Usulutan Restaurant

I’ve never written a bad Unilocal review before, but I got scammed here today, so here we are.
I’d been craving pupusas for months and I was in the area around lunchtime, so I stopped in for takeout. The fact that they had been open for half an hour and I was the only patron in the restaurant should’ve tipped me off. I ordered one pupusa; the woman working said I had to order a minimum of 2, even though that was written nowhere on the menu. Fine, I thought, I can get 2. Then she charged me $ 5.60 for 2 pupusas, which were listed as $ 2.50 each. That seemed a little high to me, but maybe sales tax is higher in SF than in Berkeley, I thought. Only after leaving did I look up the sales tax rate in SF and find that it’s actually lower than Berkeley’s. She charged me 12%.
In the great scheme of things, paying 3 bucks more than I wanted to isn’t a huge deal, but I can’t abide a business that scams their customers like that (and reading through these reviews, it looks like I’m not the only person this has happened to). I wish I had done my research and Unilocaled this place before I stopped in today. I won’t be returning.

The chicken in my enchilada consisted of chopped up cartilage and bits of bone.
Min $ 10 for credit card.

Being the only Salvadorian restaurant on that side of the Mission, I frequented this restaurant with excellent pupusas and warm hospitality. Unfortunately, the last visit was definitely the contrary. Out of courtesy, I placed a large order hours ahead. When I arrived to the restaurant, and told them of the pick-​up, the cook immediately began my order.
… It was 26 pupusas.
The cook in shock stated they forgot the order and cooked away as fast as her little hands could. And I felt bad for her because she was the only person both attending guests and in the kitchen.
Thirty minutes (yes, 30) after waiting for the order the owner arrives and I explained to her about the order called ahead of time and she wouldn’t own up to her business’ error.
She explained to me in Spanish, «if I would have taken your order, this wouldn’t have happened.» As much I hate being one of those customers asking for a discount or compensation, I felt it was definitely needed for the sake of their reputation and appreciation of our services there. With a $ 73 bill she said all she could offer is $ 3 off the bill and waive the service fee for using a credit card. It was a slap in the face to our years of loyalty to her business.
I called at 4:00, requested to pick up the order at 6:00 and finally left the restaurant at 6:50.
Needless to say, we are not coming back again. It’s unfortunate this had to go to Unilocal,but their priorities need to get straight.
… and yes the excessive charges for bags and to use the restroom, all true!

Popusas were good. I had the revuelta and chicharron. Also tried the chicken tomale — not the best ever. Service was good. Overall, did the trick.

I really wanted Tamales so I came here to get some to go. As I’m waiting for my food I notice odd things. Like it costs $ 2 to use the bathroom, $ 1.50 to use your credit card and they charge 25 cents instead of 10 cents for a bag. I’m not sure if any of that is legal and I’m thinking if they are this money hungry I wonder what kind of corners they cut with the food. I get my food really fast and once I got home I opened it and took out the tamales. It’s dripping with grease and when I slice my fork in it it’s like gelatin. It was really disgusting I threw it all away. They were also really pricey $ 2.75 for each tamale. Now I know why there are never any customers in this place.

pros: queso & loroco pupusa
cons: everything else. HORRIBLE fried platanos (they were burnt), rude lady, horchata tasted like rum & chemicals but did not have rum in it, beans were mediocre at best.
Avoid.

Usulutan touts their salvadorean cuisine. pupusas all seem the same to me so went for the tamale.
eats «chicken tamale» (2.5)
–heated in microwave:
–portion small, masa very smooth, lots of lard used no doubt
–some tender chicken breast tasted.
–tamale very greasy.
leftovers:
–not a great value, lots of lard used
–excellent service, though cashier/​cook lacked english skills.
3 stars at most

This place looked promising from the outside, so I ventured in. Nothing stood out as especially «Salvadorian» on the menu, so I asked the woman behind the counter what the specialty was, her recommendation. She of course picked the most expensive item on the menu, but that’s fine. I’ll take it. Salvadorian style steak with and beans. The flavor was okay but the meat was tough and for what I paid I don’t think I got very much food. To top it off, the woman told me she would have to charge me $ 1.50 more if I used a credit card… Wouldn’t go back.

Not bad, nothing stood out as great though.

For pupusas this is my go to place. The person who runs this restaurants is very courteous. The pupusas are nice and generous with the cheese, beans, pork, etc. They make the best horchata I have ever tasted. The horchata comes in only second to the one my mom makes. Other places the horchata tastes like chocolate milk or is too watery. Usulutan does it just right. It’s a little taste of El Salvador in the Mission.

Came here for lunch, and I thought the pupusas were among the best around here, as were the rice and beans. All around a great experience for not much money. Also, the horchata was killer!

Simple, tasty, quick and cost effective. There is an art to refried beans… and she is a Picasso in the making.
I’m no Papusa maestro, nor am I an excellent judge of the finer distinctions between damn good and epic papusas, but I found the meal to be pretty tasty.
As I read the reviews, I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt, but recognize that the poor experiences of others might indicate that she’s got an issue with consistency in the kitchen.
–Ian

Horrible Pupusa all dough not enough cheese and meats. Forgot my water cuz she was on phone. Coleslaw was soggy and damp. Salsa sucked.

The pupusas were ok. Not too memorable but not bad either. also had guacamole… it was a bit bland but then again, one can say it was not too salty. Overall, I would say this place is ok but not my first choice for Salvadorean food. Also the lady was a bit cold but when I practiced my Spanish with her and apologized for my accent she softened up a bit.
I will have to go back one more time and see if I end up having a more memorable experience.

Fowl female.
Not often you see hen soup on the menu. Knew I had to get it even though I really didn’t know what I getting.
Hen came grilled on the side with rice and a salad and thick masa tortillas. Soup had cubes of potatoes and vegetables. Very oily. Not surprising.
Didn’t have much of the soup but enjoyed the hen. Especially when I combined pieces with the vegetables cubes for a build your own taco.
Better and more memorable were the bean pupusas to start. Gooey and delicious. Loved the masa shell.
Service was fine and the space gave people room to serve food and sit down for a meal. A very 24^th Street experience in the heart of the Mission.

I went here to get a light to-​go dinner. My friend and I, were across the street eating ice cream and Humphry & Slocombes. I saw papusas and darted across the street. For $ 2.35 each, I got a bean & cheese papusa and a loroco papusa. Both not bad, but not the most amazing I’ve had either. But it did hit the spot and I did not get sick, still healthy. So it passed that test too.

After attempting to go to Bi-​Rite last night (and failing due to the serious lack of parking always evident in the Mission), my best friend and I ended up at Usulutan. After enjoying one of the best meals EVER, I couldn’t wait to get online and review it. I’m honestly really, really shocked by all the reviews from everyone else. Maybe I just came on a really «on» night, or I don’t mind a little wait for my food? Either way…
I loved the pupusas. I ordered the pupusa plate with a bean and cheese pupusa and a cheese and locorro flower (which is similar to a zucchini flower.) Both were totally delicious. For $ 6.50 it came with two good size pupusas and rice and beans. I ate everything. The spicy cabbage salad that it comes with to put on top is totally bomb. I would it with a fork.
Also, the woman working the front counter is adorable. After telling her how beautiful her nails were, she told me and my friend that our perfume was «beautiful.» I loved this place, and can’t wait to come back.
Maybe I am just more likable than everyone else (definite possibility), but I got great service and food here, and have no complaints.

Really guys
Granted I’m not Salvadorian, so I can’t speak to their authenticity, but I thought these mini-​quesadilla-​like pupusas were yummy. Sure, they were on the greasy side, but also quite delicious, and affordable. Even better than Panchita’s.
Yes, it took a while, but so does most good food.

This place pretty much sucks. I went here on the evening of Dia De Los Muertos, and while I understand that they were unusually busy, they really didn’t have their act together.
Terrible service. I ordered a beer, after not receiving anything, I ask, «should I just grab one out of the fridge?» lady working the front, «um yeah.». When the food came out, they brought me papusas without the fixings. I had to ask fpr not only the rice and beans that were supposed to come with it, but also the normal red-​sauce and cole slaw stuff. They complied. It wasn’t that they were rude — quite nice, actually — they just really didn’t have it together. Really nice younger people working there and grumpy/​tired older people. Which all makes sense, but didn’t feel very inviting.
Eh-​food. Not amazing, not mind-​blowing, not terrible, not «meh», just «eh».
Weird charges. I ordered the two-​papusa plate, which is listed as $ 6.50 on the menu. I was charged $ 7. When I asked about it, I was ignored, which was just weird. Again, they were busy, the people working there looked tired, so I didn’t want to bug them. It just kinda bummed me out. In fact, I wouldn’t have minded paying $ 7 for the papusa plate if that was the price listed on the menu, or if she told me, «hey, we raised the prices». Yeah yeah, $.50 difference — it’s the principle. The party next to us had some weird issue with their charges only after they paid and sat down — the four of them were all wondering what the extra charges were too. Fool me once, fool me twice yadda yadda.
Oh by the way, the beer I ordered with my meal? WARM. BLEH.

As a Salvadorian, it saddens me to give this place two stars, but it really sucked.
The pupusas were all masa and no cheese or meat.
The woman took FOREVER to take our order despite the fact that it wasn’t crowded.
I will give them credit for being friendly and for having a big screen TV playing soccer, but that’s about it.
There are probably 15 better Salvadorian spots in the neighborhood.
Even the horchata was bad.
For once, speaking spanish didn’t even help to get faster service. Oh well.