Our story

It all began as a way for Sadot to express his love for his culture and the delicious food shared locally to people in the community. 40 years later and that same passion is still relevant. Now in 2022, we keep that same desire of bringing pride to the food we make.

El Castillito has been recognized as one of the top 50 best restaurants in San Francisco in 2019. Now with two locations in the Bay Area, one in San Francisco (in the Castro) and in Livermore. If you haven't stopped by we would love to share our Mexican Cusine with you and your friends and family. Hope to see you soon!

How we got started

Popular questions: There are roughly 8 el Castillito’s in the Bay Area. And the questions locas have is why so many? Are they all the same Castillito Franchise, are they related? Or are they all different?

Our Answer: It all started at 3033 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110 (Our first location in the Bay Area). We came along and established our very first Taqueria here with our founding father Sadot and his business partner Alfredo. At our peak, there were 5 in San Francisco, 1 in Castro Valley, 1 Hayward and 1 in Livermore.

As time went by, both partners decided to go their separate ways. After dividing the restaurants, they decided to make a franchise out of it. This is why there are locations with the same name. However, logos, menu and their prices will be different. Unfortunately, the original one that started it all isn’t there anymore. Our locations are on Church Street and Livermore.

What critics are saying:

"Three ingredients are key to its magic: the meat, the tortilla, and the cheese. The meat is perfectly tender and well-spiced. We’re partial to al pastor, and man-oh-man is this killer pastor. It falls down off the rotisserie like manna from Heaven. What does the pastor fall upon? An immaculately grilled tortilla. It’s not clear what exactly is going on with the tortillas’ composition, but they’re above and beyond the normally high Mission standard."

"El Castillito is utterly excellent. El Castillito is another place offering “regular” and “super” burrito options, and we will always tell you to go in the super direction, which here means rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, onions, cilantro and salsa along with fillings including carne asada, pastor, chicken, chorizo or carnitas."

One of the 50 best burritos in America

#14 - "El Castillito is another place offering "regular" and "super" burrito options, and we will always tell you to go in the super direction, which here means rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, onions, cilantro and salsa along with fillings including carne asada, pastor, chicken, chorizo or carnitas."

"...Birdsall later exclaims of the El Castillito burrito that "This could be the best Mission burrito in San Francisco. This could be the best Mission burrito in the world. Damn, I’ll go Chang one better: This is the best burrito I’ve ever eaten." How could it come to be? Maybe it’s survived, with original Mission soul intact, by building enough of a wall to obscure it from the tourists, the techies, and the condo buyers. That’s some irony: The most authentic Mission burrito is also the most obscure. Long may it roll."