Buckhorn Gril - SF Embarcadero

Reviews

• Sophia W.

  star star star star star 24 September 2026

  This place is located inside the Westfield Mall. I decided to try their burger because I saw the picture in the wall and it looked delicious.
  
  I got their Steakhouse Burger. It had fried onions, cheese, and their sweet fire sauce. The sauce complement the pickles in the burger. And the portion was huge!

• Natalia T.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 23 September 2026

  My wife and I are 100% pure Southern; we hail from the land of good BBQ. Therefore, we can safely say that that this place serves authentic San Francisco barbecue.
  
  That's not a compliment, btw. San Francisco sucks in the American bbq department, and so does this place.
  
  I had quite possibly the WORST pulled pork sandwich I've had in a while. It was like eating a bland, under-seasoned chopped sponge. Every bite sucked the moisture from my mouth like a dental spit-sucker. And did putting barbecue sauce (I admit, the sauce was ok) on it help? Nope! I'd rather go to the dentist than back here.
  
  Side note: their "Sweet Fire" bbq sauce had no heat in it whatsoever. It should've been called "Gentri-Fire," because those are the only people who could possibly find that spicy.
  
  Going back to the meat, it was obviously more rushed than a high schooler bullshitting their history paper. You can't do that with barbecue!!! You need to carefully marinate it in spices and acid, then low-and-slow it for like a quarter of a day. I know you probably can't use a wood fire in an underground food court. So use liquid smoke! Or Ardbeg! Or something! Yeesh.
  
  A few positives: the fries were decent, and so was my wife's "hamberder." I'm glad she enjoyed the meal, but my sandwich was just too awful to not rant about. This place escaped a 1-star by the leathery, unsmoked, unseasoned skin of its teeth.
  
  I'm actually having a drink now.

• Paul K.

  star star star star_border star_border 17 September 2026

  If you're in the market for a quick & tasty beef sandwich, this is the place. It's a small chain with a few locations across the bay. The Roadhouse Buck is my favorite, comes with blue cheese and fried onions.
  
  Only complaint is the service and ascetics are lacking.  Neither are bad, it's just impersonal and bland. It gives off an aurora of fast food. I keep trying to get my coworkers into it but they usually decline after peeking inside. Compare that with the ban mi place across the street, no problems getting coworkers there even though we all agree the food is just okay. The ban mi place has a good "vibe". Buckhorn needs to work on its "vibe". And with a name like Buckhorn I say go all out and make that place look like a rodeo!!!!

• Marck N.

  star star star star_border star_border 13 September 2026

  I had the steak flatbread salad for lunch.   I choose to have my salad dry, as I would use the barbecue sauce as my mix in.     When my dish was ready, I was surprised how large it was. Lots of romaine lettuce pieces. I did not expect the dish to be that large.
  
  The steak was cooked medium rare and needed the barbecue sauce. I do wish there was more meat on the salad.   The flatbread itself was tough and dry. I took a bite and could not eat any of it.   For the price and size of this dish, you do get your moneys worth. It is filling and could probably be split for two.

• Jonathan H.

  star star star star star_border 8 September 2026

  I always walk by this place and it always smells incredible. For some reason I thought this was an actual sit-down, white tablecloth restaurant, but I'd describe it more as fast-casual. You order at the counter then you just sit wherever you want.
  
  Everything on the menu looked good, but I opted for the pulled pork plate. I'm usually pretty hesitant on ordering pulled pork at BBQ joints because it tends to be dry and stringy, but that was not the case here. The pulled pork was really moist and well-seasoned (I was pretty thirsty after the meal though). The plate itself came with so much food! The plates include meat, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, and cornbread. At ~$14 for lunch, it seems pricey but it was enough food for at least 1.5 meals. I definitely left stuffed and ready for a nap. Next time, I might try one of their gigantic salads.