Bullshead

(415)665-4350
840 Ulloa St.
(@ West Portal)
San Francisco, CA
(West Portal district)

Rating: $-$$
Rating: 7 (Rating & price key)
Last visit: 02/20/07

Sarah and I ate here after a movie at the CineArts@Empire and found that it lived up to its mostly positive reviews, as well as living down to its reputation for service.

We waited about 10 minutes to be seated, a little annoying, as there were numerous empty, clean tables in view. Once seated we had another fairly long wait to place our order. While waiting, we soaked up the 1970's decor - wood panelled walls, a cheesy bull's head on a plaque, and so on.

The entree options are very meaty, emphasing steak and hamburgers, with a good variety of each. Most burgers are available in either 1/3# or 1/2# sizes, and buffalo meat is an option as well. Sarah ordered a 1/3# western burger (burger w/cheese, onion rings, bacon, and bbq sauce, ~$8) with onion rings and I had a blue cheese and mozzarella 1/3# buffalo burger ($8.50) with fries, each with a beer, of which they have a selection of the usual suspects (Bud, Miller, Anchor Steam).

Our burgers arrived cooked just as ordered, and both were very good indeed. Mine was the first buffalo burger I'd had in quite some years, and I enjoyed its lack of greasiness and good flavor. Sarah's burger was made from obviously good-quality meat, and had a nice charred flavor to it. The french fries, and especially the onion rings, were crispy and just about perfectly-cooked.

Service was not very friendly, nor very speedy, but it got the job done. The burgers alone merits a higher rating than I'm giving the place, but service does count for something. Still, this is a very good choice for meaty meals in this area. It wasn't too crowded or too noisy on a Friday night either, which was a nice change.