The best burritos in the Mission, ranked: 8 taquerías worth the line

The best burritos in the Mission start at La Taqueria, 2889 Mission Street, and we’ll defend that in front of anyone standing in the El Farolito line. Order the carne asada, ask for it dorado, and don’t go looking for the rice. There isn’t any, and that’s the point. El Farolito is a very close second, and on some nights (you know which ones) it’s first.

This ranking covers the Mission only: no Richmond, no Excelsior, no “technically it’s in Duboce Triangle.” We checked every spot on it against current listings and reporting this week, and we cut the ones that have closed, moved, or gone quiet. Each entry says what to order and why it beats the one below it. After the top 8 you’ll find the rice debate, the best burrito for every situation (after the bars, off BART, for Dolores Park), and a walking crawl from 24th Street to 16th.

What makes a Mission burrito a Mission burrito

A Mission burrito is a specific object, not just “a big burrito.” Here’s the build:

• A huge flour tortilla, steamed (or warmed on the plancha) so it stretches instead of cracking.
• Meat off the grill or out of the pot: carne asada, al pastor, carnitas, pollo, lengua, chile verde.
• Beans, whole pinto or refried, and at most places, rice.
• Salsa, plus onion and cilantro.
• Foil. The foil does real work. It holds a two-pound burrito together while you peel it back a few inches at a time.

Say “super” and you add sour cream, cheese, and guacamole or avocado. Say “dorado” and the finished burrito goes back on the plancha until the tortilla is golden and crisp. That move turns a soft wrap into a shell and is the single best upgrade on this page.

Who invented it (two answers, one block apart)

Two Mission taquerías claim the invention, and neither claim is settled. El Faro, at Folsom and 20th, says it sold the first super burrito to firefighters in September 1961, and the city added it to the Legacy Business Registry in 2024. Taqueria La Cumbre on Valencia says the Duran family sold its first burrito on September 29, 1969, out of what was then a meat market. Locals settle the argument the usual way: by eating at both.

El Faro went up for sale in spring 2026 when its rent nearly doubled, and its future was still unclear when we published. We didn’t rank it for that reason. If it’s open when you’re in the neighborhood, go pay your respects.

How we ranked the best burritos in the Mission

The Mission has more taquerías than any list can hold, and most of them will make you a perfectly good burrito. “Perfectly good” doesn’t make the cut here. We judged on four things:

1. The tortilla. Is it soft, does it stretch, and does it hold up for the last third of the burrito? Bonus points for a real dorado.
2. The meat. Is it seasoned, does it taste like the grill, and is it chopped to order instead of sitting in a steam tray?
3. Construction. Every bite should have a little of everything. A burrito with a rice end and a meat end is a failed burrito.
4. The line. It isn’t a dealbreaker, but we count it. A long line that moves is part of the experience. A long line for a so-so burrito costs points.

We didn’t rank on price, size, or decor. We also didn’t rank on fame: two of the most famous names are in the top 2 because they earned it, not because they’re famous. Places outside the Mission (Gordo, Taqueria El Castillito’s Church Street shop, Al Pastor Papi’s new downtown spot) are great, but they’re not in this ranking.

The 8 best burritos in the Mission, ranked

1. La Taqueria (2889 Mission St, near 25th)

Order: carne asada burrito, dorado. Make it super if you’re hungry.

La Taqueria has been on Mission Street since 1973. It won FiveThirtyEight’s national burrito bracket in 2014 and a James Beard America’s Classics award in 2017, and Miguel Jara’s sons run it today. None of that is why it’s #1. It’s #1 because there’s no rice, so every bite is meat, beans, salsa, and avocado. The carne asada actually tastes like the grill. Ordered dorado, the tortilla comes out crackly and blistered, and the whole thing holds together to the last bite. For years, “dorado” was a word you had to know. As of this summer, it’s an official option on the menu.

Why it beats El Farolito: Construction. La Taqueria’s burrito is smaller, and every inch of it is the good part. El Farolito’s is bigger, and some of that bigness is rice.

Insider detail: The line wraps out the door at lunch, and it moves. Eat it there if you can. A dorado burrito is best in its first ten minutes, and the 24th Street BART station is about a block away if you’re carrying one home.

2. Taquerias El Farolito (2779 Mission St, at 24th)

Order: super burrito al pastor. The shrimp is a strong second.

Salvador “Don Chava” López opened El Farolito in the early 1980s, and the original at 24th and Mission is still the one that matters. The burrito is enormous and packed with rice. It comes out of a kitchen that has turned “it’s late and I’m starving” into a business model. The al pastor carries real char and spice, and the salsa bar is the best on this list.

Why it’s #2: On a pure burrito-to-burrito comparison, the rice makes it heavier and less focused than La Taqueria’s. But El Farolito does something La Taqueria doesn’t, which is be there for you late. That makes it the right answer more nights than not.

Insider detail: A lot of people who order the super regret it halfway through. A regular with al pastor is already a meal and a half.

3. Taqueria La Cumbre (515 Valencia St, between 15th and 16th)

Order: carne asada burrito.

La Cumbre started as the Duran family’s meat market in 1967 and turned into a taquería in 1972. As claims to the first Mission burrito go, theirs comes with a specific date: September 29, 1969. It started as a meat market, so start with the carne asada. The burrito is classic Mission: rice, beans, steamed tortilla, foil, no surprises. Its pleasure is how evenly it’s built.

Why it beats El Gallo Giro: It runs all week, and it’s a short walk from 16th Street BART. It’s the most reliable “classic” burrito in the neighborhood.

Insider detail: It’s at the north end of the Mission, off the 24th Street circuit where most burrito pilgrims start. That makes it the natural last stop on a crawl.

4. El Gallo Giro (truck at 23rd St and Treat Ave)

Order: carnitas burrito. The carne asada super is the other move.

El Gallo Giro has parked at 23rd and Treat since 2002. It’s a truck, it runs on weekdays, and the carnitas are crisp at the edges and juicy in the middle, which is the whole game with carnitas. It’s the best meat-per-dollar on the list (we’re not quoting prices, but you’ll notice).

Why it’s #4 and not higher: The schedule. If it ran on weekends, it would be fighting for #3. Bring cash just in case.

Insider detail: Treat Avenue is a block from Balmy Alley, so you can pair it with the murals (see the crawl below).

5. Taqueria Cancún (2288 Mission St, at 19th)

Order: a regular burrito with your usual meat, then hit the salsa bar.

The Cancún chain started at Market and 6th in 1991, and its 19th Street shop is the Mission’s honest midpoint. It’s halfway between the two BART stations and halfway between the scene at 24th and the scene at 16th. The burrito is well-balanced, generous, and consistent, and it’s the kind of place regulars love and visitors walk past.

Why it beats El Metate: It’s the more classic Mission build and it’s easier to get to. El Metate is the more interesting burrito, not the better one.

Insider detail: When the 24th Street lines are brutal, this is the move. It’s a short walk, and the wait is usually shorter.

6. El Metate (2406 Bryant St, between 22nd and 23rd)

Order: chile verde pork burrito.

The yellow building on Bryant makes a burrito that’s longer, thinner, and wrapped tighter than the Mission Street norm. It’s the easiest burrito on this list to eat with one hand. The chile verde is tangy and tender and the reason to cross the neighborhood for it.

Why it beats La Vaca Birria: It nails the everyday burrito. La Vaca Birria makes a fantastic special-occasion one.

Insider detail: It’s on the east side of the Mission, away from the BART corridor, so it’s a better stop if you’re coming from Potrero Hill or riding down Bryant.

7. La Vaca Birria (2962 24th St)

Order: the grilled cheese burrito with birria.

The newcomer on the list, and the most argued-about. La Vaca soaks its tortilla in beef tallow, layers it with melted cheese, then fills it with birria and beans. It’s a burrito with a quesadilla built into the wrapper, and it’s rich enough that most people eat half and take the rest home. The carne asada is mesquite-fired.

Why it’s #7: It costs noticeably more than the old guard (this made national news), and it’s less a Mission burrito than a riff on one. As a riff, it’s terrific.

Insider detail: Split it. Seriously.

8. Taqueria El Buen Sabor (699 Valencia St, at 18th)

Order: carnitas burrito. The chorizo is good if it’s early.

El Buen Sabor has been family-run on Valencia for more than 30 years. Valencia has filled up with wine bars and boutiques around it, and the room is still plain, bright, and made in-house. The meat-to-rice ratio can wander from visit to visit, and that’s what keeps it at #8. The flavor doesn’t wander.

Why it made the list over a dozen others: Location. It’s two blocks from Dolores Park, and that matters more than any other single factor on a sunny Saturday.

Insider detail: Order to go, walk west on 18th, and you’re on the grass before the foil cools.

Also worth your foil on 24th Street

Taqueria San Francisco (2794 24th St) has a loyal following for its al pastor. Papalote (3409 24th St, at Valencia) has been on that corner since 1999. Neither cracked the top 8, but neither would be a bad lunch.

The best burrito in the Mission for every situation

A ranking tells you what’s best. This section tells you what’s best right now, which is the question you’re actually asking when you’re standing on Mission Street.

After the bars

El Farolito. Not close. The bars along Mission and Valencia let out, the line at 24th and Mission fills up, and the burrito is exactly as big as your bad decisions. Get al pastor, get a horchata, and walk it off toward BART. If you’re near 16th instead, Cancún at 19th is your closer, calmer bet.

Right off BART

• 24th St Mission station: El Farolito is at the corner, and La Taqueria is about a block south.
• 16th St Mission station: La Cumbre is a short walk to Valencia. It’s the best burrito within five minutes of the 16th Street plaza.

For Dolores Park

El Buen Sabor on Valencia at 18th, two blocks away. La Cumbre works too if you’re coming from 16th. Dolores is where the Mission eats in the sun when the west side is under fog. A foil burrito and a spot on the upper slope with the skyline in front of you is the best lunch in the city, and that’s not even the burrito talking. If you’re dressing for the hill, our California Republic June 1846 Bear Flag Revolt Vintage T-Shirt was made for afternoons like this, salsa stains and all.

On a weekday lunch break

El Gallo Giro, at 23rd and Treat. It’s fast and it’s the best carnitas on the list. It’s also a truck, so it doesn’t run on weekends.

When you’re feeding a visitor

La Taqueria, dorado. It’s the one they’ve heard about, and it lives up to it. If they want a story to go with it, add La Vaca Birria’s grilled cheese burrito and split both.

The great rice debate

No food argument in San Francisco is older or louder than this one. Here’s the honest version.

Team no rice (La Taqueria): Rice is filler. It dilutes the meat, soaks up the salsa, and turns a burrito into a starch delivery system. Leave it out and the burrito is smaller, denser, and tastes like what you ordered. La Taqueria has left the rice out since day one.

Team rice (nearly everyone else): Rice is structure. It soaks up juice that would otherwise run down your wrist, carries the salsa through the whole burrito, and makes a single burrito into a full meal. The Mission burrito as most of the world knows it, foil and all, has rice in it.

Our verdict: Rice isn’t the problem. Too much rice is the problem. A good rice burrito (La Cumbre, Cancún) uses it as glue. A bad one has a rice end. If you’re going no-rice, go dorado: the crisp tortilla gives you the texture the rice would have.

One more thing. You can order any burrito on this list without rice. A taquería that has rice will leave it out if you ask. What you can’t do is put rice in a La Taqueria burrito, so don’t ask.

A Mission burrito crawl: 24th Street to 16th Street

Nobody should eat eight burritos in a day. But you can walk past all of them, eat two or three, and see the best of the neighborhood on the way. Plan on about two miles, most of it flat. Split everything.

1. Start at La Taqueria (Mission near 25th). Get one dorado to split. This is the benchmark, so taste it first.
2. Walk about a block to El Farolito (24th and Mission). Get a regular al pastor for the table and you’ve done the whole rice debate in ten minutes.
3. Head east on 24th Street. This is the heart of the city’s Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, with panaderías, fruit stands, and murals the whole way. Peek at La Vaca Birria (2962 24th) and Taqueria San Francisco (2794 24th) as you go.
4. Turn into Balmy Alley (between Treat and Harrison, 24th to 25th). The murals here go back decades, and it’s the best block of public art in the city.
5. On a weekday, swing up Treat to 23rd for El Gallo Giro’s carnitas. On a weekend, skip it.
6. Cut back to Mission Street and walk north to 19th for Taqueria Cancún if you’ve still got room. Otherwise, keep walking.
7. Jog west to Valencia at 18th and grab an El Buen Sabor burrito to go. Then two blocks to Dolores Park to sit down, finally.
8. Finish at La Cumbre (Valencia between 15th and 16th) to pay your respects to the 1969 claim, then walk to 16th Street BART.

If you only have time for half, do the 24th Street half: La Taqueria, El Farolito, 24th Street, and Balmy Alley. That’s the Mission in one afternoon.

If you’re building a California food trip, the Mission pairs well with the rest of our rankings. Head south for the best tacos in Los Angeles and the best fish tacos in San Diego. Or stay in the Bay, cross to the East Bay for the best coffee in Oakland, and in October, drive down Highway 1 to the best pumpkin patches in Half Moon Bay.

Frequently asked questions about the best burritos in the Mission

What is the best burrito in the Mission?

La Taqueria’s carne asada burrito, ordered dorado, at 2889 Mission Street. El Farolito’s al pastor super at 24th and Mission is a close second and the better pick late at night.

What is the best burrito in San Francisco overall?

Still La Taqueria, in our book. There are great burritos outside the Mission (the Gordo locations on the west side have devoted fans), but the Mission has the deepest bench by far, and the top of this list is the top of the city.

What does “dorado” mean?

“Golden.” The finished burrito goes back on the plancha until the tortilla is crisp and browned. At La Taqueria it’s now an official menu option. At most other places, you can ask.

What’s the difference between a regular and a super burrito?

A super adds sour cream, cheese, and guacamole or avocado. It makes the burrito richer and bigger. At El Farolito, a regular is already plenty.

Who invented the Mission burrito?

Both El Faro (which says September 1961) and Taqueria La Cumbre (which says September 29, 1969) claim it. Neither claim is settled, and both are in the Mission.

Does La Taqueria put rice in its burritos?

No, and it never has. Ask for it dorado instead.

Is the Mission the warmest part of San Francisco?

It’s often among the sunniest, which is why Dolores Park fills up when the west side is fogged in. Bring a layer anyway. This is still San Francisco.

If you only eat one

Go to La Taqueria, stand in the line (it moves), and order a carne asada burrito dorado. Eat it while the tortilla still crackles. That’s the best burrito in the Mission, and the reason this argument never ends is that El Farolito is a block away, open late, and ready to change your mind after midnight.

Then tell us what we got wrong. Every Mission local has a #1 that’s not on anyone’s list, and we want to hear yours.