Taqueria Y Pupuseria El Buen Sabor

I had the pleasure of eating at this restaurant with some friends the other day. They lived on MLK, so we just chose the closest place without really expecting something great – and we were pleasantly surprised! The tacos were kinda expensive compared to other things I’ve had (Taqueria el Toro in Raleigh, blue taco bus in CH, and the late Los Comales), because the portions were kinda small compared to the price. However, the service was amazing and the Caldo de res and pupusa that I had were top-​notch. The cashier was quick to offer my friends and me a sample of the fresh melon juice, and we ended up getting two large orders. It tasted like fresh, ripe cantaloupes, and was pretty damn good. I guess now I don’t have to travel all the way to Raleigh and CH anymore to get some tacos. Can’t wait to try their other stuff!

I’ve been driving by Taqueria Y Pupuseria El Buen Sabor, Cely’s, or whatever it’s called for two years now and, shamefully, I didn’t make it in until last night. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not like I didn’t WANT to go… it’s just that with La Vaquita up the road and Los Comales on Roxboro, I never had the occasion to stop by for a bite to eat. That all changed last week when I moved from Trinity Park to whatever the area half a mile down the road from Cely’s is called.
A few thoughts:
* Solid burritos for a more than fair price.
* While I didn’t try any of the tacos, they were comparatively cheap, looked
awesome, and I’m told tasted delicious.
*Don’t expect chunks of pineapple in the al pastor here. No, my friend. Pineapple
juice is on the menu instead.
* I’m used to thick and chunky guacamole. You won’t find this breed of guac at
Cely’s. If you can accept that and go into your guac experience with an open
mind, you just might like it.
* The chips and guac are expensive coming in at nearly $ 5, however last night’s
order came with a complimentary dish of queso.
* Excellent service.
* Finally, this place is c-​a-​s-​h only. Dolla dolla bills, ya’ll.

I’ll definitely be back.

Definitely a convenience store vibe. I am not of Latin descent but I was welcomed with open arms. The food was good. I had a taco el pastor and la lingua (pork and tongue) but I had to grab a drink from the coolers in the little convenience store. This place is the epitome of no frills. Lime wedges, cilantro, onions and multiple salsa options are available to dress your tacos. If you prefer taco bell, you might not like this place. There is no menu and little service. The quality of your experience will be proportionate to the amount of Spanish you speak.

«Great pupusas, but pretty sketchy restaurant»
An update to my earlier review– taking them down a notch. The pupusas are excellent still. Their tamales are also good. Tacos aren’t as great as I thought initially– «OK». Asada meat quality in the torta was again OK (though they were nicely generous with the avocado). Service is definitely minimal and inconsistent. For example, they did take credit cards from us and let us buy drinks in the restaurant area but didn’t let other Unilocalers do so previously (e.g., Andrew D). This time, only one of us got a (lame plastic) knife, too. The Telemundo is always amusing.
But I’m primarily downgrading for cleanliness. No soap in the bathroom. That’s understandable– it runs out. But NOT acceptable for this to not be remedied after I raise it– I asked for soap, they said OK (though one lady behind the counter looked really put off by this request), and then didn’t do it in the next 30 minutes I stayed there. Clearly it wasn’t about to happen either. And it’s not like the dispenser was just emptied– it was completely taken apart, so there clearly hadn’t been soap there for some time. The place has been subpar on cleanliness many other times since my initial review– the salsa bar doesn’t seem particularly maintained, and I remember once seeing a leaky urinal having a big metal-​foil pan under it to catch the «spills».
I feel like I have to go down given the cleanliness issue. I’m all for sketchy when it’s good Mexican food, but here, I do actually fear getting sick, even though I’ve been here several times and it hasn’t happened…

I tried two pupusas, one chicken and one pork. The pork one was awesome — the meat was juicy and flavorful. The chicken one, not so much — little bit dry and bland to me. They’re cash only, which can be a hassle, but you get a surprisingly substantial pupusa for $ 2. Service is very barebones. You’re here for authentic, inexpensive Salvadorian cuisine, not the service, which is fine with me. Might help if you know a few words on Spanish.

I love pupusas and glad to find a place that has a nice variety. I had two and was pleased. Also, tried their tacos (one Pastor, one Asada) and was pleasantly surprised given some of the other Unilocal reviews. Larger and more meat than I expected, and the quality of the meat was good.

I gotta give these guys another try — I probably didn’t bring the right crew, and I didn’t try a signature pupusa. Next time I’ll go solo, dress as greasy as possible, and know what to expect.
Having said that … I think I know what kind of «service» to expect in a place like this, but they were a bit gruff and unhelpful (e.g., when I asked for «knives and forks» they gave me one knife). Also, if you want a soda you gotta pay for it where they cash checks, not where they sell the tacos, which is kind of a pain in the ass. Also, it’s cash only.
The tacos came completely unadorned, although the salsa bar had all you’d need (e.g., onions, cilantro, 4 salsas, cabbage), and were pretty good.
You would not believe what was on the Telemundo. There was this «girl group» — which consisted of one girl kind of singing while the other five shook their booties. Louis D. said, «What is with this inappropriate booty-​shaking television show?»

I am giving this place 2 stars ONLY because my husband enjoyed his burrito. I, however, had to spit the first bite of my Taco into my napkin. I ordered a beef taco. Simple and impossible to screw up right? Wrong!!! To me, beef means ground beef, not chewy flank steak strips. They were mostly grisle and impossible to chew. I asked for queso dip. It came with chips drizzled with dried queso. I asked for salsa which we never got. My children got a cheese quesadilla to share. By the way, it is only a half quesadilla. My husband, who is not bothered by grisle, enjoyed his «beef» burrito. I was hoping that this would be a diamond in the rough. Not so much!

Don’t judge a place by its cover. in this case, the cover is VERY sketchy, ranking up there with Kabob and Curry house (the one right next to the motorcycle and gun shop with the aggressive owner) and El Cuscatleco, but the food is delish! I got a pollo taco and a pollo con queso pupusa. both were delicious, and I loved them. also extremely cheap, my total getting to only about $ 6 and that was one BIG pupusa! this is by FAR my favorite mexican around! Kinda strange atmosphere– brightly colored walls and a TV playing (at the time) El Plaza Sesamo (Spanish Sesame Street) or something that looks like Mexico’s Funniest Videos! Funny, but weird.

There was a fire burning in my soul and El Buen Sabor quenched that fire… I swear!!! So I live in Boston and my best friend lives in Durham and I was seriously getting annoyed with listening to her talk about the food trucks that always serve really good Latin American food. This is hard to come by in Boston (unless you live in East Boston which isn’t as close as it sounds) I finally got a chance to visit her and one of my only requirements was that I be able to get a taco and a pupusa. I came here… walked past the check cashing section and sat down for a wonderful meal.
Part of my amazement and wonder may come from the fact that it’s not as readily available in my hometown but it was definitely worth the trip.

Totally delicious family-​owned spot, conveniently located in Cely’s Casa de Cambio! Fresh made pupusas, tacos, tortas, sopes, etc. Lots of yummy salsas. Great service and unbelievably inexpensive.

+ yummy pupusas but tacos were alright. they had sopes tooo, but they were, meh… (I just have a thing for sopes b/​c of this taqueria from my hometown…)
+ came in with a large group and the guy was great and brought us all chips while we waited for our orders.
+ decent selection of salsas and other condiments.
+/​-​like other reviewers have said, this can be a little weird, b/​c it’s both a check cashing place and taqueria/​pupuseria. Def liked the pupuseria part the best…

This is by far my favorite taqueria and pupuseria in all of Durham. It looks a little sketchy from the outside, but the food is completely worth it. Not only is it pretty stinkin’ cheap (see other reviews) but the tacos are bigger and have more meat than what you would get at your standard taco truck. Each taco comes sprinkled with cilantro and onion and sometimes a slice of avocado. Then you can drizzle more hot sauce from their bar of additional toppings and salsas. I typically get a taco with barbacoa (the meat melts in your mouth, I promise) and a gordita de asada (a fried pupusa stuffed with lettuce, cheese, sour cream and steak) and that is plenty filling for me. They usually have 3 drinks available (tamarind, pineapple, and rice) for which you can get free refills. All their other foods are also very delicious. A friend and I split a torta de asada, which was basically a flat steak sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, and mayo. YUM. Another thing that is worth trying that is not on the menu is something called huarache. Huarache is a sandle-​shaped masa base (refried beans are mixed in so there’s also that subtle flavor there too) piled high with a meat of your choice with lettuce, sour cream, and cheese. You have to request this but it is very good and very filling!

Disclaimer: I’m from San Diego and I’m pretty picky when it comes to Mexican food. This may or may not be relevant to you.
Ok, Mexican food in NC, take 2. I had driven by this place a few times and wanted to check it out. Below review describing the check-​cashing/​restaurant hybrid situation is dead-​on. That alone is reason to check this place out!
I ordered a carne asada burrito: that was always how I auditioned a new Mexican restaurant back in SD. I knew I had reason to be skeptical as soon as they asked me if I wanted everything on it. In the world of SD Mexican, a carne asada burrito is very simple: heaps of delicious, perfectly cooked/​seasoned (if low-​quality) carne asada, fresh guacamole, and salsa fresca/​pico de gallo, all wrapped in a perfectly textured, authentic tortilla. In short, 3 ingredients in a tortilla.
Of course, I can’t expect to find that in Durham, but when I saw this place and walked inside, I held out hope for a minute. Anyway, that was not to be, so what I got turned out to be an «everything» burrito: rice, beans, meat, lettuce, cheese, and avocado. It was actually good enough so that I’ll return to try something else, or keep this place in my arsenal of cheap fast food institutions, but other than that, it was nothing special. Tasted fine, but the meat wasn’t anything awesome. The salsa bar was decent – the course, chopped red is the winner of the bunch. The hot carrots are not recommended.
Bottom line: I need to try this place again – there may be some hidden gems on the menu. Burrito was nothing special, but I’d order it again every once in a while, as this is my best Mexican option so far in Durham.

This restaurant on the corner of University Dr and Old Chapel Hill Rd is co-​housed with a money transfer and exchange center called Cely’s. The restaurant used to be called Coma Rico! but some time in the past year it changed to El Buen Sabor. They do have the usual taqueria offerings of tacos, sopes, and gorditas with a variety of common fillings, at reasonable prices — $ 1.75 for a taco, which comes with one corn tortilla, onions and cilantro, with slices of cucumber and radish on the side.
The highlight, though, are the pupusas, quite large for costing only $ 2. You can get these in cheese, chicken, chicharron, revueltas (mix of chicharron and cheese), and loroco, an edible flower. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more stuffing in each, but otherwise the taste was great. There is a small salsa bar in the restaurant you can use to complement your meal.