Guanaco’s Tacos Pupuseria

I came here because Unilocal said it averaged ⁴⁄₅ stars from 243 Unilocalers. When I see all the great reviews for this place, I wonder… did I come to this place on an off-​day or are 243 Unilocalers just way-​off? Overall, I was underwhelmed by the meal.
I made a take-​out order spinach and cheese pupusas. They were so greasy, that by the time I made it home from a 13 minute long drive, the take-​out box that it came in had soaked through the bottom, and even left a huge grease spot on my dinner table.
Flavor: Bland
Texture: Soggy.
Notes: The ratio of tortilla to filling was 3.5: 1. It was thick.
I ordered 2 baby corn tamales. They were such a disappointment. The texture was that of stale cornbread that had been laying out under heat; much like you would find at a hometown buffet. Anyone that knows tamales knows that the best ones are moist. Even some of the reviews here mentioned «moist tamales.» Again, maybe I came on an off-​day? I couldn’t finish it after a couple of bites and ended up tossing it. :(
I ordered a pork burrito for my significant other. He couldn’t finish it either, but was able to make it more than halfway through. I took a bite, the tortilla had a weird pasty texture on the inside, and just very reminiscent of clay. :/​
Also, service was slow. When I arrived there, one single family was seated and had already eaten, and a table of 4 college dudes were getting ready to leave. I was pretty much the only one that had ordered food, and it took 20+ minutes to receive an order that tasted like it had been sitting out for an hour or more.
The bill totaled $ 42, and we ended up tossing nearly half of it.
Not coming back again… :\

Everything here is great, but my favorite thing is the tamales! They are so moist and flavorful! There is also good steak, pupusas, etc.

Stumbled upon this place during the University Street Fair. Took us a few extra minutes to locate it since it is truly a local hole in the wall restaurant. I tried the pupusa combo and my companion purchased the steak burrito. Both options tasted fresh and well made and the bill only came to $ 20 along with 2 drinks. I will be sure to return when I am in the U-​District again.

Great price, good food, pedestrian service.
I am so torn about what direction to take this review as I have such fond memories of this place as a student. My most recent visit taking some friends here as an experience years after graduating, I feel was a total let down.
We walked in to a surprisingly empty restaurant on a Friday afternoon. (Which I recall never happening.) When my friend asked if they had chips and bean dip, the guy acted like we offended his mother and said «that’s more a Mexican thing, we’re a Salvadoran restaurant.» Great, note to self: don’t go and ignorantly compare cultures, Alex. This is apparently NOT a Mexican restaurant.
I ordered what I was familiar with which was a #4 combo: Papusa stuffed with cheese, pork, jalapeño and cactus (yeah, I did the most). A Delicious but tiny chicken tamale wrapped in banana leaf. And a pastelito. You see, my favorite part is everything really is made to order here and it’s worth the wait. I do wish their sauces were better. Like spicier, or more flavor.
This is a self serve restaurant. And it drives me absolutely nuts that even on a slow day they really can’t do table side service?! Take my order at the table damnit! You’re so close to being amazing!

Great pupusas with your choice of pork, chicken, spinach, loroco, cheese, and more. Get the tacos and you can choose from fish, steak, or chicken as your filling. The chicken are good, but the tacos come out the kitchen really hot. So be careful when you pick them up. The bean and rice sides are a great addition. Whether it’s pinto, refried or black beans, they all are good choices. The pupusas come with a tangy and sweet coleslaw that this delicious when combined with the pupusas and their special sauces. They have two bottles of sauces on the tables. One sweet tomato sauce and another green sauce that is sweet and a little bit tangy. Not too spicy if you don’t like the spice though. The atmosphere is traditional South American feel. Not a large space by any means. But big enough to fit 30 people in the entire venue. Great food and friendly staff!

Big portions, low flavor. If you want a great pupusa, go to tropicos breeze. I really wanted to like this place due to location, but won’t go back.

I checked their online menu and the prices were different when I got there, the pieces are more expensive ., and the flavor of the Pupusas was not that good ., I was craving some Pupusas and this was the only place close to me when I went to Seattle.,
And I order with my friend 8 Pupusas and I was charged 12 Pupusas ., I notice it until I got home I was thinking I paid too much and did checked the receipt that hey gave after they swipe my card. And called and they did refund me the money but I waste my time driven there to get 8 dollars back .
Tip: before you paid ask to see receipt to check order .
Customer service is not the best I got attidue from the waitress when I pick up my refund.

I love pupusas, so I was so excited when I found this place in the UDistrict! I came here first when I moved to Seattle two years ago, and fell in love with how fresh their pupusas were and their horchata was amazing. I usually get the 2 pupusa combo with rice and beans, and it is always way too much for me! They do not skimp on portions here.
The pork and beans pupusa is a personal favorite, but on my recent visit to Guanaco’s, their quality has really gone downhill. Their pupusas were really bland and unnecessarily greasy. Also, there rice was really plain and beans really dry — it was such a disappointment! Even the horchata was terrible, you could tell they use a horchata mixture and it tasted so grainy. I’ve already found some better alternatives to this place, so I will probably not be back here!

This place is pretty solidly average for me. The pupusas taste pretty good, but I think the pork ones are better than the chicken. The fried yuca is inoffensive, but I’m leaning towards «no» for the empanada (but then, I don’t like custard).
The pastelito is the best thing I’ve tried here so far.
The salad/​cole slaw is something I advise avoiding; there’s a weird, unpleasant aftertaste.
The horchata tastes good, but the texture is gritty. If you don’t like lots of cinnamon in your horchata, you should know the cinnamon is very obvious in their horchata.
The wait time for your food is about 10 – 15, I would say, if they’re not busy.

This is one of my fave places to get a vegetarian meal in the U-​district. I usually get the #2 combo, which is one pupusa with plantain, a little cole slaw & a little banana custard thing for dessert. I feel totally stuffed afterwards but at least it was vegetarian!
Pick your own fillings for the pupasas including bean, cheese, nopal, etc.
Service is friendly, they use real plates, cutlery & glasses for self-​service water and there are great salsas on each table. It can get a little busy, but they work fast and cook fast, and if you wait a minute you can usually get a seat pretty quickly.

Best little hole in the wall ever! Great food & authentic ingredients coupled w really attentive service. Definitely try the Pupusas, a Salvadorian delight with 3 yummy healthy ingredients for only $ 3.70 each. A must stop if your are in the U of W area or visiting nearby.
Recommended for a casual light lunch if you’re planning a fancy dinner at night!

Very good!
Authentic little place that serves great food. I heard the beef tacos were outstanding. I had the chicken tamale, which was so good! It’s cooked in a banana leaf leaving it very moist, and the chicken is seasoned perfectly. I also had a pupusa with chicken, beans, and cheese that was also very good. Their refried beans that come with their plantains are outstanding! I am not sure how they cook them, but I’ve never had refried black beans that are that tasty and well-​seasoned. The menu had a great variety and many things I want to try. I will definitely be back.
I only saw street parking available but on the Sunday that I came I was able to find it right outside.
I highly recommend this place!

The place is very simple: you order and pay at the front and they give you a number. The seating is self-​service and they bring the food to you. The ambiance feels very cheap and isn’t helped by the plastic vinyl tablecovers that feel like they were made in the 70s.
I ordered a combo of a pupasa, a pastelito and a yuca. You get to choose the three fillings that go into the pupasa. The pupasa felt a little greasy and there wasn’t much filing inside and tasted bland. It was also very unevenly mixed and I felt like one half was only cheese and the other half was only meat and there was barely any zucchini. The pastelito and the yuca were okay however but nothing exciting.
Overall I thought the food wasn’t that good tasting nor that filling. Although it was cheap, I feel there are plenty of restaurants nearby that also offer similar priced lunch specials that are a lot better tasting and with bigger portions.

Nothing fancy but so delicious.
I’ve been on a hunt for a good pupuseria & here it is, hidden in the U-​district.
Medium sized restaurant with grab your own water & silverware. Chilly inside as the back door is a outside ‘courtyard ’ to the bathroom.
But the food was good, very good.
Tamales were spot on: warm, moist, meaty.
The main attraction: pupusa. Wonderful. They were pretty thick with lots of cheese! Rice & beans very good.
Service was friendly.
I’ll be back.

Solid spot!
$ 3.50 for a pupusa with three fillings. Personally liked the cheese, spinach, and chicken best. Pork was okay, even though it’s apparently the most popular.
I just wish they were a little bit more crispy. Maybe it’s because there’s a lot of stuff/​filling inside.
Would definitely come back to get my pupusa fix.

We stopped in for lunch and were wowed by the fresh quality and great flavors. Our pupusas were made to order and served hot and crispy with melty warm fillings. We were surprised at the smooth texture of both the fillings and the refried beans (more like bean purée), great in combination with the crispy corn masa of the pupusa and the tangy crisp of the cabbage/​carrot slaw served with the meal. The plantains were the perfect sweet tender ending to our meal.
Don’t miss this one!

I want to keep this brief– this review should be about Guanaco’s and not about me.
–First, the food is solid and the staff is reasonably cordial and presentable. A quick glance at the menu and even the type of cuisine in the description will tell you all you need to know about the food. Standard fare, but good and affordable.
–If you wish to use the restroom, prepare to feel like Frodo heading to Mt. Doom. An absolute adventure awaits you as you wend your way through corridor after corridor with key in hand and desperate purpose in heart. Sadly, there are no eagles to carry you away once you’ve completed your task.
–I’ll be your eagle. Actually, that’s pretty weird if you think about it. Forget I said that.

I love the food here because it is really tasty and you can tell that everything is made from scratch. I’d never eaten an authentic pupusa before eating at Guanaco’s but I really enjoyed them. You can customize them with a number of fillings, so they can accommodate all kinds of tastes. I also like that they have a variety of bottled sodas made with real cane sugar!
The pupusas are soft and fluffy, and very flavorful from the fillings. They have a ton of combos with a variety of side dishes, so you can try a variety of items on your plate. My favorite combo comes with two pupusas and a side of pan-​fried plantains, which are so so delicious. I haven’t tried their tacos or burritos but I can imagine that they’re pretty tasty just based on how good the pupusas taste.
Service is pretty limited to them taking your order and bringing out your food, but the people working here are always cheerful, polite, and helpful. This place is small so it is usually packed during regular mealtimes, so I try to sneak in my pupusa fix in-​between busy times whenever I can!

I gave this a 2 star review at one point and now I just feel like a total jerk.
The owner reached out to me saying that what I wrote in my review was not the kind of business they wanted to be. He offered for me and a friend to come in and eat on the house. While the gesture was certainly appreciated, I didn’t really have the time to take him up on his offer and also didn’t want to be reviewer who complains to get free food!
Just recently, my boyfriend and I were hungry and in the area. I decided to do the unthinkable after my series of bad experiences here — I brought him here to my old stomping grounds.
Oh my goodness. It was like the place was what it once was! Service was sweet. The generous portions were delicious. The pupusas were hot and stuffed and scrumptious. The rice and beans were great. Oh and the curtido? My boyfriend was kind enough to let me have the portion of that on his plate too. It’s my favorite! I got my usual order (Number 7) and my boyfriend got the one with one pupusa and an empanada which, to our surprise, was a dessert item rather than a savory hand pie of sorts. It wasn’t a problem at all though because it was delicious! We both thoroughly enjoyed everything and left short of licking the plates clean.
Eduardo, you run a good establishment here. Hope it stays that cuz I love having this as a go-​to spot in the UDistrict!

So, as far as papusas are concerned, I’d say that I’m a fan.
You pick your ingredients (veggies, meats, cheeses) and then you wait in glorious anticipation for your little pockets of delight to arrive at your table.
I got one with nopales and beans and the other with spinach, zucchini and more nopales perhaps? (I don’t remember 100%). My dining companion ordered some with veggies and cheese (I think).
I was happy with the selection, but we both agreed that our food could use a bit of zing. We used the hot sauces that were on the table and then some salt. I guess I would rather add more salt and flavors to my food than have it be overly seasoned.
The dude at the front counter was super nice and very enthusiastic when asked what his favorites were.
When in Seattle again, I’ll probably go back for more.