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Holy Grill
Category: Restaurants Burgers Burgers [Edit]
659 Townsend St(between 7th St & 8th St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 431-4659
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 10 pm
Sat 11 am - 8 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Drive-Thru:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
278 reviews for Holy Grill
Review Highlights
"I had the absolute best garlic fries."
(in 49 reviews)
"The honey-chipotle sauce was just right and not overbearing."
(in 9 reviews)
"And to top it off I love their Onion Rings Yum Yum."
(in 48 reviews)
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278 reviews in English
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Review from bonniebelle b.
San Francisco, CA
12/29/2011
What's up Holy Grill!!!! They have some pretty bomb dot com burgers. Along with some semi-good garlic fries!!!
PLUS this place is right across the street from my work...how convenient. I'd recommend it, lunch time does get busy though...but if you want to get your fat girl on, go ahead!!!! -
Review from Rosie W.
1/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
Good burger, but greasy. I feel gross after eating an entire burger here, hence why I have been getting their sandwiches lately. Their burgers are pretty big and you can tailor it to however you like. If you don't feel like a burger, their chicken pesto sandwich is really tasty and not greasy.
If you want to eat here and you're close to a computer, try ordering online before going there. The wait time on average when its busy is about 20 min. -
Review from Katelyn M.
San Francisco, CA
1/9/2012
Felt like switching it up at lunchtime today, so I grabbed a burger to-go. Despite coming during the lunch rush, service was pretty fast. I waited between 5 and 10 minutes for my food, and that was with a half dozen others ahead of me.
Even though I'm a card-carrying meat eater, I still enjoy a good veggie burger now and again. The yoga burger sounded awesome, so I ordered it. I was a little disappointed that the patty turned out to be mostly rice speckled with just a few black beans. The mushrooms gave it some much-needed heartiness, though. I can never not like caramelized onions, and their holy sauce was perfect too. The one big downside -- while the whole grain bun was tasty, it was a little large and overpowering for the sandwich. I felt like every bite was bread, followed by a hint of the burger innards.
I'll probably be back to try out a beef burger and some of their delicious smelling garlic fries. -
Review from Dimps I.
Daly City, CA
2/8/2012
The fiance and I decided to try this place out for lunch. If you're one of those people that don't mind deviating from the normal burger, this place is a good place to try it out. I had their Ahi Tuna Burger and I fell in love. The Ahi was thick and cooked perfectly with just the right rareness.
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Review from Ben C.
San Francisco, CA
1/29/2012
Good range of choices. Both the beef and the ahi are good. The one with the onion rings on the burger is awesome. And you can get a beer.
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Review from Jason B.
12/22/2011
Yoga.
Not the traditional kind. That's on the agenda for next year. Right now it's all about the Yoga Burger.
House made black bean and rice patty. Caramelized onions. Wheat bun. Mushrooms, cheese and Holy Sauce (an unholy mix of ketchup, mayo, relish and some other things) if you choose.
A great burger made excellent with the caramelized onions. Together they formed a new yoga pose: The Delicious Mess.
Seven bucks was about right. Lack of a side is the only thing keeping Holy Grill from a full five stars. -
Review from Cathy D.
San Jose, CA
1/10/2012
Popped in for a quick dinner since the office was nearby....I had a great burger here. I had the guru!...yumm....best burger I had in a 6 block radius.
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Review from Alexander J.
Kirkland, WA
1/2/2012
Burgers: Meh. Shakes: smooth but not great flavor wise. Salads: refreshingly citrus. Garlic fries: OH MY GOODNESS THESE ARE AMAZING. Would it be embarassing to lick the bottom of the container? The fries are perfectly cooked and the garlic, while seeming sparse, is fresh and so tasty you don't even need visible amounts of garlic on each fry to be blessed with garlicky goodness. Come for the garlic fries, then order the salad to pretend to be healthy.
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Review from Jade R.
(This review is solely for the hot dogs and fries)
I'm not sure why, but whenever we crave hot dogs, Holy Grill is the only
place that comes to mind. I suppose we crave burgers less than we crave
hot dogs, so I've actually never tried the burgers here o_O
The hot dogs are absolutely delicious! I'm a big fan of their St.Bernard (chili cheese dog)
and their Nirvana Garlic Fries. The amount of garlic seems to change, but
the greasiness never does. Which is fine, because if I wanted to watch my figure,
I probably wouldn't be eating fries of any kind anyway.
Service has been okay, hard to rate a fast-food kind of place, at least
there are no complaints in my part. It gets really crowded during lunch time,
so I'd suggest calling ahead for pick-up if you're not going to sit down, otherwise it can be a bit of a wait. -
Review from Christina C.
Berkeley, CA
11/15/2011
Expect failure on a cataclysmic scale.
Hm. What could possibly have Christina speaking in hyper-dramatic terms? Well, she took the bar. So it's not that. Instead, it's BAR RESULTS time! Countdown is 3 days until results are available! That's why everything is described in ASTRONOMICAL proportions!
Here, everything zeros in on nirvana. Spiritual enlightenment. The names of menu items are creative. The ventilation could use a massive overhaul (MASSIVE! COSMIC!) because I smelled like a caramelized onion after eating lunch here.
The garlic fries really are quite pungent. I felt like they were a bit over fried. Not burnt. Just a touch over done. This result occurs when the oil is not hot enough when the food first enters the oil bath. Or that too much was put in the oil at once, resulting in a quick drop in overall oil temperature. When the potato sits in below-temperature oil for prolonged periods of time, it ends up soaking up excess oil. The excess oil is what causes the over cooked, slightly see through, greasy exterior.
But the place was churning out food double speed. It was very popular.
The burger I got had mushrooms and caramelized onions. I keep forgetting that I could live without caramelized onions. And I was disappointed in the paltry amount of mushrooms on my burger. They were small mushrooms too, not the promised portabello mushrooms. But the burger was very very big. I finished half. My family enjoyed the remaining half that night.
Overall, the value was there since the burger was gigantic. It would have been a better value if it had come with fries. Even just a little bit of fries. Just a few. Sometimes a girl just wants about a handful of fries with her half burger. Don't make her buy a whole order. She'll get fattier. -
Review from Matt L.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2012
GREAT burgers. All quality ingredients, including the bun. You can order online and customize your burger however you want. Moderately priced! They also serve beer!
I love this place. Definitely the best burger place in the area.
If you wanna mix it up, try the fried chicken burger.
Oh. My. God. So good.
Great fries too. Come check it out for yourself!
The only downside is it's a little small, so if you come during the lunch rush you won't have a place to sit. -
Review from Dave H.
San Carlos, CA
12/29/2011
Good burgers. Good fries. A little pricey. Loud music.
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Review from H K.
San Francisco, CA
9/24/2011
I bought a kgbdeals cerificate for this place a few months back, and finally came here with a coworker for lunch one day before its expiration.
Located near the Design Center and on the street level of a fairly-new condo building, this place serves pretty good and reasonably priced burgers. The winner here is definitely the garlic fries though. It definitely satisfied my craving for them outside of the Giants games.
There was a decent crowd here during the weekday afternoon we came but still had a table to sit in. -
Review from Geoffrey S.
San Francisco, CA
11/1/2011
Lunch here at least once a week. Its usually busy around lunch time and I think I'll order delivery but since I live a couple blocks away, I end up walking for take-out.
The buffalo burger is wonderful. The veggie burger as well. The holy sauce is tasty, and there is no mistaking that the garlic fries are in fact garlic. -
Review from Diana H.
San Francisco, CA
9/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been here once with friends during a one hour lunch break.
I ordered the burger with bacon and cheese, and I was pretty impressed with it. Bacon was crispy, meat was juicy, it was a good size, and buns were fresh when I went (someone else said they were stale?)
I was really full from the burger, but we had also ordered the garlic fries (best garlic fries I've ever had - sooo crispy and fresh!) and onion rings (thin cut, sweet, crispy)
We had time to walk there, order, finish our food, and walk back, with time to spare. I'd go back again, if only just for the fries and onion rings. -
Review from Andrew C.
My burger patty last week was dry and overcooked. The bun was hard and stale. Ughh!!
First time that's happened so will lower the overall rating to 3 starsListed in: Burgers
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/28/2010
A really small place with a row of tables on one side, the open kitchen on the other, and a few… Read more »
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Review from Kevin J.
San Francisco, CA
6/23/2011 8 Check-ins Here
Holy moly this place is good. The menu is a bit small to read and when 20 people are standing all around waiting for their lunches or to order you start feeling a bit of pressure to read faster. I didn't care for that aspect, but maybe it's just me.
Holy Grill has a bit of everything for the American eatery. Try a burger, or a salad if you want a healthier option. You can even order online and pick up your food in about 20mins.
Got a company meal? This place even gives discounts if you order in bulk 5 Burgers get's you 5% off and 10 burgers get's you 10% off. Would ordering 100 burgers be free? If only they kept going.Listed in: Burgers-A-Hoolanhan
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Review from Christian C.
San Francisco, CA
10/5/2011
Got off to a bad start :
1) Delivery guy called in sick
2) Online Order never received
But - once all the bad parts were done - the food more than made up for it.
Onion Rings & Garlic fries were fantastic. Still tasting the garlic!
My burger was great too - however, I wish the guac was better.
The highlight was the shake. Not sure what type of ice cream/yogurt they use, but it was heavenly - a must add.
You're having a burger and fries -what's another few hundred calories for a delicious shake. -
Review from Brandon M.
San Francisco, CA
9/20/2011
Pretty good for fast food style dining. The yoga burger is satisfying with the mushrooms and caramelized onions, but the garlic fries are absurdly greasy. If you are vegan, make sure to double and tripple repeat your request as they might forget to enter in the no cheese.
When I went in, there was a fire drill for Zinga across the street, so there were tons of people taking advantage of the 3.50 beers. -
Review from Kristina P.
San Francisco, CA
11/8/2011
Great service awesome food. and if you're a vegetarian, I think they make the best veggie burger in town.
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Review from Chris G.
San Francisco, CA
6/21/2011
Excellent take-out burger joint. It's not strictly takeout, but It's best for to-go orders since its a very small space.
With limited seating and a very confined floor, the wait can sometimes be very crowded and/or cramped. I've only noticed this at peak hours, however, most of the time there are open seats and room to breathe. On several occasions I have noticed the tables and seating being very messy, with ketchup smears, grease puddles and dirty napkins. Sure it's a greasy burger hut, but wiping down tables should be a priority when its the only furniture visible.
Now, the food! The burgers are great, and for some reason they remind me of the delicious burgers I used to eat when I was a child after little league baseball games, made in a tiny shack on the field. The beef itself is very tasty and you can tell its as fresh as it gets. The same can be said about the veggies, freshness all the way. The patties are on the small side, depending on what burger you get, the toppings can outweigh the beef. I have yet to try the double-size burger (The "Sacrilege"), which I'm sure would be a better ratio but that would mean sacrificing garlic fries or onion rings to spend ~$10.
Most of the time the patties are cooked medium-well to well, if you like your burgers a bit more on the rare side, ask for it. Favorite burger is the "Divinity", which has your choice of cheese, crispy onion rings, and honey chipotle sauce. The sauce is pretty bland, the consistency seems too thin so it doesn't stay where it should. If they made it thicker and concentrated the flavors more it would be REALLY great.
The "Halo Rings" are my favorite item on the menu. They are very thin, very crispy, and come with a tasty ranch sauce. These things are greasy - every time i finish a serving of them there is a large pool of grease left in the tray. This doesn't bother me that much but I'm sure it would turn some people off.
"Nirvana Garlic Fries" are quite good as well, but be prepared to eat a whole load of garlic, as most of the time they are swimming in it.
Decent prices, okay service, delicious grub. Bunch of metered parking outside, and just down the street from a 10 and 19 MUNI stop. They do deliver, but only to certain neighborhoods, only after 5pm, and have a $25 minimum. -
Review from Lauren D.
Plano, TX
7/20/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Pretty good burgers. They're across the street from work so they get more business from me than normal so I've tried quite a few things on the menu. I highly recommend the holy rings...they are the skinny kind and very tasty. The food is made to order so expect to wait awhile during the lunch rush..but you CAN order online.
I'm not a fan of the buns that they use for their hot dogs or hamburgers...both are covered with three layers of sesame seeds which almost make them crunchy. The burger itself is a decent burger. I recommend the Holy Philly if they have it available (daily special).
There is a garage for parking and extremely limited metered parking.
The theme of the place is a little bit odd :) -
Review from H C.
San Francisco, CA
6/9/2011
I'm a carnivore. After a soul-crushing workout, I needed some dead animals. Food that suffered as I had. Pass on the karma.
Low-carbing it, I ordered a side salad. Side salads are a necessary evil for carnivores.
I take a "bad news first" policy, so my first bite was the salad. I was impressed. I've never liked a side salad, let alone one at a burger place. Thin shred of basil hidden because the orange slices (canned) and sunflower seeds draw your attention. A delightful surprise.
Prophetically, I had ordered the Sacrilege: double meat (2/3 lbs), double cheese, grilled onions. A tad over-cooked, but rest of it rounded out the burger. -
Review from Jonathan S.
San Jose, CA
7/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
I had the absolute best garlic fries. The cut was great, fried to crispy perfection. I was impressed. I think fries are important to get right and this place did that.
I had the Bacon, guacamole burger with cheese. It was cooked MR (medium rare) as I like it and the size was a good value for the money. It was a great lunch for my commuting around doing interviews. -
Review from Simmi K.
Cupertino, CA
5/3/2011
Just went here for lunch and I loved it! I got the fried chicken sandwich with grilled chicken...so I guess that makes it a grilled chicken sandwich. It was super yummy and had onion rings inside.
Pros- Clean, friendly(The cashier smiled when she gave me a glass for water while I was waiting for my take-out order. Usually, others give a suspicious "you better no put soda in there" look), delicious burgers, and they let you add/change around anything you want and don't charge extra.
You can also order online.
Cons- Fries aren't included...even a tiny order would have been fulfilling.
That said, next time I want to try their fries. -
Review from Zain D.
San Francisco, CA
10/18/2011
The veggie burger was sloppily made and not warm. The bun was torn apart. The fries were stale and bland. The service is standard but the food is just horrible.
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Review from Matt W.
San Francisco, CA
8/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
The burgers here are good. But do not under ANY circumstances order one. Order the "Fried Chicken Sandwich" instead. Eating one is like having *insert deity of your choice* crap rainbows into your mouth while singing your favorite Vampire Weekend song.
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Review from paul t.
San Francisco, CA
7/7/2011
We staggered into this place after a three hour urban hike, mostly along third street and Potrero Hill. The students were just leaving UCSF Mission Bay and people were flowing towards the Ball Park; our last leg was along Mission Creek--entirely new aside from the houseboats, and so alien to what has come to define San Francisco, that by the time we were seated in Holy Grill, on Townsend, an area which is a bit older and more familiar to me, I had the lingering sense that I was in Stockton or Walnut Creek. That the Giants game soon came on TV only added to the effect.
Sadly, and as hungry as I was, these burgers didn't rate. Almost a perfect storm of failure, from the packaging to the structure of the burger, to the lack of taste, and the unremarkable "blade cut" fries.
"Blade Cut", what does that mean?
Holy Grill is a small sit-down eatery with ample seating, but in an area that would produce a clientele on the go, so it would make sense to orient the food "to go". Still, if the customer isn't going, why serve a burger in a sturdy paper-board clamshell? I can see wrapping it in paper, perhaps, but every layer of packaging atop a plate is waste, and it doesn't matter that you're composting the waste. It's San Francisco, 2011 and people are still acting like it's 1957, and we're all roaring in from a freeway, in big steel monsters with two tons of chrome and ten foot fins. Where is the environmental consciousness in this excess packaging?
As for the burgers, I've had much better. I haven't eaten at "Sliders" in a while, but that was one reference point. "In N Out" is a chain, but their burgers are much more flavorful, even if their fries fail along the same lines as Holy Grill. Normally, I'm something of a purist, and while I like burgers, and bacon, I prefer to savor them separately. But, this time I gave in and had the "Trinity" with bacon, avocado, and cheese.
Bacon makes everything better.
Well, not in this case. It didn't hurt, but the burger just wouldn't be helped even by the best efforts of the rather delicious bacon. It was as if the burger (brand name beef no less) just insisted on being bland, or my taste buds were on holiday somewhere else...
The size of the burger reminded me of the ads a big chain was running a while back, asserting that a good burger is a messy burger. I'm not one for cutting my hamburger, but even after cutting this one in half, it was still so structurally unsound that I had goop all over my hands and face, and a burger in pieces, finger food, in the cardboard shell. Each bite pushed everything out the back of the burger, and turning it around to try to deal with the situation the next bite only served to make a bigger mess of me.
There are lots of places to eat in this area and next time, if we are that hungry, we'll go to one of them instead. -
Review from Mojgan J.
San Francisco, CA
12/11/2011
Love this place. Have only gotten take-out...but the food is fresh and super yummy. Sometimes the order gets screwed up, but that's rare. Overall, way higher quality for the price and pretty darn delicious. The burgers, fries, and the chicken sandwich are all delish...and they have really good salads which normally isn't the case at a burger joint. Love this place.
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Review from Lou S.
Pacifica, CA
6/20/2011
I love Burger here!! For the first time I ate, It was amazing and so cheap for what you get as a portion. Huge burger, fresh veges, great buns. I go here for lunch time, and when I usually decide to come here, I don't eat breakfast. It's that big.
I usually order Trinity because I like Avocado on my burger. Tomatoes are so sweet, you can just eat by itself. I go with American cheese, felt like Cheddar clouds the taste of fresh bun a little. When you push the burger to make it to fit to your mouth, and trust me, you need to push harder, juice comes out from Pattie and soaks the buns and bacon. Just ...heaven.
Garlic fries are OK, not as good as at AT&T park, but good enough. I am eager to try Tadasana someday. This is the place I definitely go when I crave for excellent burger. -
Review from Karen P.
Fremont, CA
4/16/2011 1 photo
I went here to try their ahi tuna after seeing a picture on Yelp.
I called ahead of time and by the time I got there my trinity with ahi tuna was ready.
Yep it was delicious! They know what they are doing. :) -
Review from Eugene H.
San Francisco, CA
2/8/2011
This place has skyrocketed to #1 on my list of burger places in SF. In fact, I liked it so much I wanted to write a review about how awesome it was. (I'm kind of surprised at some of the bad reviews!) I had the basic burger (The Holy) with fries. Why did I like it so much? The burger was thick, juicy, cooked just right AND it came on a great bun. For some people burgers are all about the meat, but for me what differentiates a merely good from a great burger is the bun--and it really should be a bun--no baguettes! The buns at Holy Grill are awesome. They are egg buns with a nice dense body and able to hold together the burger without getting mushy and soggy.
The fries are amazing too--they reminded me of In N Out fries, but way thicker and crispier. Basically if In N Out fries and steak fries had babies, Holy Grill fries would be the result.
The best part of my whole experience though was that it was all very reasonably priced. Burgers start at $5 and go to ~$7-8 with more toppings; an order of fries (easily enough for 2 people) is $2. There are a lot of great burgers in SF, but it's hard to find ones so insanely good for such a good price. -
Review from David B.
San Francisco, CA
2/28/2011
I work in the neighborhood so I frequent the joint.
My two favorite burgers are the ones topped with crispy onion rings and chipotle mayo and then the one topped with sautéed onions and portobellos. I can also vouch for their fries which I believe are twice fried and come out nice and crispy.
Great thick burger, great toppings, great sauce, and a bun that looks like it would be mediocre but is surprisingly tasty.
Their chicken sandwiches are also good.
After ordering a couple of their daily specials with disappointing results I have started to keep it to their regulars. -
Review from Natasha R.
San Francisco, CA
12/2/2010
Though I should be dieting in preparation for strutting my naughty Santacon outfit on Saturday, my boss came in yesterday with a Holy Grill burger and fries. The smell has pretty much been etched in the back of my brain since.
So, of course, today I just have to get a veggie burger convincing myself this could be the Holy Grail of all veggie burgers in the city. It looked promising with the sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, and melted jack cheese. It was huge and tasty- but certainly not the best I've had. Normally being a fan of wheat buns, something was just off about this one. I'd probably sub it out on my next visit.
Sea Salt fries were most excellent. Though I was bummed they didn't give me ketchup in my to-go bag (luckily I had some in the office kitchen).
All the burger names were quite clever and overall its a cute place worth a visit if your jonesin' for some meat and fries in Showplace Square. -
Review from Fille C.
Walnut Creek, CA
6/14/2011 2 Check-ins Here
You know those people who say they're on a diet but can't figure out how they're miscounting calories? You know, those people who order salads that unbeknownst to them are high in calories? These are those salads.
Anyway, YUM! I like the santa fe chicken salad. --The chicken is tossed in with lots of tasty dressing and then they give put a little container of it in the salad so that you can add more. The salad doesn't really need it so you can save it and throw it on some grilled chicken at home!! :-D -
Review from Karen J.
San Jose, CA
9/28/2011
I love this place!!!! super cheap and delicious
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Review from Anne N.
After the gdgt event, Lewis and I were STARVING. Thank goodness for the Yelp app! Holy Grill was just a mile or two away from our location and away we went! Glad fellow Yelpers rated this place so positively :).
I know Carl's Jr. boasts about their $6 burgers, but it doesn't compare to this place (lame comparison I know). Probably one of the few places I've tried that serves the freshest tasting patties. We ordered the Enlightenment (buffalo burger) and the Divinity burger (honey-chipotle and onion rings in a cheeseburger) with a side of fries. Baby, if you think you can finish a combo meal with a soda, you're crazy. It doesn't look like much in the pictures but man will those burgers tower.
With a thick slab of meat, cheese, onions, tomatoes, etc. between sweet sesame buns, you're going to beg for mercy once you try to finish the fries. Super filling meal that night. I felt a little macho trying to eat it all.
Ah yes, and this will require more than 2 napkins. Don't be shy if you need to wash your hands, their restrooms are actually clean. They take plastic and happy hour is available! -
Review from Joseph F.
San Francisco, CA
10/15/2010
My new office is literally across the street from this place, and after the meal I just had I know I'll be back.
Went with a co-worker and after some quick thought got a Holy Moly burger; stuffed with jack cheese and crispy onions.
DAYUM! seriously amazing burger. I liked the meat quality and the gooey cheesy interior was incredible. extra sesame seeds on the bun too which rounded it out nicely.
Why not 5 stars? Well... I think they know they're the only burger place in the area, so they charge quite a bit and don't include fries. 9 bucks for a burger without fries is a little pricy for my tastes...
Word to the wise, order ahead of time if you're busy; they cook to order so the wait is a bit hefty -
Review from Zach S.
San Francisco, CA
8/31/2011
Actually pretty good for a burger and fry joint. The 'Holy' theme is a little over done, but the burgers were greasy and burger-y delicious. The salad wasn't the greatest, but the chili cheese fries were divine. Especially on a 'cheat' night for those on a diet. However, the minimum $30 order for delivery is wacko.
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Review from Drew H.
San Francisco, CA
2/23/2011 4 photos
Blessed are the restaurants that serve a decent burger.
After a 40 day and 40 night hike, the crew at the San Francisco Burger Blog stopped by Holy Grill to sample their wares. Our mouths were blessed with tasty burgers, divine french fries and, among our favorites of the day, the mystical chili cheese fries, which they call the "Gratitude Fries." Oh, we were grateful.
One minor complaint - the onion rings are pretty weak. The batter and thinly-sliced onions don't make for much of a treat, but you will be quite happy with the plain old fries, and for another $1.29 you can get them covered in chili and cheese. God bless America!
Good work, Holy Grill. For more of our burgerventures, head here:
http://sanfranciscobur.../
