El Guanaco Mexican & Salvadorean Restaurant

Don’t be afraid of this hole in the wall. Get the revuelta and chicharron pupusas and you won’t be sorry. Remember to add the curtido (it’s a tasty cabbage slaw). These are made to order so be a little patient. Their «plates» aren’t optimal so be careful when using a fork and knife on your pupusas. Complimentary chips and salsa are a plus!

Great, authentic pupusas. Had queso con loroco and a second with zucchini n cheese. They served them well and with great flavor. I recommend that you try them out and explore from the typical queso, chicharron or beans to the other fillings, you won’t be disappointed.
The only down side would be that they are too greasy and waiter is a little distracted.

Bad, rude, service.
Why I say so:
They don’t speak English, fine.
The menu has barely a few English words, but fine.
I am vegetarian and I ask in broken Spanish for pupusas with «loroco y queso, no carne», and they come with pork in it. I thought «carne» included pork, but fine. It’s not the first time this happens to me.
I ask if I can have them without pork as well, and the waiter is not sure what to do. Later she made me pay also for those I didn’t eat.
My problem is that during this misunderstanding I was treated quite impolitely, as if I was being a crazy customer with crazy demands. Whether it’s vegetarian or English-​speaking customers that are unwanted, I don’t think I’ll be coming back.
To be fair, food is good, if you’re wondering.

My review begins with the first phone call I made to this place to place an order for pick up as I stated from the start on the phone, it wasn’t long until I was asked «will this be for dine in or pick up? I hesitated there as I doubted myself for a second that I had already explained myself to picking it up. Hence the entire conversation was in Spanish except for the «pick up» word I am pretty fluent in Spanish but too be honest I couldn’t think of the word then nor could I think of how to say it right now, anyways I ordered 3 pupusas revueltas (cheese, pork, and beans) at least that’s how every other restaurant and native Salvadorian makes it, but I was told in Spanish do you want beans with it? once again I doubted myself and thought for a second what am I saying wrong? so I told her I don’t want beans I want pupusas revueltas, and she said ok then I said can i also order A chile relleno, she hesitated and i heard her ask the cook «do you guys have chile rellenos» then she came back on the phone and said we have some, my next sentence wanted to be, «well why wouldn’t you if you advertise them»? but I didn’t. yaay me! so I then specifically told her I will want an order of that Mexican style…(with cheese) salvadoreans have theirs with «beef» she then asked do you want it with cheese or beef? I will be honest I was already tired of this conversation and just wanted to hang up so anyways I didn’t, I answered «with cheese» so she then asked anything else and I was so done with it I was about to hang up when my boss said can you order empanadas 2 of milk and 3 of beans… after a few questions back and forth from her and her cook in regards to selling them individually or by pairs I was told they were sold individually so that was fine.
When I opened the bag to take things out I gave the pupusas to my boss and the chile relleno was for me as he began eating he noticed there were no beans and as I cut the chile relleno with (MY OWN UTENSILS) thank you KFC for the extra fork and knives from 2 weeks ago I had silverware lol… They do not provide you with forks, knives, napkins and anything in between I noticed my chile relleno was BEEF! I am soooooo grateful that my vegetarian days are all over or I would’ve been more upset my boss couldn’t take it anymore as he had noticed how I struggled even ordering food by the phone so he decided to call.
The same girl answered and he politely told her we had just ordered food and noticed that the pupusas didn’t have beans as they should have and she got upset then he told her once again politely that my chile relleno had beef without any word on the other end he then heard another woman’s voice so after he understood what had just happened he explained to the lady the same thing and boy was she upset, she claimed she was the cook and that it doesn’t matter that it’s a salvadorean restaurant, she’s the cook and cooks it the way she feels like it! Salvadorean food or not it is not cooked that way. whatever that means. but that’s what she said ofcorse in Spanish. when told about the chile relleno she completely ignored it.
There he learned there was no use to talking to her because she didn’t think she did anything wrong.
I’m still feeling weird about the situation, I am not a huge fan of Salvadorean food although I am salvadorean, so I know how the food should taste and HONEY! it does matter! salvadorean food has a way being cooked although it doesn’t always taste the same they usually always have the same ingredients. you can’t tell me a Mexican empanada is the same as a salvadorean one, nor a Mexican chile rellno the same as the salvadorean one. Do they even have an owner who cared about this review?

This is not fine dining but it tastes just fine! I was craving pupusas and since I’m no longer in San Francisco, I had to turn to Unilocal and find something close by. It’s basically a community large hole in the wall with plenty of seating (on plastic chairs). I was very pleased with the pupusas (had the bean n’ cheese) and it came with a side of beans and rice. You can hear the ladies in the kitchen actually making the food which tells me at least that everything is fresh. The gentleman that was waiting the table was extremely friendly and helpful navigating through the menu. I will most likely go back for my pupusa fix and it’s easy stopping by as they have a small parking lot right off the street.

We walked in sat ourselves. Waitress came to drop stale chips and Plain tomato salsa nothing unique about it. I had to get up to get our food menus. Couldn’t wait. She brought us one plate of sopa d res the hubby was about to start grubbing when she says ummm I got the order wrong it isn’t yours and takes it away and says I won’t tell the other person you touched it. Anyways are food came the pupusas were small and average tasting. The curtido had no flavor. The sopa de res was a bit salty and the platanos were average tasting also. Nothing special about this place. I don’t think I’ll be coming back. They took too long with our food. And giving us the check also.

Best Pupusas in Redwood City for sure! They use a perfect balance of tortilla, cheese, and filling. Phone orders are easy too :)

Food is good but service is bad. Really bad !! I had to flag down the waitress few times to get water and order food.

Horchata is disgusting! Doesn’t taste like horchata at all? No words to explain what it tastes like! It was 4 us, Salvadorians nd brought it up to the waitress about the horchata not been good and she didnt bother to tell us I’d she could exchange it or if we would like to try anything else# bad service! She also added that no one else has complained about it! The p upusas does taste ok but they are small. Overall we would not be coming back to this restaurant. Bad waitress bad service bad horchata! For $ 2.50 go to another restsurant not worth it and you’ll thank me!

In Redwood City, best pupusas. I am a Salvadorean and the ladies here came close compared to my mom and relatives. My co-​workers tagged along and we all came out full and satisfied. You know a place is good when the same race comes back to eat there.
I ordered chayote+cheese+jalapeño, chicken+cheese, frijoles+beans, and cheese+lorroco. All were really good, tasty, full of cheese, fresh, and filling!!! The waitress hooked us up with mucho currtido and fantastic salsa!!! Oh man, the salsa was so good!!!
My co-​workers ordered pork and cheese, mixed, chicken… pretty much every kind of pupusa. There were some co-​workers that tried pupusas for the first time and they came out satisfied. The horchata was fresh, not that store bought junk. Tamarindo was just like moms and the fruit drink was freshly made (apple, pina, mango, others).
Come here and impress your Asian friends and lady Asian friends ;). Come here and try something new as well. The ladies made me feel like home, the bill was just right, the food was delicious, and the TV entertainment… well… watching old school over-​dramatic movies just brought me back to my Abuelita days when she used to babysit me and my brother and sister.

Walked in spontaneously after years of livin in RWC w my son after a walk from school on our way home. Were hungry and I decided to ask the senoras to make us some sopes. We had chicken and pork. Very tasty. The ladies were nice and made us feel like we were at their own tables. The hand made corn masa was wonderfully tender. The meat and salsas were just fine. 2 each and we were full! Great for a quick and cheap bite to keepya goin.

Pupusas were okay… I’ve had better in Concord. The chile relleno de carne (beef bell pepper) and the hand made tortillas are good. Tamarindo was good too!

I really wanted to like this place since my buddy told me it was his all time favorite spot for pupusas but we both left disappointed after this visit.
The handmade tortillas were good but the best pupusas I’ve had, had a slight crunch on the outside before you get to the soft inside. The flavor of the pork was OK but the curtido was actually really good and enhanced my meal.
The worst thing about this visit was the service. There were only 2 ladies working there, one in the kitchen and on running the rest of the show. She was super nice but we waited a little over 10min, after our food arrived, for fork/​knife so my buddy eventually got up and grabbed it himself in the kitchen.

Excellent pupusas but the place looks pretty run down and in need of a good cleaning /​remodel.

The décor leaves a lot to be desired but the food is great. Being married to a Salvadoran pupusas are a must every 1 – 2 weeks. We usually go to Amelia’s but Amelia’s CLOSED as in no longer in business. Anywho… their pupusas are wonderful and full of gooey cheese (lorroco). The place is a tad tacky but I can overlook that for the food. Their platanos con crema are awesome too!

came here for brunch with my dad on a whim.
chips were okay, but the salsa was definitely lacking.
they have great pupusas made fresh to order, i liked the side of refried beans they came with buuut not so much a fan of the rice. the salsa that came with the chips was the same for the pupusas, which was a letdown but the curtido was yummy.
an older gentlemen sitting behind us was enjoying caldo (a type of soup) and i definitely want to try it if i’m back because it was chock full of veggies!

After finally trying this mysterious food, which is the pupusa, i must say i was a wee bit disappointed. I had a student who told me that they were the bomb food, so i’ve been meaning to try some for two years. Well i have to say they did take extra care to make them because it took at least 15 – 20 minutes for our food to come out. I heard the pupusas and empanadas were good so we all decided to get the combo.
the pupusas, i thought, were a bit on the bland side. ours was the pork/​cheese but i couldn’t really taste it too much since the skin was so thick. the flavor wasn’t bad, but needed hot sauce. the salsa and salad definitely helped out the flavor.
if you’re going to get a tamale, stick with the chicken tamale. it say it has a taste reminicent of chinese daikon cake, which is mighty fine by me, cuz i really like that stuff. i got the corn tamale, which tasted more like unfluffy bread, so i’ll stick with the chicken one. its actually really good and a nice texture, i’m ordering this next time.
The empanada, isn’t what in expected according to my knowledge of empanadas. but its not bad. its a fried plantain with some creamy milk custard inside. its a bit oily, but its tasty. if ur into a heavy dessert, this is ur thing.
So overall, the food was pretty good, but i felt a bit overpriced, considering the area. i paid about 10 bucks; 7 or 8 would probably be worth it. and oh yeah, you’d better brush up your Espanol. I had to muster all of my 3 years of high school spanish to order, which isn’t much at all. you can get by with just saying «chicken, pork, and corn» though. so all in all, 3.5 stars. i’d come again, but not on a regular basis.

Not a big fan of how the restaurant looks — no good lighting, restrooms outside???, Felt a bit of a messy place… but I’m gonna base my review just on the food — I had less than an hour to figure out what I wanted and I was really craving pupusas.
I Had 2 Pupusasa Revueltas which were pretty good…
Next time I’ll just order out.

Just based on service, cleanliness and location I took one star. This place is quite some ways down middlefield and in a pretty sketchy location. But just for all mankind – I thought it would only be right and fair to test their pupusas for flavor and texture in my endeavor to find the best pupusa in Redwood city.
I ordered only 1 cheese pupusa which the waitress must have asked me 10 times «solo uno.» I guess they are used or orders by the hundreds. I seriously almost walked out as I did order on the phone and she told me 10 minutes and had to wait an additional 10 in the restaurant. You can see the kitchen where you wait and it seriously reminded me of a person’s kitchen at home.
When I finally got my one cheese pupusa, I was a bit nervous as I have only stayed true to Amelia’s. In my first bite, I thought to myself, okay so where’s the cheese… but to my surprise and delight, this round little gem started oozing with tasty cheese. Texture and taste was great! I give their cheese pupusa a solid 9.5 outta 10. I would definitely come back, and definitely order more than 1 pupusa.

We were craving Pupusas yesterday, and it wasn’t until the third restaurant (this one) that we found one that was still in business.
El Guanaco Mexican & Salvadorean Restaurant was great. I didn’t test if they spoke English, since I speak Spanish fluently, but certainly there is a possibility that the waitresses do not speak English. Regardless, the menus are printed with English, so you should be able to point to what you want.
As I mentioned previously, our goal was to have authentic Pupusas, so when noticed that our waitress had a Salvadorian accent (when speaking Spanish), we were very pleased.
First, they brought out some chips and salsa, which is common in many Latin American restaurants. What was not common was the sauce. It was extremely thick-​flavored, with a balance of spices, spiciness, and consistency. I would go back simply for that sauce. In fact, it looked like there was the option on the menu to order «salsa» for about $ 1.50…
Getting back to the meal, we ordered five Pupusas — turns out they were out of the rice flour Pupusas (which are listed incorrectly as «Rice & Vegetable», which as the waitress explained was meant to read «Rice flour Pupusas with vegetables, cheese, etc.) So, we went with three «revueltas», which generally means a mixture of pork and cheese, and we requested the optional beans mixed in as well. For the first of the other two, we ordered one «loroco y queso», which is a mixture of cheese (queso) and plant (loroco —
). The second of the other Pupusas was a «vegetariana», which literally means vegetarian, and consists of cheese (queso) and Squash-​Blossoms (flor de calabaza).
To say these Pupusas were great is an understatement. Let me explain.
1. We literally heard them making them right on the spot, which is not always the case, since Pupusas require a lot of work to shape and manage the dough (la masa), so frequently they will be prepared in bulk ahead of time.
2. Perhaps as a result of being made on the fly, they were not greasy, or perhaps it is because they don’t deep fry them. Either way, these were the first Pupusas I have ever had that were not greasy.
3. The flavors were well-​balanced, and I could actually tell the different types apart, and it was magical.
4. The toppings (salsa and cabbage salad) were well made, though the only ding would be that they didn’t provide a spoon to serve the salsa, but at the end of the day, Pupusas can be a little messy, so not a big deal.
Aside from the Pupusas, we also had Horchata, a white colored (non-​alcoholic) beverage which was very (perhaps too) sweet.
Oh, and the best part was that the whole meal was so filling that we ended up taking one Pupusa home… Total meal was well priced, under $ 15 for two, plus a tip.
We definitely will be going back to eat and/​or ordering take-​out.
BTW, they had way better (nicer) service than Amelia’s.
Finally, your mileage may vary, we went during a slow time (9PM on Saturday night), so perhaps during the busy times thing different. Either way, there don’t seem to be to many Pupusa options in the area. I’m just glad we now have a good option. :)