A guilty pleasure and favorite comfort food of mine are the Salvadorean "pupusas". And when it comes to pupusas, I have not found anybody that makes them better than El Salvadoreno Restaurant in our area. Great hospitality and service with great food and serving sizes, this restaurant is family friendly and budget friendly at the same time. Evenings are packed and colored with loud music and large screen TVs playing sports games from all over latin america. A total Central/South American vibe with a sports bar on the side. Takeout counter also available for a quick stop and pickup to go. The menu is extensive... but to be honest, I only ever come for the pupusas! lol We ordered: Bean and Cheese Popusa Pupusas Revueltas read more

El Salvadoreno - Salvadoran Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

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I love the pupusas here the people is nice good ambiance good vibes one of my favorites .

Went in there around noon and it was empty. Wanted to order to go but the staff said it was more expensive and that we could not order off the menu. They showed us food that they had there being heat up buffet style and wanted us to pick. They were so obscure with the prices and didn't want to explain if it was per pound or depending on what we choose, they just said choose. We decided to just get pupusas to make it easier for ourselves since they weren't giving prices. They were 2/5 would not recommend them, many better places around the area for a better price. It didn't stop there, they made us wait over 40 minutes, while people came in after and ordered the same pupusas and would get them before us. If you are not Salvadorian, do not go there because they will not treat you well. Felt like they just wanted to make things hard and unwelcoming so we would just leave. read more

Honestly the service lacks a bit, the flavor of the foood is good but they tend to OVER cook it like the rice taste it has been sitting out and rewarded with NO moist at all. Probably won't be going back honestly read more

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Pro Pupusas were ok / repollo looks weird Has parking Cons Ugly place Expensive Just one napkin on table ‍ The food was a 2/5 for me - rice was overdone / tostones weren't done well / the steak was ok Conclusion I don't recommend and I wouldn't come back read more

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This was my first time trying pupusas and I was not disappointed. Had a revolta pupusa and chicken tamal. Both were so delicious! I also tried my friend's platanos con crema, which was yummy as well. read more

With a huge sign and a fancy exterior, how could I decline? Almost out of place on Elizabeth Ave., with a huuuge parking lot, stands the behemoth, El Salvadoreno. El Salvadoreno is an Elizabeth institution that's been in business for many years. Located a skip from Midtown Broad St. and the court house, it is often where many locals and workers flock for lunch and dinner. When it comes to their lunch buffet, El Salvadoreno has a price that can't be beaten. The menu consists of a blend of many popular Latin American dishes as well as some native Salvodoran as well. When you first walk in, you'll enter a narrow hallway, where you'll see various trays available for take-out ordering. From the host stand, you'll the be led to one of the two spacious dining rooms, where the lunch buffet sits. If you're not feeling a buffet, they offer a full a la carte menu as well for lunch. For $10.50, the all you can eat lunch buffet comes with plenty of options such as: Carne guisado, beef ribs, fried chicken, grilled shrimp, fish filet, mixed vegetables, sweet plantains, chow mein lol, chicharon, arroz con gandules, yucca, white rice, beans, chicken soup, and dessert. The desserts were a variety of cakes, arroz con leche, and fresh fruit. All in all, everything was of good quality and the buffet is certainly worth the price. They regularly re-fill the trays as well, so you don't have to worry about items running out! read more

El Salvadoreno - Weekly lunch buffet - Salvadoran Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

This place is awesome I love this restaurant. Come for the lunch buffet it's amazing and we'll worth it read more

El Salvadoreno - Salvadoran Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

Food and service Always excellent. They have beef soup with yuca great for hangovers. Everything is good.

I've been eating here since I was a child. 30 years to be exact. So to start I want to say I know the staff, the bartenders, even the owner very well. I've had family visit me from out of state sometimes and always wanted to go here for the amazing pupusas. If anyone ever use to ask me where a good Salvadoran restaurant is i USE to say this was the place. It hurts to say this, and after my last experience this is no longer on my "must dine here" list AT ALL. The quality has gone WAY down since my last 12 times going to eat there. But none the less I've always managed to overlook little things and always brought friends and family to enjoy a dining experience with me. The nail in the coffin for me was my last visit. I had my friends from out of town (Pittsburgh) visit and they wanted to have authentic Salvadoran food, I didn't even hesitate to take them here. We ordered drinks .. the waiter was new and confused (that was fine) when we ordered food he seemed to not know what was on the menu to begin with ... and made no effort to care either. When the food finally arrived ... THERE WAS A ROACH IN MY FRIEND'S TACO. Alive and well, just crawling around. so that pretty much ended it for us. After speaking with the owner (because they still billed us for everything) all he had to say was, "oh I didn't know, sorry, next time just come talk to me" There won't be a next time for me, or any recommendations to this place from me. I'd rather take a flight to El Salvador if I want a pupusa ever again. There will be a call to the health department on the other hand! This place has lost its way. Needs to be shut down. It's a shame and gross. read more

Ok where should I start? I have been coming here for years with my family and for the most part we have always been happy with our orders. Their pupusas are authentic and delicious. Their Yuca con Chicharrón were amazing and I was a fan of their sopa de res. Yesterday, I went with my mom and my husband because I was craving pupusas and un caldo to de res. My husband never had them so to be safe he ordered the Cuban sandwich and the lady asked if he wanted French fries with that? He said yes. I ordered 2 pupusas mixtas y mi caldo de res $12. My mom had 3 pupusas de queso y un plato de chicharrón con yuca so we Can all share. The lady asked me if I wanted rice with that and I said yes. Long story short we ate, my husbands fries were so greasy he barely touched them. My mom got 3 pupusas mixtas instead of her 3 cheesy pupusas that she originally asked for. She told the lady that that's not what she wanted so they made her new ones. Time of the check. We noticed that they automatically put gratuity on the bill. My $12 soup was really not worth 12 dollars. The soup bowl in my house is bigger than the one I got plus they charge you $3 for rice. My husbands $10 meal didn't come with fries so they added $3 for the fries. The yuca was good but the chicharrón was all fat barely no meet. The total was $80 so very disappointed. They are overrated and overprice and not to mention they had no Ac. It was hot and disgusting inside. Never again will I ever come back here. read more

Huge place lots of seating for corporate events and big family celebrations , great attentive staff, they made sure to make you comfy and feel welcome we felt cold they promptly provided heating and ensured we had a good seat, plenty of parking , full bar , to bad it wasn't a party kind of Friday night . lots of options in their appetizer menu, good selection Of entrees they also had non alcoholic beverages such as horchatas, Mara cuya ect. food was fresh and good pricing would love to return soon with the family read more

El Salvadoreno - Churrasco had a good portion nice and fresh good seasoning - Salvadoran Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

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I really wanted to like this place. From the minute I walked in I felt like I was in a different country. I usually like restaurants that give me that feel. Everyone spoke Spanish. In one dark room was the music room where a soccer game was playing on tv overhead and a live musician was playing on a piano. We chose the other room since it would be quieter for the baby. Service was very friendly though only one of the servers spoke English. Ordered pupusas... all 3 types. Mixed, cheese, and pork. The mixed was ok, the other two lacked flavor. Also I was under the impression that pupusas were supposed to come with some salsa sauce. Ours wasn't. We also ordered the yuka frita con chicharron. Basically fried pork and potato. The taste was ok but the meat was very dry. I had read online that this dish was also supposed to come with some salsa roja sauce. It didn't. My wife ordered the marascara seafood platter in garlic sauce. The thing was huge and included half a lobster, some fish and clams and mussels and squid. The taste was ok, not that great. We really appreciated it because of its sheer size. I had the ropa vieja steak. I had asked for it to be prepared medium rare but it came out well-done. Taste was good but a bit dry and salty. The sangria was very weak. Overall this place had very good prices and very gracious service. Food wasn't that great, however. At least for the dishes that we ordered. A couple next to us ordered a fried whole fish that looked pretty tasty. read more

I have been coming here since I was a child. The service and food were great, but in the past couple of years they have started slacking. First off the prices have gone up, and the service down. The waiters always forgets something you ordered, or bring the food wrong. Pro: Buffet during the week 12-3, offer parking, Spanish speaking for my parents, Pupusas. Cons: flavorless food, bad service, high prices for certain items. read more

Jeez how did we end up here and what a surprise! On the way to the airport. Lol This place won us over as it had a big parking lot. Food and service were amazing Two thumbs up read more

El Salvadoreno - Calamari appetizer - Salvadoran Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

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the food here is not the greatest and it's very expensive. word of advice , do not order the paella , horrible and expensive. the best thing about this place is there is always parking and have a big parking lot but after eating here I realize now why there's always parking. read more

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Plenty free parking. Good service. Large variety of Salvadorian food. Pupusas were delicious. Fried chicken was a bit dry. French fries were good. Live music Friday night was entertaining. Musician also sang and personalized the lyrics to the crowd. Pupusas Yummm read more

El Salvadoreno - Salvadoran Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

My first outdoor eating experience since COVID, and it was a pleasant one! Plenty of outdoor seating under tents and a private parking lot. Food was good, whatever sauce is on the tostones rellenos I would pour all over everything, so delicious! The waitress predominately spoke Spanish, was gracious server and prompt. I would recommend :-) read more

AVOID this joint if you want to be served. We went there on 9/8/21. It was nearly empty which is fine. We ordered 2 sandwiches and a drink. The drinks came. ...then we waited...waited some more while chatting. Finally we asked the waitress after about 50 minutes 'Where is the food?" She went back to the kitchen then came out and said ..."Sorry, they are not making sandwiches today" ...WHAT????? So, we wasted an hour there...but wait there's more. WE spoke to the 'manager' who looked like he just came out of a 1940 western movie, and complained. Our drinks were $7. He STILL charged us $5 !! That's 5 bucks for wasting our time. They were too cheap to let us off with the drinks after the idiots didnt bother to tell us up front that 'we are not making sandwiches today'. I will NEVER go in there again and will tell EVERYONE i know to skip this rip off joint. read more

I really love this place. My father in law is From El Salvador so he loves to visit this place when he's in town. The food is great!!! Wish they delivered read more

Wayyyy overpriced!!! Paid 24 for rice and meat fir lunch!!!! Way too expensive and the service is super slowwwww. This place is horrible.

Not only did we have to continue to call other waiters to help us with or food, because our waiter disappeared on us; but when we got charged a week later I found out they double charged me. Now I have to prove receipt to my bank just to get my money back. The sever was Ester G. Careful read more

It took an hour to get my food and as soon as I ate it I felt sick. Burger then they got my order wrong also they got the drinks mixed up and very understaffed read more

Sucks to start my first review like this but I'm on vacation and I stopped by this joint for some so called "authentic Salvadorian food" and this was by far the worst dining experience. I mean the food was extremely undercooked and I honestly wrote this review to vent the anger from the disrespect I received from the waiter. I had to bite my tongue. So here Food 1/10 Service even worse! -10/10 I mean who doesn't split a fucking check. Oh and did I mention we were last to be served while watching our same order go to somebody who arrived after us. A risk that should've never been taken.. Thank you for reading and avoid this restaurant. For your sake... read more

Came here with a friend because I wanted to squelch a craving for pupusas that I've had for forever I ordered 2 mixed pupusas, a order of chicharron, a pernil entrée and a virgin Pina Colada. The food was good, was not that thrilled with the chicharron, you can get better chicharron across the street at City Tavern. My friend was not hungry so all she ordered was a Pina Colada. She received the drink and took a sip but did not taste any alcohol, so she asked the waitress if the bartender can put a little more in, the waitress happily obliged and came back with the drink. When we received the bill, I noticed that they charged $7 for the extra alcohol. Needless to say my friend was pissed. Could the waitress have mentioned something about the extra charge? Sure. But we were mostly pissed because the drink itself was $7 and they charged her another $7 for whatever amount of alcohol that they put in there, which may have been a half a shot. Either way, I'd come back for the pupusas because those were yummy read more

The food is great but couple things... Service is bad. I dine out for the food AND experience. I was there a couple weeks ago and stood with my boyfriend without being acknowledged by any of the staff. We wanted to be seated but had to approach the waiter to request a seat which i thought was poor service. In addition, i wished the music wasn't so obnoxiously loud. Dining there on weekends is a NIGHTMARE we requested to be seated on the other side which was quieter but they said that section was closed. All in all the food is delicious just wish the staff was better & the actual dine-in experince was a better one. Its hard to enjoy you dinner with music blasting in your ears leaving you a migraine. If i wanted to go to a club or lounge I would. That's a restaurant the volume should be as such. read more

Food was great . Great selection of food. Service was ok. Waitress did not speak a lot of english. Was hard to order a meal or ask questions. Limited desserts to pick from. No dessert menu. I had to go to the dessert carousel to see what was available to order. read more

Soup "de res" was delicious on point. Hubby wasn't to thrill with the "Moro rice" oxtail was good. Place is huge but has changed a lot. Haven't been here in years. read more

The food in this place is incredibly delicious. My husband and I came for dinner after a long flight. I had Ox tail, white rice ad maduros. My husband had goat (chilindrón) not to mention a delicious avocado salad and multiple homemade desserts. It also has a huge bar if you would like to have a drink. read more

Food was cold very hard to order because no one spoke English overpriced don't think we'll be back

Rude staff. Rude manager. Food especially pupusas are super greasy as if it's cross contaminated in their grill because they came with an orange grease. They had my 5 years old and 7 year old waiting for food. They said they were super busy and that's what happens. They are inconsiderate, for families with children. Their main objective is to fill the restaurant and have people wait for food and horrible service. Gratituty is included even if you had a bad experience. They don't check back with you. read more

My favorite restaurant in all of Elizabeth and believe me, there are plenty. Always ample parking. The atmosphere is friendly but could be updated a little. The lunch buffet is great. Be sure to try the fried fish. It is delish! I've been eating there for 20 years and never had a bad experience. The best Tres Leche I've ever had anywhere. read more

This restaurant is my favorite place to come and eat Pupusa's. I've been to other restaurants that make them too greasy. Here they are made just right and the coleslaw that goes with it is delicious. read more

El Salvadoreno - Salvadoran Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

I don't know where to start! #1 Lemonade! If you like your food well done you will be in heaven. I do I was! Sorry I can't quite tell you what I ordered but we shared a cheese soft flat bread thing with pork, yuca, a warm coleslaw dish! Very nice and did I mention the lemonade! I ordered what I thought was a side Cesar salad with grilled chicken which turned out to be a large plate! The black beans and rice where good as well as the sweet plantain. Live entertainment and great staff! read more

Great food, great people. We had the pupusas, love them. Live music great singer, Nice family place. read more

El Salvadoreno - Love the people - Salvadoran Near Me - Elizabeth, New Jersey

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Food was okay. I've had some good ass Salvadorian food before and this just wasn't cutting it. But, the sangria was super good. Overall, ok food but it can be pricey. read more

So you're stuck in Elizabeth for jury duty and the cafeteria is not the best. This place is the best option that I have found. They have a nice lunch Buffett for just $12. It includes a flavorful beef stew, pork chops, fried fish and other latin staples like red beans and rice and plantains. It also includes fresh fruit, a couple of desserts and a soda. The restaurant is nice with attentive staff and table cloths. A great value if you're stuck in the area like I am. read more

Besides the pupusas and the fact that they are open really late I will only give this place 2 stars. The service needs improvement, and maybe a deep cleaning. read more

We had an unbelievable amount of sand in our seafood soup. When we brought this issue up to management and were told that this was completely natural and always occurred. No refund. No apologies. read more

This is my personal experience. Went there with the wife and 2 kids for lunch. Wife and I wanted a good soup and kids wanted pupusas so we thought let's find a Salvadorian place. Place is OK looking, parking is a plus, food is OK at best. Once the food came we had to fight with the flies around us, no idea where they came from. Food is overpriced. Will not come back. read more