Playas El Salvador Restaurant

OMG I don’t even know where to begin. If I can give less than 1 star I would.
I always walk by here in my daily walks during my lunch time, what caught my attention was the sign of the special of 4 hamburgers 4 drinks for $ 9.99. Today me and my friend and her 2 sons were with us so we decided we would get that combo for all 4 of us.
The combo comes with 4 drinks (regular soda cans)
They had a variety of Orange, Pepsi, Diet, 7up & Coke. My friend asked for a coca cola (they had less of the coca colas about 7 of them) I could not believe what the lady told her. she said «I’m not giving out coca colas because I’m running out of them you can choose from the other ones only» Like seriously WTF!!! She was asking for 1 not all 7 of them. that was my 1^st WTF I’m never coming back.
2^nd my friend asked if she can have a cup with ice. The lady said they did not have ice and besides the sodas were already cold… talk about being a total b1tch
When we finally got our food. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I know that for the price I wasn’t going to get a monster burger but at least a decent one. Mcdonalds cheeseburger was bigger than what they served us. Small tiny patty with a big-​ol bread. That was the last straw for me. I’m never going back. Maybe I should have tried the pupusas but even then if I had. the lady there was not very friendly.
To top it off when she brought us the hamburgers she put all 4 small hamburgers in 1 plate. Like we are supposed to all share 1 plate and only brought 3 napkins. really!!!
I forgot to mention we had also ordered a regular bacon cheeseburger combo… when they brought it out it had no bacon because they had ran out of bacon yet was still charged the bacon price …
1ST and last time I stop by this place that’s for sure.

Open 8:30 — 5:00 on weekdays and 9:00 — 5:00 on Saturday. I stopped at an odd time of the afternoon and the place was deserted. I was on foot so I did not have to look for parking but the adjacent street had plenty of space. I ordered pupusas, one spinach, one calabaza [squash bloom], and one cheese. The ladies were all smiles and helpful. The pupusas are made to order so I had to wait for a bit. I sat in one of the empty tables, yes, the place is a hole in the wall but it was clean. I eat the spinach and the calabaza pupusas on the spot and asked for take out on the cheese one. Both were delicious, although the calabaza one was shy on the side of the calabaza. The crudités were crunchy and the sauce was tasty. I warmed the cheese one for breakfast this morning and it was just as good as the other two. I did not see outdoor sitting as others mentioned. I also wonder how they stay in business but I will certainly go back to try the other things in the menu.

It’s Two Star Tuesday again!!!
I was in the hood and saw this place on the corner of Temple & Beaudry near DTLA. However, as I was waiting for my food, I also saw Maggie C’s 1 Star review: She rarely gives 1 Star reviews.
I ordered two chicharron pupusas ($ 2/​each). The pupusas also came w/​curtido & hot sauce. They came out piping hot, and were good sized. However, I didn’t taste the chicharron, and the curtido wasn’t crunchy: 2 Stars.
The ambiance is OK. There are a couple of tables inside, and a few shared tables outside under the covered area: 3 Stars. The service was so-​so. It took a long time (I was the only one waiting) — A very mañana attitude: 2 Stars.
I won’t be coming back here soon, although I like hole in the walls. The only thing good here is the price, which doesn’t make up for the lack of flavor, limp curtido and slow service.

Stopped in here for a quick bite while I was waiting for my car to washed next door at Elval Carwash. I tried the pupusas. Although it was made fresh, I find the filling to be very sparse. Could use a little more filling.

This is the spot to go if u in a budget went to dmhs and this place was the spot for lunch their nachos where really good when I had them they don’t open everyday its a hole in the wall good pupusas …

Cheap food, close to work, and in a hurry. I was desperate and their food, while not being terrific, did the trick. Fresh tortillas, but the meat tasted a bit old.

This place is a great cheap lunch place for pupusas. They are freshly made so you will have to wait a while, but they are delicious! The place is run down but for about $ 2bucks for homemade pupusas you can’t expect much.

Great deal. Mondays and Wednesdays $ 1.25 for a pupusa with a minimum order of 5. Taste is great!

I am not a big fan of pupusas in general, but had to stop by here after reading the one star review posted by Unilocaler Maggie C. I mean, really? How could I pass up a a pupuseria that has Chinese lantern? I had to come!
If anyone ever asked me what is the worst restaurant I have ever been to, I know the answer right off the bat. That being said, this would be a two star experience for me. The spinach was the highlight for me. They also had easy parking in the rear, which is rare for the area.
Overall, I have had better. The staff was friendly and easy parking if you are in the area.

I had pupusas once and didn’t like them. So I gave it a second chance @ a different restaurant.
I saw this @ the restaurant.
Chinese lantern @ a Salvadorean restaurant.
Ordered: espinaca (spinach), chicharron (pork) and revueltas (mixed pork & cheese).
The pupusas were made fresh to order. I could even see it from where I sat. The worker was super friendly and nice.
Espinaca ($ 2.15): the best one from all of them but it was meh.
Chicharron ($ 1.85): where is the meat? why is it so bland?
Revueltas ($ 1.85): are you kidding me?
I saw a guy eating some kind of plate with fried stuff and it looked pretty good. He seemed to enjoyed it too. Maybe I ordered the wrong stuff. A small parking lot in the back but it’s crowded.
I feel really bad giving this place 1 star but it is that bad! Let me know if you have a great pupusas place.
1 star! I want my $ back.
Playas El Salvador is not yummylicious!

Great Carnitas Torta. Papusas were good enough but not the best I have had. I would definitely stop by again when in the area

Do not believe Google maps directions to this place. It’s a flat out lie. It’s on the corner of Temple and Beaudry. After about 10 minutes looking for this place, we finally found it and were lucky to find parking in their lot (only 3 – 4 spots depending on the size of cars that are parked there).
Pupusas were tasty and fresh. Not as greasy as I’ve had at other pupuserias. I had the 2 pupusa, rice, beans and drink special for $ 5.99. Great deal. Left extremely full — I couldn’t even finish my plate. Service was friendly and quick. I’d stop by again.

I had driven by this place a million times and was hoping it would be a true find; one of those places that has such great food that you don’t even notice a shabby or foreboding exterior. But no.
The food here is OK, but in a city with as many Salvadoreños as LA, why put up with mediocre pupusas? I had the double combo; one bean pupusa and one revuelta (pork and cheese) with rice and beans. The bean pupusa was too dry to finish, and the revuelta was OK, but I couldn’t even taste the pork. At least they weren’t greasy. My friend ordered a bowl of their kimchi-​like cabbage salad (as she called it), and it really helped add flavor. (Might’ve been their version of curtido.) The rice, yellow and fluffy, was fine, but the beans were so-​so at best.
Tried the Salvadorean version of horchata and didn’t care for the spicing or consistency. Nice to sit outside, where most of the tables are.
Though you could call this place a dive, and depending on your approach, be put off by the exterior, they do display an A in the window. The bathroom is off a storage area and clean enough.
Right on the corner of Beaudry and Temple, Playas El Salvador is one of the few eateries in this area and several friends who work nearby like the place.

One of the best pupusas I’ve tasted. The bf and I used to walk my dog up and down Beaudry and we were always curious about this small pupuseria shop. «Where do they get business from?» we always wondered… the high school kids across the street? The mechanics and carwash customers next door? At $ ⁵⁄₂ cheese pupusa combo, I didn’t think it was THAT cheap. Finally we stopped by one day and decided to give it a shot. My bf’s Brazilian so he sort of knows what’s up… I had no idea what to expect.
MMMMMM MMMMMMM good. I don’t even like cheese but ahhhh this was something else. It was like a warm pancake filled with oozing cheese. But the thing that really tops off this place is their curtido is TOP NOTCH. Reminded us so much of Korean kimchee. Ahhh I love this place. We come by on lazy days all the time and when we get our occasional car washes next door.

I love pupusas, and working off the last reviewer’s comments, I agree that one should really be eating the pupusas here. The place is well, kind of a dump. If it seems run down now, you should have seen it a few years back. It was worse! I think they’ve freshened it up a bit since the Roybal LC opened this year. Despite its looks, the pupusas and loroco are excellent. Meals are cheap, delicious and quick. Be prepared: drinks, (mostly sodas which are displayed in the front refrigerated counter), will come to you in the can, not as cold as they could be, and with a straw. Parking is also limited. It has about 3 – 4 spots max right next to the car wash and besides that is all street parking. That being said, the food is delicious and the service is friendly, so if you’re in the area stop by. You’ll be in for a treat.

Anxious to go back and see if they deserve 4 stars.
I stopped by here for a small lunch snack on my lunchtime walk today. I was actually inspired by a comment from Chowhound about a burger place being on Temple in the vicinity, but I was really just out to see the sights.
I work in the B of A plaza on Hope (Bunker Hill), so I headed up to Temple and then went west on Temple, under the freeway and over to Beaudry, where I saw this place. It took me about 15 – 20 minutes to walk there at a good clip. It looked a bit uninviting to me from the outside, but seemed friendly in that dumpy kind of way on the inside.
I got dos tacos de carne asada. Being this close to downtown, I was happy with the $ 1.25 price per taco.
The tacos had the right look and presentation for me, though my faves usually do not have any lettuce and tomato. These were on tiny corn tortillas (double), meat, chopped onion, a bit of cilantro, and some chopped lettuce and tomato strewn over the top. Salsa picante on the side (and quite zingy). This was not my favorite carne — a bit bland, not as charred or salty as I usually prefer — but it was good. Overall, this was a good taco, but not great.
People around me were mowing down pupusas, however, that looked great. Being El Salvadoran, I figure that the pupusa is probably a better barometer of the place. And they have fried plantains.
Next time I will go for a nice platter of pupusas, beans, plaintains, and we’ll see how this place delivers for a more serious meal.
They have a lot in back (off Beaudry) and can accommodate medium groups. It’s a smallish place, but the seating is flexible.