I have been coming here for a while. Let me 1st say. This isnt a "date night, bring your family, bring your mom " have a happy birthday restaurant: If you order food. Get it to go and Run Fast..lol The bar is always full and you will have drunk guys that cant handle themselves. The Bartenders all females dont know how to make cocktail drinks they just pout beer and shots of whisky. No old fashions here. They are hired based on their looks. The food is actually good. Im not crazy about their tortillas but the "sabor" is there read more

When you walk in you will notice that the restaurant bar section is usually busy, music, drinks, women, etc. The restaurant section of it could use a renovation. It was pretty dark and the ceiling had a bunch of missing tiles. The food itself was decent. The lomo saltado was cold, decent flavor but cold. The red snapper on the other hand I would not recommend it had no seasoning, for $37 I expected more. The saving grace were the pupusas. They are solid. If you are in the area check them out Pupusas 7.5/10 Red snapper 4/10 Lomo saltado 6/10 Service 8.5/10 read more

Irenes Pupusas - Lomo saltado - Latin American Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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The best pupusas and soup, the service it okay, but the food is great Try all the pupusas read more

EDIT: make note of the following: THEY AUTOMATICALLY ADD 20% TIP TO YOUR BILL. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE (we were a party of 2) and when the bill came tip was already included. No wonder they have bad service! Bad service, depressing ambiance -- place is old and dirty. This is more like a "cantina" (low end type of bar) Not a family friendly restaurant. Food took forever to come out and of course it was cold! The only reason for the 2 stars is because of the pupusas (very good). I would not recommend. read more

Irenes Pupusas - Baleadas- my husband only ate half of one because they were cold! - Latin American Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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Terrible food and service, I've called to speak to the manager several times but he's never in or if he is, he just left. I've left messages for him to call me back and nothing. Would not recommend this place at all. read more

The new venue in the Meadowood Shopping Center needs some work. Carnegie Asada steak was gristly and fatty with little flavor. Sides of beans, rice and salad were also not great. We have already lost two restaurants in this location, Dominic's and Kat's Kitchen. Irene's will not survive here with meal quality like this. Hopefully puuisas are better. read more

This restaurant has low rating, but I enjoy coming in here. For some people, the music may be too loud. The noise doesn't bother me at all. The pastelitos and pupusas are definitely tasty. I always order 2 pupusas and 2 pastelitos. I will definitely stop by next time I'm in this area. read more

Irenes Pupusas - Pastelitos - Latin American Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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Found a piece of metal in the refried beans. Almost fed it to my daughter but took a bite first. Thank god I did. Can't go back here anymore. read more

Irenes Pupusas - Metal looking thing in the beans - Latin American Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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I went to the new Irene's Pupusas at 12854 New Hampshire Avenue for lunch with clients. None of us had ever had a pupusa. I had a pork and a pork with green peppers. They were excellent. The service was very good except the staff spoke no English-but that made the experience more genuine for us. It is the real deal! The menu items have descriptions in English. We were all very happy with our experience. read more

Very low key and chill with good food. Service was good. Self seating and a server will come to you taking your drink order, etc. food came out fresh and quickly no rush from the table was there for hours laughing and having a good time the cocktails are good as well read more

Bad food bad service I don't recommend this place to go eat with family place is nasty dirty tables food take about 40 minutes to be served read more

Irenes Pupusas - Nasty restaurant - Latin American Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

My family orders from here a few times a month. Occasionally we'll dine in. The space is so much bigger and there are always sports on tv. The rating is low but we think it's fine and we've had pupusas in San Salvador. read more

I've only been in twice, once for carry-out and once dine-in. Both times the language barrier was a bit problematic (I don't speak Spanish) but each time there was a male employee there who was completely bilingual and was able to bridge the gap. I avoided Irene's for years because from the outside it looks a hole in the wall, and the Glenmont Shopping Center is dirty and feels dangerous. I finally stopped in recently because I was at the Staples next door and was lured by a craving for a pupusa. The restaurant turns out to be cavernous! It's also pretty dark and neither of us used the restrooms, so I don't have much to say about the reviews that lament a certain level of dirtiness, except that my knife had food stuck to it. I've ordered both bean & cheese and spinach & cheese (not on the menu) pupusas, and the man ordered pork & cheese. He also ordered a beef taco. We both ordered rice & beans on the side. Everything was absolutely delicious. The food did take a while to be served but it was all piping hot and flavorful. Neither of us were raised on Latin American food so we may not have great comparison, but we were both very happy with the food. The one thing that sat ALL wrong with me was the tip that's built into each dine-in check. The menu states that, like in many food establishments, a 15% gratuity is added to parties of 5 or more. Well, that may be true, but our table of two had a 20% tip already added to the bill when it arrived. And there's a line for an ADDITIONAL tip underneath. This is sneaky and makes the place seem shady. Many other reviews mention it and the owners should take note that customers don't like this practice and their Yelp reviews reflect this. It's the reason I gave them 3 stars, not 4. read more

Large pupuseria and bar. We were some of the only people there. Good service and good pupusas.

Not sure why this has bad reviews. My pupusas and curtido were excellent and affordable. The place was weirdly empty but I did come on a Monday. Lots of space in here and comfy booths. Some empty storefronts nearby are kind of sketch but overall I would come here again. read more

Es la cuarta vez que visito el local y la comida es muy buena, lamentable el tiempo de espera es demasiado aún en un momento en el que no tienen clientes, no imagino como será en un momento ocupado. Las meseras deben ser más atentas. read more

Food is very good pupusas are excellent and the price is very good The only thing that I don't like it is so noisy, but food is good read more

I love their soup the most. Beef soup could eat amy time. Has squash, yuca, corn, carrot, celery and meat. You can also get chicken read more

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The food was amazing, especially the Baliadas, and the horchatas.The staff were nice to our children.

You walk into a large seating area, since I came in around 4PM it was largely empty. I didn't really care about ambiance (I rarely do), I was there for the Pupusas and that was it. The menu is filled with tons of other delicious options, but I didn't come to a Pupusa restaurant for anything but Pupusas. Your options are: Pork, Chicken, Cheese, Pork with Cheese, Chicken with Cheese, or Cheese and Beans. They're all two dollars a piece so you can really go nuts with as many as you want. They also have a bunch of ala carte sides if you want, I suggest ordering the fried plantains. After a short wait, my food was brought out to me. The pupusas were piping hot as were the plantains, they all came with curtido which is the Central American equivalent of kimchi or saurkraut. It's essentially a pickled(ish) cabbage that's spicy, it's delicious and the perfect compliment to the Pupusas. The plantains were ripe, so that made them extra sweet and delicious. The sweetness compliments the spiciness of the curtido perfectly. I suggest your bite to be a combination of the three (curtido, plantain, and pupusa). The star of the show as obviously the pupusas, I ordered a pork & cheese, a chicken & cheese, and a solo pork. Each one was heavenly, they're served piping hot so the cheese is gooey and melty. The pupusa crust whatever you want to call it is crispy but still fluffy without being gritty. The meat is seasoned perfectly and the it's incredibly tender. Essentially, these pupusas were flawless. All in all it was one of the best meals I've had in a long time and I will most certainly be back. Oh yeah, all of this only cost 12 bucks! Parking: Plentiful and Free Service: Friendly (having a grasp of Spanish is helpful for the menu, but not essential) Cost: Cheap (they take cash or credit) Ambiance: Tough to judge because I went at a bad hour, they have a full bar set up too so I imagine it may get busy later in the evenings. Overall one of the best meals I've had in a long time, writing this review made me crave it again! Don't be intimidated by the not so lovely exterior of the shopping center, this amazing gem awaits you. read more

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If there would be an option for NO STAR --that would be the rating. This is not a descent place. Its a place where man are definitely treated better than woman. I told the guy at the door, food handler, who usually hand delivers the phone orders about the situation with the waitress who said that my teenage daughter and me could not eat at the restaurant-because we pre-ordered the food by phone. I pre order at the chinese restaurant in Aspen Hill, at the Pho Restaurant on University Blvd (W) at El Catrachito in Wheaton etc etc etc NO WHERE I HAD ENCOUNTER A WAITRESS SAY WE COULD NOT STAY BECAUSE WE PRE-ORDERED. Hello, I paid for the food, it was not FREE. The guy by the door, the food handler, said its THE OWNERS REGULATION NOT TO ALLOW PHONE ORDER CUSTOMERS TO COME AND EAT AT HER EMPTY COMPLETELY RESTAURANT. I order mostly PUPUSAS from this place, close to home and right off the Metro. Other than that its a Horrible Business. I've heard it many other times from neighbors and friends not to go there but now I experienced on my own. This are my negative observations and review they receive based on their service they provide. read more

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Food tasted terrible, no flavor. We placed a order to go when we got there the place was empty I know why now. But order a soup and some eggs with chorizo. Everything about the meal from the plantain to the beans was way below average. Won't be eating here any longer. Plantain tastes old . read more

Irenes Pupusas - Latin American Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

The food is good, but the problem about this place is that they over charge for the food. I know inflation has everything being expensive but for five small pieces of chicken wings it's costing me about $20 which I think is crazy. read more

Nice cheap place to get great pupusas. Would give five stars but the service is always very slow. Always plenty of seating and parking.

Honestly I only like the PUPUSAS which they always end up getting my order"S" messed up. Seriously they have always sucked in service and time management. I never leave reviews but this place has seriously hit a nerve because they are ALWAYS SLOW and never as busy as they claim they are to be honest. I would give it 2 stars cuz again PUPUSAS are good not great or amazing just good lol... I ended up waiting 40 minutes and never got my order until I asked for my money back all of the sudden they bring my order lol... Got my money and left the food just because this is not the first or second or third......time.... So I'm over it and I've vented. Thanks help lol... read more

I came to eat, everything was good until they bring my recipe, as you can see they're charging for the food and taxes that's fine, but they are obligating people to pay the tip, like it's a obligatory charge, for me that's ridiculous, because tips are made for people who wants to give what's the hearts feels, they are not suppose to print it on your recipe, the server was hire for serving costumers, I called they says " the server will decide how much she's going to charge you of tips " I don't recommend this restaurant read more

Irenes Pupusas - The recipe - Latin American Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Seems like most of the negative reviews are from people who have dined-in. I've only ever had take out so I cant speak to that experience but OH. EM. GEE. the food is delicious! The Pupusas are sooo good and the prices are reasonable. I've had a few other things off their menu but the Pupusas are definitely my favorite. read more

Awesome and authentic- even if you don't like pupusas, there are other items on the menu definitely worth it- like the tacos. Great prices

Depends on what you want. If you want ambience with white tablecloths- not your place. If you want snooty waiters that tell you about the type of radish in your salad- not your place. If you want authentic, killer pupusas and beans and rice- this is the real deal. Cheap and good. This place rocks in my opinion. read more

I can't leave a ton of details as I tried their pupusas months ago, but I would rather try the food trucks in the area. Irene's were dry and bland and the sauce had no flavor. If you're in Takoma Park just before you get to D.C. the local truck on New Hampshire moved to the Sunoco last year across from the liquor store. Those are the top of my list until I find a better truck in Aspen Hill/Silver Spring. read more

Ordered Togo and they didn't include all the items for my order. I called back once I got home and asked for them to refund what was missing and they said nothing could be done because I paid with card. Worst customer service. read more

Con mi novio era nuestro lugar favorito para ir a comer por que es comida latina y por que vivíamos serca nos mudamos y regresamos a comer hoy . Pero esperamos 30 minutos por nuestra comida para que la comida estuviera fea la carne simple y las baliadas quemadas las chicas no se preocupan por atender a los clientes rápido solo se mantienen en el área del bar y uno espera mucho para ser atendido. Y read more

The Pupusas are really good here but the service is horrible. No matter how bad the service is, the Pupusas here are always good enough to overcome the horrible service for me, at least. I'm a super fan of horchata, and the horchata here is pretty good but watered down. read more

2.25 stars This place used to be a dingy Chinese buffet place! I think Irenes looks a lot more open and better lit, but you still see remnants of the dingy past. Perhaps they are not quite done yet with renovations but just the same, vast improvement! The space looks a lot more open now with quite a few TVs playing sports. However, as other reviewers have said, service is super slow even though there were not tons of people in the restaurant. Papusa was okay and decent price, though I have had better and slightly bigger for slightly cheaper deep in the NoVa suburbs. I guess if you are in the area and don't crave pizza across the street, this is a decent choice as long as you are patient and not hungry. Make sure you have some games on your iphone, you will be waiting. read more

I stopped by today for a take out lunch for me and my friend. Be mindful that speaking Spanish would be preferred. I don't speak Spanish so language barrier was kind of an issue but not too big of a deal. We got 3 chicken and cheese pupusas and 1 order of chicken baleadas (which come with 2 of them) and totaled to be $13. The pupusas were alright. Nothing to go crazy about. It would have been better if there was more filling. The baleadas were pretty good. I love eggs and avocados so it was tasty to me. There's so many better pupusa places so do yourself a favor and find an authentic spot and avoid this place. read more

I ordered 2 cheese & chicken pupusas and plantains with cream and refried beans. Very good meal, as I wanted something to fill me up and not make my stomach hurt since it was a late lunch. The refried beans were very good and the plantains were just right. The wait, however took longer than it should, but then again I realize they do make the pupusas from scratch, so it was worth the wait. The only problem I have is that the cream spilled all over the plantains just because the bag hit my leg. I would order again, but next time I would call my order in. read more

I went here with my daughter. We loved it and the food was great and you couldn't beat the price with a stick. Small lauguage barrier due to not speaking spanish but the staff was very understanding and made every accomodation. You could tell this was a place of authenticity. We we're made to feel very comfortable even though it was our 1st time eating pupusa. We will definitely make this one of our regular places to eat. Causal and family friendly for sure! read more

I don't like to bash any place I go to, but I was not impressed here. We went in to order carry out and I felt like I stepped into a dive bar downtown. It was more like a sports bar wanna be restaurant. The wait staff did not greet us at all or acknowledge that we were there until we had to tell him we wanted to order. We felt unwelcomed and the wait for our food took too long for a place that was not even busy. The bar and kitchen was way in the back. It was a dive with a lot of empty space. To be fair, I didn't eat the food that my sister had ordered to go, so I don't want to make a judgement on something that I didn't even taste. I don't think we'll be going back any time soon. read more

Irenes Pupusas - Entrance - Latin American Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

If I could give this place a 0 I would. Today 5/10/2021 I went in for some food. Everything was fine until i notice a sudden price increase in the food I was buying bc I go often for the same meal. I asked the young lady serving why it was more this time. She said that the food cost more now thats why its more. I asked for a break down of the items after I had already signed a receipt with the total on it. I then realized that she had added her own tip after the fact that I had already signed for it. I asked to speak to the manager and they said it was a mistake. I honestly dont think it was bc I have heard about this place adding tip no matter if you give them tip or not. So in other words the server always makes sure they get a tip even if you give it to them or not. THEY STEAL MONEY FROM CLIENTS EVERYDAY. and it needs to stop. The manager/Owner was not apologetic what so ever and just gave me the $1 back and try to rush me out. The worst customer service ever and the way he handled it was childish. He even laughed like as if hes used to customers coming to him furious about the servers stealing money. His reaction said it all. DID NOT CARE. So if you go here be careful they do steal money from you specially if you are drinking and a little tipsy from what I was told. ALWAYS ask for both receipts. read more

The food here is amazing. I get it's a Spanish restaurant but there was none there who spoke enough English to understand an order I was trying to place. I enjoy the food here it's great but it was hard to place an order. I strongly suggest they have someone there with stronger English speaking skills there during all business hours. The waitresses were unfriendly and spoke no English as well. Maybe this was just on the night I went but if you go to their restaurant and don't speak Spanish I would suggest you bring someone who is fluent in the language to maximize your dining experience here. But again the food here is amazing. read more