pork chop was to show up at 4:55 and get in line for the walk ins.
Enter El Mercado. We walked by just by chance and saw their big sign for Happy Hour. Plus the set up looked just like those taco shacks down in Mexico. Tacos? Yes please!!! We had an hour and a half to kill and we settled in here. The owner was SUPER friendly and has a beautiful blue Great Dane Bar Puppy that was snoozing in his crate in the corner.
We had time to kill and I probably had THE BEST CARNITAS taco EVER. It was perfect. Not too greasy, deliciously porky and topped with a wedge of avocado and tomatillo salsa. A few lime squeezes and I devoured it. If I didn’t have to save room for Nopa, I could have easily eaten 5 – 6 of these babies. They use Niman Ranch pork and the quality of their food shone through the simplest yet tastiest taco.
Now I’m craving more tacos…

I have to say, this place is one of my top favorite places! Outside has a unique look and you can’t really tell what the restaurant is called. I’ve always wanted to try La Urbana and so glad that I did. Food was phenomenal, decent priced, casual environment and great service. It wasn’t that packed when I came here on a Tuesday.
They also do Happy Hour on Tuesday (4:30−6:30pm), which is $ 2 dollar tacos. The menu is very limited during happy hour — drinks and tacos. Ordering at the bar would be less of a wait. Also, the tortillas are homemade.
As for appetizers I ordered:
— Avocado Purée, crema, chicharron de elote
— Sopes, mayocoba beans, pork carnitas, crema, salsa verde, queso fresco
— Pork belly, pina, apples, celery, al pastor glaze, tortillas
— Spicy Brussels Sprouts
Main entrée:
Salmon, fresh mushrooms, huittlacoche, fried leeks

First time here and definitely not my last
Happy hour review only;
$ 2 tacos — beef and chicken and veggie. Ordered the beef and chicken and they were Soo tasty. Definitely worth$ 2! I’ll even paid full price if it wasn’t happy hr
Very limited menu during happy hr — drinks and tacos only
Very casual
Order at bar
The bartender/​manager was super friendly
I want to try their margaritas! Next time and will also try their regular menu :)