Sabor Salvadoreno

Obsessed and beyond saddened that this place is closed. :(Burned down in a fire.
The pupusas were absolutely amazing. My thoughts go out to the owner. Hoping that they can re-​open and continue sharing their amazing food with the bay area!

I enjoyed this place, and was saddened to hear of it burning down on 8÷26÷2015. It was great to have solid pupusas, plantains, tamales, etc in a convenient location.
My thoughts go out to the owners and employees who made it such a hidden gem. I hope they’re able to reopen and find continuing success somewhere close!

Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place, and after watching it burn to the ground yesterday I knew I had to get on here and pay my respects to the food and the family that owns it.
The pupusas are (were?) delicious. Better than any I’ve had in the Bay Area. The perfect ratio of pocket to filling. I see some people complaining about lack of pork in theirs, but that was never the case with me. And the pupusas have never been greasy in my experience. Curtido is always fresh and tangy. So good.
I’ve had better masa and they are expensive at $ 2.25, hence the 4 stars.
I’m really hoping that they’ll be able to reopen again, whether in the same re-​built strip mall or somewhere nearby. The pupuseria in Mountain View just doesn’t pack the same punch.

FYI as of today 08÷26÷15 the restaurant cought on fire. My prayers for the family and owner. This is my favorite restaurant for Papusa

8÷26÷2015 — this restaurant was destroyed in a fire today, along with the other businesses in the strip mall. Hopefully everyone affected will get back on their feet again.

Local, affordable & delicious. I got three tacos — one chicken, one steak, and one carnitas. All three of them were good, but my favorite was probably the chicken.
I paid less than $ 8 for the trio and left quite full. I bookmarked this place in order to come back again with more coworkers. I would definitely recommend this spot!

Best pupusas Ive had on the west coast. Been here at least 10 times and every time has been pleasant and satisfying. The #25 dish Huevos Revueltos are a favorite to my girlfriend and her dad. Definitely need to try the #1 Taquitos as well! Soooo gooood!!!

This place used to be solid when I last went 9 yrs go. But today, we’re the only customers at 11:45am, been waiting 15 – 20 mins for my two pupusas and 2 tacos. I asked for lengua tacos and it took them 10 mins to tell me they dont have lengua. Ridiculous!!! Not coming here anymore, too slow of a service.

Pretty long wait, and medium priced food. Pupusas are pretty satisfying and horchata was great too.

Love this spot.
Customize your pupusas to be vegan friendly: spinach, mushrooms, refried beans, zucchini, jalapeños. The plate is complete with sides of fried plantains & refried beans. MMMM!
Tamarind agua fresca.

The people are very friendly = 1 star. The place is small and kinda run down, but that’s not why i only gave this place 1 star… I hate to say this but the food was not good. The worst part is, it’s pricy! AND my husband cut into his burrito to find a long HAIR! GROSS!!! Plus it had sour cream when I **specifically** said no sauces. :(
We ordered chicken tamales + carne asada tacos + chicharron pupusas + yuca with pork + carne asada burritos.
Tamales were strange, chicken was overcooked tasted like pork and the masa flour was too doughy & mushy.
Tacos were mediocre.
Yuca with pork was SO overcooked! Omg it was hard as a rock and dry! The pork was so hard + burnt.
The pupusas were OK, not anything flavorful and no crunch like I thought it would have.
Altogether with tax + tip was almost $ 40… Not worth it at all! Boo. :(
Will not be back.

Don’t wish to hate on the little mom and pops out there, but this place just plain sucks.
Craving pupusas and not being near Balompie 3 in SF, we decided to roll in here recently and give it a shot.
The layout lacked feng shui, there was a lack of organization, the portions were miserly, the flavor was mediocre, the cleanliness was questionable and the whole thing was just plain overpriced. In their defense, I will say the service was friendly, however, the next time I’m craving pupusas, I’ll just hold out until I can get to Balompie 3 in San Francisco.
Theirs are truly the BEST I’ve had anywhere.

Been here twice to try it out before I formed my opinion of the food here.
Pupusas
The chicharron pupusas are good but the queso con loroco pupusas are too plain. Unfortunately the masa used to make the pupusas are in general too plain so it relies heavily on the filling. This means you need to get a salty flavorful filling in order for the pupusas to be good. Chicharron is intense enough to make it good but more suble flavors like loroco gets lost in the plain masa. It’s not the best pupas but the chicharron pupusa is acceptable.
Tamale
I’ve had Salvadorian style tamale at various places and I think this one is pretty authentic. The masa texture is good and the meat filling is tender. I think it could be improved if they added some sort of salsa inside. I think their tamales are average.
Tacos
I have mixed feelings about their tacos. The carne asada was cooked perfectly. It was slightly crispy and had very nice spices. However, the tortillas are a bit larger than typical taqueria style tortillas and they are not fried/​grilled so the juices from the meat and salsa make the tacos very juicy… to the point it gets soggy. I wish they grilled the tortillas a bit.
Platanos Fritos (Fried Plantains)
I liked their platanos fritos plate with beans and crema. Their beans are really good (nice intense bean flavor). The plantains were ripe and nicely fried. The plantains dipped in crema and sugar is delicious.
Drinks
Their drinks are unique. They offer two types of horchata: a Mexican version and a Salvadorian version. The Mexican version is made from rice, sugar & cinnamon. The Salvadorian version also consists of rice, sugar & cinnamon but has additional ingredients that gives it a different flavor. It’s hard to describe the flavor but it has a slight hint of chocolate. I personally really like it and have never had an horchata quite like it. They have other interesting drinks such as cashew fruit drink called marañon. It is really good.
Summary
I definitely will be back for their drinks. I’ll probably swing by when in the neighborhood and pick up a horchata or marañon to go. I might even order a platanos fritos if I’m in the mood for a snack.

I’m Salvadoreno so I know my Salvadoreno food and this place is the real deal. They make pupsas and quertido just like my abulita does. All the food is authentic and made as if you were back home. Platanos Y Crème delicious! Come to this place for the food not the location or décor. It’s a somewhat of a hole in the wall in a random strip mall that is hidden off of Lawrence.
I’ve gotta say it for sure hit the spot and worth the drive. It you want real Salvadorean food without any fuss this is your spot.

There’s a Unilocal talk thread from 2009 where others tout Sabor Salvadoreno as the best place to get pupusas, so I went to try it out.
Pupusas are $ 2.25 each.
This is a solid 3-​stars for me.
The service was great; the people behind the counter immediately started making our pupusas and said it would be ready in about 10 minutes
When the actual pork pupusas came out, they were perfect round circles around 5 inches in diameter. The pupusas came with 2 bags that were only half filled with the sauce and curtido. The actual pupusa was only slightly filled with meat. It wasn’t as full as expected and seemed a bit bland. I loved the curtido and salsa though, but felt as if I had to ration what we had because we weren’t given a lot.

The 2 of us ordered our lunch on a Friday afternoon and this is my review…
I asked for 2 papusas with a side of rice and beans. The guys said he has an actual dish with the fried plantains on the menu, so I went with his suggestion and ordered that. My friend ordered chicken tamales and a side of rice and beans and we ordered 2 horchata’s. When the guy rang us up, I just had to ask why it was so expensive… $ 27.63. He printed out the reciept for us:
$ 9.95 for my plate (2 papusas, ¼ rice, ¼ beans, 3pcs plantains)
$ 4.95 tamales (2)
$ 2 rice
$ 2 beans
$ 3.25 horchata
$ 3.25 horchata
$ 2.23 tax
$ 6.50 for 2 cups of horchata?
Tamale plate came out 1^st. 5 minutes later papusa plate.
We started eating. Tamales were literalty soaked with water, you can press them with your fork and water would fill the plate. 2^nd bite in, ice cold. Swear. We took the plate back to the register and the guy gladdly gave a cash refund for the tamales.
Papusas were very greasy and rather flavorless. The cabbage was dry. The plantains were fried sooooo hard they were black and very dry. After one taste I was over it.
Horchata was gross and tasteless with tons of sludge on the bottom of the cup.
I would NEVER EVER come to this place again. Not for the price and especially not for the food.

The business card for Sabor Salvadoreno says it all «Deliciosos y Autenticos»
There is this fantastic honest hard working people vibe you get here. The owners are a husband and wife team that kind of make you feel at home. When you order your food they literally make it from scratch.
I had the Mix Papusas filled with cheese and zucchini which came with rice, beans and plantains. The young lady preparing the food actually pulled out a zucchini and diced it before hand making the little patties to stuff it in. Crazy right, then she pulled out a plantain still in the skin, peels it and puts in on the grill. No precut troughs of food sitting there for hours waiting for use.
Food was delicious and plentiful for the cost. Menu was huge with meat, seafood and fresh baked cookies. Décor was pretty run down but honestly it just leant itself to the whole awesome experience.
Way cool experience for me that left me wondering what I’ll have next time I visit.
First «Cell Phone Only» review. Thanks Unilocal for that!
Cheers!

BUENO — $ 2.25 Combo Pupusa — Beans, pork, cheese, and lots of it. Surprisingly not greasy at all — maybe it’s baked? The curtido side was good and fresh.
BUENO — $ 2.50 Chicken Tamale — A variety of other ingredients and not just shredded chicken. No pork tamales, however.
BUENO — Extensive menu board in SPANISH but with pictures. Pupusas, a number Salvadorian dishes, and the usual tacos, etc.
BUENO — Hard-​working family. Everyone looked like they were sweating and working hard — in the kitchen, manning the corner, clearing tables, and serving customers. They deserved to be tipped well.
NO BUENO — $ 2.25 Coke hencho en Mexico — Pricey.
NO BUENO — Small parking lot. Liquor store and bar next door… or is that BUENO?

very interesting trip. learned about the Loroco flower, that Salvadorean horchata is brown in color, thin rice, peanut, and cinnamon drink… that cuajada is queso fresco, and that arrayan (accent on last «a») is guayaba. Que curioso…
came to order some pupusas for MSG; his first time with those disc-​like masa-​laden cheese and grease pucks. Got the revueltas and loroco for him. came with hot sauce and curtido, to go. $ 2.25 each. think La Bamba in my neck charges exact same price.
Interesting menu, lots of options for choosing. It’s not very organized or tidy within. i’m warning ya. this review solely based upon the taste of the to-​go items.
$ 3 horchata was the most interesting of all. Cacahuate water, sweetened!!!

SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. SLAP…
Music to my ears. It can only mean one thing: Pupusas!!!
This place is in an shady shopping mall (and by shady I don’t mean «Sun-​free»). We bought a discounted coupon on
and were excited to try the place. I love me some pupusas so I was ready to dig in once I heard the slaps!
Pupusas: I ordered chicharonnes and queso. Two of ‘em. They were good. Not too dry, not to doughy, not to juicy, «Just right!» said Baby Bear. And the cabbage curtido side dish thing was quite good to, a lil’ spicy but not to bad. Big fan!
Carnitas Tacos: The carnitas here were tasty, juicy, and crispy all at the same time. I forced myself to finish my taco, since the pupusas were so filling, just ‘cuz I didn’t want to waste the tender meaty goodness.
The Canadian ordered his regular: regular steak burrito, well done, no rice, all beans, with jalapanoes. He said it was a GREAT burrito, better then most places he’s had, and not runny too (which tends to happen when you order extra jalapanoes). If the Canadian can give you props on a burrito, that’s a star in itself!
Horchata (Mexican): Nice, milky, not too gritty, just the right balance of milk, cinnamon and spices. The Canadian took a sip of it and actually liked it. Again, that says alot. He’s tried others and the squish of his face is pretty much the international sign for «Uh. no thanks.» But he kept drinking mine and I was pretty close to giving him the stink-​eye to stick with his diet Coke…
Fried plantains: I wanted a side order but ended up with a fat plate full, complete with refried beans and crema. I was super full already from eating my 2 pupusas and 1 carnitas taco. But after taking a bite of the perfectly coated, crispy-​on-​the-​outside-​gooey-​on-​the-​inside, flavorfull of goodness plantains, I couldn’t stop. The crisy edges were so addicting! What did they put on these? Crack? I’ve always said «Dessert is a different compartment» but even that compartment was full and I was STILL trying to stuff more in! TASTY!!! I never liked the refried beans or crema on my plate, but some happen to touch them and I tried it. Holy smokes, it was good!
Solid four stars. Great pupusas place!