El Guanaco

Everything on the menu I’ve tried so far is great… Super burrito is massive and the tacos are awesowe with super fresh ingredients and all at a very good price. Plus the lady that takes my food order is super cool!

Very tasty food. I had the chalupa dinner, it was so filling that I had to take some home, the staff was very friendly and patient.

This did not taste like real Mexican food. The lady was sweeping around while I was eating which really pissed me off!!! The food was not good.

Words cannot describe how good this food is!!! The Pupusa is amazing. This is truly authentic El Salvadorian food! If you are ever in the Troy Michigan area looking for Mexican/​El Salvador food you need to come to this place. Reasonably priced and absolutely delicious.

It was worth a try. I wish it had some spices. Food kinda felt bland. The appetizer is worth trying. Will come back to try other dishes.

I’ve been looking for a place like this in the area for a while now, and I’m glad that I found one. Honestly, I’m not too crazy about most of the items on their menu, but the salvadorian tamales and pupusas were delicious. The marinated pork in their super burrito was kind of dry though.
Also their service is hit or miss. I went on a Sunday and was greeted pleasantly and was treated well. But the other time I went, this lady was so rude to me. After ordering about $ 20 worth of food she wouldn’t even give me a small container of salsa. Then she refused to me any further and started to ignore me.
I would have loved to be a regular here, but only IF that one waitress isn’t there.

Waitresses are very nice and make you feel welcome. I have never had Salvadorian food before so I tried the pupusa with rice and beans. It’s was awesome. Kinda like a stuffed corn taco with cheese and meat.

More varieties than typical Mexican restaurants… food was okay. not great though, but not as bad

i’m so happy i found this place! i hadn’t had pupusas in years and i got the loroco flower and the bean one here. both were excellent. the pupusas were soft on the inside and had the perfect amount of pan fried hardness on the outside. they came with two sauces — one watery tomato (pretty good), and one spicy watery tomato (very good!). sorry that wasn’t an appetizing description, but just use a bunch and you won’t be sorry.
i also got a pork empanada, which was fried perfectly crispy, and the filling was so flavorful and spiced and soft. And I got a Salvadoran tamale, which was huge and had the moistest of fillings with the tenderest of pork. so so good. obviously i had a ton of leftovers, especially because i hate the whole thing of chips and salsa myself.
service was good and i went at a weird time when i was the only one in there. prices were cheap as expected. oh and they don’t have internet. i asked about it and they told me they have a sign painted on their door bragging that they have wifi, but it’s from the previous owner. can’t wait to come back next week!

My wife and I have been searching for an authentic Mexican restaurant to frequent. This place has everything. We both got the chicken (pollo) burrito which was fresh and very tasty. Highly recommend.

Possibly the only good Mexican — Salvadoran food not in SW. Al pastor tacos were dead on, creamy rich pork flavor, with a pile of pork, onions and cilantro. Must try the tamales. 3 bucks for a burrito sized tamale. Menudo.

This place should be packed, especially on a Friday night. The maduros, papusas, caldos and empanadas are amazing. This is a Latin-​American style restaurant, so there are a few countries being represented here and is authentic. Service was great and the servers were so happy, it was contagious. I will definitely be back!

We love this place. Sometimes when two types of food are combined in one restaurant it means the quality isn’t there. But this place is an exception. My husband loves the pupusas (he is from Colombia) and Empanadas and I love the AL pastor tacos. It well priced and we come out always feeling full and satisfied!

Had the platter #2, it was perfect to split for 2 people. But everything was just beans and cheese, it was delicious but would have preferred if it were cut with some veggies to balance it out.
Our server seemed annoyed and a bit judgemtal of us, but it just seemed like her personality. The dining room was clean and bright.
I would rather try more salvatoran restaurants before returnong here.

Authentic and tasty! Tacos were awesome. Need to offer a few more drink options, but good/​quick service.

Food is fantastic. You just cannot beat the pupusas with the spicy slaw. Couldn’t wait to get here for lunch today!
I am interested in trying the tacos, however, cannot turn away from the pupusas — seriously good food.
Service is always friendly and helpful.

After seeing the review on this place, it was on my hit list. After having good food and overall experience, it’ll stay on my list to stop in when I’m on that side of town.
I tried the Guanaco 3 combo that had pupusa, tamales, empanadas, steak and comes with a side of beans. I was hoping for a good sampler plate to try several of their options. I also had to include their fried plantains, why not right?
I would easily get all of the above accept the tamales. Let’s start there. My issues with the tamale was that it was just a corn tamale, and they are not made onsite. They are frozen and then cooked according to the server, which comes through on the flavor and texture. However, the pupusa, empanadas, steak, beans, and plantains I would gladly fill my belly. They are fresh, cooked very well, seasoned nicely, authentic, and straight up delicious.
I would also like to add that the staff there was extremely nice and friendly.

I love the old adage– don’t judge a book by it’s cover. That would apply here. It’s a little rough around the edges but once the food arrives & you taste the flavors, you say to yourself, who needs fancy, anyway?
Chicken tacos were fantastico! Coupled with a bottle of coke– deliciousness.

Thank you Unilocal for introducing us to this place. Yummy food and inexpensive! We tried quite a few things and all were great

I like El Guanaco. I like it a lot.
Service was prompt and attentive.
A small bowl of salsa & basket of chips was delivered. I liked the medium spiced, thick, chunky salsa. The chips were good and not over-​salted.
I ordered the Salvadoran equiv of fajitas w/​chicken, beef & shrimp. The amount of food was generous. The proteins were nicely seasoned and hot. The grilled vegetables were fresh and grilled to perfection. The raw veggies were lettuce, cucumber and tomato. All were fresh and chilled. The two tomato slices were fantastic (for winter). The flat bread (tortilla-​like) was warm with a good texture and taste. Better than any tortilla will taste. I will order again.
I ordered a side of fried plantains. They were very good and served hot. I will order again.
Tiny space. Cramped parking. I was asked to seat at a table too near the door; cold and breezy. I should not have accepted that seating — my fault. They need a 2^nd door on the entryway to at least break the cold breeze whenever the door is opened.
I counted eleven (11) 2-​top tables that MIGHT squeeze four, if you are really friendly and don’t order much food.
No liquor license.
Sign on the window says WiFi … is wrong. No WiFi.
CCW friendly.
Five stars because I was delighted.

Sorry. I tried.
I wanted to have a nice meal here but it wasn’t and I don’t plan on returning.
The place was empty the afternoon my Wife and I came here for lunch.
We ordered a bit of everything, way too much food for two people because we were excited to try everything.
The order took forever. I swear they must have left to go shopping or had to go to the library to look up some recipes or something.
After a crazy long wait the food arrived and just wasn’t all that good. Mediocre at best and not worth even ¼ of the wait it took.
Too many other places to eat in the area.

So just to recap what was mentioned in the other reviews…
1. Old stripmall location on Maple is now empty, but (as of Dec14) the sign is still there. Don’t worry, the new location is literally a right-​turn away (now in a standalone building on Livernois)
2. Place is a hole-​in-​the-​wall, but in a good way. You know you’re going to get an authentic meal here!
3. Very friendly staff who will explain /​recommend items if you have never had Salvadorian food. And since El Comal closed in Mexican town years ago, I think this may be the only (or perhaps one of two) Salvadorian restaurants in The D.
We did not try the Mexican fare (although it looked awesome) and decided to try the Salvadorian specials of pupusas, empanadas, plaintains, and tamales. All were tasty, but we would rank them (in terms of deliciousness) in that same order. Be sure to taste the slaw and spicy red sauce that accompanies most dishes.
If we lived /​worked nearby and needed a lunch or dinner event catered, I would hire this place to do it. It’s unique, delicious, and everyone would go home happy.

Guess what? As I sat down to write this review, I started to fantasize about the quality and bold flavor that are Guanaco. Now I’m going to take a break and So that’s my first selling point. I’ll hold off until I finish another round to see if it inspires anything new…
Still great! Now that my belly is stuffed full of goodness, let me explain that El Guanaco is the only El Salvadorian restaurant in the Troy/​Royal Oak area (at least that I’ve found!) The first time I walked in, the restaurant was a hole-​in-​the-​wall establishment and the workers were jumping wildly around a television, rooting for their favorite El Salvadorian soccer team. There was a certain charm to that, though I know they’ve gotten some mixed reviews for service, wrong orders, wrong change and language barriers. However, this has definitely improved. They moved around the corner, just north of Maple Road on Livernois (East side of the street). Their new place is clean and more professional with more confidence inspiring décor. There’s even a couple of tables if you want to hang out with your papusas.
What sets this apart from Mexican restaurants is the papusas (which have generated a small following in the area), empanadas (my personal favorite), and other regional choices such as their marinated chicken. The reason I keep coming back is that you get a LOT of food for a little money, and they don’t skimp on the portion sizes. Case in point: One taco is $ 1.50. It consists of two fairly large corn tortillas and is busting at the seems with meat (al pastor is the way to go!), fresh cilantro and onions, and spicy red sauce on the side (a must if you ask me). I’m usually a three taco gal as I have a nice appetite, but they had me stuffed at two (especially since you gotta save room for an empanada!) Empanadas come with spicy cabbage deliciousness and a different red sauce, not as hot but a good dipper. Every item I’ve ordered has been tender, flavorful and fresh, unlike many other restaurants in the same cuisine. It seems you can’t really go wrong here. They deserve the good reviews, and I’ve never had bad service or a wrong order. Try it out and you’ll have solid leftovers for a couple of meals.