The women behind Tres Hermanas Mexican Home Cooking are cooking up something for everyone. 

You want a super burrito at 9 am? Sure. How about Huevos Rancheros drowning in salsa at 2 in the afternoon? Not a problem. Their menu offers Mexican specialties for breakfast, lunch, and dinner — all day. 

Make sure you go with a friend. That way you can get the best of both worlds. A good starting point for breakfast is the chilaquiles — a dish of fried tortillas cooked into a scramble with eggs and a spicy red salsa. Try pairing that with the sweet and spicy poblano mole enchiladas. The spicy and savory flavors of the crispy chilaquiles provides the perfect counter to the soft and sweet mole dish.

The easy, come you are feel to the restaurant that comes through the food is also facilitated by the servers there. They keep their cool even at the busiest hours — quickly alternating between pouring coffee for one person, to getting more tortilla chips for another. There is a family feel to the restaurant that its name pays homage to, and the casual feel to the service helps make diners feel comfortable. 

Most people who come to Tres Hermanas are regulars — though a recent change of management has created a divide among the restaurant’s most devoted diners. Sifting through the dozens of reviews on Yelp, it’s clear that some find that the quality of the food has declined since the management changed hands. 

Others are more forgiving. The management is new, and they might need some time to settle in to the restaurant. Despite the negative comments, it appears that most diners of Tres Hermanas are in this camp.

On a recent Saturday afternoon the restaurant was full of families, friends, and people taking their regular orders to go. It was busy, and everyone appeared to be enjoying their food. Everything from breakfast burritos to their famous carne asada plate could be seen on tables throughout the sun-filled restaurant. If anyone wasn’t happy with their meal, it wasn’t apparent.

No matter what you order from their extensive breakfast-lunch-dinner menu, each dish comes with chips and three salsas to choose from. In these salsas the real flavors and talents of Tres Hermanas’ cooks shine through. 

One is a simple, chunky tomato salsa that runs the most mild. It’s good for adding some flavor without changing the dish too much. The second, a salsa verde, is more spicy. It has good notes of cilantro, onion, and jalapeño — very delicious, and perhaps the best for regular use. Next is a bit of insanity — their orange salsa. You might want to bring a dropper for this one, because it’s hot, and you don’t need a lot before your mouth is burning with the heat of a hot habanero pepper. It’s good, but be sparing. Together the three salsas show the range of flavors and unique craftsmanship that the chefs of Tres Hermanas put into their food.

Tres Hermanas is at once an institution and work in progress. The restaurant is famed for their flavors and quality of service, and in the end that notoriety ended up causing a backlash once the ownership changed. To those who don’t know what they’re missing, it’s still an essential stop on the quest to eat from every Mexican place in the city. Whether you’re there for breakfast or dinner or anything in between — you’ll leave happy.

Tres Hermanas
12622 San Pablo Avenue, RichmondTel. (510) 237-1094

Business Hours
Tuesday - Saturday: 8:00 am - 7:30 pmSunday: 8:00 am - 3:00 pm 

View their Yelp page here.