With a Filipino Community Center and many families in the neighborhood, Excelsior throws down with a couple of favorite Filipino restaurants. Pamanguena succeeds in being both comforting and worthy of a special occasion, laying down kamayan feasts on banana leaves, heavy with barbecue chicken, lumpia, garlic rice, and more.

On the west side of Excelsior, within the residential blocks of Mission Terrace, a sandwich legend resides. Roxie is a corner store with an oversized reputation, known for its meaty sandwiches on Dutch crunch, as well as for fueling the local high school kids and catering community events. The shop sold to new owners in 2020 to the alarm of the neighborhood, but they say they’re carrying on the tradition.

From the same family as Yamo, the affordable favorite Burmese spot in the Mission, Zabb is the equally popular Thai restaurant of Excelsior. There’s even more space in the dining room; the same satisfyingly low prices; a couple of the Yamo hits including Red Curry Duck and Chef Noodles; and the restaurant’s own flavor of curries, claypot, and noodles.

Long before United Dumpling brought its innovative dumplings to Bernal, Beijing was the original parent restaurant in Excelsior. In an odd corner building on Alemany, it’s an unsuspecting destination for Northern Chinese wheat dishes, including bouncy noodles, potstickers, and crepes.

A small family-owned market on a corner of Persia, the Salad Place may have somewhat erratic hours, but it compensates with a case filled with no fewer than 20 different salads available by the tub, from classic macaroni to fresh ceviche. Plus, lunch-friendly cobbs, sandwiches, soups, and juices.

Facing off with an El Farolito location immediately across the street, Guadalajara consistently ranks as one of the champion Mission-style burritos in San Francisco. It’s a heavyweight, far more than a handful and stuffed with the requisite rice, avocado, cheese, and sour cream. And although the pandemic has slightly altered hours, it’s still open pretty late.

This small storefront is a solid option to fuel up on banh mi sandwiches and keep buzzing on Vietnamese iced coffee. The Grilled Pork is a crowd favorite, while the “Fancy Pork” is both stuffed with meat and slathered with pate, and either one is all of $8.

Gentilly opened in 2019 as an ode to New Orleans, and it’s become one of the most popular restaurants in the neighborhood, thanks to Cajun flavors, vintage cocktails, a chill back patio, and the occasional live jazz. If the Crawfish Pot Pie or Maw Maw’s Gumbo don’t tempt you first, the Maple-Glazed Fried Chicken Special is a sweet deal, throwing in mac and cheese and green beans, and generously feeding two people for $28.

With more than 300 whiskeys and a satisfying menu, a big back patio and pool tables and dart boards, Broken Record is a beloved dive with a lot going for it. Currently, Chicano Nuevo is serving a Mexican menu of Baja Fish Tacos, Squid Ink Tamales, and Wu-Tang Flan.