Elsi’s Restaurant

I had a lunch date at Elsi’s and they were closed — totally abandoned, no forwarding address. So sad. It was one of my favorite restaurants.

Hmmm. I’m going for three stars. I like the tamales.

If I had to pick my restaurant «home away from home» it would be Elsi’s. The staff is friendly, there’s never a wait, and I love all the smiling babies on Sunday morning.
As a vegan the vegetarian menu doesn’t look too exciting. Typical cheese or mushroom enchiladas. But the secret to a great vegan meal at Elsi’s is avoiding the vegetarian section of the menu entirely.
Elsi’s makes the best veggie chorizo I’ve ever had, seasoned with chunks of pepper and onions. So far I’ve gotten enchiladas, tacos, burritos, and taco salad with veggie chorizo as the filling, and the wait staff never blinks an eye at my substitutions. I know restaurants don’t have to be so flexible, so I really appreciate this. The taco salad is my favorite of all those (ask for black beans and no cheese or sour cream to get it fully vegan). For brunch, I love to get breakfast tacos with chorizo, potato, and avocado.
On the Salvadoran side of the menu, get the yuca frita. It’s not much of a meal on its own, but it’s a great side and not something you’ll find many places. The empanadas aren’t made with lard, but unfortunately the vegetarian filling has cheese.
The salsa is just like the salsa I remember from Sunday brunch as a kid. The kind you’ll never see in a jar at the grocery store. The margaritas are Elsi’s one downfall, so I usually stick to the Salvadoran coffee.

Suckling the teet of North Burnet, Elsi’s is definitely a gem and I owe it all to the Unilocalers that reviewed it.
You made the following possible:
Elsi’s Restaurant could otherwise be viewed as a misplaced dream, involving the innards of an exploded piñata and a friendly tortuga del mar that is in an often overlooked shopping center, better known for it’s spill-​over parking from Pour House.
The menu is pretty eclectic from Tex-​to Mex-​to El Salvadorian which is some nice LAT-​AM culture in your face – which oddly matches the wonderful color spectrum that makes one wonder if the owners thought hiring Ken Kessey and the Merry Pranksters to paint would be like a Three Stooges episode. Hilarity&Flavor doth ensue.
Great staff, friendly-​ish but not a negative experience at all. They were attentive yet left me alone to enjoy my lunch company.
I had the Enchiladas Oaxaca –a pretty fantastic veggie plate that I not only could I pronounce correctly to Maria, my waitress, but tasted just as amazing as that personal victory. Their black beans could only get better if they swallowed themselves. Salsa and chips, legit and fresh.
check it out and have your own adventure. Booyah.

I came here with people from work and I was impressed by the pupusas. I spent two weeks in El Salvador in high school and for about 10 years after that I couldn’t really eat pupusas at all because it was all there was to eat there. Now, I’m somewhat of a connoisseur of pupusas and these more than passed muster.
The chips were good as well. The salsa was definitely a cut above a standard Mexican restaurant. I’ll definitely be back.

Elsi’s is pretty unassuming, sitting on Burnet, next to some trade shops, adorned with some very boring exterior design. What is inside is actually some fantastic grub. It is a very eclectic menu of items from Tex-​Mex to Mex to El Salvador. It hits all the marks, and it does so in a very no-​frills sort of fashion.
The menu offerings contain the typical tacos, then it moves over to the still familiar empanada range. Lastly, it brushes the unfamiliar category for many: pupusas! These puppies happen to be some of my more desired Central American goods.
My choices were somewhat expensive but very, very fresh. I am almost certain they cranked out the (probably ready-​to-​mix) doughs, filled them with my desired fillings, and THEN fried and/​or griddled them.
pinach and mushroom For my Salvadorian empanada, I went with the spinach and mushroom filling. It was very orange in color and had a little sweetness. The very robust filling benefited from the creamy, gooeyness of the cheese. It was very small, but it was crafted with a refined hand. It was a tad on the oily side.
The pupusa, which is a gordita, sort of a flattened corn-​based disk with assorted fillings, was not as thick as I would have like, but the pork and cheese filling was just hearty enough to pair with the hearty dough. There was great corn flavor and a very nice crust, to boot.
The salsa was sort of boring, though it contained a nice kick. The cabbage salad was OK, merely just providing a refreshing crunch.
This establishment is a fine fit for Austin; it provides the right amount of ethnic flare without too much fanciness or jankiness. It balances finesse with casualness. Elsi’s is a place that I would bring friends to introduce them to some of the fine culinary brainchildren of Central America.

Let’s see, we’ve been here a couple of times, and both times were just okay.
I like that Elsi’s has a vegetarian menu, although they might want to specify it as «cheese dishes.» The items can be tweaked to feed a vegan, and still be okay.
This morning, I had a breakfast taco with black beans, potatoes, avocado, and veggie chorizo. It was good, and had a nice kick to it with the jalapeños in it. I’ve also had the veggie flaquite, but it is pricey for two again, «okay» tacos.
The husband has had pazole, and said it is not the best he’s had. Today, he had a chicken taco plate, which had no imagination. To translate, that means it was flavorless.
The chips are great, salsa is good too.
The service, you ask? No, don’t!
The sweaty waitress made us very uncomfortable. She was no around when needed, even though there were like five tables there.
oh well.

If you really want to eat food just like what you would get in El Salvador, maybe you should go home and visit your Salvadorean mamma, who misses you and wonders why you never call her any more. Ever since you started dating that rich norteamericano, well, do you think you’re too good for your mamma now? She still loves you, no matter what crazy ideas you’ve got in that head of yours.
On the other hand, if you want to eat something sort of like what most Texans think of as Mexican food, and you don’t feel like Tex-​Mex, and you don’t want to spend $ 50 for two, this might be your place.
My co-​workers and I have been eating here at least once a month for years. They have some Tex-​Mex dishes if that’s what you want. I think the Mole is good. The chicken enchiladas with green sauce are good too. Or you can try something different. Today I wanted something light because it’s too hard to walk back out into that 100 °F sun after a heavy meal, so I had the cucumber and jicama salad served with lime slices. It was just what I needed.
In cooler months, I’ve ordered the Salvadorian Pupusas. My vegetarian co-​worker likes the Enchiladas Oaxaca, and I like them too.
There’s a big parking lot. I’ve never had to wait for a table.

Don’t even bother with this Tex Mex place. There are others that are so much better.
I went to this place one day after work with some co-​workers one of whom loves this place.
I am not impressed and I have had better margaritas and quesadillas. Our waiter did not speak English so could not understand the questions I was asking. The margarita is weak and pricey and the quesadillas are not as big as other places I have been to.
I cringe each time I drive by this place and never want to return. I will stick with Jardin Corona.

Yeah, in a pinch Elsi’s will do the trick, not amazing Tex-​Mex but definitely satiates any cravings I have.
Inexpensive and based on the one meal I have over and over again at any Tex-​Mex establishment, chicken enchiladas with verde sauce, I’ll come back.
The ambiance is Tex-​Mex meets diner.
I’ve been here for breakfast lunch and dinner. Like I said, not amazing but no where near awful.

A trip to Austin and a friend suggested Elsi’s for great Mexican food!
At first I was skeptical as they put the free salsa and chips on the table. Looked like grocery bought chips to me then I tasted them, not at all grocery bought, tasted homemade. We ordered the beef fajitas for two. As we waited I also order a frozen margarita great margaritas by the way. When are fajita came out I could of swore we ordered a fajita plate for four! They sure aren’t shysty with the there meat here. We could barely finish the plate. The beef fajita meat was tasty all by its self. yummy! Service was also nice and quick! Next trip to Austin we’ll be at Elsi’s!

Elsi’s is great for breakfast, which is convenient, because that’s the only time I’ve ever been there. You get plenty of food, the prices are good, and the service is great. They have lots of Salvadoran items on the menu, so you can get a break from the same ol’ Tex-​Mex stuff. They sell their breakfast tacos at Genuine Joe’s Coffee Shop on Anderson, and those are really good too.
The staff is friendly and there is always soccer (futobol) on at the bar, if you like watching athletes pretend to be injured.
The interior is pretty Spartan, probably to make cleanup easier. It’s a shame because the few Salvadoran decorating touches they do have are really interesting.

I appreciate a place that serves breakfast at all times. Eggs come out fluffy and moist, beans delicious and flavorful, and salsas are richly seasoned. Don’t miss the cinnamon coffee and don’t forget a pupusa or fried yucca on the side.
Prices are college-​town reasonable.

Curious menu, with a mix of Tex-​Mex, Interior Mexican, and Salvadorian. Even more curious is the discrepancy between the exterior, which gives the façade of a chic euro-​café, and the interior which looks like every other cheap Tex-​Mex joint.
The food was not terrible but definitely not great. Not the worst Tex-​Mex or Salvadorian I’ve ever had. Is it worth a complement that isn’t backhanded? Not really. The pupusas were super greasy and Swedish pancake-​thin. If you really want to try Salvadorian pupusas I highly recommend El Zunzal on East 7^th. The empanada wasn’t any better; also very greasy and incredibly bland.
But the main reason my friend and I decided to try this place was because they have mole, which is hard to come by. Unfortunately, good mole is even harder to come by. The mole tasted like hot dog chili; it was obviously just made with cheap chile powder and tons of cumin. Perhaps they could pass it off as a «Tex-​Mex Mole» but as for authentic mole, this is hardly even approaching.
My dear friend Allison F. is right; prices are cheap but you can definitely do better.

My husband and I really like to go to Elsi’s and we drive quite a ways to get there. Not only are the chips and salsa delicious, but the margaritas are very tasty (and only one gets this lightweight pretty toasty). My husband always orders the chalupas compuestas with ground beef, and I like their flautas de pollo. Neither of us go wild with tex-​mex, as we just like the basics, but when it comes down to it, it’s the chips, salsa, and margaritas that keep us coming back for more.
As for service, it’s been pretty good with the exception of one time — of course it was the one time I brought friends with me after I had been telling them how great this place was. Our waiter didn’t speak English and it took longer for him to take our order than it took for us to eat the food. Only half of our food came to the table, while the other half was forgotten. However, all of the other times I’ve been were great, and I still recommend Elsi’s to anyone who is looking to try a new/​different tex-​mex restaurant.

The Good: chips and salsa that were good, but not great — the server was friendly, took our order in a timely manner and the food came out fast and hot. Got seated in a timely manner didn’t have to wait to long
The bad: prices are too high for what they’re serving and the «cheap» lunch special prices; refried beans very watery, they charge for the second basket of chips & salsa.

As an Allendale resident, I’ve tried really hard to like Elsis. The good: chips and salsa, above average quality food, extensive menu with unique options. The bad: prices are too high for what they’re serving and the «cheap» lunch special prices are creeping up and seem to be a little higher each time I go in, and vegetarian un-​friendly policies I encountered on my last visit.

I didn’t feel compelled to write a review until recently when I went in and ordered a vegetarian chalupa a la carte. As there was no description next to the item on the a la carte list, I referred to the vegetarian chalupa plate listed earlier in the menu — beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado slices and rice. I assumed the rice made it the «plate» and it otherwise sounded great to me, so I ordered a $ 2.99 chalupa.
When it arrives, there is no avocado, just the beans, cheese, lettuce and tomato. When I bring this to the waiter’s attention, he explains that there is not supposed to be avocado on the vegetarian chalupa. (Now, as a good Texas-​vegetarian, it’s pretty much a requirement to have avocado on my mexican/​tex-​mex dishes) I request a menu and point out the avocado listed on the plate. After much back and forth with the kitchen and a manager, I am informed that, in fact, the avocado slices ONLY come on the plate, not the individual chalupa. At this point, I’m starving and slightly embarrassed and can’t believe that the manager didn’t just give me a few measly avo slices and request that next time, I order something else.
My advice, go across the street to aranda’s and get a avocado tostada (chalupa) for $ 2.69 — avocados overflow, as well as about a half pound of cheese, and no grief from the kitchen.

This is one of those places where the hype does not match the food or service.
First of all there is very little Salvadorean food here. It’s mostly standard Tex Mex fare with a dash of dishes to appeal local vegetarians.
I’ve got friends who love this place and so have been here a number of times. There was nothing memorable about the food or service. Both were just average.
If your friends swear by Elsi’s, then it is not a bad place to meet them, drink, have spirited discussions and be happy in general. :-)

Summary: After reading the very good reviews here we decided to try it out but we were left unsatisfied by the food. The fajitas here were the biggest disappointment. Elsi’s might be good for some foods, but we were not happy. On the plus-​side the service was great — waitress was friendly and helpful but unfortunately.
(4÷10) Fajita Dinner (Chicken)
We like to order fajitas at Mexican restaurants because it is generally a good indicator about the quality of the restaurant’s food (and because we love it!). At Elsi’s this is definitely the case. The chicken is dry and bland, and the flour tortillas are extremely chewy. These are the worst fajitas we’ve ever had.
(5÷10) Salvadorian Empanadas
Empanadas are Central American turn-​overs filled with either beef, chicken, cheese, or spinach & mushroom. Since this dish comes with 4 empanadas, we naturally ordered one of each!
Cheese — This is plain and the cheese is very stringy.
Chicken — Better than the cheese, but the chicken was bland.
Beef — A little more flavorful and moist, better than the previous two.
Spinach & Mushroom — This one was the best! Did not taste any mushrooms, as it was all spinach and cheese. Yummm!
(6÷10) Enchilada Trio
As the name states, it comes with three enchiladas: chicken-​verde, beef-​roja, and cheese-​chipotle. All three enchiladas had decent flavor and did not suffer from bland chicken, stringy cheese, or chewy tortillas.
(5÷10) Chicken Quesadillas
We hate to sound like a broken record, but the chicken was tasteless and needs lots of salsa to increase the edible factor of this dish. Also the cheese was very stringy (we made one about 2 feet long).
Service (⁸⁄₁₀)
If the food was as good as the service, then Elsi’s would be a winner. Our waitress was friendly and voluntarily offered her suggestions on what to order from the menu since she could tell we were Salvadorian food newbies. She asked us 3 or 4 times if everything was okay and our waters were refilled promptly.
Ambiance (⁵⁄₁₀)
Elsi’s is a casual, no-​frills restaurant. The first thing you will notice is that the hostess lets you choose where to sit. Since all the tables are in one big area, it can get very loud during peak hours. People of all ages come to dine here, including couples and families.

After Michelle C. regaling us with the wonders of the breakfast at Elsi’s, I finally convinced my boyfriend to go this morning (well… early afternoon, whatevs). I’ve been on a serious huevos rancheros kick, so I was really looking forward to trying them, although we almost had to paper-​rock-​scissor it to decide who was going to get them. I won. Michelle pushed the migas, so that’s what he had.
One of the first things I noticed was the interesting vibe upon walking in. If you were to have tunnel vision directed at the bar, you’d think that you were in a sports bar. Complete with the tacky Bud Light cheap beer advertisements and the high definition tv showing basketball. The rest of the atmosphere seems pretty standard for the cuisine they offer. Bright, tropical colors adorn the walls and the tables are pretty crammed in, I’d imagine it’d be pretty uncomfortable when the restaurant is busy.
I ordered the much coveted huevos rancheros with eggs over easy and flour tortillas. They_​were_​AWESOME! Finally the huevos I’d been seeking! The coffee was okay. Partner had the migas con hongos (mushrooms) and chorizo, which were really tasty as well. I wasn’t particularly starving, but I pretty much licked my plate clean… no leftovers, it was just that good. There is a small box of migas in the fridge, though. They brought us extra tortillas for no charge and kept on top of the tea and coffee refills.
As a heads up, though. If you pay with a credit card, make sure to give the signed copy to your waitron instead of just leaving it on the table because your entire card number is on it. Just a warning.
I need to come back for lunch/​dinner sometime, I suppose.