📝 The Full Story
I really love how the bill comes in a small soccer shoe at the end. The pupusas are legit. I have been a couple of times with people from El Salvador who really miss them. San Francisco has a lot of amazing places, and this is one of my best options. I miss pupusas too, since they are very common in Guatemala. This is not a place to discuss tech or bring your techie friends. This is a place to enjoy Salvadoran food. My take: the pupusa de queso with loroco. If you don't know what loroco is, it's the Salvadoran vegetable, as English menus call it: actually the edible flower bud of a vine (Fernaldia pandurata) grown in El Salvador and Guatemala, with a green, herbal flavor, a bit like asparagus or squash blossom, that melts into the cheese. You have to try it. The best version is just with cheese, loroco con queso. They also do some exotic combinations (like Panchita's, another good place, does), but I stick with the classics. The other good combination is the Mixta, the one with chicharrón and also beans. That's a very nice mix, but not everyone likes the beans, so be cautious with that. Central Americans, we really love it. Better to order pupusas and not the combos, but I understand why they push the combos for people who don't have the habit of eating pupusas. And I really believe you need to eat this with your hands, so just go to the bathroom, wash your hands, and then enjoy your pupusas. Put the curtido on the side of the pupusa first, then some of the salsa on top of it, and mix it. The best thing is when you grab a piece of pupusa, curtido, and salsa with your hand and eat it. That's how it really makes sense, and that's how you will enjoy pupusas as a real salvadoreño: with a Kolashampan, the orange Salvadoran soda. Really, really good. Or a beer, if it's noon and they're watching some soccer on the screens. You will definitely hear the Salvadoran accent and understand how legit this place is.
🌍 Branches I Keep Going Back To
This is a family of rooms, so one address is only part of the story. These are the locations from this review.
Balompié Café #1 — Mission
The original, opened in 1987. Closed Mon–Tue; Wed–Fri 10am–8pm, Sat–Sun 9am–8pm.
Balompié Café #3 — Bernal Heights
Closed Tue; Mon and Wed–Fri 10am–8pm, Sat–Sun 9am–8pm.
What to Order
Pupusa de queso con loroco
My take. Cheese and loroco, the Salvadoran vegetable (an edible flower bud). The best version.
Mixta
Chicharrón, cheese and beans. A very nice mix, but not everyone likes the beans.
Kolashampan
The orange Salvadoran soda. Always get one.
