Balompie Cafe

The short: Great pupusas. Skip the fried yucca. Nice restaurant to sit down and eat without being too crowaded
The food: Pork and cheese pupusa was my favorite. All the pupusas I tried were pretty delicious. The fried yucca was too dry and over-​fried/​stale. Next time I would stick to mainly pupusas, but I’d be willing to try the breakfast items.
The service: There were very few wait staff, but they managed to push everything through.
The ambiance: Nice area with seating that wasn’t too cramped.
Overall: I’d definitely come back and bring a friend or guest. But if it’s later in the night that you’re looking for, it’s gotta be Panchita’s

Came here on a whim after a run (we parked nearby and were starving!). The BF loves pupusas and I’ve heard of this place countless times so we stopped in.
To start off, my standard for pupusas is set quite high — I usually go to Estrelita’s (over at the Alemany farmer’s market on Saturdays).
Since this was a sit-​down place, it didn’t seem as ‘authentic’, but fret not as that is an UNTRUE statement.
The pupusas here were actually marginally better (more cheese, less dough). Perfect pillows of cheesy, yummy goodness. I liked it more than Estrelita’s actually. And the price was pretty much the same, AND there’s legit seating? Count me in.
One pupusa will sate your appetite, and if you have a voracious diet, two would probably do. not for the diet-​conscious though. DAMN IT, CHEESE. For me, cheese is always worth it.
The wait was kind of long though. We ordered 3 pupusas in a half-​filled restaurant and it probably took 30 minutes? I will note that pupusas are hand-​shaped and crafted, and made to order. it takes a while to heat up both sides on the grill (they’re not really a fast food like pancakes) — and I’m sure the grill only can make a certain number at a time, so if it was REALLY busy, I imagine the wait can be reeealllyyy lonnggggg. :/​
Overall, the restaurant is clean, the wait staff here is super nice and attentive (smiles all around!) and I’d definitely return and recommend!

Papusas galore!
Went here on a Sunday night and it was packed! That’s a good sign, right?
Special Pupusa (steak & cheese) — This was heavenly!!! Couldn’t have asked for a better pupusa. Can’t wait to try the other pupusas out!
Tamale (pork) — I really disliked this dish. I’m used to tamales that are robust and don’t fall apart. This tamale seemed overcooked, oily, and mushy… would not recommend.
The prices are reasonable for the quality and taste. Would recommend… only for pupusas!

They are the undisputed heavyweight king of pupusas!
What a little neighborhood gem. Tasty food, friendly service, a small, busy room for a Sunday brunch. Families large and small. About half of the plates coming out were breakfast, the other half were pupusas or other Salvadoran specials. They love their futbal too… there were soccer banners everywhere, a couple of TVs playing games on satellite.
The food came out, my son took two bites and said, «how soon can we come back again?»
Those pupusas were just the right balance of not-​too-​greasy and just-greasy-enough…but I mean that in a good way. Crispy, salty, savory, and oozy.
Not that we had enough room, but the sides were worth making a little room for. The fried plantains were tasty, the pickled coleslaw added some crunch, and a smooth red salsa just the right amount of heat.
Plenty of vegetarian friendly options too. My wife and daughter liked the mixed vegetable one and the bean and cheese. For some reason the lacoro that is mentioned in a lot of reviews wasn’t a hit with them. Oh well, still they agreed, Balompie definitely scored a GOOOAAAL!

Ordered the # 1 platanos and frijoles with queso and crema. So flavorful, would recommend to anyone.
I also ordered a chicharron and queso pupusasl which was pretty good. The queso and frijoles pupusas was delicious.

This place is horrible compared to Balompie #3. Never coming here again. Never got menus after we were seated and it’s been over 30 minutes and our papusas are still not here. Everyone around us is also complaining about how long their food is taking.
This location doesn’t have carne asada papusas and their portion of plantains is way smaller than their other location. It’s almost 3pm it’s not like there is this huge lunch rush so not sure why they are taking forever. Avoid this place at all costs and go to the one in Bernal Heights.

Being in SF, we went here for pupusas. Although the food was very good the service was so poor that we were unable to enjoy an evening out together.
We all three ordered pupusas but only two of us received our order. When we asked our server what was up, she tried to blame us for the error, and then said «they are making your order now» over the next 40 minutes we watched order after order of pupusas come from the kitchen and be served to other tables which came in long after we did. No apology was given for all these delays, they were obviously not making our order now or even soon, although we were told «they are making it now» whenever we asked. The third member of our party was served 40 minutes after the other two. Not OK.
Not a pleasant supper out, will not return there again due to service problems (anyone can get an order wrong, but no attempt was made to fix the problem) there are other places that make good pupusas and have decent service.

Well, we had wonderful pupusas tonight. Very cheesy and perfectly grilled. The curtido here is also excellent. But… Service? Not good at all. Oh they were very nice when I felt dizzy and they offered to help. But food service? All I can say is that an hour later, two of us have finished our meal and one is still waiting for her order (which is the same as mine was so didn’t need extra time to cook). The wait staff keeps blaming us and saying we didn’t order hers with the rest? Excuse me? We did. And English is spoken well here so that’s not the problem. The combination of slow response and blaming the customer means we are not very likely to return. Sad as the food is really delicious, but crappy service is… Crappy

This place is gooooood!!! The pupusas are big, not abnormal big. Good size. They are perfect with just enough cheese and chicharron, not too thick with masa like other places. The yucca con chicharron delicious and to top off dinner… the platano frito w/​casamiento. Omg! Perfect flavors, great service and reasonably priced. Would I come here next time I’m in San Fran, YES… yes…yes!!!

I grew up in the neighborhood and would walk by every day on my way to school. I walked in once with my family about 10 or so years ago and ended up leaving because we waited over 20 minutes to even have our order taken.
I stopped by today and it looks like nothing has changed. We walked in and none of the workers greeted us so we assumed we had to seat ourselves. After we ordered, we waited about 20 – 30 minutes for our food. During this time I observed the workers and they were so unorganized. One young lady who I had thought was the hostess was bringing people their checks (something the server is supposed to do) and quickly tossing them on the table and walking away. Fortunately for her, the server brought us our check. The food was great and worth the wait and the server was friendly which is why I’m giving it 4 stars.
I’m glad I finally stopped by; however, hopefully next time I go there is a designated hostess/​busser cleaning tables and seating people. This will speed up service guaranteed.

I loved the pupusas here! I came here specifically with the goal of eating a bunch of pupusas, and I was not disappointed.
They have a pretty solid selection of pupusa options, and in addition to the standard pupusa menu, have another long list of specialty pupusas that are 50 cents more and a little more unique (one of them had prosciutto inside, for example). I opted for the traditional pupusas, and tried the queso y frijoles, laroco con queso, and ayote (zucchini) con queso. I thought they all tasted delicious — very fresh and filled with oozing cheese — what more could you want? At $ 3 a pop, they’re a great deal too! I was pretty stuffed after eating three, even though I wasn’t really expecting to be.
If you’re in the Mission and looking for some pupusas, I think this is the place to go!

Swung by with my co-​workers around 3PM on a Saturday. Service was a bit slow but the pupusas I ordered were the cucumbers and the pork w/​cheese.
They looked and tasted very fresh and really good. Authentic and just thinking about it right now makes me want one. There were a lot of different options to try and I would like to try them all eventually.
Many different options for me to try when I’m in SF, so I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to come back and visit this place.

First off, I like supporting local businesses in my ‘hood, but I also love Balompie’s pupusas. It’s a mostly Latino crowd but I’m always warmly welcomed by the servers.
For breakfast they have several egg dishes, which I’m guessing are common Salvadoran combos that come with delicious housemate tortillas and coffee. My favorite is to order a couple of different pupusas with a side of scrambled eggs — tasty and satisfying. Probably my favorite pupusas in SF.

The service was great and the pupusas are yummy. Prices are reasonable and the service is fast if you have 2 – 3 people. This place is busy so come early.

Pupusas! Cheesy, heart-​warming goodness and also one of the more affordable things to eat in the city (2 for $ 6 I believe). I love their side dish of pickled veggies as well which goes great with the cheesiness of the pupusas.
Takes a little time but the service is friendly and attentive.

Their pupusas are to die for! They are the right price and not too oily, which I’m particular about. Keep in mind, I’m half salvadorian so I’m well aware of what an authentic pupusa tastes like. Their curtido is delicious! The proportionate amount of vinegar to pickle the cabbage is spot on each time.
The service is quick and friendly! I recommend this location along with their other spots.

I fucking love pupusas, and Balompie does this Salvadoran specialty right (not that I’ve ever been to El Salvador or anything). On my way to dinner, I just had to pop in for the queso and loroco pupusas. The tortilla discs were soft, fresh and swollen with warm runny cheese. They paired perfectly with the red sauce and magical curtido, which I dumped mounds of onto my plate. Our server was awesome — he was friendly, responsive and prompt even though we ordered less than $ 10 worth of food.
If you’ve never heard of or tried a pupusa before, then you need to go get some NOW. At only $ 3 per piece, even homeless people can afford it.

the food is very good but the service is terrible .La comida es muy buena pero el sevicio de las meseras es terrible

La comida esta deliciosa y los precios razonables pero el servicio es pésimo.The food is delicious but the service is lousy

I’ve been having a lot of very specific food cravings recently. Don’t worry everyone, I’m not pregnant! Anyway, last week I was craving pupusas and based on 7×7, Balompie Café appeared to be a safe bet.
My friend and I walked in and seated ourselves in the corner, away from the folks who had clearly engaged in some serious day drinking. My friend insisted on getting a steak dish but I was focused on pupusas. I ordered two of them with chicharon and queso made with harina de arroz (in my opinion, rice flour pupusas are so much better than the corn masa variety). Like every Salvadoran restaurant I’ve ever gone to (and trust me, I’ve been to quite a few), service was extra slow. Don’t go there when you’re really hungry or you might end up becoming agitated.
When the pupusas arrived, I was happy with the result. The outside stayed soft and the cheese inside was gooey and melted. The only criticism would be that there wasn’t enough chicharon; the ratio of cheese and meat was off. If I ever crave pupusas again, I would certainly be willing to return to Balompie.

If you are in San Francisco and craving for some pupusas, this is your place. The pupusas are so delicious. My favorites are La Revueltas, with some sweet plantains and beans. Love the flavor of the pork and cheese, very fresh and tender. The cheese pupusas are also good.
Great for brunch and have some Salvadorian dishes for a change. If you go on Sunday, please be patient because the place is not to big and it gets really crowded. But it’s worth the wait.

This was my first pupusa experience! Wasn’t too worried about whether or not I’d like ‘em since pretty much every carb gets the «thumbs up» on my rating scale.
Came to Balompie for dinner with a group of 7, which I figured would take forever to be seated. Had our other five diners not arrived super late, we could’ve been accommodated within 10 – 15 minutes. Instead two of stood by the bar and waited for the rest of the party to arrive. It ended up being about 30 minutes total, since the servers do an excellent job at getting customers in and out.
Sangria is a must! Nothing too fancy, just red wine and fruit. Get a carafe to share or simply have a really generous single serving. It’s not very strong but since when does sangria need to knock you on your arse?
Since I was a virgin to the pupusa, order a combination plate complete with a shrimp pupusa, chicharones, fried yucca, and a potato thingy that was OK. By far, the highlight was the pupusa. Would eat like 10 more if given the chance.
Never even thought to come to Balompie for breakfast, but now that the seed has been planted (plaintaned?) in my head, will definitely keep in mind for something casual and affordable. Without a long wait out the door!

If you’re looking authentic El Salvadorean Food in San Francisco, this is the place to go. Pupusas de frijole con queso con chipilin con ayote con pescado. Pescado Fritos. Delicious. Fried plantains, empanadas. Their curtido is amazing, fresh and crunchy and their tomato sauce has levels of flavor. I encourage eating pupusas with your hands. Defitenly THE place to go for El Salvadorean food.
Most memorable dish: Pescado frito con yuca frita
Note: If you are ordering to-​go as it is cheaper than eating at the restaurant, call your order in ahead of time as they are busy and will take bout 15−20min to create your meal.