El Nuevo Izalco Restaurant

This is probably one of my favorite places to eat in NYC. The food is delicious and fresh. I appreciate the family run business, amd seeing them work together as a team. Every thing on the menu that I’ve tried is excellent.
Shrimp ceviche, pupusas, salpicon, chicharrón con yucca…
If you’re thinking about going, just go. You’ll love it!

Went for lunch, ordered the 3 pupusas: chicharron, mixta and queso (very greasy this last one). The other 2 were good. Also ordered the tamal de gallina, which was very good.
My friend ordered the tacos de pollo, estilo flauta (fritos) and they were amazing!!! I will go back or stop by if in the area just for the tacos.
The Salvadoran beer was quite good.
Very reasonable prices.
CASH ONLY

This venue is a Salvadoran staple in Woodside, Queens. If you want the best pupusas that New York City has to offer then search no more.
My recommendation is to try ALL of the pupusas, the imported beer, and the tamales. More specifically, the tamal de elote.
Definitely, the «whole in the wall «type of ambiance but the kitchen produces culinary magic.

BEST PUPUSAS !!! I have tried a few other Salvadorean places but this one is the best. I have been going there for years. The owner and staff are really good.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Latin American cuisine but this caloric bomb of deliciousness makes me rethink my position.
The papusas are highly recommended and for good reason! They are fluffy on the inside with a delicious mix of stuffing. Beans, cheese, jalapeños, etc. with some pickled cabbage and spicy red sauce, it is a simple food that is hard to beat. The papusas has an initial bite and then melts in your mouth with the inside flavorings. The spicy sauce is really spicy so make sure to combine it with the crema they give you on the side. Portions are generous and I’m amazed I ate it all.
Now if that wasn’t good enough I decided to get dessert. I had the «Empanada De Leche». It’s not an empanada really — it’s a sweet plantain stuffed with cream, honey and deep fried and then topped off with just a bit of sugar. It’s basically a plantain donut. Surprisingly, it wasn’t clawing like sweet. It was just right. I may have liked it even more than the papusas!

Good food and good service but questionable sanitation.
There was definitely a hair in my tortilla and bits of stuff floating around in my ice water. The staff was pretty friendly but the waitress had a hard time understanding my question and just didn’t answer it. I don’t think I will be coming back since I wonder what other unsanitary things may happen.

Service — good
Ambiance — good
Food — great
Disclaimer — My reviews are according to the place itself, its location and so on.
I don’t easily give 5 stars.
So this place is very simple and there a lots a things that I could criticize, but i do give it 5.
Solid good food, specially the Pupusas (one of main foods from El Salvador) but the Yuca with chicharrones and ceviche are also great.
Super cheap prices.
I won’t go here for a cool ambience, great service or outstanding foodie food. I go for a taste of El Salvador that I can afford. They do the job well.

GREAT PUPUSAS IN WOODSIDE!
Service is pokey as it always is at an El Salvadorean joint, but the staff is friendly and welcoming to foreigners — compared to the Salvadorean places in Washington Heights where no one at all speaks a lick of English. That’s the beauty of Queens!
We ordered a tamale, three pupusas, and a main dish (forget the name — it was a rice and beans plate with a sort of stewed beef) and we were absolutely stuffed. Could have afforded not to get an extra pupusa for sure.
I find the non rice flour pupusas more crispy for some reason. Angeline P. thinks I am nuts.
The salvadorean tamales here are for real, less dry than their Mexican counterparts. Have not had these since La Bamba in Mountain View.
Run, don’t walk over! This is a great little restaurant.

I had wanted to try this place for a while, but cash only = it took me a year to actually get inside. Whoops.
Pupusas are Salvadorian stuffed corn patties, similar to arepas, and they’re what El Nuevo Izalco is known for. The item is so popular here that there’s a huge vinyl banner over the front of the shop, declaring them LA CASA DE LAS PUPUSAS!
I visited midday on a Monday and got the combo of 3 pupusas — meat, cheese, and mixed. They’re weren’t bad — it’s hard to go wrong with fat tucked into starch and fried — but overall, the pupusas were on the thinner side, heavy/​greasy without being rich, and not as fresh as I’d hoped. They’ll bring over a molcajete of intensely tart pink relish (curtido) which should help combat the heaviness of the pupusas, but the curtido actually wasn’t necessary (and holy cow was it sour).
The restaurant itself is cute and homey, with lots of little curios on the walls that recall El Salvador. The server (owner?) was extremely friendly and polite. Despite the awkward time of day and the emptiness of the restaurant, several people did come by to pick up takeout orders and chat a bit with him. Looks like they’re a more popular place for the neighborhood than their early closing hours would suggest.

Las popusas estan buenas al igual que el caldo de res :). Toman tu orden con paciencia por telefono para recojerla despues. Aunque yo y mi novio llegamos a recoger nuestra orden a las 8:57 osea tarde porque ellos cierran a las 9pm, preguntamos si podiamos comer ahi y nos dijieron que si cosa que nos gusto que nos dejaran comer ahi despues de que casi hiban a cerrar el restaurante.

Since I’ve been spoiled by my mom who makes amazing pupusas, I have a hard time finding anywhere that even comes close… Izalco Nuevo is that place though. Their pupusas are delicious and definitely satisfy my craving for them when I’m in NYC!
Game changer:
Pupusas
Salpicon

Haven’t been back here in probably over a year, I don’t why not (it’s right off the 7 stop, and about a 10 minute walk from the R stop). Maybe because it’s hard for me to find a dining buddy who will eat raw lime-​cooked shrimp ceviche.
*New Favorite Pupusa Alert!*: RICE pupusa with cheese and chipilin. I was told it was kind of like a cilantro herb– delicious! cheesy and herby at the same time. Better with lots of pickled cabbage an the tomato sauce on top. And it’s gluten-​free!
The sweet corn Tamale de Elote with cream was great for dessert. Forgot to try the pink horchata-​like drink. Co-​worker who’s family goes there a lot said it’s like the best strawberry shake you’ve ever had.

The best pupusas I’ve ever had were in California, so looking for a close second in New York has been rather difficult. I found this place online and was super excited because I’ve been craving pupusas for months.
The service AND passion fruit juice were excellent. The actual pupusas were average at best. I was a little disappointed about the number of flavors, I wish they would have had more of a selection. The sauce and cortido were just OK and we all know the cortido is ESSENTIAL in eating pupusas.
Overall I had a good time introducing pupusas to my friend, who LOVED them (That’s cause he doesn’t know any better) I would come again, in hopes that they were just having an off day.

I’ve been wanting to try this place for quite some time, and I’m glad I finally did. Everything was perfect; the pupusas, their sausage, tamales, tostones, sangria, Suprema, all delicious. Even their salsa has great flavor, but HOLY HOT! I’d definitely go back, without question. If you like Latin cuisine, GO NOW! Right off the 7 line at the Woodside stop.

Extremely friendly service. The pupusas are so darn good! I also recommend the sweet corn tamales. .very different from Mexican style tamales. prices are insanely inexpensive. .décor is a bit um.“interesting-tacky-but homey”!
Cash only! Definitely recommend checking it out!

Omgggg! I love this place & their pupusas! Especially the cheese with jalapeños mmmmm delicious!.. i always come here for pupusas & the sangria. Their horchata is good too. Love love lovee! x 1 000 000 :)

This has been my pupusas craving spot for the last ten years. The pupusas are always on point, every time I go they never disappoint me. I always order pupusas mixta, queso and frijoles.(to die for).Their sopa de res is good too (it comes with salpicon).The horchata is always made to perfection, the encurtido and salsa for the pupusas tops it up. I am Honduran myself but this place always keeps me coming back, the décor is cozy (it has souvenirs from El salvador) it’s small so it feels like home. You could say this is a hidden gem in Jackson heights Queens and N.Y. for the matter. Also the service is very attentive and friendly. I dare you guys to try some good salvadorian food, you guys wont be disappointed.

Amazing pupusas! The best I can find in NYC so far. The restaurant is a lovely little place with all different kinds native decorations. I love the curtido served with the pupusas, so I always make sure to get extra. The servers are always more then nice, never make me feel like an outsider being that I cant order in Spanish and can barley pronounce most of the things on the menu. If I can recall correctly, they dont accept credit cards to bring cash to avoid the ATM fees in the area!

Pupusas here are great
It’s the only thing I’ve ever ordered here but it’s the reason I keep going back. They come with this vinegar based slaw and a red sauce. So affordable too. You are full after three. The inside is decorated with reptile taxidermy and photos and other nick knacky stuff.
This is a regular place for me and my beau.
Oh and there are a couple window seats. It’s just over looking Roosevelt ave but still nice people watching:)

On occasion, I get some very intense pupusa cravings. The last time one struck me, I waited for the Q18 bus in the rain for close to 40 minutes just to get to Woodside. I could’ve certainly taken the train, but sometimes pupusa cravings can cloud my judgement.
This place is awesome. I don’t know the name of the guy that always takes my takeout order but he’s really sweet and welcoming. Every time I walk in it feels like I’m breaking into someone’s home. The atmosphere is just so welcoming.
All the pupusas are good. The mixed ones are the best. It’s illegal to eat them without the salsa and curtido (the cabbage salad), so make sure you don’t break the law.

The pupusas here were okay, but not the best I have had.
I tried several different ones — one with cheese, with pork, with beans, and the mixed one. They are very cheap — 3 for only $ 4.50. Taste-​wise, they were good. However, there were a couple things that I noticed. They were thinner and the filling was a lot more scarce than other pupusas I had before. Also, the tortillas on some of them were rubbery.
Also, I tried the Frijoles dish. It was simple — refried beans with four fried plantains and sour cream on the side. The plantains were very good, as were the beans. However, be warned because they tasted very salty to me.