This place is horrible! The ladies that cook the food gave my food cold. The tortillas were not fully cooked, the beans were expired, the cheese is nasty. And the pollo con tajadas is nasty it was like if they cooked it with the same oil from past days!! I don't recommend this place!! read more

Playa El Cuco - Pollo con Tajada de Banano Verde - Salvadoran Near Me - Houston, Texas

I do love the pupusas on this place I always buy them and I drive more than 20 minutes to get them, but I have always have issues with the curtido; cabbage. But today was the worse the are not cutting the cabbage right they left the whole leaf of cabbage there read more

Playa El Cuco - Cabbage - Salvadoran Near Me - Houston, Texas

See all

My friend recommended this place for authentic salvadorian food, and I was not disappointed. The food did take a while to get to the table but at least it was hot and fresh. We got the chicharron and cheese pupusa, tamales, and plantain combo. I've never had salvadorian tamales before and the texture was interesting, but the it was a good size and everything was flavorful. read more

Horrible horrible!! I was trying to call and get an order to go I called about 10 times thinking maybe they're just busy but they never answered so I decided to just go into the restaurant and order when I tell you it was empty it was empty only 1 table of people there I called while I was inside the restaurant just trying to see thinking maybe the phone just doesn't work...nope the phone was loud as day and this is a reoccurring problem every time I try and order from this restaurant read more

Playa El Cuco - Calls - Salvadoran Near Me - Houston, Texas

Would not recommend anyone to eat here!!! Customer service is the worst and they are rude and unprofessional. Also food takes an eternity to come out and it's bland and cold. Even if you call in advance to set up an order they still take 30min to give you the food. read more

foods good but not worth the service ordered 10 mins ahead still waited 40+ minutes for two singular pupusas, ended up leaving when i saw the lady who ordered then and there received her order before me. read more

One of my favorite spots for purpusa. You have to keep an eye out for the sign cause you can miss it. This place looks like a regular house from the street and trees can hide the sign. I have yet to eat inside for whatever reason. The staff is always nice when I pick up and my order is always correct. Plates are always hot when I'm picking up my food as well. The purpusa itself is packed with meat and is seasoned perfect. The corn tamale is always cooked just right and has the perfect texture. If you're craving Salvadorian food I highly recommended this place. read more

See all

Took 45 mins to get my to go order even after I called ahead (15 mins) staff was not wearing mask so I did not feel safe at all, but to each their own. Restroom are so gross and have a really bad funky smell. Pupusas out 1-5 I will give them a 3. The restaurant is really small too. read more

Small place, authentic Salvadoran food! We recommend only eating the pupusas if the owner isn't there. The owner provides great service and this time was a total 180. Today was our second time here and we were in LOVE with the place after our first impression but today was unlike the first. The owner wasn't there today so our beans weren't fully done and they were greasy!! The plátanos looked like mush on my daughter's plate and she noticed the difference from the first time so she refused to eat the plátanos (she's 4). The tamale was completely destroyed! It looked like they'd dropped it and still put it on my mom's plate. The waitress did not check on us after she brought our food. Again, it's a great place if the owner is there - otherwise, keep driving. read more

Playa El Cuco - Mushy plátanos - Salvadoran Near Me - Houston, Texas

Authentic Salvadoran papusas! I recommend the mixed (pork and cheese aka revuelta). I also recommend calling ahead. Very inexpensive. I feed our family of five for around $30 read more

If you're not looking for it you'll miss it! Playa el Cuco is actually an old house that has been converted in to a restaurant. The first time I went here I passed it twice and didn't see it. Mamma Mia. The pupusas here are very, very good. The price is also right at $2/ea. The plantains and tamales are also quite good. Splurging here means you'll buy a lunch plate of one pupusa, one tamal, and plantains for around $9.00 I know what you're thinking...whoa there big spender! Nah...it's just your typical eatery on Houston's north side. I've been here a couple of times now, and each time I've walked away feeling "ah...not bad. A good meal at a good price". What I don't like is the cleanliness. I think their health score was in the 80's. Yikes!!!! The tables are always a mess. The toppings (repollo, cebolla, chiles, salsa) are on the table. I hope they're clean. You never know. Or just get your order to go if you're that uptight. Either way, if you love authentic El Salvadorian food, then this is your spot. read more

The food is pretty good here. I like it. It's the only reason i come here. But this is a salvadorian establishment. You are not gonna get proper salutations of the day, or your food/ drinks in a timely manner. They know they have good food so they don't give a shit about you and your feelings or customer service. I'm sitting right here as I write this. The food was outstanding! I loved it. We're the only people in here. I wish I could pay to leave but I haven't seen anybody check on us for 10 minutes. Me and the cook are making awkward eye contact. There's our waitress. Oh, too busy? It's cool. There's a free video arcade system here. My kids are entertained. We had to get our own condiments. Booth table barely fits 4 plates and cups. If you want good food, but want to feel like your bothering the wait staff of 1, with your demands for drinks and food, this is your establishment. Also, as all salvadorians, the ladies will curse scream about call in customers. If you have kids, they will learn new curse words here. My kid just learned the word "pendeja" ....thanks for that. Awesome pupusas. I will be back, to your shitty service, just for your food. Reminds me of my family that hates each other! Childhood suppressed memories galore here. Highly recommend. But don't expect good service, byob read more

Playa El Cuco - Good food! All done. - Salvadoran Near Me - Houston, Texas

My favorite Pupusa place in Houston! Closest ones in taste to my memory of the ones I had as a kid in El Salvador. I've been coming here for the past 10 years since we discovered it after Hurricane IKE! Absolutely love them. read more

Order ahead & check your order. I waited over 30 min for my food. To top all off waitress got my order wrong. The ladies & even the ladies in kitchen are rude and care less. The Pupusas are good but everything else is a mess. read more

Went last weekend for the first time and all I can say is that I will be back again very soon! Friendly staff and food exceeded my expectation! read more

Playa El Cuco - Pupusa Combo 1 - Salvadoran Near Me - Houston, Texas

See all

I just went there with my aunt and uncle and let me just say, we will NEVER be going there again. For starters, they took nearly an hour to get our orders out. When we tried asking the waiters for our food they would be really rude about it. Also, the cook would continuously keep looking over at us with an angry face. When we finally received out food, it was really cold, and the grilled onions tasted very sour. The waiters seemed to serve the salvadorians before any other hispanic. They also get into 10 minute "small talks" with their friends. All in all, it was a horrible experience and the only reason i gave it a star is because there isn't a 0 star option. read more

It's the best place all can say. Really clean, patient, nice, and also calm. Nothing wrong:).

The place may seem a little random and even shady if you're driving on this side of town but the food itself is authentic. Ate here today for lunch and we were full! Two people ordering several items and a large horchata came to about $18. You definitely get your money's worth here and it's tasty. read more

Amazing food and service! Reminds me of grandmas cooking.. Pupusas are made fresh every time, hands down the best I've tasted in Houston

The food is really good, but the service is horrible. The staff is rude and don't expect to be served unless you speak Spanish. The inside isn't the cleanest and I wouldn't want to eat here because they blast loud music while having the loud tv on. read more

It's sooo hard to find authentic Salvadorian food... And I must say I finally found the place !! I highly recommend it. The wait is worth it ! read more

Their pupusas are amazing (chicharron con queso) but their customer service is horrible!!! It's like that even for to go orders. You call to make an order and they hang up without giving you your total or an estimated time for pick up. Some of the worst customer service I've experienced. read more

Worse customer service. Seems like they have a preference to serve better other salvadorian people than other hispanic. They let other people skip me while ordering and were being rude. Wont be coming back due to their horrible treatment and indifference with others read more

It was ok, papusas are huge. Its dirty inside of the restaurant.

If you are looking for the best pupusas ever! This is the place! The pupusas are big and they are stuffed with plenty of meat and cheese! It might take a little long to get them but I'm telling they are worth the wait. The also have some goooood pan con pollo! Even typing about it makes my mouth water a little. So with that said I highly recommend this place. read more

I wish I could give no stars. I just left that place super mad. Worst customer service EVER! My mom and I came in and order a small plate each and one extra pupusa, and then we had a to-go order for 10 more pupusas. Two guys that were there who knew the staff got there 15 minutes after, and they were served first and they got bigger plates. I asked her why it was taking so long and she said they had to heat up the tamale, and cook the plátanos. THIS DOES NOT TAKE 30 MINUTES. And then they served us one pupusa first, and then our plates came 10 minutes after. They are so lucky my mom was there because I wasn't going to pay for anything and just walk out. Ask me if I'll come to this dump ever again. There's one in Aldine Mail that I recommend. Should have gone there. read more