La Pupusa Alegre

We were looking for something different but authentic and thank God for Unilocal!
I ordered a bean papusa and a loroco pupusa and they were both delicious! I wanted to try a little of everything so I also ordered a corn tamale which kinda tasted like sweet cornbread (too sweet for my liking) and that was served with crema Salvadoreña (my second favorite crema with crema Oaxaceña being my favorite). And then I ordered the platanos which were served with beans and more crema.
My Honey ordered the combination plate which included a pupusa, a tamale, rice and beans. He liked the chicharron pupusa so much, he ordered 2 more. He also ordered the beef pastelito which was like a meat empanada. To drink I ordered authentic Salvadoran soda, the Kola Champan and it was OK. The hubby played it safe with iced tea. Overall, the food was excellent and prices are very reasonable. I would definitely be back. Now to find a Salvadoran restaurant in San Antonio!

Okay, I have discovered over the past couple of years of working in the Gulfton area that I adore pupusas. Unfortunately, I definitely don’t eat them enough. Thank goodness for La Pupusa Alegre to solve my life problems!
Now be warned: the most common language spoken here is Spanish, but no worries. The staff is super sweet, and the menu is available in both English and Spanish.
I ordered 3 pupusas to go: bean and cheese, pork and cheese, and loroco and cheese. (Loroco is a green plant of sorts). Like almost all Pupusa places, these ones were served with little baggies of tasty sauce and another of Cole slaw mix. I am no professional Pupusa person, so I got the delicious toppings everywhere, but whatever. That’s what I get for breaking the cardinal rule of no forks allowed.
The pupusas were hot, fresh, amazing, and hella cheap (about $ 6 for all three). The cheese seriously oozes when you pull them apart. I think I found my new lunch/​snack/​hunger spot near work.

I love this little pupusa joint! The revueltas are off the chain deliciouso and the slaw that goes with the pupusas is wonderful! Too bad they don’t serve Micheladas– if they did I could stop going to other places that have both and make La Pupusa Allegre my one-​stop shop when I need my El Salvador fix!

Love these pupusas! Pork and cheese are my favorite but I haven’t tried a bad one yet! The place is small and quaint. Real hole in the wall and that’s what makes it great. The staff doesn’t speak much English but the menu is in English and Spanish so that helps. I come here often and plan to keep coming for my pupusa cravings.

I had a couple of pupusas – the queso was absolutely delicious. It rivaled what I used to get back in San Francisco. The rice and beans were fabulous. They had a real nice flavor and the beans reminded me of what my grandma used to make. In terms of the food, I was really happy. The prices were extremely low as well.
I’m only giving 4 stars due to the atmosphere. The interior was unpleasant enough that it had a noticeable impact on the overall experience. Worth going back.

I ordered three different papusas because I like papusas and it’s in their name. Can’t go wrong, right? They were okay. They were hot and freshly made but just bland overall. All three flavors tasted the same.
The waitress was kind, but didn’t speak English. I’m okay with that, but maybe that’s why all my papusas tasted the same. She may have taken my order wrong.
I didn’t really enjoy this place. Just a matter of taste, or lack of, I guess.

A little hole in the wall joint but I have to say some good pupusas. They make them fresh. I been to several pupusa spots around time and this one is a place I would recommend.

Good fresh pupusas. Three kinds for the vegetarian. Loroco, bean, and simply cheese. Not a fan of the bean pupusas though. There does not seem to be any added salt but that is perfectly fine once you add to pickled curtido (cole slaw). Prices were less than two dollars a pupusa and two fills you. Tamarindo came in super large (32oz) glasses.
My dining partners loved their chichiron and revuelta pupusas.
Waitress did not speak much English but the menus have English descriptions. Place is in a converted house with a gravel parking lot. Clientele was all hispanic and were somewhat surprised to see us there.

I’m not an experienced consumer of Salvadoran food, but I went here based on the Unilocal rating and it’s proximity to my office. This place looks like a nasty dump from the outside, but do not be deterred. Inside was very clean, and service was friendly and prompt.
A coworker and I enjoyed several dishes. The fried yuca plate was bountiful with perfectly seasoned fried yuca, accompanied by some tasty (if a little dry) crispy chunks of beef. Not a drop of oil anywhere to be seen! A squeeze of lemon gave it
some added life.
The chicken tamale was big and full of meat. Very fresh. Tasty, if a little bland.
For me, the highlight was the pupusas. As each are under $ 2.00, we over-​ordered and had lots of leftovers. My favorite were the pork, and the pork with cheese. The bean was okay, but the filling was a little dry. Ultimately, the pupusas were deliciously textured, hot and fresh, perfectly browned from the griddle.
My favorite part was the amazing cabbage slaw served generously in a heaping bowl. I could eat this all by itself! Next time, I think 2 pupusas with that great slaw will be more than plenty for me.

I have to say this place has dethroned all other pupusa restaurants I have experienced. I had 2 pupusas and a yuca order… everything was delicious and I give it 2 thumbs up. Like other Unilocalers mentioned 2 pupusas can satisfy any appetite. :)

First salvadoran restaurant after my month of visiting El Salvador. I wasn’t disappointed. Great pupusas and they even have suprema!

This review is only for the Pupusas. La Pupusa Alegre has to have the best Pupusas in Houston, especially the larrocco ones. The atmosphere is extremely casual, service is good but not excellent. Servers don’t speak English.

Be adventurous. Go. Live a little. Feel like an explorer. Pat yourself on the back for trying something new in a foreign land.
Seriously, it’s like stepping into another country. The low ceiling feel of the place, the colors, the telenovela on the TV, the near total language gap (my Spanish is not as adequate as I need it to be it seems!) and the amazing authentic Salvadorian food.
Pupusas. Lovely, light corn tortillas sandwiching some very happy fillings like the cheese and loroco I had. The white cheese is melted around these lovely loroco greens… like spinach or beet greens. Tasty yummy. Cover the pupusa in the curtido — cool, briny cabbage slaw that comes in a big bowl. I’m sure you can eat it like a side but on top of the pupusa it is divine!
The wife and I both got the combo plate with the pupusa and a tamale. I want my next birthday cake to be made of the masa they use to make their tamales. It was like wedding cake it was so light but had that amazing corn meal taste. You also get some pureed beans… yes, pureed. And really good rice. That light yellow rice cooked in great broth. I could have made a meal out of the beans and rice.
There is that language gap thing. But the menu is written in both Spanish and English and if all else fails just point. Our waitress was terrific with a little sign language, laughter and broken Spanish and English from both sides we managed to make it all work! My wife speaks better Spanish than I. In her practiced Spanish she told the nice waitress «I’m sorry, my Spanish is very poor» the minute we sat down. From there on it was our broken Spanish and her pointing to the menu that got us through.
We had a couple Salvadoran beers apiece and got out for around $ 35 with tip.

Ermahgerd, pupusas. El Salvador’s gift to the world. Soft and flaky discs of corn flour stuffed with all things delicious. And the pupusas here are not only happy, they’re also pretty cheap! Getting to try each flavor for around two bucks a piece is great, although like a previous reviewer mentioned, two per person is plenty satisfying. Be sure to cover yours in curtido, the cool, briny cabbage slaw that complements the heaviness of the warm pupusa so well. I tried a pupusa stuffed with frijoles (much different from the refried pinto Tex-​mex beans I’m used to. more of a black bean mashup) and loroco con queso. Having never heard of loroco, I asked our waitress what it was. She described it as a vegetable similar to spinach. I would have to say that description was pretty close, although it turns out (thank you, Google) that loroco is a flowering plant whose cooked buds are used in Salvadorean cooking. The flavor is similar to other cooked greens, though.
Finished off my meal with an empanada stuffed with plantains. This little puff of dough came out covered in cinnamon and sugar and was just the right size to satisfy my sweet tooth without sending me straight into siesta mode. My total for lunch? Under eight bucks, including a bottled water. Suh-​weet.
Newbies take note:
There is plenty of parking in the lot shared with the recycling center.
You pay at the counter after you finish eating; don’t expect a check, just get up and go tell them what you ate.
There is a ten dollar minimum for credit cards.
You may have to flag your server down, because they won’t come check on you constantly. It’s NBD, really, just raise your hand already. «Mesero/​a» also helps.

These pupusas indeed made me happy. Taking a cue from a previous Unilocaler, I ordered a tamale de elote (frito and served with generous crema). The two of us then ordered «uno de cada una» pupusa — one of each of the five types available: (1) cheese (2) bean and cheese (3) chicharron (4) chicken and cheese (3) cheese and loroco. Two pupusas is probably enough for any sensible person. Together we couldn’t eat all five. Cost about $ 16 with two drinks.
Re: ordering language — our visit was all Spanish. But hunger knows no language barrier, so if this awkward white guy with fragmented Spanish can get by just fine here, so can you.

«The Happy Pupusa.» I certainly was happy for finding it and happier yet after eating it. The whole experience was excellent and straight out of one of those telenovelas through which my (rudimentary) Spanish was acquired in school. (Said Spanish was nearly called upon, but our waitress’ English was slightly better, so we settled on that).
For lunch we walked into a converted old house, the inside of which was painted an unknowingly hip mint color, to find about 12 – 15 tables and a single waitress. But she was very nice and the place was nearly empty. Empty enough that the owner came over and sat with us, if only to be closer to the ‘Latino Jerry Springer’ circus that was going on behind us (on the TV). She went on to explain something about the women in amarillo being the secret lover of the man in azul for 25 años, and sundry other details that could’ve easily been pulled from the plot of «Like Water for Chocolate.» Surreal in the best of ways.
I ordered three pupusas, but a normal person could very easily get away with two. What the heck, at under $ 2 a piece for these delicious, savory crêpe/​pancake/​quesadilla hybrids, you can afford to live a little. I had the loroco (a Salvadorian specialty, some kind of delicioso flower:
), a revuelta (chicarrones and cheese) and a pork. They were served with «curtido» (a pickled cabbage slaw) and a savory, completely unspicy salsa.
Wow.
These things may become a craving of mine, they may become a staple food. And even though I don’t have anything to compare them to, I can’t imagine going anywhere else to get them. I can’t imagine any pupusa making me happier.

Delicious food and authentic feel. A few dollars more than I would have expected but well worth it. Cash only.