El Viroleño

This restaurant is a treasure we were happy to find! Portions are generous, prices are reasonable and and everything on the menu is cooked from scratch and delicious.

Excellent find in SLC. El Salvadoran Food is wonderful to try and experience. The chicharron papusas are amazing! Order several and make a meal of them. Everything is reasonably priced. Very friendly staff and very clean. Give it a try!

I found the dinning area simple but clean, and it has a nice authentic feel to it. It had somewhere around 10 tables, and I came early so it wasn’t busy. By the time I left things were picking up though.
I ordered a bean and cheese pupusa, which I thought was very tasty and a good value at $ 2.50 or so.
I also tried the plantains with beans and sour cream, which sounded like a weird combination, but I love the cooked plantains and thought I would give it a shot. I’m glad I did. They were a a little pricier than I would like at around $ 9, but I’ve never bought or cooked the plantains so maybe that’s reasonable.
I’ll definitely be coming back!

I found this place at random a few months ago, and now I can’t stop coming here multiple times a week. Food is prepared fresh, so relax and chill out while they make it slow for you. I have almost tried everything on the menu, and I haven’t had any dish here that I didn’t love. My Spanish is rusty, but if you can’t speak Spanish you can point at items on the menu and smile. The ladies here have such warm smiles and personalities. I feel like I am at home every time I come in. If you aren’t familiar with El Salvadorian food, then try the Pupusas for sure.

Very authentic! I love the food because it tastes like my mom’s cooking! They have some serious comfort food here. The pupusas and the sopes are amazing!

I really love El Viroleno because they make pupusas reveultas just the way my aunts made them growing up complete with the creaky wooden furniture and plastic tablecloths. This a family establishment. The cook, the cashier who is also at times the server, they’re all related and helping out the family business.
So in essence, you’re not coming to a restaurant, you’re showing up to their family table and they serve you up some good old fashioned pupusas Salvadoreños with their curtido (pickled cabbage and radishes), and salsa (the red sauce). It will not be a quick meal, even if you order the meal to-​go. You’ll still have to wait a little bit because shaping the masa (pupusa dough) is an art and stuffing it so that there’s a solid stuffing-​to-​dough ratio isn’t easy. It takes precision to do it without letting the dough break.
I can’t vouch for the rest of their menu items, but if you come here, you cannot go wrong with a pupusa and some kolashampan. Go big or go home, right?

The food rates a five while the restaurant is pretty dumpy. I had a chile relleno plate which was smothered in a great fresh tomato based sauce, like a ranchero sauce. It was mild with little spice but they have my favorite salsa, El Yucateco green habanero sauce so I took it up a couple thousand scoville units til it met my heat level. I can’t wait to come back and try something else.

BEST PUPUSAS I HAVE HAD EVER! Must have the mixed Pupusas and the DESAYUNO TIPICO. Amazing and you surely won’t be disappointed.

This place has got their papusa game on 100, that’s all I can say. My only complaint about this place is that it can take a bit for your food to arrive. But I honestly don’t care as I’m pretty sure their papusas are made to order, from scratch. So I’m good with it. Also the prices are fair and the sign outside should be made a historical landmark! God bless this place.

This place was a great find. The family that runs this place is so kind. I ordered the papusas and a plate of beans and fried bananas. It was delightful! I will definitely return for the food and the service!

Pupusas are great. Placed not so good but overall I will definitely come back for more pupusas

Mijos,
this is the place for pupusas.
Every time I come to this joint I order a plate of plantains that come with rice and beans, and then a couple of pupusas. (that would be foodies for 2)
Pupusas are freshly made in-​house, everything is tasty, good amount on the plates as well as in the pupusas, vegetarian options, and is well priced.
My favorite Pupusa is probably the Loroco and Cheese Pupusa. Loroco, as we were told by our server, is a flower that grows in some sort of vine in El Salvador and Guatemala. So typical of the pupusa area.
The cheese compliments the flavor of the flower and you end up with sort of a gourmet taste for what could have been just a simple pupusa.
Also, there’s a punch card for the avid pupusa fanatic like myself. And if you speak Spanish it will make it all a bit easier, they are the real deal authentic Spanish as a first language kinda deal.
I love it.

Very authentic el Salvadoran food. The pupusas are fantastic, and at only two bucks a pop it’s a great deal. The area is still very industrial but it really is very close to the center of downtown.

This place is the definition of a hole in the wall authentic restaurant so expect the food to be delicious but don’t expect much out of the service, speed, or ambiance. That being said, I’ve never been disappointed with anything here though I almost always order fresh papusas.

i’ve had a lot of pupusas, and these have the most authentic and affordable I have had because they use good quality meat and cheese. You can taste the difference. And it’s not too greasy, which is important to me. Excellent yucca frita, platanos con crema y frijoles, and they have kolashampan! YUMMMY banana heaven! :)
The boss lady is as sweet as my grandma, and calls everyone «mijo» or «mija» which is really sweet. I recommend this place a LOT.

If you’re wanting Salvadorian food, this is a good place to go. Nothing to special about the food or service, but not bad, especially for how cheap it is. We’re talking like $ 2 – 4 per tamale/​pupusas. Oh and the pupusas are great, I had never had anything like them! Definetely worth the cultural experience, although it is in a not so pleasant area of town.

This is the best Salvadorian Restaurant in Salt Lake, if not the whole state! Best pupusas in Salt Lake City! Get one revueltas, one chicharrón, and one loroco. Load up the curtido, which is completely on point. Drink it down with Kolashampan. You’ll fall in love. These two ladies are so sweet and take a lot of pride in their work. Perfection.

I expected much more from this place, but it fell way short. Summary: service is poor, taste is poor, and it’s expensive for what you get. You’re better off making the trip to Rincon Salvadoreño.
My wife wanted Salvadorian pasteles and was looking forward to going to the place she loved, Rincon Salvadoreño. Turns out they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. I convinced her for us to try El Viroleño since it’s closer.
Lunch time and it’s dead empty save for two women who were just leaving. Bad sign. Another bad sign was how we were completely ignored by the server as we shuffled into the restaurant, only to be acknowledged when we reached the counter. No hello or welcome. Instead, we’re told to pick a table ourselves. The tables looked like they were wiped with a dirty towel. Again, when the server comes up to our table, no greeting. She just handed us our menus. My wife asked for pasteles, and the server was confused. It turns out, our server is Mexican and knows pasteles as pastries and cakes, not the fried corn breads stuffed with meat and potatoes. They don’t even serve salvadorian pasteles here. What? My wife was not happy.
The only saving dish was the yuca frita con chicharon. But for 8 dollars I expected more pork in my dish. The water served tasted like it came straight from the tap. The pupusas are the only thing that might have saved it, but they recently raised the prices. Bad form to put a sticker of the price hike on the menu itself. I didn’t try them, but my wife was not impressed. Needless to say, we are not going back and will stick with Rincon Salvadoreño.

I lived in El Salvador for two years and ate a LOT of pupusas in that time. They’re my favorite food and my wife and I go to this place EVERY time we’re in Salt Lake.
The pupusas here are fantastic! They’re 2 bucks each, and come with excellent salsa and curtido. In fact, the curtido here might be the best I’ve ever had. And I’ve had curtido from dozens of pupusa places in El Salvador.
I can’t speak to the rest of the food here because we always just order the pupusas. Give them a try, and wash it down with Kolashampan.
This place is great!

Something has changed at this establishment. I hadn’t been here in four years, the last time I had the best food (as I have always had here), and even the small baby roach that crawled on my table did not deter me from finishing my food. Well… He didn’t stop me from eating but after that I couldn’t go back. Like I said… that was four years ago.
I decided to venture back here, I missed sitting in the booths and noticing the large picture of the the lady located in the back managers office. I had always assumed it as the mother (founder) of the restaurant, every time I saw her eyes stare back at me, I envisioned her saying.“you won’t find a better Papusa, plantain platter or tomato based Carne Asada dish!” And she was always right, the food was exquisite! It was just like food you’d find in large cities where people know how to cook. That has seemed to change.
I ventured into the restaurant yesterday and noticed the walls had been painted, the little television that sat on the chiller was gone and had been replaced with two flat screen TVS. I thought…“they are getting a little advanced,” though I missed the small shitty Television, it reminded me of old home based restaurants in third world countries… it was very El Salvadorian. I was hoping this experience would be like the old ones, but it was not.
The women… WHAT happened to the women that cooked in the kitchen? They were not there on Saturday, Oct 19^th, 2013, instead a older slim man stood in the kitchen. I started to get nervous, because… well…the only people to cook for me there were women and I had a odd feeling about this man, alone in the kitchen… unfortunately I was right… he cannot cook.
Take a look at the picture posted by Shane B. THIS is what plantains should look like… this is what the sour cream and beans should resemble…
.
What they are selling there now… is NOT what the original dish looks not taste like. Here is a picture taken by MARK N, this is the incorrect way the dish is served.
And here is what I got the other day.
.
Notice the dish posted by Shane B is missing beans, while the dish I posted has BEANS in the middle, with a piece of Cheese on top, and the sour cream has been put in between each plantain as if it’s a chef masterpiece. My plantains were DRY!!! I could actually tap on them and it sounded like a leather pouch, though the other side was moist, Plantains should be cooked in a oil until they become and look nice and moist. He seemed to have baked them. It was horrible.
My Beans were burned, I assume he put the cheese on top to try and mask the smell, the sour cream was cold, it should be warm and BOTH should be in a purée form.
I also ordered the Stewed Tomato Carne Asada dish. He screwed that up too and my salad he put on the dish had the top of the tomato still there. the dirty stem, the rice he put on the plate was disgusting.
we got two of both and it came out to about 49 dollars. I don’t like to really complain because people don’t listen to you when you tell them…“you did a horrible job at cooking my dinner.” I just come to places like here and tell others and hopefully the Restaurant reads this review and goes back to HOW it was cooked before. What is ironic with the Plantains is… when you open the menu the picture shows the Plantains the way they are suppose to be cooked, not the way he served it to myself or Mark N. SO that’s a hint I guess.
I LOVED this place but the only reason I will ever go back there again is for the Pupusa, he didn’t ruin those, they were still good, but I can’t trust to pay money for anything else because it’s obvious someone thinks their presentation of food is creative and unique, the reality is… it ruins the great dish they served in the past.
And it is true… the people are wonderful here. The older lady that served us was very nice. It’s a very hospitable place, but I want what I get every time.
PUT THE LITTLE LADIES BACK in the Kitchen and keep that slim guy out!

I just moved to Utah and i was hoping that my first salvadorean resturant was going to be the one but El Virolrno was no bueno. I have high standards for pupusas my husband is salvadorean and i have had home made pupusas plus my sisterinlaw is a cook at a salvadorean resturant back in Cali.
Any ways my husband and i ordered 6 pupusas, 3 revueltas, 2 chicarron con queso and one loroco con queso. But we didnt get what we ordered the whole order was wrong we got 6 chicharron con queso i dont know how they made the mistake if the place was empty. Well the pupusas werent that good they had to much masa and little filling, the chicharron was wasnt the original one and the pupusas were bland. The curtido was pretty tasty but the salsa was not so good, Im kinda sad because i really wanted for this place to be good but it wasnt. I can say that the owners were really nice and thats why i gave them 2stars…

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them all and there you have my dinner tonight. And the Facts of Life, but we’re leaving Blair and Jo out of this one and going right to the El Salvadorian food at Viroleño.
First, the good. As others have mentioned, the pupusas are where it’s at. I had the loroco and really dug the veggie flavor with cheese. Big winner in my book, and the best thing I had all night. Hit up that cabbage and the salsita (not too spicy) and munch away. Hooray!
I also love the location. I’m really falling in love with this part of Salt Lake City for it’s real, raw, and industrial feel. So big plus on The Granary location, and big plus for the greasy, smoke-​filled, paint-​peeling dive of a dining area here. A couple of folding tables and some wall booths. Deal with it.
Now, the not as good. I ordered the monday special which was a chicharron and yuca combo. I’m a sucker for yuca because it reminds me of Argentine mandioca and because it’s delicious. Unfortunately it was overboiled so it came of with a gel around it and got a little mushy. For my tastes, I like it more firm so you feel like you’re eating a dense potato. The chicharron was especially dry, although I definitely dug the flavor it was giving. Three small chunks, on top of the little fried fish staring back at me (why can’t I remember what they’re called) and the cabbage on a plate. Simple, but a miss.
And that’s really the story here. Hit or miss. Some plates looked great. You can’t go wrong with carne asada, for example. A hit. But when it missed, it missed. So I’ll definitely put it back on the agenda for a return visit to see if I can find a better groove.
They have daily specials, a selection of pupusas, and some dependable standbys you can always order. There are a few pricey plates, but most meals fall in the $ 8 – 10 range. You can get away for cheaper if you order right.
I’m no mathematician, but it seems that if you take the good, and then you take the bad, in order to take them all you’ve just got to pull the average. So a three from me, but with the caveat that I’m totally open to trying a few more dishes and being wowed by them. I had a killer meal in San Salvador once, so I’d love to relive that afternoon here in SLC.