Reaction Restaurant

Stopped by on a whim for a $ 5 taco and Tecate deal. Taco was delicious, music was super chill and décor was nice.

You must be joking.
$ 8 guacamole was a small scoop of mostly onions with burnt skinny strips of chips. Entrée doesn’t come with rice or beans. Over priced and not great. Our table ordered steak quesadilla, chicken quesadilla, mole enchilada and chicken enchilada. Get an enchilada? It’s like a street taco but with shredded lettuce and white sauce on it. Chicken inside the quesadilla was good and flavorful, if not a little spicy, but the tortilla was too chewy on one side and hard on the other.
Out of five of the six beers (bottled) on the menu, only had corona. Out of diet coke (cans) had regular.
Weird little place, I can only imagine that they make money another way, maybe they turn into a piano bar on weekends? If not, they should put that piano to use.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE
I am SHOCKED that there are 4 stars for this nasty place. My husband and I walked in with a groupon, which was fine with them. We were literally the only customers there at prime dinner time! It made me put my guard up to the quality of the place, since not a single person was eating there… while the taquerias up the street were full to capacity. The only people there was the cook behind the taqueria-​style area, the DJ, who doubled as a waiter, and the DJ’s crew of friends that were all just hanging out at the table in the front next to the DJ booth.
We received our guacamole and it tasted like nothing. literally. no salt. no lime.nada. the chips that it came with were super oily — and the two minimally filled salsas were an acquired taste. I was already afraid to get our entrees.
We ordered the vegetarian enchiladas and the vegetable quesadillas. The quesadillas had a tortilla that was deep fried and chewy. i couldn’t even cut it with a knife. It felt like it was fried and then reheated in the microwave, which made it chewy and super oily. The enchiladas looked and tasted even worse. I took one bite and for the first time in my life, I spit it out into a napkin. I’m not a picky eater and i was surprised that such an easy dish could taste so utterly nasty. the enchiladas were filled with potato and cauliflower mush that tasted just like… nothing. the cheese that was sprinkled on top tasted sour and look curdled. DISGUSTING. My husband and i were both gagging as we walked out of this place. We both felt sick and will NEVER GO BACK.
STAY AWAY!

Came during happy hour on a Thursday, the place was empty, the dubstep was bumpin’, we didn’t know what to expect. If you buy a beer, you get a free taco, if you buy a mixed drink, you get a free gordita. We ordered two mixed drinks, and 5 extra $ 1 tacos on top of our gorditas. We got an extra taco for free! Service was good, it better be good, being the only people there. Drinks were not strong, tacos were dry and bland, and the gordita was a very weird sandwich. NEEDS SALSA! Again, good service, but that doesn’t make up for the food.

the best thing here was the water and chips. I do not recommend coming here at all. the waiter was friendly but the food is just no good

Read the review from Cartman P. I agree with her review entirely.
I tried it because of a Groupon as well and will never go back. I make better guacamole than they do. Totally tasteless. Chicken mole enchiladas were horrible.
Try at your own risk!

Went in to redeem a groupon this past Saturday in your stated business hours and not only were you closed but the phone number you have listed doesn’t exist, which was insanely disappointing since we are from out of town and planned our evening around dinner here. My boyfriend and I were excited to try your food, now I’m pretty sure it isn’t worth trying. The BBQ place across the way, however, is REALLY amazing, so anyone who is on this page trying to figure out wtf is up with the phone number, just skip it, walk across the street, and have some delicious barbeque with whiskey. Don’t bother dealing with this places unbusinesslike behavior.

Delicious! We originally wanted to go to
a spot next door but it was closed so we dipped in here and boy I’m glad I did!
The vegan options were plentiful which is what attracted us. The food was delicious, fresh and full of flavor.
The happy hour tacos are delicious and only $ 2! Can’t beat a great taco at such a cheap price.
Over all good food with great prices!

This place has intrigued me for a while. It looks like socialist gathering place from the outside (the name, the sign) but the fact that there is a menu tapped to the door made me realize it was a restaurant. It flows nicely with the sub-​mission right next door, which I haven’t been to since it was Balazo.
Reason I took a star away, it’s very confusing as to what this place actually is.
The only reason we went in is because we walked by and once we realized what it was and how cool it looked on the inside, we did want to check it out. But from the outside… ehh…
Once inside it was really cool. The staff was friendly, the drinks were delish, the vibe was really fun. Then our food comes out.
Reason I took away another star: the portions of the food. It looks like they took a teaspoon and scooped out a pile of rice and a pile of beans. My boyfriend got the tacos which were tiny. I’m not trying to compare the food to a taqueria because I like that the food here was actually authentic and inspired by street food from Mexico city… but for the price I paid for my miniscule quesadilla… I was really disappointed. And hungry.
But for what it was worth… the food was absolutely amazing! I just wanted more.
I probably wont go back unless they lower the prices or serve larger portions. I seriously felt ripped off which sucks because I really wanted to like this place.

I love Reaction! Their food is so tasty and fresh and they have lots of vegan options. It’s a great chill place to go with a group. Plus, their *happy hour* is awesome: tacos for $ 2 and drinks are only… I forget, but I remember thinking it was cheap.
Every time I come the food and margaritas are delicious. Yay Reaction!

Terrible all around bad. Bland, dry flavorless. I guess people just come for happy hour? Why would anyone rate this place well when there are so many better options close by? Make a pass on this one!

Purchased a Groupon for this place and had to call them 9 times before I could make reservations. So annoying! If you’re not gonna have an online reservation system then answer your damn phone. Also, they didn’t even ask my name when I made the reservation and when I got there it was like 80% empty. What is the point of making everyone make reservations if they aren’t even necessary?
Started off with complimentary tortilla strips, salsa, and this guac dip. The salsa is AMAZING but crazy spicy and I love spicy food. The restaurant is also 10 degrees to hot for some reason so I was sweating balls the entire meal.
I ordered a mojito but wish I hadn’t. I think they just mojito mix and they say all their alcohol is made with soju liquor but then in the descriptions it says vodka, rum, etc. Wtf? I guess there is rum flavored soju or something. I have no idea!
The guac really is fresh. I watched a woman carry three avos to the kitchen area but the portion looked kind of small when we got it. I got the huitlacoche quesadilla which was very good. The waitress couldn’t describe what it was to me and later I saw her ask the older lady in the kitchen about it. My bf got the mole and said it was okay. WE BOTH FOUND HARD THINGS IN OUR FOOD which is so unappetizing!!!
Service is very nice. Probably the best part about this place! It looks like it turns into a club later at night or something since there was a dj booth. Their menu is completely different from the one posted on Groupons website so don’t go in determined to try something if you saw it on there!
Oh god I just googled huitlacoche to make sure I spelled it right and found out its the fungus that grows above corn or something omg so gross so gross ahhhhhhh. (Super tasty though, definitely get it!)

Really? 4 stars??? We went because of the Groupon and I will NEVER come back here. Straight to the core fact, their mole enchilada was NOT edible at all for me. I had a bite, and it was hideous! I couldn’t believe how inedible it was, so I tried again just for my sanity check… it was again, hideous! I’ve had mole sauce before at a nice Mexican restaurants so I know what mole should taste like, and this one tastes like some burnt hair. Also my bf’s chicken quesadella was more eatable because it was just generic compared to mine, but still not good enough to eat more than 3 bites.
The only good thing here was the 3 salsas served with chips and guacamole. Guacamole was rather tasteless or nothing special, and I thought I could even make it better at home…
I left the place hungry. The drink wasn’t even good to make up for it.
Oh btw, they don’t serve the mole verde enchilada anymore. But they don’t even bother removing it from the menu. Ok??? The bad décor and odd crowd is just icing on the cake. You can also hear loud weird music from the next door.
It was nearly dead at 8pm on Friday night. That says it all. Sorry to hate, but just reporting an honest observation.

Best Mexico City Style Food in the City.
Great Happy Hour

SHOCKINGLY TASTY AND CHEAP
(3.5 stars)
Waiter: «Congratulations»
Me: «uhm thanks!!!»
Waiter: «Congratulations… ON GETTING MARRIED!!!»
Me: «???» (SAY WHAT!!!)
— FOOD, tasty
— PRICES, cheap
— SERVICE, good
— AMBIANCE, old/​odd/​interesting/​dingy/​hipster-​hang-​out
Came here for a birthday party and a celebration. Not really me to go to these hipster, lowdown, cheap eats in the Mission. I was suprised by the good food they pumped out. June 26, 2013 marks the date where «love sees no boundaries» (marry who you want) regardless if you are LGBT. I’m neither but I was out celebrating with my close gay friends and their friends. I stuck out like a sore thumb and of all things to say the waiter picked me to say that too. HILARIOUS. We missed happy hour but the prices on the food was still pretty cheap.
HEFFER STATUS
POLLO TACO ($ 2) — tasty little things. Very juicy and really enjoyable. Just hate that there was a little too much juice that my taco just ripped in half.
STEAK TACO ($ 2) — uhm, never again. it was like they threw steak bits into a taco and that was it. SO DRY, NO SAUCE, NOTHING. i was very disappointed eating this taco and had wished it was Pollo taco.
EVIL GIRL ($ 7) — cracking drink. i haven’t drank in awhile but you know after going through a BS breakup with the xbf, you need a drink. my homegirl and I decided to endulge. Picked the perfect drink, sweet and well it was a «CREEEEEPER».
MOLE ENCHILLADA — took a few bites from my homegirls plate. dang, pretty good!!! The mole was very rich and I can see why many people ordered it.
Will I be back? Maybe. Not really my environment.
Until the next review…

This place is amazing! I love it! All of the food is amazing, the atmosphere is incredibly comfortable, and inviting. They have DJ’s playing records most nights, but my favorite night is Thursday night where Cuba plays old Reggae from his collection of 45’s… The garlic salsa is epic! I could do shots of that stuff!

Came in here last night expecting four stars– and that it indeed it was. None of the reviews noted about the portion sizes. Loved that it was vegetarian and vegan friendly, but the portions are not much compared to the other Mexican food establishments near by. The portions are smaller and if you were to share, you’d be wanting more.
Service was great– the waiters know when you’re chatting and when things are empty and when to refill them.
I’ll be sure to come back during happy hour.

Pambazo bueno, queca de gongos y queso, dos tres, taco de asada nomas ok.

I have to agree with S R’s review that this place seems primarily to be a bar with some pricey drinks and not as much of a taqueria. We came here on a Friday night around 9pm-​10pm ish but the whole place was pretty much dead with one or two other folks at tables. We ended up being the last people here.
There was a club next door, of some sort, so the music was muffled but loud and definitely overly bass-​filled. The waitresses /​owners seem to be already in Friday mode since they were drinking but they were also the same people who were serving us.
The menu is simple, but the drinks are pricey. They were around $ 8 each and the drink sizes were half of what you would usually get with a mojito or whatnot. The tacos were alright, but their mole was awful. By awful I mean… don’t get it, you will regret it.
There was also a random hot dog stand right outside the door of this place, and it seemed like they were somehow affiliated with the restaurant but … they were serving grilled hot dogs outside.
Overall, this place didn’t make a great impression and I don’t think I’ll be coming back.

Not the healthiest food, but my my, is it tasty.
It’s like street style Mexico City food with influences from the north and south. The owner gave us the disclaimer that there are no burritos on the menu, so if you’re craving some typical Mexican food this is probably not for you. But what you *do* get is delicious food in all colors and textures.
*The nopal quesadilla is excellent with creamy cheese and tangy nopales. Add meat for extra flavor.
*Mole chicken flautas/​taquitos were excellent as well. I expected the chicken to be already mixed with the mole inside the flautas, but the mole was poured over. Regardless, it was delicious, with generous amounts of cotija sprinkled all over.
*Fish tacos = DEE-​lish.
*Jalapeño salsa! Ask for it.
Also, they play vintage Mexican movies on three screens. I was there at mid-​morning so I didn’t get to see it but definitely want to go back for the happy hour!
Pros: Food was fast, and ridiculously good. Menu was very creative.
Cons: Closed most Sundays.

Last night I attended Food for Thought, an event held at over 35 Restaurants in San Francisco to support the Mission Graduates program. Not only did I get to dine out to support a very worthy program, but I found a great new Restaurant at that.
Reaction Restaurant is a colorful Mexican Restaurant that serves small plates, fantastic fresh juices and screaming soju cocktails. I ordered the Mojito and Bad Girl cocktail, tasted and named so perfect, must have been made for me. Each cocktail was $ 6, but they have a happy hour special until 7pm.
To eat I ordered and split the Al Pastor Pambazo Sandwich, somewhat like a torta, made from bread dipped in a red guajillo pepper sauce, it’s filled with meat, beans, lettuce, salsa and queso fresco. Really great and around $ 7.
I also ordered the Ceviche Tosada which was really good, fresh and had a unique taste to it. I have spent money for great ceviche and found this one to be one of my favorites, for about $ 2.75 each. Great deal.
We also had the Chips and Guacamole, fresh homemade chips still hot and yummy creamy guacamole. Plain and simply awesome for around $ 4. They also brought out some extra chips with three different salsas, one roasted garlic, one spicy green tomatillo and one red chipotle. They were each very unique and flavorful.
Although this place just opened, it’s not to be missed. Very affordable and flavorful. You’ll thank me later. :)
Props to Reaction for participating in such a worthwhile program, giving back to the community. Here is some info on Food for Thought, which supports the Mission Graduates Program.