This place has good food but the service is way more than poor. My fiance was bringing some co-workers and I some food to my job since is too far for us to make the drive to and from and make it back to work in time. I asked my fiance to ask for some plates. The cashier at the time said they did not have plates. My fiance waited a while and decided to ask for a 2 extra to go boxes. This time it was a different employee and she kindly was going to give them to us until the first employee stepped in and said in a rude voice "i said we dont have any plates" my fiance explained she wanted the boxes instead and the first employee said that they did not give extras. I hate restaurant that are stingy and cheap. We ordered a total of 20 pupusas. U cant give us 2 extra boxes. Lame Place read more

I am a HUGE pupusa eater! And i gotta say- this place hit thee SPOT! I left this place a few hours ago and I am STILL stuffed! I feel like a stuffed pregnant woman about to pop! Yes-that's how good it was-and then some! So my friend and I were in the area doing some research for school- we got hungry-hmmm what should we eat? Well we can never go wrong with pupusas right?! RIGHT! I consult my handy dandy Yelp app and guess what I find just minutes away? LA CARAVANA! Yay! I can't believe it's the only pupuseria in Pasadena- wtf?! So I'm usually more used to little hole in the wall Salvatrucha spots, and I walk in and think "Wow this place is way nicer than what I expected! Definitely cute!" We sit and I order the usual : 1. Pupusa de Chicharron $2.75 2. Pupusa Revuelta $2.75 3. Platanos fritos con frijoles y crema $6.75 4. I usually order the "Ensalada" drink but this time I decided to try some "Arayan" $2.50 ^Think that's a lot? Well yes- I can eat! :) 5 stars is what this place gets! The flavor is super YUMMY and the service was great! When I'm back in the area & craving my Salvadorean treats, this place will the destination to hit! So don't be bayunca, and try this place out bichos! You won't regret it! Baya pue'! P.s. Free parking in the back! read more

I've been eating here for several years the food is always great. I think it's the best Salvadoran food in the area but the service is never great. Most of the waitresses are a bit rude here. It's a shame because they are in the business of serving others. read more

Food: Yum! Especially the pupusas. But don't get the mini pupusa platter unless you have more than 2 people to share it with you. It's a lot of food. Price: Fantastic. I kept looking at my plate thinking, I got all this for $11?! Not to mention the generous-sized pupusas for $2.75 each Location: The first time we came here, we drove past it twice. But now that we've discovered this place, maybe it's a good thing it doesn't stand out! We want to keep this place all to ourselves. Not a big restaurant, but oh so quaint and clean on the inside. Plenty of street parking, but there's also a parking lot in the back. The Bummer: No alcohol. Man, a nice cold cerveza would be so nice to wash down their pupusas with. And the air conditioning is a bit spotty. So there's moments where it can get a little warm in there. The Saving Factor: They allow you to bring your own bottle of wine in with no corkage fee! They provide you with glasses to drink your wine, but prepare to pour your beverage into a typical tall water glass, not a wine glass. TIP: I'm literally giving you a tip about the tip. Like another Yelper flagged to our attention, if you pay by credit card there is no "tip" line to write in your gratuity, so bring cash OR write in the total with tip included on the final credit card line and that's what they will ring in to the credit card machine at the end of the night. read more

A few months back, I had an intense craving for pupusas. I did a search and came up with this little gem. If it's good enough for Jonathan Gold, it's good enough for me! My friend and I didn't have trouble parking right out front though but we were a little surprised to see how empty this restaurant was for a Saturday night. There were maybe three other tables occupied. We decided on our individual entrees and would share the mini-pupusas platter. I loved my seafood dish. Everything was so savory and wonderful. I was absolutely too full to try the pupusas that turned out not to be mini at all but full sized pupusas! We tried our best though. I think next time, we need more people to come with us or forgo the entrees which came with both soup and salad. The giant glasses for the drinks also was helpful because we didn't need to call over the almost timid waitress over very often. Restrooms are very clean. And the general decor of the place is very homey and cute. It kind of reminds me of old Italian places with the wooden booths. read more

My new favorite local restaurant. Those pupusas are so delicious!! I had two of the regular sized (not mini) and a tamale and I was full. Oh, and try the pineapple drink too. Parking in the back or on the street. Friendly staff, clean restaurant, I look forward to introducing this place to my friends. read more

The food was just okay...probably three stars. Nothing to write home or yelp about. But what brings them down to two stars is the service. Completely perfunctory. Almost as though the server was being held hostage or forced into indentured servitude. She came once to take our order, once to give us two cokes (which took about 10 minutes), once to serve our food (another fifteen minutes), and then once to give us our bill. No "how is everything," no "can I get you anything else," nada. The cold service was only matched by the ambient temperature. It was 52 degrees outside and yet, bizarrely, they had the front door propped open. The lack of a server forced another couple to close the door once, only for them to reappear for the sole purpose of re-propping the door! This happened not once, but twice. There was no kitchen fire, no crazy smells, no rhyme or reason for this bizarre door propping ritual, except maybe they wanted to freeze us out?! read more

I like to think of myself as hard to get. This place got me. About a year ago my son brought some take out from this place and my stomach had been asking me to hunt down this restaurant.. Of course I found it on Yelp. Pupusas! Fantastic. We ordered the mini pupusa platter for the four of us. We took the "one of each option" and cut them into quarters. I liked everything except the pepperoni. The masa covering on the pupusas was light, fluffy and flavorful. I would describe the energy here as neighborhood friendly. Hard tables, clean, server takes your order. We waited a bit long for our food but it was so delightful when it came it seemed they had cooked all 10 of these to order. Yes! I'm going back. read more

Fire the best place in town. I would highly recommend this establishment. The customer service is super awesome

I don't give many bad reviews, Unfortunately this is one. I have visited this place twice with the same result. The food is good, Pupusas are as good as your tia's made. There are others in this caliber. Price is a bit up there. The service.... Horrendous. The times I went there I got there early 11:50 as my office is down the street and I left for lunch early. I did not get served until 12:42. The last time I swear they did not start cooking until 12:30. I ended up getting boxes to to go. Neither times was it busy.It pains me to write this but this was my experience. Maybe if you call up and pre-order. read more

Two reasons to go here - and they are both worth it. Number 1: The pupusas are THE BEST. They are tasty, alive, with crunchy wonderful cheese oozing out. My personal favorite is the queso y calabacita (cheese and squash.) GF tried the chicken ones, and swears by their veggie ones as the best. Reason Number 2 - their Siete Mares seafood soup. I don't eat seafood, but my pregnant GF loves it so much that it became a staple during her 9 months, and the folks there were so nice as to bring about ten gallons of it to our big party this summer - and my whole family and all our friends are now raving about the lobster, crab, salmon, etc etc concoction in a flavorful, spicy reddish broth that keeps you coming back for more. Ahhh! I'm making myself hungry... read more

I was torn to give this place the right stars. The food was amazing. The pupusas were delicious and my son who doesn't eat soup had their chicken soup and devoured it! The service is what prompted me to give this horrible review. The waitresses are so slow. This is my first time coming here after a recommendation from a co worker. We had to wait almost 30 minutes for our food - only had 1 refill of out drinks and even that took an act of God. I had to go pay for my bill at the front - which isn't customary because the waitresses take your payment. Plus the one waitress just seemed to unhappy. No smiles..just cold .. even who i am going to assume might be the manager .. never smiled. If they don't like to work there - then go somewhere you will be happy. Would I go back? Maybe - if I had 3 hrs to spare. read more

PRO: The chicharon and jalapeño pupusas were tasty good. CON: Service is super slow. Walked in to order some to go pupusas and was told it will take 15minutes. It took about 45 minutes! Food was excellent but service sucks! read more

Three in my party for lunch. I ordered the 7 mares seafood soup and the my other two lunch mates ordered pupusas which were quite delicious according to them. But my order didn't come and the server did not approach. So I had to get up and find the server. I asked her about the wait. At which point she said it would take 30 minutes to prepare. I asked her why it doesn't say that on the menu nor why when my companions ordered pupusas she failed to mention it. I got a barely believable "sorry". So my companions finished there food at least 20 minutes before I got my food. I had to rush to leave in a timely fashion. Rushing hot soup is no fun. The soup lacked the crab listed in the ingredients named in the menu. A $16 which I'd grade at a 5 or 6/10 as it was served and probably a 7.5/10 had the crab been found at a sufficient quantity and freshness. The server was inattentive not only towards us but also to the other 3 tables. There were 15-20 tables. An apathetic and poorly trained server. When I asked for the Manager or person in charge, the server said they didn't have one. The server asked if there was a problem. I didn't see pointing out the deficiencies to the server only to receive a poor "sorry" again. I'm resolved to calling someone in management the next day because I was furious at the deficient service. Friends I've had over the years who have worked in the service industry have told me time and time again to not tip when service is unacceptable. I'll give you three chances to guess what I tipped. The experienced showed poor service, a lack of supervision. To be fair my companions said they'd come back. I will not. read more

We ate here recently and I'd have to say the mini pupusa platter kicked our butts! We thought that they wouldn't be too big and ordered the Sopa de Res and couldn't finish everything. :( I really enjoyed the pupusas, my husband included, and would definitely come back to eat more. Mmm...just thinking about it makes me hungry for more! The soup was delicious as well, and not a disappointment other than the price. Yikes! $9.50 for a big bowl of soup. Next time I'll order it as a meal if we don't get pupusas. We tried the Ensalada drink which was delicious and like dessert in a glass. I order the Horchata which was a mistake since I expected something semi-sweet and cinnamon-y. Instead I got a thick, chocolate-y spiced, with a hint of cinnamon, drink that I could barely drink. I'm sure some people love it, but I can't handle it. I gave it a good try too. The service is sort of odd considering it seems more like it should be an order and pick up sort of set up. Instead you seat yourself and wait for someone to show up. It took a little while to get noticed. I think next time we might call-in our order, and pick it up like a lot of people were doing. read more

Service is very slow and without a smile. The chicken soup from a can. Portions of meat on the main dishes were poor. The best part was the bread, but that will not be enough to bring me back there again. read more

Absolutely LOVE this place! (I'm Salvadorean so Pupusas hold a special place in my heart.....& Tummy). This place is very clean and the staff is super friendly.....It does help to know spanish (to get around the menu with a little more ease) but you won't have a problem if Engish is all you speak. My favorite Pupusa from here is their Bean & Cheese (you would not believe how many places get these wrong) Their pupusas are tasty and not too oily. The curtido(pickled cabbage) although not the best I've had, it's not bad. Their red sauce is also good. There's also other goodies on their menu (Yuca Frita, Enpanadas de leche, Platanos Fritos) My g/f and I get a side of platanos Fritos all the time, they're to die for! Make sure you try their Tamarindo, Horchata or Ensalada drinks! Also, if you're paying with a credit card, there's no "TIP" section. Make sure you have some cash for the tip!....I learned the hard way and had to walk across the street to a gas station.....Couldn't leave without leaving a tip after such great service! 4 stars fo'sho! read more

Came for lunch with some coworkers. We called our food in ahead of time so we could have more time eating in. Had their pupusa revuelta and it was pretty good. Not greasy like most places. Also had their platanos fritos. Pretty big portion, where the 3 of us shared the plate and there were some left over. Service was a bit slow. Waited a bit for drinks and refills. read more

This review is on a takeout order, so it's food focused and as far as service goes, my fiancé says they were super nice and he got a free "salad drink" while he waited. Great first time impression! We got the 10 mini pupusa platter (jalapeño cheese, bean and cheese, chicken and cheese, loco, mixed pork) and crazy plate. Everything came with the spicy cabbage mix (like coleslaw and kimchi type deal) and red sauce. AMAZING! Everything was super delicious (and we were ambitious with the mini platter but we have lots of leftovers to joyously eat tomorrow). I definitely recommend the crazy plate because you get a good variety of items. The pupusas are BOMB and now I need to go take a nap. I can't wait to go check this place out in person. And I'm so glad we ventured to try something new. Ok nom nom! read more

My go to place for Salvi food. I usually get the Cheese Pupusa and a side of the Beef Empandas which they have a different name for. I call them empanandas. I have also had some other entrees at the spot. Def a place to check out if you dnt want a burger ,pizza, or mexican food. read more

La Caravana - Salvadoran Near Me - Pasadena, California

If you don't know what a pupusa is ... its like a doughy quesadilla stuffed with scrumptious love. The pupusas here are superb, and their curtido (spicy cabbage slaw) is full of flavor. Best item on the menu is the "mini" pupusa platter. This is made for sharing as the only thing mini about it is the name. The portion is HUGE! By far the best Salvadorean place north of LA. They also have great fruit drinks that are perrrrfect during those hot summer months. Definite thumbs up for high-quality, distinctive, local eats. read more

4 stars for the pupusas!! (not so many for the other stuff we have had there, carne asada... and well, I forgot what we got the time before... BUT YAY UPUSAS!!) So, here is little old me, preggo again and NEEDING pupusas! Hear me again, NEEDING then. I called my hubby and he went from work to pick them up. I ordered them to go, knowing that it takes them a while I called ahead. The women I talked to on the phone was SO sweet, as I did not have a menu in front of me. She read off different items I may want or want to have switched, that is some patience right there!! My hubby got home with the mini pupusa platter for me, and Carne Asada for him. (his looked like a really thin overcooked steak - but he did say that he loved their rice and beans!) I JUMPED into my "mini" (read:huge) plate of food. OH IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD! Each new pupusa a new delight! YUMTASTICLE! I shared them with my 1 y/o daughter who also appreciates the fine art of carbohydrates/starch and cheese, and we just had ourselves a wonderful meal. Oh man, now, after righting this, I want them again... read more

Very yummy pupusas!! I saw the other dishes there and they looked great too. My group came here for the pupusas and they did not disappoint. They are good size, I had 3 and was super full. read more

Had the pupusa sampler. I'm not a fan of pupusas but this place was a WOW in my book. The consistency of the pupusa was almost like eating mochi with stuffing. Also had the fruit drink there, ensalada. I was pleasantly surprised. Found out why my meal took some time.... apparently they make the pupusa to order so it's fresh. If this is the quality that I get when it takes a while.... more than willing to wait. High marks for making me like something I don't usually like. Oh yeah, ambiance inside is very date worthy. read more

Reason why I'm rating it a 1 star, first time in there and order a beef stew, waited around 30 minutes and when they finally brought the stew, it was tasteless and tortillas were very hard like if they just reheated them, nasty. Will never come back to this place..... read more

oh man... tried this for the first time a few months back and I'm hooked! I love the pupusa platter to share with friends! so yummy... tried the horchata.. good, but not my thing. The place is a quiet little 'hole in the wall' (and I mean that with all the compliments in the world) that is quite the find! recently, a friend, who happens to be Salvadorian, told me that while it's expected that the food isn't as authentic as it is 'back home', but it's definitely good and a good representation of Salvadorian food! I'm so glad he told me that! The food was soooo yummy! read more

Love everything about this place! Very clean, friendly, plenty of parking, beer, and delicious pupusas.

La caravana is my go to when Im craving pupusas and I don't wanna drive far. The wait for pupusas can be alittle long and they are alittle shiesty with the salsa but over all it's a solid restaurant. I also heard this used to be Mauricio Cienfuegos salvi good spot when he played with the Galaxy read more

My family and I have been coming here for many years; mainly for the pupusas and boy do they never fail! They haven't changed the way they taste at all! The ones with pollo con queso at least (chicken and cheese). Their ensalada drink is also very great tasting and refreshing! The crunched ice sometimes gets annoying but the chopped apples in the drink make up for it. We mainly order out because its quicker* but dining in is also nice. The ambiance is clean and friendly and the music is great. The service is a bit slow but they are very nice. Two of the ladies at the front have been at La Caravana for years, they know what they're doing. Definitely a tasty place to come grub ! read more

Found this place using Yelp, when trying to discover the best mom and pop restaurants in our new neighborhood. Saw that they have great reviews AND PUPUSAS, so it was an instant decision made... we're heading to La Caravana! It took only a couple minutes to get there, and there is free parking behind the building. We walked in and there were only a couple of other tables with patrons... we had our choice of tables and booths so we picked a booth. The place has nice decor, very clean and more modern/contemporary than expected. Between the two of us, we ordered the mini pupusa platter and the pollo asado plate -- which could have easily fed 3 people, maybe 4. Needless to say, we went home with leftovers. Their shakes and juices are great, but I wish they served alcohol. I also think their prices -- which I believe were raised recently? menus on yelp are old now -- are a bit steep, but I'll have to revisit to really confirm that. Altogether, glad we found this place! read more

This place is one of the favorite spots for some Salvi food. I can say i am one who loves Popusas. My GF's family is from El Salvador and when it comes to home made ones they make them great. So to compare these to home made ones should mean a lot. Its a big portion. They put more than enough cheese meat to make them tasty with every single bite. They also have "ensalada" Sort of like a fruit punch in a way but something great to taste. Isn't the best made but isn't bad. When you come here i would say order before you come. It does take some time as it seems to be made by hand on the spot so i takes time for them to prepare and serve than what im use to waiting. The atmosphere is really nice. A little more lighting may help in the day but its fresh and is kept clean. Remember if you park on the street your tires have to point outwards to the street. I guess its a pasadena thing. read more

I was recommended by a friend to check it out, I wasn't expecting much but do I love their pupusas and salsa now. Their menu is pretty standard I went in for just the pupusas, the pupusas are fried and decent medium size ok for the price but the salsa is so good. I've been too other places, salsas for me are a but deal theirs has a nice little kick of spicy not too much but enough to enjoy the pupusas. I rated high based on their taste and price worth. I can't speak much on the other menu, but worth checking out their pupusas. read more

I was SO full, but a good full. You know what I mean !! Ordered the Plato de mini Pupusas, which comes with 10 pieces of your choice, along with a side of Casamiento. It was accompanied by sauce and toppings. Plenty too! They are not stingy. The food was great. Mini Platter: 3 Queso (Cheese), 3 Frijoles con Queso (Beans & Cheese), 2 Pollo con Queso (Chicken & Cheese) and 2 Ayote con Quesio (Zucchini & Cheese) pupusas. All were delicious. Casamieto was really good. The rice was hot and beans too. What I like the most was that together, it was still moist and flavor was on point. Sometimes you can get really dry casamiento from other restaraunts, not this one. I recommend to any one who wants Salvi food, pupusas or when you want to change it up from the routine food around. read more

I was recommended to come here to try their pupusas, so far this is the best place for them! I haven't tried anything else in the menu since I come when I am craving pupusas. The waitresses are also nice. read more

La Caravana - Pepperoni pupusa. - Salvadoran Near Me - Pasadena, California

The food is OK. I got plato #1 and the next day I got the stomach flu. It hurt to eat and I was feeling extremely sick. The food was good tho. I don't know. It was probably the steak. The service is bad. Some of the workers are rude and don't come back to see if you are doing well. Overall its ok . 3/5 read more

Salvadorean here, and this food is sooo good. I usually get my pupasas from another pupaseria but i have to change now because the food I had today exceeded all expectations. Had the huevos rancheros & a frijol y queso pupusa, sauce was amazing on the eggs, loved the salsa for the pupasas and there coffee was absolutely amazing. Food takes a while, but the waitstaff is very attentive and the food is amazing so i dont mind waiting a little bit more. read more

This place is pretty good. I am of Salvadorean heritage and have eaten at countless pupuserias and this one is worthwhile. It's not nearly as stanky as the old-school ones in L.A. that have been around since the early 80s, which makes someone who has been to these a bit suspicious. It's like being greeted with a warm, enthusiastic smile at a Chinese restaurant in Monterey Park, know what I mean? It's not the norm, but most people will appreciate it... I usually get a couple of pupusas (1 chicharron and 1 queso con loroco, if they have loroco, which is surprisingly hard to find), a plate of fried platanos with black beans and cream. read more

I was looking for a Dominican restaurant to celebrate the fact that David Ortiz had just hit his 500th career home run (I'm from Boston...can't stop the obsession!). I could not find any Dominican places on Yelp, but this one popped up in my search for some reason and it was right down the street. Ok, I understand that Salvadorean cuisine is not the same or even that close...but my wife and I were hungry. Anyway, long story short, I had no idea what an amazing feast was in store for us! I ordered the salpicon chopped steak made with onion and mint plus a pork pupusa, and my wife got the "crazy appetizer plate", which was crazy delicious. They practically needed to roll us out of there, we were so stuffed. It was so amazingly tasty. Everything was mouthwatering, even the tortillas and the rice. (note: I tend to like dishes that are a bit on the salty side, and the food here was to my taste in that regard.) Despite being full to burst, we still had leftovers to take home. What a deal, and for food so delicious. (second note: I would not say the service was fast or attentive, but I overlooked this since I enjoyed the food so much.) I definitely want to come again and check out some more dishes. Thank you, La Caravana! This place was a home run. read more

Disappointed . I was expecting more from this place.. Food was ok. Service slow..., . . . read more

This is the nicest Salvadorean place I have been to in the LA area. I have been to a few in Wilmington, Harbor City and this ranks first. Clean, nicely decorated and has a patio feel to it. Food was good and the 10 mini pupusa were more that mini and would be good for 3 or more people. If your in the Pasadena area or coming back from a hike at Eaton Canyon like we were. Stop by and get a bite here. I recommend it. read more