4. Restaurants

Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño

3149 Livernois Ave, Detroit, MI, 48210
  • (313) 899-4020
  • Store is closed

Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño Menu

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Visit below restaurant in Detroit for healthy meals suggestion.

Chili’s Grill & Bar ( 5707 Southfield Fwy )

Visit below restaurant in Detroit for healthy meals suggestion.

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  • Mike W.

    Would you risk your life for delicious beans, sour cream, and tamales? Located on the edge of a sprawling field, next to an abandoned house and the rail yard. Detroit. The waitress didn't speak ANY English. Another customer translated. So much fun. Great food. I felt very comfortable, safe and welcome!! Something special and magical here. You gotta go.

    (5)

  • stephen r.

    Tasty. Huge portions. Cheap as all get-out. After tackling the menu, I know now that the winning combination is 1-2 pupusas, split the plantains with your pardner, and get one of the house made bevs. (...unless you want to take home leftovers...) Great spot! Will return soon.

    (4)

  • Amelia B.

    Well, when i wanted to go to another place and they were closed, i said lets go here. Its in my neighborhood and had been bookmarked for a while. Goods: Prices Variety Food Quality Food Quantity Sodas Bad: Out of some stuff Atmosphere For those who dont know what a Pupusa is, think of a large corn tortilla with stuff cooked on the inside. And they have a great variety. The husband and I both got the dinner that come with 3 and a pop ( Im not a pop drinker but they had Kola champagne). The Atmosphere is eh- quaint. Go to the inside part where its heated and air conditioned. They need to clean alittle better, but ive eaten in much worse. The service is eh- But what can you expect in a hole in the wall? It was always pretty busy with most of the inside full of patrons. Together we tried the pupusas with Loroco ( edible flower), Calabasa ( squash), Frijoles and Chicharones ( Beans and fried pork), Shrimp and cheese. We both agreed the one with fewer ingredients were dryer. But with the awesome Salsa and the Curtido ( slaw) it was just fine. I really enjoyed the Chicharrones and calabasa ones. They were very flavorful. But, they were out of Fried Chacharonnes AND Yuca. Two things we both really wanted. But we got the fried plantains (I would call them Maduras but hey, ) with cream and beans and they were awesome. We wondered what kind of beans they were because since they were refried we couldnt see them, but i knew they werent pinto, possibly black beans, but it wasnt that dark. We go to the counter to pay and they are selling the dried type of beans they serve. Great! Theyre like a red bean. We will be back. Soon. We need to try more things.

    (4)

  • Katie D.

    We came here solely based on Yelp reviews and we were not disappointed. The atmosphere is very relaxed with a few booths and tables to choose from. Servers speak both English and Spanish, as you would expect. The pupusas were delicious, as were the rice and beans. Personally, I'd recommend the ones with lots of cheese, as some of the other options ended up being less moist. The only downside is the neighborhood. I wouldn't come here after dark, and I kept an eye on my locked car out the window while we ate!

    (5)

  • Gerry C.

    Don't be fooled by the shady looking surroundings and building. This is great hole in the wall dining. Pupusas a great (sort of across between a tamale and quesadilla), as are the tamales and seafood stew. Ironically, the refried beans are really good too. I recommend the pork over the chicken in pupusas and tamales, which tends to be a little bit boney.

    (5)

  • Ashley M.

    The food is as good as it gets for what you're paying. The pupusas are the best I have ever had. Steaming hot, crispy and brown on the outside, savory and cheesy on the inside. I would recommend the chicken, squash and cheese pupusa. The chicken tamale is also very savory and delicious. But the pupusas are where it's at. The spicy cabbage slaw is has a wonder balance of salty, vinegary and spicy. It's the perfect crunchy acidic hit when paired with the pupusa. The food is extremely affordable. $2.25 for a pupusa and $2 for a chicken tamale. They are very filling as well. The staff is quick and friendly. My ONLY gripe is the location of this place. It's not a safe area. It is located in neighborhood with tons of rundown, vacant buildings. They even have a TV in the restaurant where you can watch video surveillance of the parking lot outside so you can see if anyone is trying to break into your car. Although that is thoughtful, it gives you an idea of how dangerous the area is. Oh, also my bean, cheese and loroco flower pupusa didn't have any loroco flowers in it. However, I didn't say anything to the staff because I already ate most of it before I noticed (I've never had loroco flower so I didn't know what to look for, but there definitely wasn't anything else in it other than beans and cheese). I wasn't able to completely relax and enjoy my meal (even though it was really good) because of the environment. Because of that, it gets 4 stars instead of 5. BUT if you don't care about that/are getting take-out, then by all means stop by for some wonderful Salvadoran food.

    (4)

  • Bradford P.

    Super good food, super cheap. Kids loved it, wife loved it. No alcoholic beverages, but really good Mexican soda. It's not in a suburban type area but it's not anything to be nervous about. They have a TV watching the cars if you're genuinely concerned. This place was better and more fun that restaurants that are three times as expensive.

    (4)

  • Matt J.

    When I walked in, it felt like I was transported to San Salvador. Garish tapestries celebrating life in the capital city were festooned around the walls. There were also colorful posters including pictures of the authentic Salvadorian fare that we were about to savior. I went for the pupusas, which are Salvadorian tacos. They had the consistency of griddle cakes with all the taco stuffing interspersed within each cake. I went for two chicken and one pork pupusa. The meat was shredded with care and the griddle cakes were moist and delicious. We ordered a side of fries plaintains for the table with crema and frijoles. The silky luxurious texture of the plaintains made them very enjoyable. I can't wait to go back to this gem to try the yuca fries and fish stew.

    (5)

  • William S.

    This is truly a hidden gem. My wife spends time in El Salvador and she stated this was just like being there. The food was seriously fresh and tasty. The menu was interesting and had some great items to choose from. The service was wonderful and accomodating. The decor was authentic to El Salvador. I was very happy with this place and it's definitely worth a try.

    (4)

  • Matthew P.

    Chicken + Squash + Cheese = most amazing papusa ever. I had a pupusa once, it was nothing like this. So awesome. Waitress spoke hardly any english, so lots of menu pointing. The slaw was great, just the right crunch and vinegar level. Fried empanadas were not anything special. At the end of ordering when we handed her all our menus she said 'plantains or...?' I took this in the context that they were complimentary for eating in, and we could opt out of getting them or say 'ok' and they would arrive. I went with ok. They were not included, they were like $8. They keep their hot sauces in the fridge with the ice cold beverages, so if you don't like cold hot sauce on your food you'll have to wait for it to warm up. Found this a bit odd, as hot sauce needs to refrigeration.

    (4)

  • R W.

    I found a New HangOut!!!!! Food was Awesome I had the Chicken Squash with a strawberry Shake!! Delicious!! With a side of Rice and sour Cream!!! The atmosphere was Basic! The waitress was Ok! But I liked the prices and especially the Food!!

    (4)

  • Andrea E.

    Love the pupusas, love the spicy cabbage, love the tamales, love the plantains, love the third grade drink thermos full of salsa.

    (5)

  • Michael C.

    This place is the real deal. Not in the nicest setting by any stretch, but the humble little restaurant has some charm to it - like you found a "hidden gem" (Yelp! catchphrase). Everything is unbelievably affordable and so, so tasty. It's a perfect cheap date.

    (5)

  • Crystal A.

    Super delicious and authentic El Salvadorian food! Best you can find in the Detroit area. I have now visited here about 5 times. I have always been very happy with the food. My favorite dish is the pupusas con pollo! It comes with creama y frijoles. Definitely try it! Don't forget to also try the plantanos. Many people probably drive by this place and can't find it. It's slightly hidden so if you blink you might miss it. Inside the decor reminded me of great memories from the trip that I took to El Salvador. The prices are super cheap and affordable for the amount of food you get. Enjoy!

    (5)

  • Scott S.

    Because I have to eat a gluten-free diet, it is hard to find a good restaurant that has a wide selection of gluten-free fare, but here the entire menu is gluten-free so I can order whatever I want from the menu. The food is tasty fantastic, and seriously inexpensive, which is a great combination.

    (5)

  • Sarah Y.

    This place is the business. I was looking for a place I had never experienced as well as the chow. I was so happy! This is now one of my favorite places in the city. My friend and I sampled a little bit of everything on the menu. Make sure to try the chorizo with eggs. Well worth the drive!!

    (5)

  • Tim G.

    While pulling into Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño will make you feel like you're in a war zone, this food blew us away. After getting past the driveway (which is actually an alley), and the burned out houses next door, this place is truly a hidden gem. My lunch companion and I were initially the only non-Hispanic's in the restaurant (other gringo's soon followed), which when looking for this type of authentic ethnic cuisine, is usually a great sign. I think the Papusa is the national dish of El Salvador, and if not, it should be. The best way I can describe them is that they are like a cornmeal/tamale pancake, stuffed with wonderfully flavored pork, chick, beef and/or shrimp, as well as your choice of cheese, beans, jalapenos (great flavor-not overly hot) or Loroco flower. I enjoyed topping mine with the Curtido, which is a slightly spicy El Salvadorian cabbage salad that comes with the meal, and the salsa that comes in a plastic mini-jug. The staff is all local and there can be a bit of a language challenge, but they are very welcoming, and were very helpful on our first visit. I suggest the dinner which comes with 2 or 3 Papusa, rice and beans. Don't make the same mistake we did by forgetting to get an order of fried plantains. They looked and smelled great, which gives us a great reason to come back... not that we needed one.

    (5)

  • Charles S.

    Amazing pupusas! If you've had pupusas at the one place you can get them in Ann Arbor, you're probably looking for something better. We ordered the tres pupusas dinner with queso, frijol y queso, and solo de chicharrón. They were cheesey and gooey and hot and delicious. If you live no where near here, it's worth the trek. They also had Topo Chico, which I've been craving since I left Texas. Though it's on the pricier side ($2.00), it's worth it. 4 stars for the long wait.

    (4)

  • Vern C.

    Easy access from highway... Waitress staff very attentive ... 15 bucks for 2 including drinks and tax ... Atmosphere inside made me feel like a was in country... The food was made fresh and seasoned well... Will be back...

    (5)

  • Sara B.

    I'll start by saying that this place is CASH ONLY. It's an unexpected little treasure, and I was so very happy with everything I ate. My man and I started with some jamaica that was delicious, but a bit sweeter than we would normally make it. We wanted to try and get a really good taste of a lot they had to offer, so naturally we ordered enough food for 6 people. All told we tried the following pupusas; chicken and cheese, pork beans and cheese, beans and cheese, and beans with loroco flowers. The loroco flower and pork pupusas were my favorite, but all of them were amazing and full of flavor. We also ordered the rice and beans, and one chicken and one pork tamale. The rice and beans were fairly standard, but flavorful and I liked the vegetables in the rice. The tamales had a very thick corn outside, but were very moist and delicious. The thing were tried that surprised me most was the cabbage. It seemed to have vinegar instead of mayo and had lots of oregano and a hint of heat. All in all we had a delightful lunch that we couldn't even come close to finishing and it cost us almost exactly $20. Super cheap and super good.

    (5)

  • Kyle Martin D.

    The food was simple, fresh, delicious, and served by a really polite lady who kept bringing me bottles of Coke, like she was reading my mind, but choosing not to judge me for having those disgusting thoughts about the spandex-clad lady in the infomercial that played during the meal. "You know, I may just buy that blender, you seductive cougar who has had a bit too much plastic surgery." Anyhow. This place is also incredibly clean. So much so, that the health inspector, who rolled in here near the conclusion of our meal, said she eats here quite often -- but she wouldn't say if it's the food or the sexy infomercials that keep her coming back. As for the food: Our group ordered a bunch of pupusas (spelling), from chicken and squash to pork and squash to fish and squash, and with few veggie options along with an order of fried plantains. Each pupusa plate came with rice and beans that we used to top the stuffed corn tortillas. We were not disappointed, but left way more full than we had hoped. Big, big portions. Looks like we found another spot to add to the lunch rotation.

    (4)

  • Bryan A.

    Went here on our way into Detroit. Being from California, these places are the norm for me. I wanted my cousin from Ohio to try El Salvadorian food, so we stopped in based on the Yelp reviews. I am happy we did! The food was awesome! Ordered a pork and cheese papusa, jalapeño and cheese papusa, fried plantains, and a corn tamale. By far, the pork and cheese papusa was the best! It was perfectly cooked, soft, moist, and tasted amazing! The fried plantains were also amazing! There were served with beans and cheese. They can totally stand alone and they would be perfect as is. The corn tamale was good. Got it fried and it was like having really good and fresh corn bread. The jalapeño tamale was just "okay." My cousin loved it also. Next time I come through Detroit, I will be back!

    (5)

  • Corene F.

    My mom and I went here for lunch before seeing a show at the Fisher. I am kind of in love with this place. The food was super tasty. My mom and I split 3 papusas. We had one with pork, beans and cheese (my favorite), one with chicken and cheese (mom's favorite), and one with beans, cheese and loroco flower (ok, but I like both the pork and chicken better). I also had two pork tamales and my mom had a chicken tamale. All of these were tasty. The pork in the tamale was the most tender pork I have ever eaten. I could have eaten a bowl of it alone. The waitress was friendly and you cannot beat the price. Lunch for the two of us cost a total of $15 and we were stuffed. I will definitely be going back.

    (4)

  • Kim J.

    The platanos and chichiron de puerco is off the hook!!!! The pupusa of chicken & cheese is good also and the yuca was cooked well. It was the first time I ate El Salvadorian food an it was a good experience. It's a very local spot, so don't drive too fast or you'll miss it.

    (4)

  • Regina T.

    I visited for the first time yesterday, and went back again tonight. Yep, it's like that. Shawty's like a melody in my head...that I can't get out...got me singin' like... A-ny-way. The pupusas are huge and PERFECT: not too mealy or thick like some other places, and generously stuffed to a cheesy perfection. I looooved the JALAPENO CHEESE & BEANS and the CHEESE, BEANS & LOROCO FLOWER pupusas. The PORK & CHEESE seemed to be the beloved carnivorous favorite. But seriously, the cheese is so oozy and plentiful that it really doesn't even matter what the rest of the fillings are. Make sure you slather on the salsa and the slaw. WHY IS THAT COMBO SO GOOD?! The DOS PUPUSAS DINNER is that deal, and is almost too much food (pshaw). It comes with sides of beans and rice (both delicious), and your choice of anything from the drinks cooler, all for $7.80. Let's raise our Jarrito's up to celebrate these fantastic prices. If you don't need any of that frill, then each individual pupusa (w/ curtido and salsa) is only $2.25. Hell, yeah. Go ahead and raise your glass of tap water to that. OK, see you guys there. Don't sit in the booth near the fun farm scene towel with the chickens & the dog...that's where I go, and I'll probably be there every day (like my iPod's stuck on replay.) P.S. Credit cards are accepted.

    (5)

  • Heatherleigh N.

    The neighborhood isn't much worse than some places I've lived, so that presented zero hesitation for us. This place won't win any awards from the health department for dining room cleanliness, but the service, the prices and the food were all great. The pupusas were revelatory for us newbies, and the plantains with beans and crema were SOOOO flippin' good. We spent half the dinner making lists of all the friends we want to bring here. The bill was $25 for the two of us, mostly because we wanted to try a bunch of different stuff, and we have a BIG box of leftovers. This place is getting added to our short list.

    (4)

  • Denny P.

    Delicious, authentic Salvadorian food! You will drive right by this place unless you are looking for it. This makes finding it all the more enjoyable. You can tell that they aren't putting money into interior design to win over the suburban crowd, instead they focus on what they do best: making inexpensive, simple, fast, and delicious pupusas and tamales! The staff are extremely friendly and happy to make recommendations. This is the great place to get stuffed on pupusas and then zone out watching Spanish language television. Check it out!

    (4)

  • Jermond B.

    This place is great. I mean it, I love the food and it's open to everyone. I say that because you might not initially get a familiar feeling when you walk in but sit order, watch some telemundo and prepare to be filled with interesting delicious pupusa's. Most meals are served with this vinegary slaw which is dope, it adds freshness and crunch to the heavy doughy, meaty, cheesy pupusa's. It may not look like much but it's a real experience, check it out if your looking for fresh new different and delicious.

    (5)

  • Kathryn D.

    We really enjoyed this place! It was authentic, good flavors & the orchata was really good

    (5)

  • Harry H.

    "Where do you want to go to eat?" "How about Red Lobster?" "Um...no way." And so began my wife's first trip to Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño. I had eaten there several times before for lunch, sitting in the room with the various families and others enjoying the best pupusas around. My wife really didn't know what to expect, so we ordered four entrees (at a cost of what would have been an entree and a salad at the restaurant suggested by my wife, which will now forever remain nameless. Two pupusa dinners, a chicken pasteles dinner and plantains with crema and frijoles. Others first-timers were there at the restaurant and began asking about what was on our plates. We happily doled out samples of the items to others. And we still brought home another meal's worth of leftovers. All the items were top notch in flavor and execution at prices so low they are hard to believe. I'd like to end this update with the following: "I dragged my wife into the pupusaria with a frown on her face, but she walked out all smiles."

    (5)

  • Betsy W.

    How have a lived 43 years without ever eating a papusa? Thank heaven I have now rectified that sorry state. Sketchy from the outside, delicious and very inexpensive on the inside. Thanks, Yelpland, for leading me to this place!

    (5)

  • Jeremy W.

    Loroco pupusas here are on point. Started coming here last summer and wasn't surprised it's started to be known outside of the neighborhood. This place is one of my favorites in southwest

    (4)

  • laura W.

    Delicious! A star off for not having fresh juice :( But tons of stars for cheap, delicious papusas! I loved the jalapeno and chicken! Yummy salsa! They do take cards!

    (4)

  • Vic J.

    A bit hard to find, but worth it. Great Central American lunch spot on the edge of S.W. Detroit. Tamales are A+... I'm going back tomorrow and treating some 1st timers

    (4)

  • Amy C.

    First time having El Salvadorian food and it was a neat experience. Went with a friend and sampled 6 different pupusas. Highly recommend the fish pupusas and the bean ones as well. It was also super authentic-- everyone in there appeared Hispanic/Latino. Overall, it was extremely affordable and definitely one of Detroit's more hidden gems! One thing to note is that the waitress speaks very little English. I had to pull out my high school Spanish to communicate with her. Although I had fun, those who are not familiar with Spanish may have some trouble overcoming the language barrier.

    (4)

  • Eldwin L.

    Finally a disagreement with liz.w lol this is a ok palce but there is much better to be had. I.e. the house deeper in sw hint hint for all who know. This place was soo much better when it was illegal you had a beer and large helpings for about 5$ in the garage o how i moss those days .now it is just ok the tamalies are large and good bit the nail in the coffin forbme is the phoned in horchata if you cant handle making boiled rice watter and cinnamon from scratch pooor job the worst is when you pay good money for a drink and it is made out of a bag and still gritty. Plus small serving size for cost. Hope it improves. Or becomes on the dl again lol

    (3)

  • Meryem K.

    the only restaurant that makes me sad i'm eventually leaving the state of michigan

    (5)

  • James H.

    I'm not sure how to score this place. Location: very easy to get to get to - 3 rainbows. Staff: friendly ladies ready to make suggestions - 5 Tylenol! Drinks: you can't get a beer - 2 pietists Uniqueness: it is one of the only places I'm aware of where you can get some authentic comida salvadoreña - 4 unicorns! Cleanliness: you probably don't care, but it's ok. Not immaculate, but pretty good - 3 Mr. Cleans Taste: this has to be your thing. It is authentic and cheap; really a great value. That said, it is, in my opinion, a bit bland: not very sabroso, algo...meh. With a score of 3 rainbows, 2 pietists, 5 Tylenol, 4 unicorns, and 3 Mr. Cleans, this place earns three stars. It's complicated. Try it at least once. You'll probably be glad you did; or maybe you won't. But you almost certainly won't be angry. Isn't that nice to know?!

    (3)

  • Robert L.

    Had a feast for 22 dollars, two people, pork tamales, chicken tamales, pupusas fried plantains with beans and cream awesome

    (5)

  • Fai F.

    Do yourself a favor and get some homemade pupusa!! This restaurant is in a little abandoned corner of Southwest (If you come from Vernor you might have to pull a U-turn because it's tucked back from the street). I found this place thanks to Yelp. In Southwest Detroit, we have all sorts of tasty Mexican places that I forget to look for other South (Central?) American cuisine. Is it better than your hipster pupusa in Chicago or New York? Who gives a ****! Now down to business! The prices are affordable and the food good quality. For ~$12, I ordered a pupusa with loroco flower combination, which came with rice and beans and a crunchy cabbage/carrot relish, a Salvadoran tamale and horchata. The pupusa was mildly flavored, hot and crispy from the griddle (?). The relish was a lot of fun with crunch texture and fresh taste. I thought a nice complement to the pupusa. The tamale wrapped in a leaf (banana?) and was considerably larger than the corn husk varieties I have seen around Southwest. I thought it was slightly salty, but made for good leftovers the next day (I like cold leftovers). The horchata was disturbingly sweet (can't tell if it was me or the horchata, but I agree with Maria B. - skip it!) I got my food to go, and waited in the carryout area with a sharp looking business man. A couple families were in the dining room (a no frills affair, but colorfully decorated, with a few televisions on). Yay diversity! If you need plastic ware, don't forget to ask. Definitely recommended for visitors and locals alike :)

    (5)

  • Ely P.

    Food is delicious!!!!! I would recommend this place to anyone and everyone. Don't let the outside appearance or location deter you from trying their food.

    (5)

  • Laurie W.

    OMG I can't stop thinking about these! I ordered the two Pupusa dinner, one pork & cheese (my favorite) and one chicken,bean & cheese, comes with rice and beans on the side, as well as Curtado (spicy cole slaw) you put a heap of Curtado and a few splashes of hot sauce atop the Papusa, then dig in for a mind blowing experience that you will not regret.. I also ordered a pork tamale and got a corn tamale instead (ate it anyway...serious language barrier "pork and corn" can sound similar) it came with crema and was pretty good. My dining partner ordered the plantains and she loved them so much she wants to marry them! We will definitely be back as we have already decided what we're going to try next time.

    (5)

  • Nichole V.

    Man oh man do we love this place. After living in SW Detroit for 15+ years there has only been a handful of papserias around. First one I knew of was Mama Tias, I believe the same gentleman runs this one now. The food is fresh and really affordable, papusas filled with quite a few different selections, I never order the same thing. Salsa isnt spicy at all which I like, it enhances the flavor, it dont mask it! My kids even love this place which is odd because they are ultra picky!

    (5)

  • Kyle K.

    Simply fantastic! The food was fresh and delicious. Order any of the papusa off of the menu. I don't know that they have any that aren't delicious!

    (4)

  • C I.

    The portions are huge, the food was good. We had the papusas. Obviously...it's a papuseria. Can't remember what we ordered but it was good!!! Don't be fooled by the exterior. It's in SW Detroit and not the greatest part of town but hey if you're from the Detroit area and ventured this deep into SW, go in an eat! You will not be disappointed. There's live video feed of the parking lot. Reassuring but at the same time we found it a bit humorous....hey, at least you watch the thieves lift your car on camera! Cuz I sure as hell am not confronting anyone trying to break into my car! haha

    (4)

  • Mimi C.

    Found this place on yelp and decided to be adventurous and give it a try, so happy I did! I never had a pupusa before, but it was delicious - imagine a thin doughy cornmeal cake stuffed with cheese and deliciousness. We had the pork and cheese pupusa and the cheese, bean, and loroco flower pupusa. Both were solid, but the pork and cheese was definitely better. I wouldn't get a pupusa without cheese, since the cheese is so good and I think really holds the pupusa together. The pupusas were good on their own, but also delicious with the thin tomato salsa and the cabbage slaw. We also ordered the seafood stew, which was good but far outshined by the pupusas, and the plantains with cream and beans. The plantains were absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked and amazing dipped in cream or beans or a combination of both. We had lunch for three and two pupusas to go for less than $40, and that was because the seafood soup (which I'll pass on next time) was the price of five pupusas. Pity I don't live nearby, but next time I visit mom at work we'll be coming here!

    (5)

  • Bradley G.

    A papusa is sort of like a love-child of a crepe and a tamale, the curtido is sort of like a spicy (but NOT hot) cole slaw, and the "hot" sauce is not very hot at all... Somehow placing the three together unlocks a taste explosion that the three components lack individually. Fried plantains are amazing too... I've never had a bad meal. Want your friends to think you're cool? Bring them here... Friendly service, AMAZING food, crazy cheap prices.

    (5)

  • Casey K.

    This place is really fun and super affordable. The papusas are really delicious and authentic. I am full eating just one- some people eat like 3 but I don't see how that's possible, and I can eat. The service is really friendly and attentive. Don't get anything but the papusas- stick with what they're known for. We asked a waiter what else is good and we got this entree that was basically overcooked fried chicken and it was pretty bad. So don't get that. It's a great place to go for a really cheap and casual dinner.

    (4)

  • Meg K.

    Okay, I had to look up pupusa on Wikipedia to find out what I was eating. I have no idea if the version I was enjoying is authentic. What I do know is that it's delicious. Soft, dense corn mixture, flavorful fillings. Yum! Plus the tangy slaw and red sauce are the perfect accompaniment. Friendly atmosphere. Generous portions, inexpensive.

    (5)

  • Edward L.

    After numerous weeks of trying to make it here, I finally made it! You WILL be skeptical when your GPS takes you to the restaurant because of the worn down area. Just shake it off and get in there and you will be extremely happy you made it there. Each pupusa is around $2.50. Realistically, 2 pupusa orders should do the job...but I decided on some stretch goals and ordered 3 pupusas and a tamale. 1. Shrimp Pupusa - Delicious. Filled with creamy melted cheese and chunks of shrimp. My favorite. The slaw mix they give you complements the pupusa to amazing degrees. REMEMBER to eat the pupusa piping hot with the slaw. It blew my mind. 2. Chicken & Pork Pupusas - Just as delicious, just less cheese than the shrimp. 3. Tamale was a little let down, however I am no expert so I am sure it could have been delicious by Salvadorian (is that correct?) standards. Worth the visit. The pupusas there are phenomenal. Just don't order 3 at lunch on a workday.

    (5)

  • C. A.

    It doesn't get much better than the Pupusería! Fresh, tasty, expertly made, and easy on the wallet. The service is friendly. A fancy night out it's not, but you can't go wrong for authentic Salvadoran food in the Detroit area!

    (5)

  • Antonia P.

    Food was excellent. We got 3 papusas and a dinner plate (beef stew) between two people and we took plenty of left overs home. Can't wait to come here and try some more things off their menu.

    (5)

  • Chelsea C.

    The staff are very friendly and down to earth. Mi casa es tú casa. The pupusas are just like they make in El Salvador. Very good food for a very good price. They have a camera to the parking lot for security. We tried the tamales the yuca and chicharron and they were all fantastic! We will definitely be back

    (5)

  • Tamara Y.

    I wanted to try something different, but my first choice was shut down because it didn't have any vegetarian options for my friend. So we checked out this place. I'm so glad we did! If you're not looking for this place, you'll drive right past it. It sits back from the road on Livernois and John Kronk.The place is decorated in beach towels thumb tacked to the wall. Love it! I had a pork pupusa and a chicken/squash pupusa. They were crispy and delicious, made even better with curtido. I also had a pork tamale.which was quite good. I left completely stuffed for about $9, which included a Mexican coke.

    (5)

  • Adam O.

    A great treat on the Detroit outskirts. The location and decor won't win any awards but I think it lends to the charm of the place. Pupusas themselves are dynamite. Squash and cheese and the pork are particularly outstanding. Fried plantains were the best rendition I've ever had of that particular Central American staple. Pork tamale was also good, but the weakest of the dishes I tired. Big points for keeping the cornbread moist however.. Great, tasty and cheap place to grab a bite.

    (4)

  • G N.

    Five stars say it all. Pupusas are similar to something I grew up eating as breakfast. They are a typical North Indian breakfast called Parathe. Although we don't fill Parathe with cheese, but the cooking style of Pupusas is similar to Parathe. Pupusas are pan toasted corn tortillas/bread filled with cheese and your choice of vegetables and/or meats. Their Jalapeno, beans and cheese pupusa is my favorite and it is NOT HOT at all. It is flavor packed and to top it they give you spicy cabbage (which is not spicy) and hot sauce ( which is not hot). So take your hot sauce with you. The Habanero sauce they have kills the flavor. I prefer Tapatios. Now the best part about their restaurant, those fried plaintains that everyone else mentioned before me. They are truly amazing with beans and cream (not sour cream). It has the most unique flavor in food that I've ever had. The service can be slow if there were more than two tables occupied before you got there. This place is hard to spot as it is situated among some abandoned houses. If you are headed south on Livernois, it will be on your right just before the railway tracks and if going north on Livernois it will be on your left just past the tracks. Sometimes it can be a hassle to get across the street though.

    (5)

  • Kent M.

    Found only because of Yelp reviews. Cash only, don't bother to bring credit cards. If you speak Spanish, they do too! Great food. Great prices. Fresh made - you can hear the pat-pat-pat in the kitchen as they hand-make the pupusas. Hey, I'm a gringo with an appetite. I'll be back to try out some of the items suggested by Yelpers.

    (5)

  • Gerardo R.

    Very good food, nice people, and super cheap. The pupusas were excellent. I went there with a crew of 11 friends and they handled it very well. The tamales, chicharrones, and yuca frita were nice. My main dish was fried red snapper (12 bucks), I liked it. I'll be back again.

    (5)

  • J L.

    Ordered the pork an cheese pupusa and the bean and cheese one that comes with the cabbage. Definitely go with the cabbage one. Both were delicious. Can't beat the prices and soccer was on the tv. Server was really sweet too, but I might be a little charmed by the whole experience.

    (5)

  • Noah G.

    Just went there today for the first time and got a pork and cheese pupusa, very good. What also makes this place fantastic is the fact that its really cheap. You can get 1 pupusa and glass pop from Mexico for about $4.50. Can't beat that. I change this to a 4 now though because it may have, may have, gotten me suck for the past week up Tuesday. I had stomach aches everyday at random times. I'm not saying that it was this places fault but you never know. Don't let this deter you because my friend who ordered the same thing was fine. Update: I went there again and aside from our waitress not speaking English very well food was better than last time. Highly recommended.

    (5)

  • Michelle I.

    Love, love, love! My first experience with pupusas happened in the hipster-ish place of all hipsterdom aka the Brooklyn Flea. When I found out a few years ago that we had pupusas in Detroit, I was jumping in my car faster than a hipster can scoff at the latest sell-out band. And ever since then, the love affair has continued. Beside being an awesome word to say, pupusas are these little discs of cornmeal filled with joy, aka cheese and meat or beans or loroco flower. I will often tell people about these little discs of heaven as well, but I have to describe them in the stupidest way possible so people understand what they look like. I say that they are basically, "a cross between an uncrustables sandwich and hot pocket, but made of unicorn tears and rainbow raindrops." Dumb, but it works. I personally love the chicken and cheese, and the shrimp and cheese varieties. I also really did enjoy the loroco flower and cheese, and the jalapeno and cheese ones as well when I'm needing a non-meat option. Make sure to eat them with the salsa that comes in the plastic mini-jug and the curtido, which is the El Salvadorian cabbage salad that they also bring to the table. OMG, so good! The tamales also get a big thumbs up from me. My husband usually will order them here and they are pretty fantastic. Recently, I also tried the chicken dumplings here. The portion is huge, super tasty as they are fried to perfection; I would definitely recommend trying them sometime. Gotta also mention the horchata which I really liked, but I also love the jarritos soda that they also serve. Seriously, this place is no joke. Despite the initial look of the building, the staff will be the more welcoming folks ever. The food is certainly cooked with lots of heart and soul. You will love, love, love it!

    (5)

  • Kristen M.

    AMAZING!! The corn tamales with creme are the BEST!

    (5)

  • Misty J.

    The plantains with frijoles and crema are a surprisingly delicious mix. The pupusas were super tasty too! Especially covered in the slaw and red salsa.

    (4)

  • Yosef A.

    I am another fan. The pupusas are tasty and made to order. I don't love loroco like other people, but think that the fish and shrimp pupusas are spectacular (and lard free for those that avoid pork). I like that you can peer into the kitchen and see that it is clean and has lots of stainless steel. Also, the tamales de elote are wonderful! Like, wow!!! Sweet and delicious and served with a crema that I suspect has been cut with condensed milk to make it thinner and sweeter. The atole is very good, too. Presentation is very nice (see my photo). The atole is served in a heavy colored ceramic mug. If you order a side of avocado ($3), it is fresh and peeled and sliced and laid out like a fan on another ceramic plate. The wait staff is knowledgeable and friendly. The atmosphere is casual and comfortable. I do note that the bill can add up quicker than you think, even though pupusas are only a couple of bucks each.

    (5)

  • Joey J.

    I'm of the opinion that if I offered up the chance to eat at the Pupuseria 100 times to the woman, she'd take me up on it 125 times. I'm not sure if that's even mathematically possible, but that's a pretty good expression about how much she loves her El Salvadoran food. The plantains with frioles and crema is the latest in a long line of highly addictive substances to hit the streets of Detroit. The slight sweet of the banana, the savory of the beans and the salt of the sour cream makes the perfect flavor combination. The flavor combination is also available in a corn tamale, with the tamale being a bit sweeter than the plantain but the same combination of sweet, salt and savory. On the pupusa side of things, I'm a big fan of the pork and cheese and the jalapeno and cheese ones. With the pork, you get the salt of the meat combined with the heat of the jalapeno slaw. With the jalapeno and cheese, you get a nice build of heat counterbalanced by what would only not seem like an abundance of cheese in the state of Wisconsin. The only seeming miss on the menu for us has been the Pasteles, which we're not sure if that's simply because they're not out thing or if we're just too full when they come out. All in all, if you haven't eaten here yet what's stopping you?

    (5)

  • Liz R.

    I'm not sure if they were having an off day... or if we just don't care for their pupusas. I popped my pupusa cherry at a no-frills California restaurant, so I know I like them. This was Ken's first taste of Salvadorian food. Honestly, I thought these were missing that special spark. We started by splitting the Pasteles, which are similar to a Mexican empanada or an Indian samosa. Served with a crispy shredded cabbage/jalapeno slaw and a squeeze bottle of sauce that wasn't flavorful or spicy enough to cut the richness of the deep fried meat pocket. I had two pupusas - beans/cheese/loroco and shrimp/cheese. More cheese presence in the shrimp pupusa, but both were good. Loved the loroco in CA. Ken had a pork/cheese pupusa and a chicken tamale. Everything was served with more of the cabbage and squeeze bottle sauce. I got bored. Everything tasted the same. Service was good. The restaurant and bathroom were clean. Tasty horchata. Cash only.

    (3)

  • Clark D.

    Hearty and unique. It's all about the Pupusa

    (4)

  • Laura K.

    there is really nothing negative to say about this place expect it's cash only. The best thing on the menu is the plantains with frijoles and salted crema. It is truly my death row meal. I've had chicken and cheese and jalapeño and cheese pupusas and both are fantastic. Make sure to ask for the pickled cabbage and the hot sauce with your meal. This place is a GEM! Skip the Vernor strip and check out this spot. Just don't forget to bring cash.

    (5)

  • Natasha R.

    This place was pretty damn awesome. My friend and I were looking for a new culinary experience to try and decided to try the Pupuseria. So glad we did!! La Pupuseria is located in a bit of a ghetto neighborhood in Mexican Town, but had a parking lot (as opposed to street parking) with a flashing arrow guiding your way in. When I go into a place for ethnic cuisine, it is always a good sign to me when the locals eat here. I was the only non-Hispanic in the joint, and that's pretty awesome! Started with some Horchata, a rice drink, that was really good. First time I had ever tried it. Friend and I split the chicken, cheese and bean pupusita dinner (comes with 2 pupusita and rice and beans), and an order of fried plantains. The pupusitas are like.... a cross between a tamale and a pancake, flattened and stuffed with chicken, beans, and cheese. Very filling and delightful. The dish also came with a kind of Mexican coleslaw - shredded cabbage that was spicy, with maybe a vinegar (?) sauce, and I think it had sliced jalapenos in it. I wasn't much of a fan, but I can see how some people would love it. The rice and beans - were really amazing. I wasn't sure about the rice, as it didn't look like the kind of "Mexican Rice" I was used to seeing. This was a light-colored rice with peas, carrots and green beans and a light flavor that I can't quite describe. Not overpowering. The beans were also very good, though typical bean-fare. Very impressed and am excited to go back again. Make sure to bring your friends here to try some food from El Salvador!

    (5)

  • Adam B.

    The food is so well made that I was super impressed. Super hot golden brown meat pancakes. The service was extremely awesome. And was also super clean. Coke in the bottle was the topper. The price was ultra cheap. It is hard to find a place with such quality. When you pull up the place looks real small but it is not. The neighborhood around is a bit sketchy but the place is totally safe. Try some new food today and make the trip. Definitely a Detroit top 5.

    (5)

  • A.J. S.

    When I found out there was a Pupuseria in Detroit, I HAD TO GO. I love Pupusa, ever since one fateful day on Manhatan beach while in L.A. I have had a love for Pupusa. Pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of thick, hand-made corn tortilla is filled with cheese, beans, pork and other meats to taste. It is usually served with a type slaw. To start off be careful when you are driving down Livernois, I missed the place, and had to reverse down the road to get to it.The people saw me doing this and must have thought I was NUTS. Also, they were a little wierded out by me taking pictures of the food and stuff. Oh well, I digress. The servers were REALLY NICE, the food was really amazingly priced. 2 dollars for a Pupusa is really quite good in my opinion. The food was cooked really well, and it tasted really good. Hopefully soon they get like a better sign on the road, and have the sign on the restaurant changed to read the name of their restaurant. But, I'm not really going to hold them back for that. The people were really nice, the food was really good. OI totally want to go back and get more.

    (5)

  • Kim C.

    Wonderful home made pupusas. Great, efficient service. Had the shrimp and cheese pupusa with french fries and also ordered fried plantains. Was very impressed. We will definitely be back to try more items on the menu.

    (4)

  • Taylor W.

    As a person that has never eaten a pupusa, I can best describe my experience at Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño as okay. I ordered two pupusa's, one cheese and pork and one just cheese, along with plantains to carry out. The pupusas came out fresh and were steaming hot, but I was not a fan of the taste. The plantains were good and you get quite a few of them, I got seven! I'm giving this "whole in the wall" 3 stars because I feel like I may just not like pupusas, but if you like pupusas in general I would suggest you try this place! If you are like me and have never had one I can't guarantee that these pupusas will leave the best taste in you mouth...On another note, the staff was very nice and accommodating! FYI it's NOT CASH ONLY, I paid with my debit card.

    (3)

  • Eric P.

    I finally got out here when my brother and his wife came to Detroit to visit. In short, I love this place. Though the kitchen seemed to be making one dish at a time, I didn't really mind in the end that it was such a long wait simply because everything we had was so good. The pupusas, the tamales, the guisado - all worth a return trip. Simple tip, though: as seems to be the case with many Latin American restaurants, the pork is the best of the available meats.

    (4)

  • Adela B.

    I have gone back to this restaurant several times since my initial review. The food is always fresh and piping hot and the restaurant has stayed clean. We tried the plantains last night and they were perfectly caramelized...just one more thing to add to the long list of deliciousness at this place!

    (5)

  • Mo T.

    As some other commenters have mentioned, Detroit generally has pretty terrible Latin American (especially Mexican) food. Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño is a rare gem. I usually have a pupusa de loroco and some platanos con frijol y crema. I also recommend their agua de horchata. They used to offer Mexican and Salvadoran horchata. I usually prefer Mexican horchata, but when in Rome, stick to the real stuff.

    (5)

  • R S.

    "Papusas were awesome" according to my 7 yr old son! I agree! They were filled with the right amount of cheese and other ingredients. We also enjoyed the horchata, and plantain dish. But, our favorite was actually their refried beans. Dont miss this! it's definitely worth the visit!

    (5)

  • Bibi K.

    Folks, all the reviews below give this place 4-5 stars for a reason! Had it for the first time last night and it was delicious! I'm vegetarian and gluten free; this place is amazing for people with both these dietary restrictions/allergies! I had one of the jalapeno, cheese, and a veggie pupusa. It was wonderful! Also had a plain corn tamale, it was a great, subtle sweet flavor. Finished off my very filling meal with sweet friend plantains that came with a side of sour cream and beans. Definitely going here again and again and again. What a gem in Detroit!

    (5)

  • Steve R.

    I'm a Salvadoran guy from Los Angeles. Moved here a couple of years ago. These pupusas are legit, and some of the best Latin food in the area. I was pretty disappointed with the Hispanic food in Detroit in general but this was a pleasant surprise. I certainly recommend coming here. The fried plantains (platanos fritos) and tamales are pretty good as well. The food is as authentic as visiting your tia Mila for lunch after a Sunday morning at church.

    (5)

  • tony a.

    Howdy All: I hope you are well. It was pointed out to me by another member that I was there on a day when they were closed, not that they are closed all the time. So ignore below- "Was all excited to try this but it is now closed. Tony" I am going to say I am a fan because now I want to try it even more. Best regards, Tony

    (4)

  • Tiffany G.

    The pupusas here are the best I have ever had. I haven't been disappointed with anything else I have ordered, either! Cash only !

    (5)

  • Kristie L.

    Although everyone was speaking spanish and the tv was on a spanish station, we were still able to speak english to our waitress. Fried plantains and pupusas were good. This place is much more authentic than the mexican places on bagley

    (4)

  • Liz W.

    I finally got over here! Thank goodness because it is amazingly good. Get off your suburban asses and make the trek! I immediately regretted not bringing James as he would have adored the food and he would have done better than we did at communicating. We managed and the food was just stellar, definitely worth the drive. I love the pupusas with their thick corn deliciousness, all crispy on the outside. The chicken and cheese, bean and cheese and the pork are very nice options but the filling is not really the star of the show to be honest. The curtido with its zip and spicy kick here is utter happiness. The pasteles were also extremely flavorful, loved the potato/chicken filling. They are little crunchy pockets of heaven. The piece de resistence here is the fried plaintains with beans and salty crema. Sinful and decadent. not for the health fanatics but man are they missing out. I could eat these all day. Creamy but you are getting the tastebuds firing with the flavors.

    (5)

  • Maria B.

    Thanks to all my Yelpers for helping me find this El Salvadoran restaurant! : ) Pupusa with loroco flower was delicious! Pasteles di pollo were buenisimo! Loved the slight heat of the curtido (a cabbage salad)! Skip the horchata! To get the full effect of Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño you've gots to dine in: get a table, order your food, watch a snippet of the telenovela, and enjoy the freshly made meal! =)

    (4)

  • Hannah S.

    What a cheap, delicious and unexpected spot for lunch! I had three pupusa's....beans rice and cheese, squash chicken (?), and chicken and cheese? They were amazing and I was full after eating one! I had leftovers and got two more meals out of it. All for around $6.50!

    (4)

  • Nickie P.

    I'd never had pupusas before I came here, and this was a great introduction to them. The tortillas were nice and soft, and the cheese melted in between them was warm and delicious. I had a pork and cheese one that was good, and a chicken tamale. Their tamales are the bigger kind - the chicken was not as seasoned as I would have liked, but was still great folded into the corn of the tamale. What really made the meal was the orange/red sauce on the table -- it added some heat and was really yummy!

    (4)

  • Gwen J.

    Delicious food and drinks. Order 1 or 2 items. Generous quantities considering the incredibly cheap prices. A vinegary coleslaw with salsa is bought before you order. Yummy. Great plantains and the papaya shake is divine.

    (5)

  • Jessica W.

    Just tried the tamales too during my last visit. Delicious! And you can monitor the security camera while you're eating to make sure your car is still there once you're done eating. Or watch Latin American football, which is a slightly more enjoyable choice.

    (5)

  • Kate H.

    Most definitely my favorite restaurant in Southwest at the moment. Let me start by saying that if you're looking for Tex-Mex, or a pile of food covered in cheese... keep on looking. This is not your place. Let me also say, if you're looking for tacos... not your place. This is Latin American food... not Mexican exactly. Their specialty is the handmade pupusas, which I will attempt to describe. The outside is like a thick, corn mesa tortilla (think tamale meets flat pita) and the fillings vary from bean and cheese to chicken, squash and cheese. My favorites are pork with cheese, squash with cheese, and beans, cheese with loroco flower. What is loroco flower? No idea. It's definitely tasty though. Pupusas aren't the only thing they're doing well. They'll start you off with a simple, spicy coleslaw that is perfect in its simplicity. No creaminess, no sweetness. It's all about the cabbage and spice. The fried plantains are sweet and tasty, although definitely meant to be shared, The Pollo Guisado (chicken stew) is tender and delicious and full of flavor. There is almost no atmosphere here, other than some patriotic flare, and the telly will definitely be blaring a soccer game or telenovela. The service can sometimes be painfully slow, but they are making pupusas to order it seems like, so everything is very fresh. The language barrier is a bit of a challenge here, moreso than other places I've been in the area, but you can certainly muddle through by pointing and gesturing. I'm not even close to being done exploring their menu. I suggest you get over there and do the same. Next on my list, Yuca Frita Con Chicarron.

    (5)

  • J A.

    I lived in the DC area for five years and just moved home to Detroit in 2012. In case you may not be aware, DC has one of the largest concentrations of people from El Salvador in the US, so I got very accustomed to pupuserias on every corner and when I came back to the Midwest, I found myself missing it worse than I had anticipated. This place is awesome. Period. They have almost a whole page of different kinds of pupusas - way beyond frijoles, revueltas, queso, o chicharron (my personal favorite combo is solo frijoles and queso y jalapeno). Never had a bad pupusa and their horchata is particularly delicious. It's kind of out of the way - by the train tracks across Livernois - but it's worth a bit of a drive.

    (5)

  • A H.

    good pupusas and tamales (though one tamale on salty side). nice slaw on side. salsa complements food well. solid plaintains and horchata too.

    (4)

  • Nate B.

    Tried several different papusa's, seafood, meat and veggie, and all have tasted great. Have not been disappointed. Some awesome slaw on the side was great, the salsa tasted great, and an overall great experience. Felt welcome, served smoothly, and treated very nice. exactly what was expected.

    (5)

  • Wally S.

    What a interesting little hole in the wall restaurant. When we arrived for lunch we beat the crowds. We were the only car in the parking lot and didn't know what to think when we walked inside. What we found was one heck of a good restaurant. I've never had El Salvadorean food (nor for that matter had any of the other 5 people with me) but we were willing to give it a try. Fantastic pasteles and pupusas and a wonderfully spiced slaw to go with it. Tastes that my tongue has never experienced before but will hopefully experience again. We did have a bit of a communication problem with our waitress, but it really didn't matter... we just pointed at everything on the menu and enjoyed it all. We left here with our stomachs full. The empty restaurant and parking lot were now full which tells me that the word is getting around about this place. Check it out soon.

    (5)

  • Haroun K.

    I am in a food coma now after my first visit to the Pupuseria. Oh my god. This afternoon I found myself in this alternate universe on Livernois. Strangely, I was reminded of the atmosphere of a restaurant in Mendoza, Argentina. But in Mendoza I had no pupusas. I had no idea how much to order, which resulted in me eating for 2 (it was a challenge, but a happy one). I would recommend getting 1 or 2 pupusas, but I had 4, 2 each of the bean-cheese, and cheese-squash. They are fantastic pupusas, and are very tasty with the cabbage salad and pupusa sauce. I also got an order of the plantains, which were extraordinary. And orange jarritos to drink. And I enjoyed watching the talk show on TV to re-orient the Spanish synapses in my brain. All in all: Yummmmmmm. Service was very helpful and friendly. CASH ONLY.

    (5)

  • Maya B.

    This place is great! Why? It's classic Salvadoran food served up by friendly staff in a low-key environment (plus they play Spanish-language TV and you can watch your car in the parking lot on a closed-circuit security camera). The portions are substantial, the dishes are tasty, and you can get your pupusas made with corn flour or regular flour. The yucca is yummy, the curtido is flavorful (I like mine a tad bit more vinegary), and the horchata is delicious (although not as good as the homemade from scratch horchata you can get at Pilar's in Ann Arbor/Ypsi). My recommendation? Order extra and take the leftovers home! At these prices you can't go wrong! Helpful hint: This place is damn hard to find and if you drive by too quickly (or even slowly while carefully looking for it like me) you will likely miss it! I know it seems sketch, but yes, the restaurant does look like a tiny front for some illicit business in the back of an old used car joint. Don't be scared. Drive into the dirt lot and head to the back. Enter the front door, then walk through the empty room to the next door and head on in! Be prepared to be fully satisfied!

    (4)

  • Mark N.

    Talk about off the beaten path, this place is tough to find unless you stumble upon it. The restaurant is actually behind the yard of an adjacent house. Pupusas are great and fresh. The cream sauce with the fried plantains is a little funky and slightly sour. The horchata is OK but a little too watery, like they put in too much ice. Huge menu with much more than pupusas but that is definitely what they are best at. If you want Mexican food, go somewhere closer to the core of Mexicantown. Come here for pupusas. Service is often slow and understaffed, usually takes 5-10 minutes just for the waitress to notice you. I went there for dinner on a Friday night, just one waitress for five tables of customers.

    (3)

  • Mike M.

    I visited the restuarant last night based on the great reviews. I want to mention up front - they do take credit cards. No AMEX, but everything else. The restaurant is at the back of a fenced parking lot and not immediately visible from the street. I ordered a 3 tamale dinner (chicken, pork and corn). Rice and beans didn't come with it, so I ordered them as a side. The tamales were good, except for something I will get to later. The masa was very moist and flavorful. The corn tamale was expecially good if you like to end a meal with something sweet. The only negative thing I can say about the experience is that my chicken tamale turned out to be a boiled chicken wing - skin, meat and bones - with masa around it. That was a bit of a turn off , but I got past it and ate the meat. I may return tonight and try the pupusas. Hoping for no more surprises if I do.

    (3)

  • Viet N.

    Finally got a chance to try this extremely Yelp-tastic restaurant today, and I have to say, I wasn't disappointed! Today was my first day having pupusas, and I have to say, they're very good. Everything that needs to be said has been said already, but I will add that they're very starchy. Yeah, okay, maybe this is obvious since you're eating the equivalent of a stuffed pita, but if you're expecting some vegetables or a little more protein, nah uh. That said, the vinegary cabbage and hot sauce break up the bready taste, so don't do what I did, and eat everything separately. Second major thought -- the plantains are amazing. You really can't go wrong with a slightly crispy, caramelized sweet banana. Oh baby. BUT, you definitely need to order them with cream! The cream gives it a sweet, cold shocking contrast that makes an already good food twice as good. The beans also go well with the dish, giving you something bland to cleanse your palate before diving in for another go. Third, the food is dense. I thought, well, I'm hungry, I'll just have two pupusas and the plantains. Seriously, this is enough food for two hungry people. Just went by myself, so didn't get a chance to order the stew or the pasteles. I think these will probably be enough for a rare 5th star. Another time!

    (4)

  • Ken Z.

    Still just good, not great. 3 companions all ordered pupusas, but everyone ordered different filling. When the waiter brought them to our table, he had no idea which pupusa had which filling. Disappointing. The non-pupusa-eating companion raved about the $7 chicken sandwich.

    (4)

  • Randy G.

    Truly a gem, what can I say. The food was delicious, unique, handmade, surprising flavors, locally owned, and where else can you find food in Detroit from El Salvidor. When you go on a day that's about 10 degrees outside, I'm can't wait to get inside in a nice warm place, well, that's not this place. I think the only thing heating this place the kitchen, it was so cold, but I'm willing to look past that no matter what. Why? I go for the food, I can warm up when I'm back in my car. There was so much I wanted to try here, but my stomach could only hold so much, so I had to stick with a squash and cheese pupusa, pork and cheese pupusa, rice and beans, curtido (cabbage slaw), and their fried plantains. By the way, this was just for me, yeah, I pigged out. This was my first experience with pupusa's and they now set the bar very high. The pupusas are corn handmade stuffed tortilla, but thick tortilla, not as thin as a whimpy burrito. What's so unique and wonderful of the pupusa is truly the handmade mesa (corn tortilla). You can immediately taste the corn starchiness to it, giving it it's unique flavor and texture. I thought the squash pupusa sounded unique and interesting to try and I was glad I choose it. I did like the pork better, but you have to adventure out of your comfort zone and dive head first into any dish that you've never had and sounds interesting. The squash is a bright green giving it a contrast to the cheese and mesa. The pork pupusa had a little more flavor, but I enjoyed both. It's served with a side of curtido, a cabbage slaw that from the looks of it, was standard cabbage, but it had some unexpected heat. You'll see the vinegar dressing at the bottom and unexpectedly, there's jalapenos mixed in, to give it a nice surprise kick. It almost raw cabbage wasn't for me, so I continued on to the other good stuff. I did not expect the rice and beans to be so unique. I was expecting the standard "Mexican" rice, but turned out to be a unique blend of rice, lima beans, peas, and corn. It also taste as though it was cooked in a chicken broth or something other than straight water. It had a bit of hardiness to it, complimenting the beans very well. Lastly, how can I not order the plantains when they're on the menu. It's a must, and after having it, it's definitely a must. A keeper, a staple to any dish! They are deliciously sweet and soft. It's served with beans and crema, a Salvadoran cream. When you mix all three together, you get a wonderful blend of sweet and savory. However, the plantains by themselves is also fantastic. I forgot to try their licuado, so I'll save that for next time. ***CASH ONLY

    (5)

  • Nick M.

    This is the kind of place I would have only found with Yelp. It's fairly basic, and will most likely scare off people who live in a suburban bubble, but well worth the trip to try some authentic and delicious food. The plantains with cream are unbelievably good. Yes it's cash only, but don't expect to spend more than $10 with a drink.

    (4)

  • Nick W.

    Love it. Awesome people, awesome pupusas, and their prices are criminally low. I will be back tomorrow.

    (5)

  • Dil F.

    Excellent pupusas. I recommend anything with squash in it... or the chicharron (pork). Those are the most flavorful, but they're all delicious. Make generous use of the salsa and coleslaw they provide with your order. Kicks the flavor levels up a notch, plus the coleslaw gives a little crunch to an otherwise soft chew. CA$H ONLY.

    (4)

  • Rahul S.

    Good food to warm your soul, just like the stuff from your mama's kitchen. If she was Salvadorian...and a phenomenal cook. As I walked into the place with my girlfriend we observed several telling signs that suggested we were about to fall in love with the Pupuseria. - Was the place a total dive? Check. - Did we hear a lot of Spanish being spoken? Check. - Did our server just hand us the menu while she had her baby on her shoulder? Check. - Is the really Season 1 of Project Runway playing on their TV? Check. Ok..Maybe we're just a bit strange... Apart from the homely atmosphere of the place, the food was absolutely divine. The papusas were fantastic. The bread was crisp and delicious. I tried the cheese papusa and the one with pork and cheese. They were a tad bland for me but paired with the cole slaw and hot sauce it was lovely. (I have an attachment to these also because they remind me of the Indian bread called parathas. They are similarly stuffed and a must try if you can get your hands on them.) If you need to remember one thing about Pupuseria though just remember this - platanos fritas con crema. Fried plantains with beans and cream. The crowning glory of their menu and the entire reason I was dying to visit the place. Glorious is all I can say. Pan fried to caramelize their exteriors, they look almost as amazing as they taste. This was another thing that hit really close to home for me. Plantains are a specialty of South Indian (Kerala) cuisine and as I bit into them I felt pretty close to home. Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. Tips - - The place can be a little hard to locate. Check out some of the pictures taken by your friendly neighborhood Yelpers and look out for the sign when you're close. - The service was a little slow. But if you're read any of my other reviews you know that doesn't faze me. If the food makes up for it, deal with it. - When you're paying your check ask for how much change you want back. Communication can be issue and I ended up tipping a little more than I had planned. Then again the food was divine and I didn't care! - CASH ONLY!

    (5)

  • Nancy K.

    If you stick to the basics, it's great. I get takeout pupusas from here at least once a month. I love the revueltas (chicharron, bean and cheese) and the chicharron con queso. The first time I got the shrimp and cheese, it was great. The second time, not so much. You may have to ask for extra salsa if you get takeout because they usually never give me enough. (I love the stuff.) Great food, though!

    (5)

  • Jeffrey C.

    I'm really happy to see this place being rated so highly on Yelp because it is one of my favorite places in the area. It's the most authentic Salvadoran food I've had in Michigan, and for just a couple bucks you can have a great food experience. Highly recommend you go for the pupusas, loroco is delicious! Very laid-back and friendly environment, I can't speak highly enough of this little gem.

    (5)

  • Greg Y.

    We made the trek, actually it wasn't too hard to find with some gps help. So, after reading so many review I really wanted to try out some El Salvadorian Cuisine. This place's food was pretty fantastic. There are so many fantastic reviews for this place already so I'll just cut to the chase here. I found the Pupusas interesting and fun, definitely try one, the tomato sauce jug sort of confused me because it was sort of weak and watery like tomato juice, maybe this is why they give you the hot sauce on the side so you can spice it up yourself? Next time I will probably just go straight to the red hot sauce bottle and leave the juicy stuff alone but that's just me. Ok, while everything here was pretty good, Pupusas, Tamales, agua frescas "pulpy kool aid stuff", etc... I found the 2 stars of the meal were definitely the Plantains with the cream and beans and the Pasteles that were sort of like yummy potato empanadas or something. When I come back I could easily forgive myself for skipping the rest but not those 2 :) PS, I didn't have any problem communicating with the kid who took our order, we even asked him what Pupusas were his favorites etc.. There was also a security guy in the lot and a closed circuit TV, I tipped the guy $1, not sure if he was needed, but I'm not familiar with the neighborhood.

    (5)

  • Chad C.

    Not a place to come to if you're looking for any ambiance whatsoever. BUT, if you're just looking for a tasty twist in your Latin American food, you've come to the right place! It's one of those places I wouldn't take out-of-towners, but I'd come back again and again with a fellow Detroiter or for take-out.

    (4)

  • Kendra L.

    they now take credit cards! yippee skippy!!!!

    (5)

  • Eve B.

    Sweet Jesus, i ain't mad at this place ONE bit! Honestly, Janelle has it right in her description of how good the food is at this place. But i'm going to reiterate here for a hot minute..... In order of most favorite: 1. Chicken Pasteles-savory little fried dumplings of pulled chicken and potatos with a crisp cucumber/tomato relish to accompany. I could literally take these to the face every night. 2. Cheese and Squash Pupusas-melted cheese utopia AND the masa was unbelievably fresh, so so awesome. I would also recommend the chicken, bean and cheese and the pork. They come with a spicy coleslaw type thing and hot sauce, perfect compliments. 3. Fried Plantains- i would have never thought that dipping these morsels in refried beans and cream would be any sort of appetizing (it certainly doesn't look like it), but holy amazeballs, this ish was good! something about the combination of sweet, savory and salty really made my heart swoon. 4. Tamales-not the best dish on the menu. Kindof dry, but again, was blown away by how good the masa was! Super warm and spongy texture....mmmmm. We stuffed our faces the true fat kid way and got out of there with about a $22 bill. The only downside about this place is that it is kind of in the hood and a little hard to find as it's tucked away from the main drag and the only indicator that it even exists is a flashing arrow sign on the side of the road. Also, they only take cash (which i never have on me) so make sure you come prepared. Holy pupuseria batman!

    (5)

  • Wendy C.

    I feel "obligated" to write a review about this place because it deserves a good one, even though I can't possibly add anything to what Janelle has already said. Pasteles, pupusas, and plantains are worthy of Janalle's commentaries. I liked their tamales too, wonderfully moist with juicy and flavourful fillings. The man (who appears to be one of the owners) is genuinely nice and appreciative of your business. It's like he is inviting you to his home, and he wants you to be happy. A must-visit place when you are in Detroit.

    (5)

  • Jesse K.

    Oh. My. Goodness. We hit this spot on the way to Chicago for a food gluttony vacay and left wondering if we could even find any way to top it. The chicken pasteles are beyond words (although many of you have given it a helluva effort.) the tamales are moist and delicious and the papusa smothered in slaw and hot sauce is fantastic. Try the loroco flower without the beans so you can actually taste it. Can't wait to make it for the breakfast plantains, you have to be there early for em. All in all this place is out of control good so have some. P.S. Bomb horchata too!

    (5)

  • Samir N.

    The BJ/lotto combo is a lofty standard to aspire to, and I can say with a high level of certainty that there is a good chance that this combination of events have never occurred simultaneously. The over the pants/finding money combo is more appropriate. I stuck with several pupusas and the plantains. I am against all things cream (let the innuendos continue) - sour cream, whip cream, cream in your coffee, whatever; but everything else was flawless. I really felt like I was walking into a friend's family's house. One of the workers was reading with his precocious daughter. Another co-worker came out and started conversing with me about my meal; she must have heard my feeble attempts at Spanish earlier as not a word of English came out of her mouth. All in all, at this low price this place is a must visit. What are you waiting for?

    (5)

  • Sarah S.

    The food here is out of this world! The menu is simple, but everything I saw come out of the kitchen looked amazing. There are a few draw backs. The place is almost literally in someones backyard. Also our waitress did not speak english well which lead to one person not getting any food at all. Next time we'll be more prepared. And there will be a next time, the good is too good to stay away.

    (4)

  • Chiwei L.

    I'm really fond of this restaurant. When you arrive, your not really sure what to expect, but it's a very clean and cute little refuge from the Industrial grit of Detroit. This is my first experience of this kind of food, and it's a good one. The warm "hand made masa" is filled with cheese and filling, and makes for a tasty treat. The squash is my favorite so far. I did find that the relish that came with the pupusa's overwhelmed the subtle flavors, so I ate it on the side. The plantains with beans and cream has an interesting flavor combination of sweet and bean, but was still very good. Finally the chicken tamales are some of the best i've ever had with generous chunks of chicken in a creamy smooth shell. (I'll probably buy a dozen to freeze) Finally, on the weekends, they make a traditional stew. Can't wait to try that! Anyway, a really unique place that draws me back for more and more.

    (4)

  • Lola D.

    I only had pupusas there and they are fresh and very, very good and cheap. Pupusas are corn flour flat, fluffy pancakes stuffed with different meats and/or cheeses. Most defiantly worth a try for a new culinary experience.

    (5)

  • Patrice W.

    Amazing! I had never had a pupusa and after seeing the reviews on Yelp I decided to check it out. I was not disappointed. I have been multiple times and each time the service and food was great! I love all of their veggie/bean pupusas and their rice and beans are delicious! There is something about the beans they are very creamy and smooth, definitely homemade...delicious! I would also recommend putting a healthy amount of the slaw on everything, it's great. I have taken multiple friends there and they have had some of their meat options and the plantains and all have enjoyed it too. Definitely a place worth checking out!

    (5)

  • Nick G.

    It's never hard to find someone to go out to eat with you when you're like "dude you wanna go get pupusas?" This place is so insane, right on par with that other pupuseria at warren and livernois... the big difference is the staff here speak english pretty well making it easier to figure out what everything is. I got the pasteles because my homegirl janelle w. said it was "quite possibly the most mindblowing plate of food in all of Michigan" and boy oh boy were they danglin'... she does a much better job of describing the foods anyway i'm just here to shed some more light on the subject... Heard some insane heavy synth theme song music for a spanish language sitcom... made for a cool mood. I actually have a video about this place... in fact, i think im just gonna post videos instead of real review from now on. Grip hard and grip often... the pusas were so insane... gonna go tomorrow PUSA

    (5)

  • Chinyere E.

    I wish I was the first to come up with a metaphor involving sex acts to describe this place, but nevertheless, the food here is damn good. the staff here take orders in english, so don't let your lack of spanish knowledge keep you away.

    (5)

  • valentin p.

    The restaurant definitely serves 5 star popusas. I recommend the popusa with chicharron, beans, and cheese. I loved the pickled cabbage and the sauce they served on the side. A must try. Plus, it is so inexpensive, you can get a good meal for a great price.

    (5)

  • Bridget K.

    Before moving to Detroit a year ago I was told to find the Pupusa place in southwest Detroit. I was not able to find a website, but with the help of Yelp it was within my reach. I had never had pupusas before and they were good. Thanks to advice from a friend and other reviews I got the beans and cheese along with chicken, beans and cheese. They were good. I also enjoyed the salsa that came with the pupusas. They only take cash, which meant I had to make a stop at the ATM. The prices are really reasonable and the food was quality. They are also pretty quick with getting take-out orders together. It's definitely worth checking it out.

    (4)

  • Maggie H.

    I visited Pupuseria last night with some friends and I was so excited to try something new! I had no idea what I was ordering the whole time, but whatevs! I was down for something different and exciting. We ordered an assortment of pupusas (squash, chicken/cheese, & bean/cheese), fried cassava with fried pork, and fried plantains. The best were the fried plantains; they were to DIE for. Seriously, just go an order the fried plantains. They were sweet with a charred sugar coating, YUM! My second favorite was the pupusas, specifically the chicken and the bean/cheese...they were good. I found them a little bland initially, but they give you coleslaw and hot sauce to put on them and that really gave it a good kick. I was not a fan of the cassava or pork, it was dry and really bland. I did feel that the food in general was somewhat bland, however that could be because I am on Mediterranean and Korean overload (both of which are really, really flavorful). However, I enjoyed my experience and I will go back. Plus it was super cheep, we had enough food for three people and we paid $23! Awesome! Oh, PS: Make sure you bring cash, they ONLY TAKE CASH!

    (4)

  • Sergio C.

    We were visiting our friend in MI from Berkeley, CA. This place is a jewel. It is located in a not so nice area, but it is totally worth it. Pupusas were a good size and were delicious. If I ever go back to MI, I will be sure to visit this place. THE BEST PUPUSAS I HAVE EVER HAD. I'm saying this having lived in LA and Berkeley, which have some tons of pupusa resturants. You should definitely go there.

    (5)

  • Chris L.

    Everything was as great as always but man the pasteles this last time were out of this world! They were sooo good. Bump to 5*'s.

    (5)

  • Stephanie K.

    I really don't have anything to add to what the other reviewers have already said. We ordered the pork tamales, papusas especial (one chicken, one cheese/squash and one pork), and the chicken pasteles. Oh oh oh so good. Boyfriend had to leave after we ordered to find a cash machine and I was very tempted to eat both tamales before he could return to try one (I saved him about 1/2 of one). We loved everything. I didn't think the tamales were too dry at all. Favorite dish: the pasteles 2nd favorite: cheese and squash papusa 3rd: the tamales 4th: the other two papusas They were all delicious, however. Next time I will include the plantains/cream/bean dish in my order.

    (5)

  • Jenny Z.

    I don't know much about pupusas -- I tried them and they were decent (but I also don't have anything to compare them with or know what to look for), but the plantains were out of this world. Get the plantains with beans and cream, awesome awesome flavor. I go back now just to get plantains to go. Highly recommend them :)

    (4)

  • Elly L.

    I should start off by saying that I never had El Salvadoran food prior to coming here, and this restaurant blew me away! It is by no means in the best neighborhood, but it is 100% worth coming out to. The papusas are soft and delicious, definitely my favorite thing I ordered. You can make a meal out of two of them--they are very filling. The warm, corn atole drink was to die for--just enough sweetness without going overboard. A must-go-to destination if you're in the Detroit area.

    (5)

  • Rob B.

    This restaurant is in a corner of Southwest Detroit on Livernois between Vernor and Michigan (If you come from Vernor after you come our from under the bridge be ready to turn left - look closely it's tucked back from the street). If you come from Michigan ave. its the driveway past the last house - don't blink or you will miss it. Go down the driveway - it is in back. Not fancy inside- low on atmosphere . 2 rooms the inner one was warm- the outer one is used in the summer? or for over flow crowds. Looked a bit strange looking in the window - made sense when we got in. But good - good food. This was our 1st visit. the menu was a bit hard to interpret. Get one of their take out menus the options are clearer in that. The main reason to go is for the homemade pupusa you can get it al a Carte or as a dinner - 3 with a soda or 2 with rice and beans. You can choose the filings, chicken, pork, fish and they have options of the meat with beans or cheese. The chicken has an option of Chicken and squash - very good. the Tamale's are large. A good number of plantain options. Cabbage slaw was provided for the table and when we finished it w got a free refill., the salsa tasted great flavorful but not too spicy. Homemade soft drinks, Salvadoran soft drinks and American options. The homemade Tamarind drink was good - better than at other places Super reasonable prices 3 pupusa with a soda $7.50 and it will fill you up. The breakfast with eggs salsa. plantain, rice, beans, their version or sour cream was enjoyed. The person who ordered this would skip the sour cream next time. You might want to consider getting it on the side.

    (4)

  • Annalisa B.

    Great and gluten free! Papousas and tamales were incredible. fresh, tasty and best of all - gluten free! highly reccomend

    (4)

  • Barry S.

    good place with a friendly staff and is extremely cheap. 2$ for one pupusa and nothing on the menu is over 7$. Would come back.

    (4)

  • Eric M.

    Ok, so I will not be as effusive as Janelle is. What I can say is this. I went here with a couple of colleagues for lunch, and the one of them that has been to Mexico 6 times was blown away. In her words "The rice and beans are like what you get at someone's grandma's house! The same with the Horchata! This is like being back in my host family's kitchen." What else does one need to say? If you want a description of a Papusa, I'd call it the bastard child of a Quesedilla and a piece of thick pita bread-like the kind we wrap Gyros in here in this country. We all ordered plates-2 papusas and rice and beans. We all ordered relatively plain papusas-chicken, pork, and vegetarian (cheese and some sort of green veg-squash maybe?). Next time I think I'll just get three papusas a la carte with the rice and beans inside them as is offered. The fried plantains with crema and beans was fantastic! Though at that point we were all a little on bean overload-with apologies to all of our spouses that had to sleep next to us that night-so we eased off on what are the creamiest, whipped to perfection, but not super greasy beans that I have ever had in my life. For real, if I were to become a vegetarian, papusas here with just beans rice and cheese would be a regular rotation meal. And this is coming from a totally unabashed omnivore. I can't believe I have worked all of a mile from this place for like 6 years and never heard it was amazing. The staff were beyond friendly, but I would recommend bringing someone with you who had at least a couple of years of Spanish in high school.

    (5)

  • drew k.

    If you are a food whore like me and reading this, put down the keyboard and get your ass here, NOW. Just trust me. really. super delicious. my love of taco carts led me here. Muy bien.

    (5)

  • Jonny P.

    I feel sorta guilty for not liking this more but I've gotta be honest. After reading reviews I thought I was going to be completely blown away. I'm not saying anything I had was awful but it just wasn't great. Ordered three papusas and you could hear the sound of the masa being molded coming from the kitchen. I had squash-chicken-cheese, cheese & lorco, plus the pork with beans. I'm interested in going back to try their tamales and plantains. I'll update after the second trip...

    (3)

  • Suman M.

    The pupusas were great -- Soft and not so oily. The tamale is like a huge burrito. They have so many veggie options as well. I am sure veggie lovers will love it too. Worth trying out for Lunch adventurers.

    (5)

  • D D.

    I was blown away! I had to try my first papusa and my wife was like "where do you find these places"? I say Janelle! From the pap pap sound coming from the kitchen to the nice dude server who would have a sweet jeri curl if he could find the juice. We both got the 5.75 two papusas rice and beans. Are kidding me 6 bucks for a plate that knocked me out for the rest of the day. I can not wait to try other things. The server/ cashier said "How did you hear about this"? I said Janelle and he said "Oh Janelle" I will be back and often. Hail to the papusa!!

    (5)

  • Alex A.

    Love this place, the food is very original. The only real pupusas place in Detroit in my book.

    (5)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Tue

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : No
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Lunch
    Parking : Private Lot
    Bike Parking : No
    Wheelchair Accessible : No
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Casual
    Noise Level : Average
    Alcohol : No
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : No
    Has TV : Yes
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : No

Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño

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