El Salvadoreño

I’ve dined here 2 – 3 times and am just now getting around to reviewing. Well, what can I say but the food here is always well done, interesting, and a good amount for the price.
Without going into too much detail which others have provided, let me just say this restaurant is a real gem in a sea of sameness running along Metcalf a few blocks to the East and is a welcome respite from the mind numbing chains and their food which lacks anything approaching interest.
And about that pork tamale I just had, that for $ 2 was packed with a lot of savory pork, a few vegetables and simply melted in the mouth. Without a menu in front of me, they have a memorable dish of rib meat laced with radish, mint, cilantro and onions that just was a flavor bomb. Gosh, I just want to keep coming back to try everything.
If you come: this is a delightful place to dine outdoors, out of the sun even mid afternoon as it faces East with a couple of stories above you. The traffic on the street in downtown OPKS is usually fairly light and polite so it’s easy to get carried away and forget where you are. A delightful spot with great food and good service. I shall return!

Went for breakfast — my only regret is that we’ve not yet been for dinner. This place is incredible. I highly recommend it! The food is fresh, delicious, and all the flavors go together so well. While I’ve not been to El Salvador specifically, I have traveled around much of Latin America and I believe this food is as authentic as you would be able to eat outside of El Salvador. I’m so impressed by this wonderful restaurant. Do yourselves a favor and go for breakfast. El Guanaco is everything you could ever want in a filling, though not heavy meal to help start your day!

I can’t say I’ve ever had Salvadorian food before, and always up to try new cuisines. I ordered the Tilapia Friita which was delicious and Pork and Queso Papusa. I liked both of them and the service was really attentive. I’ll definitely go back and try new dishes.

Excellent food.
Ordered the strip steak, poupsa, and tamale.
The fresh juice drinks are mue bien!

4.5 stars… I def will come back!
Super friendly and nice wait staff. I was waiting for a friend and everyone working came and made sure I didn’t need anything at one time or another.
In reading other reviews, people recommend the sampler. I agree, it’s a good starting point. I had he sampler and shares a couple of apps with my friend.
Apps: plantains– first off, I love plantains! Secondly, they serve them with sour cream. I’ve never had them that way before. While, I thought the spite cream complemented them, I prefer them as is.
I can’t remember the other app, but it was similar to an empanada. We ordered the veggie one, since my friend doesn’t eat meat. It was really good too!
In the sampler, the enchiladas were my favorite! When I come back (unless I scope out breakfast), I plan on getting the enchiladas and plantains. The enchiladas are not your typical «Tex-​Mex» style. I actually prefer these!
We both had mojitos. They were so-​so. Not the best and not the worst. The mint was muddled well, but too much Sprite flavor.
Someone commented it was slower because everything is made to order. It wasn’t super busy, but we waited what I considered a normal amount of time. They have some street seating which was really nice, since the weather was awesome! There is the occasional loud vehicle running by, but it didn’t take away from the experience.

I encourage you all to take a trip to old downtown Overland Park just to experience authentic El Salvadorian pupusas and tamales. This place should be a destination. The food is extraordinary and the El Salvadorian hospitality flows as broad and fast as the Missouri River. El Salvadorian food is unique in Latin America. Everyone should experience it.

I love this place the Papusas always hit the spot. I usually get the Hibiscus tea (sorrel), may be a bit sweeter than I would like but I just let it sit for a while so the ice dilutes it. The marinated KC strip dishes are my go to, usually so flavorful the El Cabrone is an awesome example. There are lots of good stuff on the menu.

This is area has some good eats and El Salvadoreno has some great South American cuisine! I ordered the sampler which gives you a small taste of their more popular dishes (really wish every restaurant did this!).
Starting on the right side of my photo and working clockwise:
The Pupusa: Probably one of the best pupusa I have ever tasted. The outer masa cakes were great and the filling was tasty with prefect spices, beans and cheese.
The Beef Pastel: Reminded me of a samosa with a potato and mixed vegetable filling. Again excellent flavor!
The Enchilada: The tortilla is crispy and then it is lightly topped with sauce, cucumber, egg, pickled beet and tomato. The filling was beef but lacked the spices I found in the other samples. So I put a little more hot sauce on this one then the rest but I still really enjoyed it.
The Chicken Tamale: Wrapped in a grape leaf this was mostly masa and didn’t have enough of the chicken filling. This was my least favorite item on the plate.
The Yuca Frita (Center of plate): Probably the most interesting dish on the sampler with fried yucca (kind of like a cross between a potato and a plantain) cubes of fired pork, and a spicy pickled coleslaw on top. Delicious!
Next time I come back I will probably do a whole plate of pupusas and pastels beings those were my favorites.

I stopped in for breakfast, and it was swoon worthy! I had the Desayuno Tradicional; 2 eggs, refried black beans, plantains, and a freshly made tortilla. Service was quick and friendly. I’m going to have to come back for pupusas soon! A friend had those and she said they were fabulous, also.

I have no clue what I ate but it was all delicious. I had the sampler platter and ate everything on it. Was light and very flavorful. The only thing that keeps me from giving this place all 5 stars is that the service is a little spotty. Everyone there was very pleasant and friendly but not terribly attentive. Still the foods worth it

I first experienced this restaurant when my son was in high school and his Spanish teacher offered extra credit for dining here. I cannot thank her enough! It is absolutely delicious. The fried plantains, papusa, the tamales. So delicious. The food is always good and we have been many times now. They offer wonderful horchata and house made limeade as well as a good selection of bottled beers. They have a nice patio during the season and the owners are just so warm and friendly. Give it a try.

I love pupusas and this the best place I have found for them. Other places I have been to are dirty and dingy. This place is bright and clean. I was dining alone, so I sat up at the bar. The servers were very friendly and spoke clean english. I also tried the enchilada, which is much different than a Mexican enchilada and very tasty.

This place has phenomenal salsa, which is always a good sign. The pupusas and tamales are delicious and I would highly recommend them! Welcoming environment with fun decorations, definitely stop by and eat there if you’re in the area.

Really wonderful and unique Latin American fare and in the heart of OP of all places! I had the sampler, which was a bit hit or miss, but you’ve gotta start somewhere. The hits were the crispy enchiladas and the pupusas. Oh man, the pupusas. With that spicy slaw and hot sauce. Just grab a couple of those and be thankful a place like this exists!

One of my favorite places to dine in KC, but don’t expect to be in and out of there quickly. They make everything to order and should be enjoyed for what it is. While you’re waiting, order a yummy pupusa and enjoy every bite. Even my picky kids love them.
My favorite go-​to entrée is the salpicon. It’s kind of like an El Salvadorean larb. So good! Everything there is wonderful so you won’t make a bad decision. Just be willing to be a little patient waiting for your food to arrive.

Wow! I hate to write this review as I was really hoping things had improved here. This was our third time trying this restaurant. We went late Saturday morning (11ish) for some pupusas and fried plantains and sat at the counter right inside the door.
5 pupusas + 1 platano frito con crema + 1 side of beans + 2 coffee = $ 33 + tip.
That is pretty pricey. Service was lackluster, our server never checked on us about the food, and we had to flag her down for a refill on the coffee (which are served in really small cups). They are also really chintzy with the curtido, which comes in a small remekin on each plate… but it did taste much better this time than in the past. There was some jalapeño and spice to it, still needs a bit more vinegar though.
Only about 4 pieces of the plantain were ripe enough to serve, the rest should never have been on the plate, they were not ripe enough, nor sweet at all. The beans are very dry and did not taste like anything.
Based on the service, price and food quality, we won’t be back. Also, they were not busy so there was no reason for the bad service.

Wonderful!!! I had the El Guanaco breakfast. Chirizo and eggs with rice and something else. Loved it. No greasy oily messy Chirizo juice. Also served at the table was pasteles and enchiladas. The tomatoe, radish salad mix was awesome. Just wonderful.
Perfect amount of food, I’m not rolling out the door.
This is a must try for anyone who will go outside their box. I will so return.

I’m glad I decided to stop here for some soup. The food quality is still outstanding, but now the service really shines.

I have been a fan of pupusas since traveling to San Salvador in 1987 and sampling them at roadside stalls around the city. It took many years for me to find them in KC but now there are several places in town to enjoy them. This restaurant is very clean and cozy and friendly. If I lived nearby I’m sure I would be a regular but since it is a bit of a drive and there are other places to find better pupusas closer I’m afraid I won’t become a regular. My biggest complaint is the curtido — cabbage topping — it just seemed like cabbage and vinegar, rather than a fermented cabbage, carrot, jalapeño, and spice mix.

El Salvadoreño introduced me to pupusas, and you just never forget your first experience with pupusas.
For real though, I cannot say enough positive things about this cool Latin American restaurant in the heart of Downtown OP. I’d been in over the years and experienced some of the friendliest, above and beyond service — this includes when I was ‘that guy’ who showed up about ten minutes before they closed.
It wasn’t until I began frequenting the farmers’ market across the street that I realized El Salvadoreño does breakfast, and it’s worth the trip here alone. As of writing this, you can generally get in pretty early in the A.M. and not have a line out the door like so many other brunch spots.
They’ve started a food cart at the market for many of the days during the season, increasing the pupusa to me ratio 2:1. Score more points right here.
Some of their dinners are fantastic, but I’ve got to say I’ve had better steaks at other places. I’ve had it a couple times here and it wasn’t quite up to my level of tenderness for the price I paid, so I’d lean towards chicken, veggies, and other things on the menu.
Side story time! One time Sporting KC played a friendly match against a fútbol team from El Salvador and the team tracked down this restaurant, called them and said can you feed a whole team, and closed the place down with the staff. I think that’s pretty damn cool!
I also think it’s cool to have more ethnic cuisine variety away from the city, and Downtown OP in general does a good job with this. It opens up more kids to experience new foods and culture. Give this place a go, visit with their friendly staff and have them throw in a pupusa for me.

Wellllll we were going to eat here, but we ended up leaving after the guy working there was too busy talking with a couple at a table and couldn’t be bothered to clear off a table for us or bring us menus or anything. He did motion at a table outside and said we could sit there. Gee thanks, dude– great customer service. NOT.

My dish was saturated with salt. when a dish is like this you taste absolutely no flavor. except. salt
If perhaps I had an exceptionally unlikable experience, i will add that the area is a quaint nook snuggled in downtown Overland Park. Farmers’ Market across the street, so do stop by if you have a chance!

Went on a Saturday afternoon just as the Farmer’s Market was letting out across the street. All the inside tables were in use and had to wait about 10 minutes for one to clear.
I had the sampler platter and one in the party had the tilapia special. Everything on the sampler was very good and fish was well received. Will definitely go again to try other things on the menu.
Service was a little slow but the every seat in the place was taken.

Food is quite good. Sampler platter was good, and we especially liked the fresh flavors in my husband’s beef dish… but I can’t find the name of it. I wish the plantains were cooked a little bit crisper but other than that it was good.
Small place so be prepared for that.

Our power went out last night so we (once we got the garage door opened…) left the dogs to no AC and went in search of dinner. We were on our way somewhere mediocre and I looked at Unilocal and found this spot with excellent reviews so we decided to go.
I’ve always been a little suspicious of this restaurant… not sure why, but it was delicious and we will definitely go back. Again and again.
Like others have said the papusas we amazing. I had the albondigas which was really delicious. The basmati rice was perfect and they serve the meatballs with charred carrots and zucchini also incredibly good.
Our service was great and whoevr said that the hot sauce is delicious and addictive is correct. So lovely. Love this place.
So glad for Unilocal… I wouldn’t have tried it if not for the great reviews.

Food is utterly fantastic. Everything has boisterous flavor and the staff is friendly, but not on par with service.
I’ve been twice. Both times We’ve ordered food that never showed up. The first time we were charged for it. Second time it was a total no-​show.
Great place though. Just have to reiterate your order or have them read it back.

Oh my goodness! We absolutely loved it! My husband said «this is one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten!» Phrases like «yum» & «oh my gosh, I love this» could be heard at our table.
If it’s your first time I would recommend the sampler platter & the queso papusa. Make sure they give you the big squirt bottle of hot sauce; it’s amazing and you will want to slather your entire plate with it! I left the restaurant with a slight hot feeling in my mouth; and I love it!
I think you will agree that 5 stars is what they deserve!

So now that you have decided that you cannot live anotehr day logner without eating at this amazng restaurant. here are my tips.
Get the Salpicon. Thank me later.
Get some pupusas, and friend plantains.
Do not get any desserts (the rest of hte food is so good. i just couldnt duct them a star)
Get Rosa de Jamaica to drink or Horchata.
Enjoy!