Restaurants in El Salvador
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La Ventana
Located in the heart of the bohemian bar-lounge scene, La Ventana is a smart, laid-back place that's popular day or night. Tables line the long windows - perfect for people watching - and the menu offers an excellent variety of international meals. Clients can choose from any number of creative sandwiches, big salads, pasta dishes and quiche…plenty of vegetarian options! Food is prepared fresh and portions are decent.
Belgian and German ales are also served, as are tasty coffee drinks. A lively bar scene at night makes it a particularly cool place to have a bite. Buy postcards and La Ventana will mail them for free.
reviewed
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B
La Fonda del Mirador
This Suchitoto institution has spectacular views of Lago de Suchitlán far below. The open air-dining room has exposed beams and a low-slung clay tile roof, with ferns hanging here and there. The food is great - gallo en chicha (chicken marinated in homemade moonshine) is a weekend favorite, and the boca colorada filete (fillet of smapper) is prepared with a homemade salsa of arrayan, mamey and tamarindo - all local fruits. The ensalada marinera (seafood salad) is a meal in itself.
reviewed
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Paso de Alaska
This good, friendly restaurant is located in Los Naranjos, El Salvador's highest town, in the shadow of Volcán Santa Ana and at the top of a scenic mountain pass between Santa Ana and Sonsonate (Hwy CA-12). The climate is cool, and you can see all the way to the ocean from the upper-level dining area. Hamburgers and sandwiches leave something to be desired - better to go with a typical lunch plate, like a quarter chicken with rice and garlic bread. Follow signs from the highway.
reviewed
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Lover's Steakhouse
Don't leave Santa Ana without treating yourself to a dinner at Lover's. The menu ranges from Italian to Chinese, but the specialty is meat and seafood. Dishes are amazingly affordable. A rambling dining area includes an open-air courtyard, complete with tiki torches, and beers come with your pick of no less than 34 different bocadillos (appetizers), from ceviche to wontons to Buffalo wings.
reviewed
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D
Los Tacos de Paco
Near Metrosur, this may be the most culturally enlightened taco joint you'll ever encounter. It hosts a poetry reading on Wednesday at 18:00, and has a small but good selection of books and artwork for sale. And as for the tacos…the sign says 'The Best Mexican Food in El Salvador,' which is either true or nearly true - either way, you won't be disappointed.
reviewed
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El Sin Rival
What started out as a two-tub street cart in 1953, has become a collection of great ice-cream shops - truly 'without rival.' It boasts 16 homemade sorbets made with natural ingredients - no chemicals or colorants here. Mora (blueberry) and tres leches (sweet milk) are the original flavors from the street-cart days, and are still local favorites.
reviewed
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Café Baguette Lido
A friendly bakery with two pages of creative sandwiches, divided into lite and, well, the opposite of lite. Try the turkey breast with cottage cheese, or salmon with capers, both served on wholegrain bread; or turn the page to the pesto chicken and NY Polish sausages. All come with a salad, fries or potato salad - whether you want it or not!
reviewed
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Tienda San José
Inside this ordinary chips-and-soda minimart hides a surprisingly pleasant dining area with a sunflower motif and picnic tables. Friendly service and large plates of well-prepared típica make this a good choice. In the evening it becomes a popular meeting spot for locals and travelers alike.
reviewed
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Típicos Margoth
A popular cafeteria-style restaurant serving, as the name suggests, típico. Food is fresh and served in good-sized portions. There's occasional live music on Saturday night.
reviewed
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Las Vacas Gordas
There should be no mistaking that beef is the specialty at 'The Fat Cows' restaurant in the Zona Rosa. But just in case - or else to really freak out the vegetarians - black and white cow skins are used for the chair backs and as wall hangings. Choose from a dozen cuts of meat, from medallions to rib-eye, most of which can be ordered in various portions depending on your appetite and the thickness of your wallet.
If your wallet is more carpaccio than filet mignon, check the menu for frequent two-for-one specials. Outdoor tables are especially pleasant, occupying a semi-shaded courtyard with plants hanging from a thick wooden trellis.
reviewed
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Sidewalk Comedores
You'll find Sidewalk Comedores lining the streets surrounding Plaza Hula Hula, a block west of Plaza Barrios. They're all essentially the same, but everyone you ask has a personal favorite. We liked the ones on the east side of 1a Av Sur across from the park, mainly for the clean vinyl tablecloths, friendly service and mid-afternoon sun, but maybe you'll see others that call to you.
Expect typical Salvadoran fare, including panes de pollo (chicken sandwiches), bistec encebollada (onion grilled beef), sopa de res (beef stew) and more.
reviewed
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La Cocina de Ma'Anita
Perquín's best hotel also has its most formal restaurant, though the huge A-frame dining area is more ski-lodge than mountain bistro. Tables along the front windows get nice morning light and have overhead lamps on henequen cords for nighttime. The owner may install booths, which would class it up a bit.
The food is reliable and good, but not spectacular, ranging from taco salad to chicken with mango chutney to a four-person parrillada (platter of grilled meat, sausage and chicken). Afterward, head up to the much cozier bar for drinks.
reviewed
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K
Restaurante Vista Conga
The owner, a young English-speaking San Salvador transplant, sure knows how to pick a spot: down a sometimes muddy road, a heavy wooden door opens onto a lush garden, giving way to fantastic views of the surrounding hillsides. Tables are set up in an open corridor; favorite dishes include a chorizo platter, lomo de aguja (filet mignon) and, of course, sopa de gallina india. Dinner service is by appointment. It's just off the road to the lake, near where Av 15 de Septiembre and 3a Av Norte merge.
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Kamakura
This Escalón restaurant is arguably San Salvador's finest for authentic Japanese food. The restaurant is divided into several intimate areas - a sunny front room, a back room with an open-air fountain, and another with low Japanese-style tables. The specialty is the sushi, nigiri and sashimi, with most fish flown in fresh from Miami. The plato del dia (daily special) is served in a bamboo box and usually includes a soup, tempura, sushi, and a main dish - say, teriyaki chicken.
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Antojitos Marisol
On the south side of the parque central, this is a classic greasy spoon. Handwritten menus and a few printed addendums are taped to the wall at the head of each of the long wooden tables, which have benches and tablecloths.
The walls are aqua-green and the florescent lights are about as unflattering as light can be, yet it's somehow appealing - anyway, it's one of only two places in town open late. Beers come with small glasses and simple botanas (appetizers).
reviewed
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El Mandarín
Laminated tables with conference-room chairs are arranged in straight lines, four deep, at this popular Chinese hotel-restaurant. The dining room is a bit worn, but clean, and maintained in arctic conditions by industrial-strength air-con. Like so many Chinese restaurants in Latin America, service is lightning quick, if not exactly warm, and the portions enormous. Two can share a plate of shrimp chow mien, a side of wontons and two beers for under twelve dollars.
reviewed
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Taquería Los Tapatíos
At the far western end of Paseo General Escalón at Plaza Masferrer is this large open-air taco stand, serving up great tacos, burritos and tortas stuffed with the meat of your choice: chicken, beef, pork, adobado (spicy marinated meat), al pastor (seasoned rotisserie pork). Wooden tables with benches are set up off the road, so the traffic noise can be overpowering - then again, the bustling informality is part of the charm.
reviewed
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La Villa Balanza
War relics transformed into art pieces are the main draw to this pleasant open-eatery. The típico (regional specialities) is good, the service is excellent, but the biggest reason people come here is to be surrounded by the historical art and artifacts from the war, including the shell of a 340kg bomb found in Cinquera. At the entrance is a sculpture of a giant scale (la balanza) weighing a stack of tortillas against a bomb.
reviewed
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Cocina de Mama Toya y Mama Juana
Nothing fancy here, just good fresh típica (regional specialities) served in a clean comfortable setting at decent prices. It's part of the Hotel Perquín Real - or rather the hotel is part of the restaurant, as the latter was open first - and its rooms open onto a dining room with rows of wood tables and benches. It's an open-air setting, so be sure to bundle up in the winter months. It's at the south entrance to town.
reviewed
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Taquería La Guadalupana
Classics like tacos al pastor (seasoned rotisserie pork) and chicken mole are served along with burritos, nachos, fajitas and other Tex-Mex faves. The daily special is a bargain, consisting of a large main dish, rice, salad and a drink. The restaurant has two floors and - lest you forget you're eating Mexican food - little caricatures of jalapeños, sombreros and tomatoes dance along the brightly painted walls.
reviewed
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Restaurante Royal
While so many Chinese restaurants bowl you over with huge portions and no-nonsense service, the Royal lets you enjoy the experience, starting with a pleasant air-cooled dining room (the goldfish tank is spotless - that's gotta be a good sign) and culminating in tasty dishes, like garlic shrimp over rice noodles and stir-fried broccoli, mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Service is terrific, and the prices amazingly affordable.
reviewed
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Restaurante Pollo Rico
What started as a simple chicken stand in 1990, has over the years become a Juayúa institution. Chicken is still the specialty, but the menu has grown to include cabrito adobado (chili-marinated goat), tenquiques (wild mushrooms, served grilled, in soup or ceviche), and even grilled frog's legs - they taste like chicken, right? Upstairs is a patio and great view of Volcán Santa Ana.
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Cafeteria Emanuel
A spotless eatery near Iglesia El Carmen, serving four different típica (regional specialties) main dishes: chicken, beef, pasta and a vegetarian option. After 15:00, Salvadoran antojitos - irresistible snacks like empanadas, pastelitos (small meat pies) and platano y nuegado (plantains and fried yucca smothered in honey with a dash of cinnamon) - are served. Two thumbs up.
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Café Fiesta
Possibly the biggest disco ball in all of El Salvador - at least the biggest one hanging next to a life-size poster of Pope John Paul II - is the centerpiece of this popular restaurant. Get here early to get the best of the típico dishes, which are served cafeteria-style. Pupusas are also patted out all day - an unexpected treat. Note: the disco ball is activated during private parties only.
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La Herradura
Specializing in high-quality imported meat and seafood, this is a favorite of wealthy San Migueleños and considered by many to be the best restaurant in town. The rib eye, surf and turf, and parrillada are classics; the punta jalapeña is a spicy alternative, served with chorizo, potatos and veggies. Service is excellent. It's located off-street in a small commercial center.
reviewed