Mariposas

I made reservations at Mariposas for a party of 10 for pre-party and dinner before the Fluffy show at Chase Center. Mariposas was a 15min. drive to the Chase Center so not far at all.The place is very cute with butterflies theme. It really brightens up the place and the photos come out really nice too.The food was SO good that all of us forgot to take photos of them - we just started grubbing hard. -----Appetizers: we ordered empanadas, Ceviches and this popcorn chicken that looked like calamaries....the kids ordered that so I didn't catch the name. All the apps were delicious. -----Mains: I had the Beef Lomo Saldado and it was on point! My SIL said the quinoa dish was the BEST quinoa she has ever had. My cousin ordered the rotisserie chicken and the portion was so big that he ended up sharing half of it with everyone else because he wanted us try how good it tasted LOL. All the dishes were tasty and fresh!-----Drinks: they have very limited options but it served us all very well! I tried Peru beer and it was nice and crispy.The service was exceptional! Our servers tended to us from start to finish. Forgot to get their names but they were a great team that worked together to get orders, serve them and took turns taking care of us.I will definitely come back here when we head to the city again.

My best friend and I accidentally stumbled across this place right before we went clubbing. I've never had Peruvian food before, so I went in completely blind. First off, the decor in here is SO CUTE and so whimsical. The butterflies on the wall and the egg-shaped/cage chairs are to die for!Our server promptly came over and took our food/drink orders. I'm a very indecisive person, so I always like to ask the servers what their favorite selections are. We ended up getting the Ceviche de Classico, the beef skewers, and the vegetable skewers. For drinks, my bestie got the Pisco Sour, and I got the passion fruit margarita with tajin. Everything was SO tasty and yummy. We had to ask for more chips because we couldn't stop eating the ceviche. My bestie even DRANK the remnants of it. It was that good. And the skewers with the chimichurri? I think I died and went to heaven. I was so sad when I finished I wanted to get more, but I also didn't want to be too full before going out. We asked to speak with the chef to give them our compliments, but we ended up seeing her through the kitchen window and profusely showing her love that way Thank you so much to the staff of Mariposas!!!! I will definitely be back. This was a delightful find on an adventurous night out :')

The vibes inside were great! The decor was so fun and my friend and I sat in the cage type chairs close to the window (prime people watching)! The service was great as well, super attentive and helped answer some of our questions. The food was okay, I personally didn't like the lomo saltado because the fries were more soaked than usual. The chicarron de pollo was delicious but was just chicken and a dip, no additional items were included with this so it felt like an appetizer.

Found myself in SOMA one night, determined to have Lomo Saltado. Yelp pointed me to Mariposas. I wasn't expecting much, Mission Street after all, but wow, whimsical space. Music! Butterflies! Neon! Very welcoming place. So of course i ordered the Lomo, seriously the best of Peruvian restaurants IMO. Tender strips of steak, just the right amount of onions & tomato, not too heavy-handed with the balsamic, not too salty with the soy sauce. And there's plenty of sauce. I usually don't order delivery since all those convenient Grub Hubs, etc charge the restaurant 25%. My excuse several times has been i'm tired, I don't feel well, it's rush hour, blah blah, guess that ship has sailed. I'm now ordering delivery. My only complaint with the meal is the small amount of rice. The Lomo Saltado is large enough for two, the rice barely one serving. Anyway, Mariposas is definitely destination-worthy.Support Local!

We came here for our pre-New Years dinner with our friends. This restaurant looks small from the outside but has more seating in the back for bigger groups. It has such cute decor and the staff are very friendly and accommodating by describing the different foods. Here is what we had:Chicken and beef empanadas: Nice crispy shell, packed with meat... definitely one of the best empanadas I have had in awhileEnsalada mixta: regular salad but delicious. They have salad dressing to go with it, but I loved it just with the lime and olive oil. Refreshing!Chicharron de pollo: like chicken nuggets but on another level. Paired with lime squeezed on top and their special dipping sauce, totally a pleaser for both young and oldHalf chicken: I believe they are known for their roasted chicken...I have to say it tastes like the ones they make in the Philippines. Nice and juicy with flavor throughout Lomo Saltado: Wok-fried succulent strips of beef, sautéed with vibrant vegetables and zesty spices, over french fries. Served with jasmine rice - this was good, the meat was nice and tender. Although the sauce was a little overwhelming for me, if paired with rice it is perfect.Platano Frito: plantain bananas that adds a nice touch in between all the different foods we triedArroz con leche: the best Peruvian dessert I have tried. They told us it is a homemade recipe. This has a unique taste that brings back memories of my own Philippine dessert called suman. Definitely worth having at the end of your meal.Overall I will definitely go back and suggest you try it out if you are in the area.

What drew us to this place, were the birdcage chairs, I want one of those in my work office! And then we looked further in to see these large topiary green walls with largely lit butterflies. We did a quick check online for food/drink pictures and saw some drinks with butterflies in them and we were sold. When we got there on a weekday, there was a lath party of 14, a few other couple and us, not too crazy busy. We quickly got our drink orders taken in addition to our food orders. The ceviche came out first, fresh, lemony, zesty. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and the chips were nice and crunchy. The drinks came and then our main courses shortly after. The rice in the Arroz Con Pollo was flavorful but not too overpowering, and the chicken seasoned well. As for the Lomo Saltado, the meat was IT! Seasoned well, meat was nice and soft, though I didn't quite care for the fries that were served with it, as they were mushy and soft in texture. I'm used to a more firm fry, and grabbed some of my colleagues' rice to eat with this particular dish. My colleague ordered another drink in the middle of our entrees, but didn't quite receive that, until we mentioned something to the server. So then, the server came to give us that drink plus another one, to try out. But, by then we were quite stuffed. Overall, the service was alright, had it been a little tighter, would've given this a 5-star, but it may have been that they were a little short-handed with the large party taking up majority of the restaurant's attention that evening.

Burger was surprisingly good! Stopped her for a casual weekday lunch and overall was impressed by the place. Interior decorations are a bit intense, but the place hits home on the food and service. Mariposas burger was pretty solid, and I really enjoyed the egg on top. Fried plantains had a nice crisp to it as well. Two other people got Lomo Saltado which is one of their popular items.Staff was pretty friendly and prices are reasonable. Wait was pretty reasonable for lunch. Surprisingly the place only had 2-3 other tables at 12:30 -- not sure if thats par for the area, or if the diner next door pulls in all the local business.

Had a meeting where the lunch was catered by this spot. Amazing! I had the chicken and beef empanadas, fries, Peruvian rice, and chicken, some kind of beef stir fry and white rice. But the sauces made everything perfect! Yum!

Great Peruvian option near Moscone center. Went for a business lunch so I didn't take pics. Lomo Saltado, fried rice and empanadas were all fabulous

I was meeting my friend Carlos for dinner. Since he was driving up from San Jose, I was thinking this might be a good spot to meet. It's not only located near the mammoth Fifth & Mission garage, but it's actually within the structure on the Mission side. So there was the convenience factor, and the other aspect was that we both like Peruvian food. Otherwise we knew nothing about this place.Let me first state first that our server was so nice, a courteous young man who was obviously trained very well. Carlos and I decided to share a couple of plates starting with the $14 Chicken Empanadas. Two conveniently came with an order that included a side salad and a ramekin of creamy aji sauce (photo: https://yelp.to/p5g6f33yJ5). We were both somewhat disappointed that the filling was overcooked.The flaky dough was pretty good though. The $8 Papas Fritas was what we expected, a pile of French fries drizzled with cheese sauce, mayonnaise, and ketchup (photo: https://yelp.to/_RWqxebQHy). More soggy than crispy, the potatoes were filling us up before our entree arrived, which we didn't realize included French fries. Not a bright move on our part, but we never seem to get enough fries anyway.Each of us ordered the $15 Pollo a la Brasa, the quarter chicken (leg & thigh) portion, which indeed came with a cup of fries and also a side mini-Caesar salad (photo: https://yelp.to/KEJrZwQL1t). The chicken was just a tad too overcooked to satisfy with the skin a smidge on the charred side. Compared with an established place like Limon, the poultry just lacked the moist tenderness we were hoping to find. Oh well, the server was nice.FOOD - 3 stars...tendency to overcook the hot foodAMBIANCE - 3 stars...kinda 70's...green with colorful butterfly lightingSERVICE - 4.5 stars...the server should stayTOTAL - 3 stars...middling Peruvian food in a garageRELATED - Exploring western SoMa? Here's my collection of places l've patronized and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2H0vGTV