The best pupusas in all Chicagoland!! A must try if you love pupusas and Salvadoran food. I ordered a platillo Típico with everything on it 10/10!! I got pupusas with Loroco and "Con Todo" which is beans, cheese, and pork. Definitely recommend the passion fruit drink and raspberry drink! I noticed they DO NOT have a liquor menu which is very understandable, as well as NO BYO. The restaurant is small with homey vibes, very cool. I will say, the young lady who served me today was very nice and friendly to me. I ordered pupusas to-go and they came out right on time when I finished my food. I did notice she was the only one who spoke english, so I felt most comfortable with her! Service was excellent and the food is tasty, definitely recommend this staple in Little Village! read more

The food was good, service also good, i hate going somewhere and getting served on paper or styrofoam, and plastic utensils, my patronage does not deserve plates and utensils i guess it not worth hiring a dishwasher read more

wow!! increiblemente delicioso lo recomiendo al 100% , si pudiera darle más estrellitas se las daba

I was searching for a pupusa place in Chicago and was happy to find Izalco. Definitely a mom & pop kinda place. You know the food is gonna be good when you see they are bringing it out on the home paper plates. I ordered beef empanadas, cheese & been, and steak pupusas. Everything was a 10/10. Full review: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8MANJg2/ read more

Izalco is an unassuming looking place. The interior is nothing fancy nor are the plates anything presentation-wise, but here in this little place you'll find THE BEST pupusas in Chicago. I've eaten in most places in Chicago and many in NYC, these are the best. Service is always attentive and friendly too. Also get an agua de Marañon (blended cashew juice). It's so refreshing we'd drive 40 minutes to get one In the summer. Pupusas reheat well too. If you want to try something homey and fresh but also super unique to El Salvador get the Pupusa de Lorroco. I can only describe lorroco as a jalapeño thats bit spicy. They only take cash so come ready for that. read more

Best Pupusas ever!!! This is the spot I I my go to get my order to go. Your order comes with a salsa and a salvadoreño Slaw that goes on top of your pupusas. read more

No doubt that this is the best pupusa place in Chicago. And trust me I've tried them ALL. The service and interior are super lowkey and homey. Don't expect anything fancy. Hole-in-the-walls have the best authentic food. If you know you know! Everything on the menu is so good. My faves are the pupusas (pork + cheese), chicken soup, carne asada plate. Also can't forget the Salvadoran horchata read more

La atención es robotizada , la atmósfera del lugar es muy descuidada, el estacionamiento y su infraestructura como restaurante está muy altamente desinteresada . Lo salva su comida que si está aceptable read more

Street parking but easy to find. Very authentic delicious food, cash only, no split checks. I ordered the corn tamales with cream and pupusas but their soup was very popular and they had many to go orders while we were there. The food was delicious, 2 pupusas are enough for an adult, 1 might not be enough. New favorite place! Since they were so busy they did have a little bit of a wait for tables and food but it is also because each pupusa is hand made. I love the pupusas with everything inside but we got many flavors and they were all great! read more

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I was in the Smokys visiting friends when they introduced me to pupusas. Store bought, frozen and in rural Tennessee, go figure. So when I got back to Chicago I went looking and looking. Hard to find even in the frozen aisle. Through some research found two spots mentioned repeatedly. This spot has them on the menu and on weekends almost everybody is ordering them. As others have mentioned it is a family style, hole-in-the-wall. Go into it with lowered expectations and you may enjoy. However, their staff are basic trained. Signage on their Covid protective glass above the check out counter give many instructions. Such as ordering at the counter and paying there as well. CASH ONLY business. You could also opt to sitting and dining in. Although English language tends to be a barrier, so having a friend along that speaks Espanol would be of great help. Sweet people work there but in trying to figure out ordering, getting water refills and checking on whether all food items ordered have been prepared and served.. ayyee. **Although waitstaff are present, they do not know how to process customers. Timing in regards to serving. Nor bringing out the bill in a timely manner. Last, if your order is missing items, they may even forget to subtract those items from the final bill. On the tail end of my visit we were told the empanadas were on the way but fifteen minutes later nothing. Our trip for pupusas, beans & fried plantains took a whopping hour, far too long to wait for the items that hit the table. It became terribly tedious to work with them any longer. Even when a bill was requested that never arrived. Ultimately we hit the counter and peaced' out. They didn't confirm or say anything about the two empanadas and we just ate the cost and left. Having a friend with that spoke some Espanol helped a bit but imagine visiting and solely relying on English. It could be frustrating. The pupusas were it! The fried plantains were not as sweet nor picked at the appropriate time for preparation. It happens. I mention the play-by-play to offer a glimpse of how your visit can go. Reviews across the web complain about similar issues. Originally posted this review as 4 stars. But the experience was hardly 4 star worthy. Solid 3.5. Hiring staff that speaks English, Espanol and restaurant servicing fluently would be a great help. read more

Amazing service and food can't even explain how delicious it is. I live in Aurora and drive all the way over here to eat because it's that good and worth it. El servicio es impecable y la comida ni se diga súper deliciosa. Yo vivo en Aurora y vengo desde acá para comer la verdad vale la pena es un local muy bueno y fresco. Recomiendo las Pupusa's y yuca con chicarrón excelente. read more

Izalco Restaurant - Yuca Frita con Chicharron Pupusa Pastel de Carne - Salvadoran Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I tried this restaurant last Sunday night with a friend of mine that really wanted to introduce me to Pupusas. After a long day of sweet Chicago Open House on the south side and some judicious studying at UIC, we rolled down 290 to hit up this spot on the edge of La Villita. Its nondescript, cute and casual inside, with homey plants decorating the basic dining space. There were a few families finishing up their meals and I think we were the last party to eat there. We did not experience any of the service issues that other reviewers shared, not sure if its because its the end of the night or what, but I can't complain. My mindset was that we were here for the food, a new experience into exciting new territory. They start with some slaw and tortilla chips, my friend told me the slaw goes with the pupusas. The slaw is has a nice tang, mild sweetness, and some heat. Thankfully no mayo. I tried the 2 pupusa meal, ordered both with queso and chicharrones, one rice, and one corn. Also a Salvadorean Tamale. My meal also came with beans and rice. Everything was fresh and flavorful, no complaints. It was straightforward and tasty, maybe a tad salty with the rice. The slaw and the sauces complimented the pupusas well. The portions were also great, the tamale is like twice the size of a Mexican tamale and only cost $2! It was supposedly cooked in a banana leaf which gave it a moister and smoother consistency over their Mexican cousins. I want to bring my wife back here some time to try these fresh. I had half of my meal leftover to bring back, but its missing the fresh crust of the pupusas. I'll be back. read more

Best Salvadoran food! The service is prompt and GREAT! Love going to family owned businesses.

Having just finished my leftovers for breakfast I had to write a review before I forget. I have had several pupusas and while I like them all, I have my favorites. I am SO glad I found this spot, they blew all the other ones away. I stick with laroco when available and chicharrones. Decided to get the platter with rice and beans. Best BEST pupusas.. not greasy, filling and perfect. Rice was average and beans were very flavorful. I can't wait to go back and try other dishes on the menu. They have a sweet cheese rice flour cake I want to try. Fried yucca also .. so many to choose from. Cabbage slaw was awesome and salsas were flavorful, but not hot. Servers were friendly .. pupusas are made to order.. worth the wait, but it's not fast food. read more

I like trying different Pupuserias. This is one of the best places in Chicagoland. Very cheesy. I like it! read more

Izalco Restaurant - my pupusaaaas! - Salvadoran Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great spot. Hole in the wall authentic food. We will go back! Those tamales yummmmmmmm read more

Izalco Restaurant - Chicharones yucca - Salvadoran Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We visited Izalco specifically for these little things called Pupusas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupusa) To me they sounded like a gordita but boy was I wrong. They weren't anything like gorditas, they were a flavorless mush filled masa disc. That's the best way I can describe it. We also tried a tamale which was pretty basic. The one thing on the menu that I did like was the empanada de leche. A plantain crust filled with a sweet rice custard (arroz con leche) but that alone would never bring me back. In my opinion the food was mediocre at it's best. The service.....a joke, literally, all I could do was laugh and giggle at it. Horrible. I think that Angela P and Aimee M perfectly described our experience perfectly (http://www.yelp.com/biz/izalco-restaurant-chicago?hrid=6m1Y6P4lo_1bLiVvWx7wLA) I just didn't understand why we were being treated so rudely, no one deserves to be treated the way we were. I speak fluent Spanish and our waitress looked at me like I had three eyeballs whenever I'd speak to her. SMH I've never eaten Salvadorian food and after this experience, no thanks. read more

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New in the area wanted to try the tamal de elote. First time in my life I see that specific type of tamal wrapped in foil. The tamal didn't have flavor, disappointment , the drive was not worth it. I was told it was a 20 minute wait if I wanted it warm, I assumed they were done daily and would be warm like in previous locations I have gone to. Service wasn't great keeping in mind they had no customers read more

The worst pupusa, quesadilla, and horchata all in one place. I don't know how that's even possible, but Izalco found a way to achieve this trifecta of terrible. I won't go back and would go out of my way to prevent others from experiencing their subpar offerings. If you're looking for good authentic Salvadoran food, go somewhere else. Avoid this place, it is the worst Salvadoran restaurant in Chicago. read more

I was craving some papusa and thanks to yelp I found this place! It was a bit of a drive outside the downtown area but it was worth it. The papusas did not let us down. Service was friendly. We were seated immediately and served the Salvadoran cabbage dish along with chips and salsa. They make the papusas fresh to order so there was a bit of a wait for our food but it was reasonable for freshly made food. There were only three types of papusas on the menu. We don't understand spanish so we asked if we could get a pork and beef papusa. The waitress was very nice and said it was possible to get those fillings. My friend ordered without cheese and I ordered with cheese. Unfortunately the orders were a bit mixed up so my friend and I got two papusas (one with cheese and one without). We also ordered the empanadas filled with leche and also horchata. I didnt really like the empanada with leche or the horchata but the papusas were so good. I'd definitely come back for them! Cost for two papusas with rice and beans was $8. Very affordable! They accept credit cards here but I think the minimum charge to use it is $15. read more

Izalco Restaurant - Salvadoran Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I have visited this place a couple of times for lunch this time I brought my wife for the first time. I've always recommended to her the traditional pupusas. They take a while but it's worth the wait because they are freshly made. Unfortunately my wifes plate had a long hair in it. The waitress was very apologetic and had a new plate prepared for her. Food was good but unfortunately that bad experience hurt them on their ratings read more

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The food is really good here but the customer service is horrible. In the five years I've been coming the waitresses are always very rude and will forget things you ordered. I started ordering for pick up to avoid the bad service. However now they don't answer the phone and if you order there , the wait is usually 25 minutes for 2 pupusas. The girl did tell me they can't answer the phone if they are processing a credit card payment but to continually call and no answer it just doesn't make sense. read more

The Papusas were very good and unlike anything I've eaten before. We ordered two of each, but the best ones were the lorocco & queso and chicharron & queso. The empanadas, deep fried plantain, filled with custard and covered in sugar, were my favorite part of the meal. They were piping hot, and I may have burnt some skin off the roof of my mouth, but it was worth it. The Salvadorean Kola Shampan, aka Cola Champagne, aka cream soda, was really good. Essentially it was just a cream soda, but it's a nice change from Coke and Pepsi. Our group of five ordered a ton of food, and we were fed well for only $8/person. The service is awful. I'm not saying that because they don't speak English. I expect that, in small businesses in ethnic enclaves, there is going to be a language barrier. However, two of my friends spoke very clear Spanish and we were still treated as if we were stray cats that wandered in. When myself (clearly a white girl) and my friend (clearly an Asian girl) arrived, we requested a table for seven (siete). They straight up refused to seat our group, but we didn't understand why. A few minutes later, another employee intervened, and suddenly it was fine. We asked for plates twice, and we were given three plates for five people. It appeared that our waitress was also doing some of the cooking and dishwashing, so perhaps it was an off night and they were short staffed. She came to our table to take our order, and halfway through, just walked away. We did not receive any refills on our drinks, we had to ask for refills on our chips, and we had to ask for our check. It's a super casual place, so I don't expect or ask for much, but it seemed that just wanting to sit here and eat a meal was too much to ask. At the end of our meal, we noticed we hadn't received our empanadas. When asked about it, the waitress said she didn't write it down, and expected us to just accept that, pay for our meal, and leave. We did get our empanadas...eventually. The bottom line is that the food here is really good. It's close to I-55, and since it's right on 26th Street, you're not venturing off the beaten path into unfamiliar territory. They have a small parking lot, and there were plenty of spots on the street. I probably would not come back here though. read more

Horrible service, and it's not just the language barrier. We had two Spanish speakers with us yet we were blatantly ignored and requests for basic items, ahem plates?, went unanswered. We were pretty much called liars when we asked about the empanadas that never came out. The waitress told us we didn't order them. Okaaaaay. I do remember my friend ordering it in Spanish AND pointing it out on the menu to her. Mediocre food. These papusas just tasted like burnt quesadillas to me. The Empanadas were OK but seemed a day old. Its kind of sad that the best part of my meal was the soft drink--a Kola Shampan which tasted like cream soda. If you're lucky, you may get front row seats to a domestic dispute. Oh and you can pee in the parking lot. Don't know if you want to, but I guess letting your kids pee in the gravel is acceptable. I love visiting hole in the wall restaurants but this was just a sad dining experience. Went home and made a turkey sandwich. read more

So when they say the place opens at 10am on Saturday, you can't take that literally. It's more like 10:20. Thankfully it hasn't been that cold outside. Anyway I enjoyed my meal and thought the service was fine. It definitely helps to speak at least a little Spanish, otherwise your questions about the food just may not get answered. I had the Plato tipico. It was $16 and huge, enough for more than two meals. The goodness of that meal included two pupusas, fried plantation, beans, rice, yam, and a few other things I can't remember. I would definitely eat here again because all of the food tasted great. My friend got pupusas as well as a taco dish, and she was also a fan. read more

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First time here, we loved their pupusas. This is THE place for pupusas around here and well worth the wait and language barrier. I also ordered the Carne Asada con Chismol, it was so-so; the cut of meat was inferior: tough, chewy and bland. The Yuca con Chicharron was tasty and plenty. To round up the experience, order the banana-flavored soda. The service was very good, given we had a big group. read more

Izalco Restaurant - Salvadoran Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Do not waste your money or coming here!!!!!! My family I came to visit Chicago, we were in the mood to eat some traditional pupusas, i have never experienced such a bad service like this; to start our waiter was a bit "special" he took our other and I noticed he was struggling understanding what we wanted, so i repeated the order couples of times, than i asked to read back to me, which he did, they guy disappeared on us never seen him again, a waitress came over and took over him, when she brought in the food, she seems upset, start fighting with us she brought in half of what we ordered, and when i asked about the rest, she stated that was it that was all that was on the ticket i asked her if i could see it, to what she replied with a rude "NO" i calme down and order again minutes later she came back and stated this is the rest of the oder they made a mistake. I also for got to mention we ordered 2 Horchatas that literally looked liked water with dirty no flavor weird color and tastes, i asked them to take them back we literally just sipped once and the other one we didn't eve touch, she took them back and brought in 2 cokes, well back to the story we ordered 15 pupusas that were suppose to be 4 cokes that were 3 water bottles, when we were trying to pay i asked for our bill to what she replied you need to pay first then ill give it to you in a very rude high tone, according to their menu prices our total was supposed to be around $45 dollars, when i asked how much was it, she rolled her eyes and told me that it was $75 dollars, i was impressed and asked her why was so much asked to see our bill again, to what she stated "i told once you pay I'll be able to show it to you, i told her i didn't understand why it was so much to what she replied with a sarcastic tone "for everything you order" she read ordered and read everything I ordered I just paid in our bill they where charing for extra pupusas, the two horchatas we returned, according to her since we tried it we are supposed pay for it , honestly it was the worst service i will never come back here again dont waste your time and money read more

They don't answer when you call to place an order for pick-up. I decided to walk in and place an order, and i hear the phone ringing. Waitress's could care less to answer. I really like the food here, but the service is terrible. I was also charged the wrong order and the waitress did not apologize. read more

I have been driving by this place for years but never bothered stopping by until last week. The place is clean and the service is fast. I ordered the tamalitos de elote and the platanos fritos. Very delicious. You will not be disappointed. It is out in the middle of no where (on the outskirts of Little Village) but I prefer to see this place as a hidden gem. read more

This was as close to authentic Salvadorean food as they como. Definetly try the popusas and do not confuse them for gorditas cause they are nothing like a gorditas. They also serve your traditional tacos, burritos, and tortas. Give the popusas a chance they are well priced for the size of the popusa. Buen provecho =) read more

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Delicious. Best pupusas in the city. Curtido had a little too much oregano but will deal w that for the salsas and delicious cheesy gooey warm envelope of pupusas revueltos. read more

Food is amazing there that's why I gave it four stars but the service is horrible. All the waitress there have a horrible attitude, super slower, never check to see how everything is and we had to constantly get their attention for more refills on coffee. read more

The lady that takes the order and answers the phone . Has no people skills . We love there Food but hate the customer service. Sorry !?

There food was amazing. Best popusas ever. Their empanadas were amazing as well. However spent over an hour to get the food that i order. And even then I didn't get everything I ordered. My mother waited the whole hour without something to drink because they forgot she had order and atole. Seriously disappointed with their service. read more

Izalco Restaurant - Empanadas de plátano con leche. Delicious. - Salvadoran Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Service was immaculate, so was the food. 10/10 HIGHLY recommend coming!! Best Salvadorean spot in Chicago.

It hurts to write this, but I will not be returning to this restaurant with bad service all around, despite how much I adored the food on occasion. It has happened to multiple people I see as I read the reviews. Truly disappointed after all the years I've been going. Let me summarize it; stale chips multiple times, 40 minute wait for cold food, and they ignored my mother while she was speaking. The disrespect. read more

So they serve burned platanos! Really had high hopes for this place considering I don't have much of a selection on the south side of Chicago. Pupusas were average. Nothing that made me want to come back, but just enough to satisfy my craving of pupusas. Rice is mediocre, beans are dry, sour cream is delish, and plantains were good except for one that was burned. I asked for a less burned one and the waitress took it away. I waited and waited and waited until I finally asked what the hold up was. Waitress explains that since I sent it back and it comes from one plantain they wouldn't be giving me another. The hell was that explanation?!?! Service sucks. They take forever to make one pupusa (25-30 minutes). Never going back! read more

oh yeah Papusa's for lunch today !! so we are out and about and the bf wanted to check out a grocery store, off of Pulaski and 43rd so after we did that I was like hey the guy in the city that we got Papusa's at before said there was a place at 26th and Pulaski, it is actually at 26th and Kostner but hey that was close enough for us to find it and so glad we did as this is close to the house some what nice place was not too busy at about 5 pm but not empty either and had orders ready for pick up, was all woman working here today we sat down and got chips and salsa and some of the spicy cabbage and carrots to much on, then we ordered some Papusa's and I got some rice also and the Plantain De Leche, this dessert treat is a deep fried Plantain filled with a cream and covered in sugar oh so good the bf also got some soup it was almost like a chicken Pozole it came with onion and cilantro and fresh lime to add to it, if I had not already ordered more than enough food I would of got some soup also this has a parking lot also you enter it off the alley behind the place great place good food with great service we will be back for sure read more

Place is dirty no cleanses at all Waitresses are very rude my hubby ask for a small sample of their version of rice water she said NO in a very rude tone. Second we told her we've never been here and to recommend us something she clearly said READ THE MENU YIKES it's not my fault you have a boring life. Then are food came and it looked like they just through it on the plate and the food was Cold. So me and my hubby paid the bill and left to another restaurant with better service. This place won't pass inspection and is not friendly I should havae listen to my parents when they said don't go there. read more

WOW! Delicious food. I met some friends for lunch here on a cold Chicago afternoon. I have never had a pupusa and to my surprise it was tasty and satisfying with the right amount of cheese and beans wrapped in a corn/masa thick tortilla. Perfection. I ordered the chicken soup/broth with veggies, skipped the charbroiled chicken they offered. Soup was perfect for the winter cold. Service was good. For non-Latino people the service may appear to be not friendly but they are there to serve you good food and keep it coming. When they smile it's authentic and real. It's worth the drive and beautiful to see the Latino community thriving with pride. read more