Mo's Grill
Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Burgers, American (Traditional) [Edit]
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill1322 Grant Ave
(between Green St & Vallejo St)
San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 788-3779
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 9:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat 9:00 a.m.-11:30 p.m.
Sun 9:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
230 reviews
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
"one of the best burgers and definitely the best fries in the city. They kinda freak out a little if you bring a huge group (like more than…" read more »
123 Reviews for Mo's Grill
My brother took me here years ago and now that I've moved back to the bay area, I frequently haunt this place. Luckily, I have somewhat of a photographic memory so despite not knowing the name or exact location, I wandered throughout the Meteron/Yerba Buena area on the hunt for the best burger joint.
Juicy. They get it as rare as I need it. Yummy fries. Huge root beer floats that make a mess on the table. It takes awhile to get your food, but is totally worth. A favorite of the local police department: everytime I'm in there they have a group chowing down.
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Mo's has the best fries in North Beach! The burger is okay but the burger with a side of fries....is delicious!
So go but not for the burger, go for the fries.
This place is best to cure an afternoon of revelry in North Beach, especially after the chaos that is the North Beach Festival.
I highly recommend the Belly Buster, Mexican, or Blue Cheese. All burgers are good cooked medium. Fries are good, but you can split them with another as the burgers are sizeable. Service is friendly, and its not counter service like Burger Joint and Burgermeister. Their burgers are a little better, but this location is a big selling point.
Excellent burgers. I walk past this diner / burger joint nearly every day and am always tempted by the large patties sizzling away on the rotating grill.
I think I've had every burger on the menu now and the Tex-Mex Burger (Monterey Jack Cheese, Caramelized Onions & Jalapenos) remains my favorite. Western Burger, New York Steak Sandwich also good.
The Sloppy Mo's (Slow Roasted BBQ Pork Topped with Cole Slaw) is not the best pulled pork that I've had, but my standards are ridiculously high after eating BBQ nearly every day for two month in the South. If you're looking for Pulled Pork in North Beach head down the street to Cafe Divine.
Breakfast is also good. Hearty and affordable. A decent alternative when the line at Mama's is intolerable... which is pretty much every weekend.
Finally, service is always spot on and they have a TV too, so it makes for a good non-bar alternative to watch whatever game is on.
The best hamburgers that I have eaten in my life. They are fresh, medium rare and with a delicious taste. I am sorry, I don't eat Fries. The Chicken pita is very good too. I eat there at least twice a weak. The soup that they have there is not very good, but I have tried pretty much everything. The Mealoaf is awesome but I won't go for the pork chop or the steak.
Those burgers are muy deliciosas.
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These guys have awesome bacon burgers. One time I ordered one to go, but they accidentally gave me someone else's Caesar salad. I didn't realize it until I got home, and I didn't feel like walking back, so I just ate the salad and decided not to go back there. Then several months later I remembered how good the burgers were and decided to give them a second chance. Amazingly, the cook remembered me and gave me a bacon burger for free. Good burgers and good service. Recommended.
This place is amazing for burgers! They are huge, juicy and delicious. the meat is very good, you'll never find one of those weird hard pieces. The fries are crisp and tasty and their fountain drinks are also good. The meatloaf was a little strange, but it's meatloaf. The servings are large and the prices are very reasonable.
I upgraded to five stars because I am now addicted to their burgers!
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Great burgers - try the chicken burgers too. Very reasonable prices. But the fries have changed recently - no longer the good ones with skin...
the burgers are great but too big for me
i hate french fries
not that they dont do a great job but i come here for the breakfasts
people are not saying enough about the breakfasts here
the spicy pork chop is pretty damn fantastic
the fruit salad is awesome
the eggs are perfect in all forms
even the home fries are unparalleled and this from the anti-potato type
ribs on monday nights are a tradition amongst some of the locals
but i hate the mashed potatoes and gravy...meh
try the pancakes
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Surprisingly good burgers at this hidden location in North Beach.
Good fries (note: with potato skin).
They have a second more fancy location at the Yerba Buena Gardens (above Moscone Center), above the bowling alley.
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I had my first mo's burger a few weeks ago. The next day I went to Gordo's in Walnut Creek and they had the exact same menu and burger set up. So I pretty much had the same burger within two days. At mo's in sf I had the jalapeno burger than burned my mouth off. That shit was hot. I needed milk. Not cow, goat, or sheep though. Maybe bull or manatee. I devoured the burger within minutes and felt my brachial artery pounding. It felt good. $10 for burger and fries in city isn't a bad deal. Not cheap eats but cheap enough for a gourmet burger.
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I will be honest here and say that I had only a garden burger. Maybe the key to this place is in the meat because there was absolutely nothing special about the food I had here. I will stay away from the "regionalist" statement of "well I didn't expect much more from the people of north beach." but I will admit that that's what I thought.
I had a "very good salad" which me and the person I shared it with deemed only worthy of the name "decent salad." If you get salad, ask for dressing on the side. The dressing was not very good and the wilty lettuce was swimming in it.
Also, big pet peeve - when my entire table of 7 ordered burgers the waitress asked each one of us "would you like salad or fries with that?" - thereby insinuating that salad or fries were in fact part of the standard burger plate. Only when we were splitting up the bill did we realize that our salads and fries were actually $7.00 side orders tacked on to our $9.00 burger.
Seriously, are the people who eat here drunk to think that this is the best place in the world? Oh wait. Maybe they are.
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Decent food, and great milkshakes! I must say, I'm not really into the clientele--sat next to a bunch of loud bimbos in one table, and obnoxious frat guys in another table. Maybe it was just that night? The place was packed with loudasses. I'll give it another shot, though...
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I just started going to this place last weekend after months of walking by it everyday. I'm the biggest brunch person in the WORLD and I've tried most of the spots here in NB, and I'm confident to say that this place never ever disappoints. HUGE portions, food is always fresh and the service here is excellent. This is a great place to escape the crowds at nearby restaurants that are more expensive and not as good. Great place to go if you're hungry and you want something NOW, as I never had to wait for a table here. I think it's safe to say that they whip up the BEST french toast I've had in a while!
My boyfriend has this thing about finding the best burger in the Bay Area and took me here. Sure enough, we were not disappointed the burgers were SO good. Who knew two of my favorite burger joints would be in the North Beach area?!
My friend and I stumbled upon this place because we were looking for a place to eat with the Memphis/Kansas basketball game on..we just left work so we were ready to grub and watch a good game...This place is across the street from Grant & Green bar and I'm sure this place is full of drunk patrons at night....We walked in and saw the size of the meat patties on the orders about to be served and knew this would be a good place to eat...Since I had a big lunch I knew I wasn't going to be able to stuff my face with a 7 oz. meaty burger. Instead, I ordered the chicken skewer pita and a side salad..my friend-the BLT...Her BLT looked good, with nice thick sized strips of bacon, your choice of veggies to add and lots of avocado..
This skewer pita was GREAT! The chicken was grilled with veggies on a skewer and they placed it on top of a pita (not like a pocket, more like a taco). They put a little of their house mayonnaise, tomatoes, cilantro, and my special request: carmelized onions YUM!..they served me two big pitas...
I had the salad first which was a good variety of mixed greens but they only serve one dressing- Italian, not my favorite, but I'll take it. The salad was a nice big size and they didn't put too much dressing on it but I have to admit, my salad could have used a bit more dressing (felt like I was eating plain greens, no flavor)
Back to the yummy pita..the chicken skewer pita/taco was very yummy until the last bite, which unfortunately had a small bone still in the chicken cube...Not cool..for that they were marked off...
All in all, this place is kinda small and cramped in a San Francisco sense where you feel you are sitting with the couple in the table next to you because you are all sitting so close to one another..the decor is retro diner and odd at the same time...they have a fake pig head onthe wall behind the counter and a cows rear on another wall...oh, and you can't miss the painting of the dancing cows...
BTW:
My housemate LOVED the other chicken pita...which was boneless
I had an alpine burger with gruyere cheese and mushrooms. The burgers are so big! It's super hard to fit them in your mouth because the bread is so large. But, the beef is really good. In fact, while I was there, I saw them grinding up their own meat, which is cool, but also gross at the same time. Sides including fries are an additional $2.25, but worth it because the fries sorta kinda are like In n Out, if you like that kind. The only hard thing is that it is always hard to find parking in North Beach. I ordered my burger medium and it was medium - juicy and pink in the middle - perfecto!
I think this place is great for bfast, I used to go here quite a bit when I lived in North Beach and didnt give it enough credit. Due to the lack of good breakfast spots (Mama's excluded) around the area I felt like I was settling on this one.
I dont know about lunch since Ive never had it but the Italian omelet is very savory and large. has some unique ingredients like pesto and roasted bell peppers. Very diner like atmosphere and perfect for the hungover meal. Very convenient if you live in NB.
Mo's is really yummy. I've only been here once and it was kinda a long time ago...i forget the name of the burger but I know it had goat cheese on it. that helps so much, huh? it was cooked perfectly and it was just like falling apart. supposedly the burgers are cooked over a lava rock grill, kinda cool. anyways, it's really good, I don't think you will be disappointed if what I experienced was a usual thing. I should go back but the parking sucks so bad.... o well!
If your kids and niece reminded you that your birthday is today, it is a very good sign and strong indications that you're "over the hill." Or they wanted a reward for reminding the loving man's birthday that supported them.
Unfortunately, Matt's birthday is a working day, so we ate Mo's Grills, which is not far from Chinatown and our crib.
We arrived close to midday. The small dining areas were crowded and all occupied, but there were 4 seats available on the counter. In which we had no choice but to take those seats.
Matt ordered the Alpine Burger, an order of fries and a fountain cup of Diet Pepsi. The kids split a order French Toast and a side of fruits. Niece ordered the Denver Omelette and soda. The good thing about eating at the counter is that we can watch the cooks prepare our meals and entertained us with their fast-paced agility around the grill and other stations around the kitchen.
We finally got our food. The $7.25 burger, which is cooked and customized to your likings, had melted Gruyere Cheese, grilled mushrooms and the usual condiments. The $2.25 fries doesn't come with the meal and is purchased separately, but was a pretty good size in terms of amount that was given.
Niece's huge $9.00 Denver Omelette had Ham, Bell-Peppers Scallion and melted cheese, 2 slice of toast and fried Potatoes on a huge plate. The omelette is measured easily to a foot long. Somehow, she managed to finish the big meal.
The kid's $6.75 thick French toast was cooked nicely and tasted very well with the maple syrup. The fresh fruit costs an additional $2.50 with the meal. The kids were physically fighting for the elegant fruit-bowl, which made us look pretty ugly for a brief moment.
We ate really quickly, because it was lunch time for most of the people. And Matt had to go to work. But we'll be back again and check out other items from Mo's including the milkshakes, in which it was a popular item at our time there.
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AMAZING. more than the best burger in town--literally the best burger i've ever had. lean beef ground on the premises, then charbroiled on an open fire grill. i ate at mo's the night they first opened, and i've been going there ever since.
I enjoyed sitting at the bar and watching the chef's prepare my meal. Hey, at least you can tell they don't spit in the food! The wait wasn't bad unless you wanted a table (and even then it was quick).
I ordered the eggs benedict and my partner in crime got the mexican omelette. My dish was good and I liked the country potatoes. Next time I would ask for them extra crispy. Beware: the Jalapeo seeds are sprinkled throughout the omelette! Super spicy!
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Is there some weird chemical in hamburgers that give people bad aesthetics/humor? I mean "Mo" of the three stooges? Then there's the "clown" theme of clown alley. Weird. On one wall there's a cow school, where a schoolteacher cow is teaching pupil cows. Maybe that Smith's song should have been "meat is aesthetic murder."
I liked the charbroiled feature, and it was cooked nicely. The meat was nice.
That whole "do you want fries" and then that ends up being half the cost of the burger is a lame way to jack up the bill.
Pickle was low quality. Onion could have been better. Tomato was good.
Definitely food coma! Great tasty, huge burgers! Amazingly good skinny fries, thick milkshakes. Buns are soft and crust and they make their mayo themselves. Yummy.
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Do not come here for lunch if you need to be alert at a meeting afterwards. That is what I did, and I found myself in a coma.
A delicious, dreamy,
" holy-shit-did-my-omelette-just-come-with-HAL F-an-avocado?" (yes, it did!)
....food coma.
:)
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I have to say I like their folsom location better. Maybe that's just because when I go to the folsom location it's because I'm stumbling there from my apartment across the street with a wicked hangover, and I NEED grease. Whatever the reason, I always enjoy my burger and fries at the folsom location. My husband and I went to the Grant location and the fries were not as crisp, and both our burgers were REALLY greasy. Not so good.
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This was my post-coital brunch location with Guy I Dated for about three months. Quite frankly this place was the most positive thing I got from that relationship.
Whereas Guy I Dated was "the lame", Mo's never failed to disappoint.
I only ever ordered one thing....Eggs Benedict. They always remembered that I wanted a side of fruit instead of home fries. (I have a considerate hate for home fries.)
Okay now...fruit salad almost always come with about 90% cantaloupe and/or honeydew. Makes the rest of the fruit taste like melon. Gross. Mo's, however makes theirs with berries, oranges, pineapple and only about two pieces of melon. Love it. Love it. Love it.
Yay Mo's....boo Guy I Dated.
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Mo's is a place to go for a really big, juicy burger. They also have chicken for you non-red meat eaters. Whenever I leave Mo's, I am so full, plus I have left-overs. They also serve brunch/breakfast. Last time I was there I had a cheeseburger that was just delicious. Cooked just right. This is a good place for a good burger, a casual meal.
I've only been to Mo's once, but the burger was simply delicious. Perfectly grilled burger with just the right amount of pink inside. I had the standard cheeseburger, but added carmelized onions and all the other regular burger toppings and was in burger heaven. My husband had the Bailey's Mocha Milk Shake and loved it. They also serve beer!
Absolutely FAB.
Had a cheeseburger with mayo and fries, and it was one of the best burgers I have had in a long time. Mine of course was very messy because there was a lot of mayo and I put some ketchup on it... 5 napkins later my tummy was happy, but I had made a mess:)
I love the fries cause they are skinny and crunchy which is how I like them:)
Next time we get a milkshake too!
Holy Moly Mo! Your burgers are delicious. The first time I ate at this heavenly burger joint, I was about 3 sheets to the wind, but I knew exactly what I wanted. I ordered the BBQ Sauce Burger. My oh my, was it a mess! I have no idea how I keep my girlish figure after craving for Mo's!
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In the 90's, I used to walk by Mo's Grill a lot, but never took the chance to check it out and have a meal. Over the last two months, I'm HOOKED! I've been there three times and I'm definitely going to support this place more.
The first meal was the burger w/ grilled onions and grilled mushrooms. Definitely one of the better burgers in the city. The buns are unique than the norm. Pretty soft, but similar to a roll and toasted. The fries on the other hand, aren't the best as they were shoe string and overcooked and crispy, but it does suffice since the burger is awesome. Dessert will break you. They gave me the apple pie with 3 scoops of ice cream, whipped cream and a squirt of chocolate. I know, I know, "how can you have room for dessert?" It was a risk, but I'm glad I took it. If you don't want a meal, the apple pie ala mode is worth it if you need a fix.
The next two times was for breakfast. Had the scrambled eggs, sourdough toast, home fries and sausage. Despite the comments about the fries earlier, the home fries are awesome. Real potatoes cooked to a crisp. The french toast is just as good with real sliced fruit, whipped cream and powered sugar. Just simply delicious!
Mo's covers all the bases. Reading everybody else's reviews, the milkshakes are definitely on deck for me to check out.
Mo's rocks my world. From great hangover cure breakfasts (no line like Mama's and way better value) to wonderful lunches (pita chicken is awesome!), kick booty fruit (how do they get the best tasting kiwis ever I wonder?) and the yummiest BBQ western burgers on the planet - Mo's Grill is just da' bomb - and a quick walk down Telegraph Hill for me!
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Mo's is pretty neat. They have a funky way of cooking their beef, involving a rotating slotted grill and lava rocks. I don't know the details, but it's impressive to watch in action.
Food is good. Burgers you can't complain about. Fries, meh, wasn't that impressed with 'em. Someone in another review wrote that In-N-Out would be a worthwhile alternative, and really, that's not so off the mark. Of course, you won't get the atmosphere of this place in an In-N-Out, but the quality of burger is comparable. If you like In-N-Out burgers you'll like the burgers here.
Staff was on top of it, but considering that the place was nearly empty on a Saturday morning, they would have to be. There would be no excuse otherwise.
Decor is diner-esque. Space is small, but not uncomfortably so. You can sit at tables and at the counter, for that Jersey diner feel, sans chain smoking pregnant 19 year old meth addicted waitress.
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OMG! The burgers, are FANTASTIC. Especially for breakfast.
The french burger is soooo good (stuffed with goat cheese and topped with carmelized onions, it has become a recurring figure in my
late afternoon-I'm stuck at this sucky job- food dreams). The blue cheese burger is very good too. They use high quality beef, and don't overcook it. The buns are perfection.
I ordered regular breakfast here and it sucked, the eggs were hard and the waitress' attitude sucked all the life I had left in my poor little hungover body.
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OK, so i've lived in North Beach going on 4yrs and I just found this place 2 wks ago...but have been there 3x's since. Got a cheeseburger the 1st visit and was defintely not cooked medium but more medium-rare but not a big deal-still a very tasty burger. Last 2 times we went there for breakfast and it was super-good. Love, Love, Love the Eggs Benedict (awesome homefries too) and also had a Mimosa which was pretty large in comparison to most. Still hitting myself for not knowing about this place sooner-wtf?
UPDATE: 4/22/08
Ok, so I actually read the menu in detail on my last visit and it clearly states medium burgers would be pink-so my bad. This time I ordered well done and it was yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Scene 1 (the night before in North Beach). Tequila. Straight Boys. You (actually me, the gay guy).
Scene 2 (the next morning). Open one eye. Realize you are not in your bed, you are still in North Beach. You are hungry. The hot str8 guy you hung out with is passed out next to you but all you can think about is food.
Scene 3 (mo's...). Eggs. Bacon. Hamburger. Not too crowded before 11:30. More hot str8 guys. Just eat more, since this is all that satisfies.
I ate at Mo's two hours ago and am still full. The massive burger was cooked to perfection. I indulged and got the Bacon Burger. Mo's does not skimp on the bacon--thick, high quality artery-clogger goodness. Our group of seven shared three plates of fries and there was more than enough to go around. The smart person in our group ordered a Bailey's chocolate shake . . . words cannot do it justice. Total bill, including tip, for our group of seven, with four beers: $105 or $15/person. It was worth every greasy, cholesterol-laden penny. Sadly, it was not crowded at 12:15 on a Wednesday, so get down there and pay them a visit! Not a long walk from FiDi.
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The best place to get a hamburger. They also have awesome shakes and everything else that they have on the whole entire menu is great too.
***UPDATE***
Thank you thank you for making our eggs the way we requested :) We were both SO HAPPY! Next time, if I go back, and it's just as good, you'll go up one more star :)
Mo's! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!??!?!?!??!!
My boyfriend and I used to go there EVERY WEEKEND. AND I MEAN EVERY WEEKEND! We both order the Eggs Flourentine. I'm sure you probably know who I am if you're reading this.
We stopped going about 5 months ago, but, have been seriously contiplating on giving them ONE MORE SHOT. WE LOVE your Eggs Flourentine. BUT, one HUGE PROBLEM. When we say SOFT, we mean SOFT. We even got to the point to where we would order it EXTRA SOFT and then took it one step further to say EXTRA EXTRA SOFT. It seemed like no matter how many times we would ask for it to be as runny as possible, it would always come out dry egg yolk. Now, you tell me.... who orders Eggs Flourentine and wants DRY egg yolk? NO, I WANT THAT SHIZ RUNNY! I want YOLK ALL OVER THE PLACE.
If/when we come back, can you please please please make the eggs the way we request?!
Other then that, they have the BEST holindaise sause. THATS WHY WE KEPT GOING BACK.
:) THANKS!
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