Los Flamingos - CLOSED

(415)252-7450
151 Noe St.
(@ Henry)
San Francisco, CA
(Castro/Duboce Triangle district) Price: $-$$$
Rating: 4 (Rating & price key)
Last visit: 06/07/06

Occupying the site of the former Thai House II, this Cuban/Mexican place didn't change much except the food. The wall color, furniture, and tablecloths all appear to be the same as they were as a Thai joint. We were a little uneasy that we were the only customers on a Wednesday evening at 7pm, but this is sort of an out-of-the-way location.

A friendly waitress told us to sit wherever we liked, and we perused the menu. Entrees are half Cuban, half generic Mexican, with a small assortment of appetizers and drinks. Prices are a little on the high side, but they do include congri or rice and beans as well as your choice of three different preparations of plantains.

We started with an order of croquettas ($5 for 5). I've never had croquettes quite like these before - rather than the usual rice balls, ours were what appeared to be greasy bread crumbs, battered and deep-fried. Although described as ham-filled, we couldn't find any evidence of piggy other than a somewhat off spammy note. Not something we'd get agagin.

For entrees Sarah ordered the vaca frita ($13.75, "fried skirt steak topped w/onions") and I the ropa vieja ($9.75, "shredded beef cooked in a red broth"). My beef arrived alongside some congri (Cuban rice and beans) and deep-fried plantains. The congri had the same somewhat off note that the croquettas had, but the french-fried plantain wedges were very tasty, and a preparation of plantains that neither of us had had before. The beef was reasonably tender, but its sauce was very greasy and overly salted. Sarah's steak was all but inedible - hard and crispy on the edges and tough and chewy in the center. It was closer to beef jerkey than to a steak, and not a great jerkey at that. She had the sweet fried plantains on the side (the usual South American preparation), and they were fine.

Service was friendly and checked in on us a few times to refill water and see if we needed anything else. Too bad the food fell pretty flat, though - we're unlikely to return based on our visit.