Mixto in the Outer Sunset – New Restaurant Offers Gourmet Latin Cuisine

By Jonah Raskin

The sandwich board outside the front door at Mixto lists some of the foods and drinks available inside: Avocado toast, breakfast tacos, seafood stew, mimosas and sangria. There are too many items to list them all, but they are all described in both Spanish and English on the extensive menus for brunch, lunch and dinner. 

Mixto, which opened in May 2023, is the brainchild of Mauricio Franco, who hails from El Salvador, and Adrienne Leader, who was born and raised in Ireland. Together they have decades of experience in the world of food, wine and restaurants in San Francisco, including Franco’s Latin Table on West Portal Avenue, which features Peruvian dishes. 

The same dishes are featured at Mixto, which translates as “mixed,” an appropriate name for a restaurant that offers generous portions of Mexican and El Salvadorian favorites, as well as Peruvian classics such as Mariscada, a seafood stew. There are also six different kinds of ceviches all made with ocean fresh tuna, salmon, and halibut and “cooked” in lime juice, cilantro and more.  

Mixto is open seven days a week. Orders can be placed online at http://mixtosf.com/ for pickup or delivery.   

Mauricio and Adrienne live in the Outer Sunset with their three children who attend Francis Scott Key Elementary School on 43^rd Avenue. Though they travel  back and forth from Mixto to Franco’s Latin Table, Mauricio and Adrienne are as local as local can be. 

“The Outer Sunset is a great neighborhood,” Adrienne says. “Mixto is nestled in a beautiful corner of the City, two blocks from Golden Gate Park and four blocks to Ocean Beach. We’re delighted to add to the already rich variety of foods on Judah.” She adds, “We’ve learned that people don’t want to get in their cars and drive to a restaurant. They want to eat locally.” Mixto caters to families. There’s a kids’ menu with stuff kids love, including burgers and fries, fish ‘n’ chips and mac and cheese. The salsas are made daily with fresh ingredients and the tortilla chips are home made. The flavorful French fries are made with hand-cut Kennebec potatoes. 

Mauricio has years of bartending on his resume; he’ll soon add more cocktails to the list of beverages that includes Peruvian wines and beers as well as a unique house-made, non-alcoholic corn cider. Mauricio creates the desserts and does the bulk of the shopping for Mixto at Restaurant Depot and Bodega del Sur, which imports unique peppers from Peru. 

“His real true passion is cooking,” Adrienne says. “ But he does almost everything. He’s a Latino Jack of all trades.” Adrienne does the administrative work in a back office, though she also keeps a close eye on the front of the house. “We’re working with a local artist and will have art on the walls,” she says. Right now, the walls in the dining area are rather bare. Adrienne adds, “We’ll do fundraising for schools in the neighborhood.”

If locals have a complaint about Mixto it’s that the service sometimes isn’t as quick as they’d like it to be, though they add that the staff always answers questions about the food. Eating at Mixto can provide an education in Latino cuisine. 

“It’s challenging for a small business like ours to have the right amount of staff,” Adrienne says. “One day it’s busy and the next can be slow. We’re doing our best.”

For breakfast, Mauricio recommends Peruvian donuts (picarones), for lunch a steak sandwich and for dinner the blackened halibut. For real comfort food try the pupusas, a traditional El Salvadorian dish of handmade tortillas stuffed with beans and cheese. There are nine different sides, including plantain chips, garlic bread and sweet potato. Mixto wouldn’t be Peruvian if it didn’t have potatoes. The now ubiquitous potato originated in Peru and then traveled around the world. 

On a recent Sunday, Bethnay, who lives on La Playa a short walk from Mixto, says she likes the wonton fritters and the aji de gallina, a chicken dish with potatoes, walnuts and olives covered in an amarillo cream sauce. 

“I have never set foot in Peru,” Bethany says. “But when I sit down at Mixto I feel like I’m eating in Lima, Peru.” 

Mixto, 3914 Judah, (next to Other Avenues), 628-432 0401; mixtosf@gmail.com.