After a visit to the eye doctor down the street, I thought I'd wait out the Friday traffic in this little Mexican/Salvadoran joint just off of Ritchie Highway. When I first walked in, I was greeted by some Juanes playing over the speakers. I later noticed some customers choosing their music off in the corner. The interior has a casual cantina feel to it. A couple of TVs were showing History channel en español. Every table had a bottle of neon-green habanero sauce I recognized from many restaurants in Mérida, Mexico. "Okay, this place is legit," I thought. The chips and salsa were good, though I would have loved some extra salsa. I got three pupusas: revuelto, de loroco, and frijoles con queso. All very tasty. Hot, greasy, and cheesy like a pupusa should be. The pickled cabbage that accompanied was fine, though in other places I'd say it's a little bit crisper and brinier. The cold weather outside made me consider soup. As with most Salvadoran places, the standards were available: de res, de mariscos, and for the brave of heart, modongo (tripe). Considering I just wanted a small bit to eat, I passed when I saw the prices of $10-$11 per bowl. Usually that kind of price tag for soup means HUGE portion. Service is decent and friendly. The hostess sympathetically nodded when I ordered a water sin hielo (did I mention it was freezing outside?). I honestly don't know if the staff speaks English. This wasn't a problem for me, pero si no hablas español, quizás sería mejor si vayas a otro lugar. If you're not sure, give them a call and ask. Once I had ordered and received my food, they didn't come over unless I signaled to them. I certainly would go back, though I'm not often in the area. If you're in the area and want some truly authentic Mexican/Salvadoran food, this is the place. read more

El Norteño Grill - El Norteño Grill - Salvadoran Near Me - Glen Burnie, Maryland

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Pricey pricey pricey! How does a restaurant charge 23.50 for Mexican food and bottled water? I walked in here on a whim, on second thought, I should have gone to Taco Bell. The music was SO loud I could not hear my server. They want $4.00 for a can of coconut water! Pass pass pass - pricey pricey pricey read more

I have to call BS on the 3 star rating this place has (at the time of my writing this). I hate to see restaurants who offer amazing foods suffer because the local patrons are too ignorant to understand what they're experiencing. As an aficionado of South American cuisine, I give this place 2 thumbs way up. I am speaking for the tacos and the pupusas when I say they're some of the best I've tried in the area. I can't speak for the rest of the menu because I haven't had it. So if you're a taco fiend like me, you'll be very happy with this restaurant. Why I think this restaurant isn't popular amongst my fellow Glen Burnians: 1. The ambience. It is VERY authentic to the true South American scene. Don't expect to walk in and feel like you're in Chili's. They blare Latin music and have TVs displaying Spanish telenovelas. Every other authentic South American restaurant I frequent has a similar setup. This is not a flaw. 2. Locals are probably expecting Taco Bell. This is not Taco Bell. REPEAT: this is not Taco Bell. This is also not a flaw (in fact it's a HUGE plus!!) 3. A possible language/ cultural barrier? I am only hypothesizing here, but the people who work here are native Spanish speakers. They know English too, but it's not native, so I can imagine situations of miscommunication happening. I don't know, but again, this is not a flaw. After all, I believe we should all get an opportunity to practice our español from time to time. So all in all, I had a great experience, and will be back on a weekly/biweekly basis! read more

El Norteño Grill - PUPUSAS BABY - Salvadoran Near Me - Glen Burnie, Maryland

Parece cantina de pueblo y no un restaurante, la música esta a todo volumen y no permite platicar. It looks like a village canteen and not a restaurant, the music is at full volume and does not allow us to talk. read more

Stopped in late night coming from bowling, the bartender was super nice! It was close to 11pm, they served my to go order pretty quick. The music reminded me of being in Mexico. The Mexicano tacos are good, I had one streak & a chicken. They come with cilantro, green sauce, jalapeños to kick up the heat. The tacos didn't disappoint, they were stuffed with meat. I'll be back for sure! read more

El Norteño Grill - Mexicano tacos, steak on the top & chicken below. De-lic-ious - Salvadoran Near Me - Glen Burnie, Maryland

Paid $27 We ordered 6 pupusas (they are really small with hardly any fillings) Order a platter of platanos with sour cream and beans. We got a tiny cup(the ones they use for salsas of beans-more like a dip) I asked the girl is this really a side she laughed and said yes. We had our order to go got home and this stuff is horrible. Never again will I spend a dollar there. read more

El Norteño Grill - a person holding a cup of coffee - Salvadoran Near Me - Glen Burnie, Maryland

Went inside no one acknowledge me so I asked a worker do I seat myself he said yes and someone will come to help me. I sat for 30 mins and didn't even have a waiter come up to me. The vibe seems coo tho just wish I could've ate something . read more

I give it a 4 mostly for authenticity but it's really more like a 3.5 overall I'd say. The previous reviewer wondered if they spoke English, they do but not perfect. I speak Spanish so it's not a problem. My wife and daughter do not speak Spanish and had no problems ordering. The food is good and authentic. As the other reviewer said, the staff is decent and friendly. As for the $10 soups, yes, they are large servings. I like tripe (I know...) so I like the Sopa de Mondongo. Very filling and good. I've eaten there several times and have yet to find something I don't like but I know what to expect, you may not. Be open minded if you go and don't be surprised if you're the only gringo there! ;-) But hey, that adds to the authenticity! Be aware they do have a bar and if a Futbol (Soccer to you gringos!) game is on, it can get a little loud and rowdy, though not too bad. read more

Nice local spot for El Salvadorian food. Clean. Good food. Good prices. Very casual dining. Lots of loud music and bar on site. The Carne Asada (marinated grilled steak), plantains and the bean sauce they served with it was delicious!! read more

El Norteño Grill - Carne Asada (marinated grilled steak). Delicious! - Salvadoran Near Me - Glen Burnie, Maryland

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Sopa de res was good, would have loved a larger bowl with more broth as the ingredients are large n clunky. Service was quick & friendly. Bathroom was clean. read more

First and last visit food was ok, server could not speak a word of english. The music was so loud my husband and I could not speak to each other not to mention it made me almost sick to the stomach. I indicated to the server to please lower the music only to have her give me a dirty look, you guessted it the music was not turned down she did however say something about me cause every customer in the place looked in our derection and laugh. Not cool Oh yeah we paid 3.00 for a soda read more

The food is great , the service no really, is like spot to get drunk but no for family to go eat in ,,, but like i say the food is fantastic

HORRIBLE!!! Went in for a few drinks. Way over priced and maybe because we weren't Latino it felt like we were treated differently. No women in the bar as we walked over to play music they turned off the juke box. Not a welcoming place at all. read more

Have been driving past this place for a couple years and kept saying I would stop in and check it out since I love Salvadoran food. Decided to stop in around 7PM on a friday night to order dinner with my best friend and her younger sister (for take out). The environment was not that of a restaurant or a grill, but a club or sketchy bar. The music was blasting we couldn't even hear each other talking. Also, there was no menu or place to order. The young waitresses came up to us WITHOUT masks on and were not giving us 6 ft of space which was very uncomfortable. Hardly anyone in the restaurant or bar (workers included) were wearing masks. The waitresses were flirting with the customers and had no masks on during a pandemic. We ended up cancelling our order because I'm not supporting a business that can't follow safety protocols. So I can't speak to their food. Go here if you want to get COVID and if you like loud music or flirting with waitresses. My best friends sister felt so uncomfortable and said she got creepy vibes. The place reeked of cologne. read more

Walked in, waitress seemed very unhappy to be working there. Service was not great at all after that. Food was ok, but for the location and atmosphere it was extremely expensive. While trying to eat, the jukebox started blasting spanish country music. We could not hear each other talking.....and this was lunch time. This is a place for construction workers to go grab a beer not a restaurant to have a nice meal. read more

The food its great but I'll recommend carry out! Not for family dine in unless you're comforable with loud music and drunk people around you they added new items to the menu and the prices were raised too. But hey the food its great read more