Mi Ranchito Salvadoreno

It was alright nothing out of this world… the service was ok… the food was alright… probably wouldn’t come again…

Let me start of by saying that the service in this restaurant is mediocre at best, and the only reason why I’ve been here is because my best friend chooses to eat here. Today’s experience by our server FLOR, is by far the worst I’ve ever received in my life.
We walked into this establishment around 11:30 am today, and found the place to be empty except for two guys who were on their knees trying to fix the ice machine. We were greeted by FLOR the server. I walked to the restroom to wash my hands, and when I came back my friend asked me what I was having, since the sever had already taken his order, as she handed him the menus. I waited a few minutes thinking she was going to come back to get mine, but when I didn’t see her, I just decided to get up and give it to her. The meal and coffee came out at a decent time. Faster than the normal wait time, but again we were the only ones in the restaurant. The server never bothered to offer us coffee refills, nor takeout containers, and when she finally did, it was already to late. I noticed a poster on their window that read «Pupusas for $ 1.25 each on take out orders» so I decided to take 3 home for lunch. The waitress said that that price is only for orders of 5 or more. The sign on the window didn’t state that, but I agree on the $ 1.50 for each. I sat back at my table for less than a minute and thought, I’ll just take the 5 for $ 1.25 each, and I’ll give some to my kids. The waitress said it was to late for me to do that, and that if I wanted 2 more, I’d have to pay $ 1.50 for the other two also. I asked what do you mean, can’t you just void your first transaction, and enter a new one? She said no. At this point I was already aggravated and said, just go ahead an cancel that order. I no longer want them. My friend got up to pay the check and noticed we were being over charged. I picked up a menu, looked at the prices and confirmed he was right. I told the waitress we were being over charged by a few dollars, and she said no, I’m also charging you for the coffees you ordered. I said the coffee were included in our meal. It states it on the poster near the entrance, and also in the menu. She said yes, but only from 9am until 11am. I asked where in the menu, or poster near the entrance did it say that? She said it doesn’t. It’s a hand made sign that we have in our kitchen. So you except us to walk in your kitchen, to see what changes you’ve done to the menus you’re hand out? I’m only going to pay for what I agreed on, and the menu states that coffee is included in our meal! She said if I had a problem I could just discuss it with the manager, and that no one else had complained but us. I said no one else has noticed it, since you don’t give a detailed guest receipt, so please call him. She hesitated a little, grabbed her phone and dialed his number. She stepped away for a little bit to give him her side of the story, then gave me the telephone. I stated everything mentioned, and also processed to tell him that his poorly trained staff, was hurting his already damaged business. By this point it was almost 1pm and we were still the only customers there. He confirmed that the coffee was only served free of charge from 9am until 11am and also said that he had not yet made the proper changes on the menu, but said I should of been informed by the server. He said he was willing to buy me 2 Pupusas on the house. I thanked him, but still refused. At this point I just wanted to pay my check and leave. I will never eat at this place again, even if he’d offer a life time of free Pupusas.
Moral of the story…
If you want to eat at an over priced restaurant, that’s being ran by thieves, who have hidden menu prices, and by unexperienced waitress that are dressed to work at a Latin bar and not family restaurant. Then this might be the place for you. Don’t say you weren’t warned!

I like the Pupusas here it is very delicious. I have been coming here since i am a kid and i would not change the taste of the food .
Fast service .
Nice atmosphere
You can place an order for pick up.
It is not that loud like others said
People there make you feel at home.

Came in for an atol de elote and the waitress says they dont sale that… Then why advertise it.

Review is strictly about the pupusas. I placed my order over the phone. My order was ready at the time arranged. The pupusas are delicious not too greasy and a good size. $ 1.50 pupusas revueltas to go is a great deal!
Note: the $ 1.69!is only to go special on revueltas.
I will be calling in my order for pick up from this restaurant again.

3 stars the food is good well at least the pupusas are but they take for ever so if you ever want something from here order or call like 45 before I usually take out but it’s good and the customer service needs improvement that’s why I do take out but even when in the phone sometimes they make you wait

We were craving pupusas so we decided to come here. I started off with a margarita & it tasted like water with tons of sugar. No trace of alcohol. We received our food & it was below average. The music was extremely loud. The service was so poor. Do not come here.

Not the best pupusas ever. Parking is horrible, I was with a party of 10 and no else was in the restaurant we waited about 15 mins for the menus, Than we waited 20 mins for our drinks than food came out after 40 mins after. Long wait and the food was not worth it. While eating a guy comes and sets his speaker in the middle of the dinning room. Music was horrible and he was just standing do karaōke by himself. Finally leaving we were to pay 7.95 for a plate and the server charges us for 9.95 we showed her the menu and the special and yet she did not want to change the price due to she cannot. Worst service and bad food.

I’m not sure how I haven’t written a review for this place already.
Anyways, I’ve been coming here for years since I live but a stone’s throw away from here. They are great at making the food, but service is always slow. They make all the items from scratch which is desirable, but not good for when you’re starving and just need something to scarf down, like now! The pupusas are really good here, but I remember the salsa being a little sweet. Spicy cole slaws (curtido) and salsa vary between sweet, spicy or a combination of both. I always eat the pupusa plain first to get a taste for the quality of the fillings, and then try the toppings. I don’t usually dine in since it takes a while to be served and it can be uncomfortable to be around some of the men that come in. The men in this area are not of the highest caliber so they will blow kisses or stare while I try and eat. Of course, I can’t hold this against the restaurant but it is something I want to include as a woman because there may be a woman who would’ve loved this warning. I say, just place a phone order and pick up to-​go. On the weekends they have loud music, lights and either karaōke, or a live singer. I’m not fond of these nights since it’s so loud, even from the outside, and because I don’t want to be around a bunch of drinking men in this area.

I’m a fan due to the food and not the service.
Food was great, authentic and flavorful. I had 2 pupusas (nicely filled) with yummy curtido and yucca with chicharron. Hubby had sopa de pata (he liked) and plantains with beans. He also loved the homemade tortillas. The fruit drink (ensalada) and horchata were also good. Even though the food was good, I think I might look for a different place that is cleaner, more organized, and where the waitress doesn’t wear a band-​aid or her butt (shortest mini skirt I’ve seen). Also, because she was so busy flirting with the male customers we didn’t get much of her attention.

This place is over priced. Took a really long time to get our food (it was It busy). The food was ok. We order pupusas, tamale de pollo (it took 15 mins for the tamale to come out and the inside of it was cold) and sopa de pollo.
The pupusas de queso com loroco are really good. Don’t order chicharon pupusas they are not that good.
Sopa de pollo was good and tasty.
I don’t think I would ever come back here again.
Food is to overpriced

I love their pupusas and also the true story about the girl who died in the bathroom by overdose, sometimes you can feel cold spots in the woman’s bathroom and the feeling that someone’s watching you, lots of employees have quit due to the supernatural occurrences at night.

3÷31÷13
There were 5 of us in our party, we were greeted at the door-​which I liked alot. We were seated promptly and given our menus. Our order was taken quickly but our food took awhile to out. we ordered 3 horchatas which were good but were refilled on 2 and charged for 5 @1.75,so watch for the auto charge on refills. We asked the greeter at the door to take a few pictures of our party and he accommodated us, then I put the camera aside by my wallet on the table by the window. We finally got our food which was 8 pupusas and we were given plates and silverware. the chips and salsa were great but we had to ask for more for everyone at the table. When we were finished we paid the bill and i used the restroom. when I came out my husband was waiting for me at the door and the table had been cleared. When we got home (redondo beach) it was 11:30pm and I realized I did not have my camera that I had sat on the table we were sitting at.
The next morning I quickly called the restaurant and I speak english and they did not Actually the female that answered was rude and told me to call back later in the afternoon. Then I called my son in law who speaks spanish to call them and explain that my camera had been left on the table. He called me back after and told me they were rude to him. I then had to call my husband and have him take the time from work to speak with the manager. Manager stated he would speak with his son who was the young man who greeted us at the door, and we left our number to call us back.
What it comes down to is that we had the camera there at the table, there are pictures of us on the camera and the young man at the door took them for us. That was the last place we were at. It was stated that no camera was found.
I am sick about it as it was my christmas present and a replacement for a very old camera that needed to be retired.
It was in a black case and had extra batteries, and other media devices. I am still in hopes that someone at the restaurant found it and will call us to come and pick it up.

I did not eat at restuarant, in fact I have never been there,. My wife is Salvadorean and I have eaten a lot of Pupusas in my day, including in El Salvador. The pupusas I had were brought by a co worker to our office. These were the best pupusas I have ever eaten. Especially the chicaron. Lots of meat. Loved them. I will try again.

The Pupusas here! are delicious! i also ordered some tamales that were scrumptious!
I most definitely recommend ordering from this place,. cant comment on the location or atmosphere since i ordered pick up :)

I love the food here! Even though I lived closer to other pupuserias, I often found myself going out of my way to come to this place. The only reasons I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I could never stand eating at the restaurant. Take out is defiantly the way to go.
Restaurant Cons:
— Atmosphere is way too loud! You have to constantly shout and good look getting a waitress’ attention!
— It’s crammed! The tables are practically on top of each other.
— The waitresses’ «uniforms» try to be sexy but just looks ridiculous! It’s distracting actually, and sad.
— It’s old, outdated, and needs a major makeover!
— The parking situation is ridiculous! You have to drive down a super narrow alley and walk down the same alley get to the restaurant. Careful you don’t get run over! The other option is to park in a different nearby shopping center.
— The area is super sketchy! But that’s just Van Nuys in general.
The Food Pros:
— The pupusas are tasty without being too greasy and on the larger side.
— The curtido and salsa are just right. Not too spicy.
— The yucca frita is deliciously made. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
I highly recommend ordering from this place but I cannot endorse actually siting down at the restaurant to eat.

If you are looking for Salvadorean food, this is the place. The food is definately authentic Salvadorean, pupusas are delish. My Daddy loves the Gallina sandwish, it has some awesome tasty vegetable in vinegar stuffing, to die for.
The servers try too hard to be somewhat charasmatic, blah blah… so not nice, lack of personalities, actually they have the personality of a wet mop. Their plus is the food that’s for sure. I would recomend for take out.
The negative on this place for me is the look of the place, the booths are too small, tables need some kind of remodeling, the place is full of tacky beer advertizing and last but not least, the music jukebox, can it be any more loud… I cant even hear my own thoughts.

Pupusas are pretty yummy here. The greasier the better and they were definitely greasy. Horchata was yummy. fried Yucca was nice and crunchy.
I love this place!!! too bad I can only eat Salvadorean food every so often because of the calories!!!

This was my first experience with Salvadorean food and I was very pleased. I love a good hole in the wall and this place fit the bill. Old tables in desperate need of refinishing, beer posters peeling off the wall, strange décor, and blaring music. OK, that last one I could do without. The music was definitely too loud to have a conversation over.
We came in for a late breakfast and had some amazing food. Basically my meal was beans, rice, plantains, and eggs. Sounds simple, but the flavors were absolutely wonderful. My date had a very similar plate and we kept stealing bites from each others plates as both were just amazing. When the plates came out, I thought it wasn’t much food but the plates themselves are very large. I couldn’t finish the meal and I didn’t eat again that day until dinner. This is not light food.

The food is great. Pupusas are awesome, carne asada is awesome, curtido is good. The ensalada drink is crazy, I love it.
But what is the deal with Latins and their music? Do they hate their families and can’t stand the idea of one more dinner conversation? Are they genetically predisposed to deafness? The jukebox was so freekin’ loud that I started to develop a nervous tick. When people finally ran out of quarters I squealed in delight.
The service was insanely slow, one poor waitress for the whole place and the upholstery needs some attention. Wobbly chairs with a variety of holes.
Spend some money on the interior and speed up the service and you’ll earn 5 stars. Either that or turn down the jukebox!