From Rachel:
this is that place la rondalla on the corner of 21st and Val that has been closed for ages (but apparently had great Margs!), but they always have funny signs up to let you know that their still alive, sorta. funny thing is the Veterans day sign actually says November 11th 2008 in the corner. oopz
Heh. I like to see business try to stay relevant. I especially like their nod to Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize. He’ll likely smile when he walks by.
Sidenote: Were their margaritas full of roofies? The legend continues…
I’ve never heard roofies being described as a good thing. I wanna party where you party, Kat.
Actually it’s at 20th and Valencia.
vic pointed this out last year. it might even be one of his “mobile uploads”!
I don’t care whether you loved it or hated it, La Rondalla needs to get the fuck out of this prime space. Give up the ghost already!
We live right near there and would love nothing more than to have an unblighted corner once again. Put up or shut up, La Rondalla!
I think the Veteran’s Day sign has been up there a full year — really.
Somebody was doing some work there a few weeks ago, so maybe there is hope that this place will get fixed up soon.
This is a great location; no reason there can’t be a thriving restaurant or bar there. (as long as the operators pay attention to basic food hygiene).
Anybody who utters the word “Margs” should be immediately sent back to Boston.
HELLO that’s from The O.C. (tv show, not region)!
that place was the worst, and I’m not even talking about the health inspection and subsequent shut down. The food was tasteless, the service beyond apathetic and the margaritas were mainly sweet and sour mix and came out of a makeshift keg from behind the bar. That place was beyond shady. If you didn’t live here in when it was opened, ignored it when it was, or were too drunk to remember it then you should consider yourself lucky.
Hmm.. walked by here the other day and saw a pigeon. inside. right beneath those signs. gross.
I HAVE PICTURES OF THE PIGEON!!!!!!!!
they are on my crappy KRAZR cellphone though
Their margaritas were great and about 1/2 the price of puerto alegre and velvet cantina.
Great bartenders and good mariachis as well. I think a few of the bartenders moved over to cava 22. Oh benevolent god please bring back la rondalla.
you must be joking.
From the descriptions of La Rondalla and having been to cava 22, I would not be surprised if the bartenders had moved over — but I am not saying that is a good thing.
The key to tolerating this place seems to have been to view it strictly as a bar, and ignore the food. Everyone who just drank there seems to have enjoyed it. I ate there, once, and it was vile.
Missionboy, please– their margaritas were absolute garbage. Definitely cheap, and as in all things, you get what you pay for. Mariachis (who don’t belong to the restaurant) and nice bartenders were not responsible for the crap well tequila and putrid food.
Kat, the margaritas were definitely full of roofies. I would never lie about roofies.
You lie– no roofies. You drank too much.
the margs were garb. decos hanging from the ceils were fab. whoever has dibs on that space needs to step up. what, you don’t want to make money?
Ha! “margs were garb” almost looks like a palindrome. But so does “brag erew sgram.”
that place sucked mad ass….real talk. Good Riddance.
Roofies could explain a lot about their margaritas.
Many a friend laughed at the tiny pitchers and tiny glasses, only to wake up on the bathroom floor at home not remembering how they got there…
got sick the last time I eat there and then it closed. it sucked ass.
What a bunch of whiners. La Rondalla was probably the last place in the mission where Latinos and Gringos got drunk and happy together. SO the food sucked, and margaritas were strong and crappy — big deal. Join the long list of Latino bars that are now Gringo bars: Docs Clock, Beauty Bar, Lexington Club, Phone Booth, Benders blah blah blah
so what you’re saying is people should eat crummy food that was made in a disgustingly dirty kitchen and get head-splitting hangovers from horribly made drinks in order to keep while businesses out of the neighborhood?
“white businesses”
I live on 20th & lex and one of my neighbors in the building was involved in this place… everyone involved moved over to cava’s.
ANYWAY the lowdown is apparently the owner is hella stinge and won’t rent the place out to anyone, despite grips of fools trying to get it. guess nobody will pay enough? hard to believe.
probably needs hella work to get up to code.
I had at least three birthday parties here plus 134 random visits and it was always super rad. The key is to drink a few ‘ritas (eh? eh?) before you get your lard-beans. Fried chicken (yes, they had it) was nast, but surprisingly addictive. It’s true that if you coat your innards with cheap tequila you can’t get food poisoning. Or at least you don’t realize it. I miss you La Rondalla. I got a margarita passion. Please come back.
Love,
Adam
P.S. One time I saw this mariachi band there with the best singer I have ever heard anywhere.
What a festive comment!
I’d love to hear what other places you consider “super rad” (or even just “rad”) whose food is also “nast” so I can avoid visiting any of them!
Latin American Club’s margaritas have always been better than La Roachalla’s….
+1
Actually, I never wen to Rondalla, but I am just making the +1 comment blindly, because LAC is generally on top in this department
quantity AND quality!
The bar & margaritas were great, the food was crappy. Margaritas were WAY cheaper AND stronger than L.A.C.
Sorry Mission poseurs. ;P
I loved this place, though after it closed I read the online health report. As they say, once something is seen it can’t be unseen.
The pitchers of margaritas always did the trick and we always would get one too many and pay for it after the fact.
It was the only bar that I would see entire booths of people passed out before 11pm.
Wayback Machine doesn’t have the old ratings (damn robots.txt) but I found some highlights here:
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2007/07/proof_that_hipsters_will_eat_a.php
Major Violations
1. Certain food that is not hot enough or cold enough.
2. Food contains possibly harmful impurities.
3. Severe cockroaches.
Moderate Violations
1. Improperly thawed food.
2. Food prepared in unsafe area or with bare hands.
3. Ready-to-eat food exposed to raw meat/chicken/fish/eggs.
4. Dirty utensils/equipment.
Minor Violations
1. Inadequate handwashing equipment/supplies.
2. Improper storage of utensils/equipment.
3. Rats or mice.
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
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rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
>dead rats and raw meat floating in standing water<
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats rats
BUZZKILL!
Hello!!!!!!!!!! This place is just sitting on a liquor license on Valencia and 20th!!!!!! For three years!!!!!!
What an effin waste.
I love how people still love them on yelp.
The margarita’s were just as good as the food. That’s probably why people mostly ate there after 2am when it was only half bad. Besides where else could you go after a show at the Deaf Club.
My neighbor is a Mission OG and he knows the owner. Apparently the owner comes from a family who has owned several properties in the Mission for decades and has great wealth, so he probably doesn’t care how much is offered for the space.
I also heard the owner is just lazy and won’t do anything with it. Miss those margs, don’t miss the rats.
[...] contributed to the prolonged closure of one of our favorite margarita pitcher-slinging spots, La Rondalla (20th and Valencia), where it used to feel like it was Feliz Navidad everyday. Similarly, [...]