Little San Salvador

I read the reviews before coming here kinda turned me off. Took a while for the food to arrive the pupusas were nothing special. My fam said the Carne was good. I had a ensalada de fruta drink. Nothing special either. It was pretty expensive. The place wasn’t dirty and I fortunately didn’t see any rats or roaches.
Go somewhere else.

Real Salvadorian food here…

I went to this restaurant with my boyfriend. Young lady come quickly and took our order. Right after we got our drinks. I saw a rat run across. Gross, I didn’t want to be rude so I stood quiet. I did told my boyfriend.

This place is disgusting. Not only were they painfully rude but we found traces of trash on our food after we showed them a coupon we had. We purchased a
coupon which they didn’t want to accept to begin with. Seeing how they’ve been on that website for months we figured it wasn’t an issue. They never allowed us to speak with a manager they just kept relaying messages back and foward. It is located in the ghetto to say the least. There are much better places where you can get authentic and delicious salvadorian food. This place is pure trash and we’d never go back, even if they begged us. One star is already pushing it, ideally id give them a negative star.

Food was ehhh. Horrible management. Place is really filthy, saw a few cockroaches, dead and alive. Other people say they saw rats! Hmmm… no wonder they have a B by the health department.

Order the pupusa with pork, beans, & cheese. It’s the best I’ve had. There was actual more cheese than masa. I also ordered the fried yucca with pork. So yummy and flavorful.

Atrocious service. Snotty waitress didn’t speak English, didn’t know about the
deal (acted like she didn’t, anyway), and wasn’t interested in contacting a manager to find out. (Allegedly no manager around.) She then tried to charge my friend $ 4 for a $ 3 drink because he was going to charge it on a card since he had brought zero cash, and we were leaving after all that ridiculousness.

I came in with Alida R last week and we had a nice meal. As she said we ordered pupusas, corn tamales, plantains, and what’s called botanas on the menu, but it was definitely not a snack, but a huge platter of assorted meats. The botanos mixtas penquenas reminded us of lomo saltado in that there was meat, fried potato, onion, and tomato, but theirs also had avocado. yum! Served with Salvadoran tortillas and rice.
Everything was tasty and was delivered to our table hot and fresh. Our order was enough for the three of us, plus leftovers to take home!
Just a heads up –not 100% if they speak English here or not.

One sentence summary: Delicious Salvadorean food for a great price that takes a very, very long time to be served to you.
I came with two other people and we ordered two pupusas revueltas (bean, pork, and cheese), one shrimp pupusas, tamales de elote (get them fried! we did, on our server’s suggestion, and it was a great idea) and fried plantains, both served with beans and cream, and a ‘small mixed’ plate of various meats. It was WAY too much food!
The pupusas were tasty, especially the shrimp, which I had never tried before. The shrimp was pricier than most pupusas ($ 3) but also larger. The curtido (coleslaw that is served with pupusas) was not spicy at all, and unremarkable.
The fried tamales were fantastic — crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, and much sweeter than your typical Mexican tamale. The plantains were fried plantains — how could that be bad? Each dish was about $ 6.
What really stood out to me was the mixed plate (~$ 12), which was surprisingly good. It came with scrumptious, perfectly seasoned pieces of chicken, beef, and shrimp, atop sauteed onions and peppers and fresh cucumbers, radishes, and avocado, served with surprisingly good rice and two fluffy homemade tortillas. This would make a great meal for 2 people all by itself.
We also tried the horchata and ensalada (fruit punch with small chopped fruit), each $ 3. The horchata is great — a different flavor from Mexican horchata, and worth trying. The ensalada was very sweet, but also very refreshing.
It took a really long time to get our food, which was obviously being made to order. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — just don’t go in expecting a quick meal.
You might feel intimidated if you don’t speak any Spanish; our waitress greeted us in Spanish, and spoke Spanish with us the entire time (although she clearly understood English, and spoke it too, I believe.) My Spanish is super rusty; thankfully, my friend did the talking for us! But I think you’d be fine without a Spanish speaker, especially because the menu is in Spanish and English.
They serve beer and margaritas, and are in a strip mall with a decent sized parking lot.
I came here with a
gift certificate, which I highly recommend you do, too! Sign up for their mailing list to be notified about sales, where you can get a $ 10 off $ 15 certificate for a dollar, or a $ 25 off $ 35 for $ 2. I’ll be back!

Very clean and friendly place. Plenty of open seating. Service and pupusas were great! Seafood ceviche was wayyy too limey but fresh. As a bonus, they have live music on certain nights, in a nice, separate room complete with dance floor.

The best El Salvadorian food ever, besides some good ol fashioned home cooked (Ramos) meals.
I ate here numerous times, for dinner, late night, even came just for snacks and drinks.
The service was amazing — and I dont speak spanish, so I thought it might be awkward, but nope, not at all!
The food was made hot, and fresh. I love the pupusas, the tamales de elote, frijoles con crema and of course my platanos! mmm mmmm!!!
This is exactly the kind of place that keeps you dreaming about it until your next visit. It’s that damn good ;)
Good prices, tastey dishes, great customer service, what else can a fat girl want??!

Came here to eat a late night snack after work (around 12am). Apparently they have a club next door which drew an unusual crowd. The restaurant itself was unusually dark. We sat down and was approached by the waitress. Thank god we had two Spanish speaking individuals who were able to order us beers (the waitress did not speak a word of English). Ordered the pupusas camarones. I’m no pupusa expert, but it was underwhelming. I was just glad that the pupusa was warm and was served with the traditional condiment of spicy slaw and tangy sauce. My conclusion of this place:
1. The pupusas cost 3 bucks.
2. Authentic Salvadorian food.
3. Bring at least one Spanish speaking individual with you.
4. They accept credit cards!

It’s almost worthy of 5 stars but the service sucked. I know, how can a Chinese person complain about service when every authentic Chinese restaurant has horrible service? But hey, Chinese restaurant servers may be rude and impatient, but they are fast!
On the other hand, every pupuseria I’ve been to has tested my patience. We ended up at Little San Salvador when dinner-​part 1 left our stomachs wishing for more. It was dark and late and I quickly found out that there’s a «club» in the room adjacent to the dining area. I saw a lot of middle-​aged women (and men) wearing inappropriately tight and revealing clothing most likely purchased from the juniors section walking by my table on their way to the «club.»
I made a lot of observations about the ambiance because even though we ordered the second we sat down, we didn’t see our food for a good 40 minutes. When the pupusas came, I have to say that I was pleased. These things were huge (and thus an excellent value). I like my pupusas made from masa de arroz and a lot of places overcook the pupusas to the point where the rice flour is too tough to cut. These were pretty tasty and had just the right texture for my liking.
And if you go, please please please don’t order tacos. Tacos are Mexican, not Salvadoran…
My tip is to get there before you are really hungry or you may end up really grumpy waiting for your food to be served.

Actaully, two reviews here. One’s for here and the other — the adjacent coin op laundry. 1) I don’t like doing laundry. In hindsight, it’s a simple procedure. Yet, it’s dreaded. I mean I dislike it to the point that I’ll buy clothes to prolong doing laundry. Yes, I realize that our ancestors had it rought. They did it old school. Go near a stream, lie the clothes on a rock, and beat the crap out of it with a stick. Repeat. During the CA gold rush, everyone sifted for gold from dawn to dusk. That’s all they did. Eventually, something had to be done about their stinky ass clothes. So, they exported it to Hawaii. Took months. Fluff and fold was quite expensive and a burden then.
Thus, I shouldn’t complain about throwing my worn outfits into a machine and then adding detergent. Seems easy enough. But, I lack that — let’s do laundry! — gene. Either it doesn’t exist or was never turned on. Thus, I do fluff and fold. I can save $ 50. But, I spend twice that much on Starbucks a month. Just drop off a load in a big trash bag here. Bring it to the staff person. Few hours later (or next day), you get a nicely wrapped square package with clothes tightly folded.
2) Little San Salvador is a gem tucked in this ghetto area. From the outside it looks a bit shakey. The dark glass windows don’t suggest what you’re in store for. But, be brave and venture inside. You’ll be transplaned into San Salvador. No one speaks coherent English… especially the cute waitresses in short/​tight mini skirts. All the better. Get a PAPUSAS and 12 cervezas.

I ended up here by accident, but oh what a happy accident!
About a week ago, our washing machine decided to die on us. First we thought we could fix it. Then we realized we couldn’t fix it and decided we were going to find a repairman. In the meantime, we were wearing our clothes for as long as we could possibly bear it and generally hoping we weren’t going to run out of socks and underwear before the repairman could come. Well, I got a referral for a repairman, but he’s not available until Saturday. And I don’t think I can do a Saturday appointment.
So we caved and loaded up all the laundry into the back of the car and went searching for a laundromat. We skipped Lucy’s (even though they were the closest) because we didn’t want to plunk down $ 3 for a card. Plus, we already had a ton of quarters in tow with us. We needed a coin laundry!
We wandered aimlessly, passing 3 (sketchy looking) laundromats until we found the one a couple of doors down from Little San Salvador. It seemed ok, so as Yoshi got the laundry started, I ended up at LSS to order some take-​out.
I was surprised at how bright and clean it was in there! The waitresses don’t speak English, but the menu does have some English translations. In my case, pointing to what I wanted got my order started and speedy!
I ordered 2 pupusas (bean + cheese, pork), beef tacos, and the pork chops. Yum on all 3 counts and all the food was less than $ 20! It was enough to feed 3 people… and still have leftovers!
I am SO going back there… and NOT when we’re on a laundry run!

This place gets 5 stars for authenticity… from the lady servers and their teeny tiny skirts to the tables of Salvadorian men gawking at them… who, in turn, looked at me like a steak when I walked in the place. I blended in about as much as someone from MARS. (Note to self: Next time, do NOT wear a dress!)
Slight discomfort aside, the food here is legit. I sampled the platanos served with sour cream and beans, the pupusas revueltas (mixed), and the carne asada plate. I found them all to be top notch, and the prices were very reasonable. The carne asada was flavorful and the portions generous.
Word on the street is that this place turns into a nightclub after dark. While I’m not necessarily up for THAT experience, the food is definitely worth a try. Instead of trying to park in the crazy lot, I’d suggest your car might escape more ding-​free if you park on one of the adjacent streets.

KILLER Salvadorian food.
For starters, they play soccer games galore. If you are into central american (CONCACAF) soccer, this is the place to be.
You will see plenty of locals here. And by locals I mean Salvadorians.
I brought my mom here and we were skeptical of an $ 8 plate of carne asada, but it was awesome. Came with rice, salad and beans.
I had a banana licuado that was also very tasty.
I tried some of the pupusas my mother was having and she thought they were super tasty.
I am DEFINITELY going back.

You know you’ve found an authentic spot when your waitress comes up to your table and doesn’t even attempt to speak to you in English. Our friendly waitress did just that and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
My Spanish was super rusty but we managed to order some Chuletas de Puerco (pork chops), papusas, carne asada, and some Suprema cervezas. She brought the Supremas out right away and they were delicious — a far cry from most Central American beers (though, to be fair, Honduras has some excellent nationally-​brewed beers). As we waited for our food we watched the TV’s, which all played David Beckham’s first start for the Galaxy — an added bonus as he scored on a sick free kick.
The papusas came out after the entrees, which was a little annoying as we were all starving and wanted them as appetizers, but no big deal. Ordering a pork chop is a bit of a risky proposition — they’re often dry and bland and they’re really hit-​or-​miss. These chops, however, were a huge hit. They were served bone-​in, smothered in some tasty tomatoes and bell peppers, with rice and beans on the side. The portions were generous and for $ 6.95 the price is pretty hard to beat.
My friend got the carne asada, per our waitress’ recommendation, which came served with onions and the typical sides of rice and beans. I had a bite and it was great — tender and juicy — though much different than Mexican carne asada. It came without the expected carne asada seasoning, which let the beef flavor stand on its own.
Definitely going back, not only to practice my Spanish, but also because it’s about as good a food as you can expect for the price. Beers were $ 3.50, papusas $ 1.75, and platos typicos (most of the entrees) were $ 7 or $ 8.