Salvadoran restaurants in El Salvador
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Las Cofradías
This is a perfect place to head if you want to sample the full spectrum of Salvadoran fare. Every night, an all-you-can-eat buffet has 60 types of típico dishes and drinks: yuca frita, pupusas, empanadas, tamales de elote (corn tamales), riguas (sweet buttery corn tortillas wrapped in a corn husk), gallina, chilate (a thick corn drink served hot), nuegados (plantains and fried yucca with honey and cinnamon), atole, horchata…you name it, it's probably served.
Food is displayed and served on traditional black pottery, which only adds to the ambiance.
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Pupsería Doña Cony
You can't go wrong at this busy pupusería, which many say is the best in town. It's especially handy if you're staying at Doña Mercedes's across the street.
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No Name Comedor
Run out of a neighborhood home, this comedor offers typical Salvadoran food served cafeteria style. The place sees serious customer traffic - be sure to arrive early if you want the pick of the tamales.
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La 31
A big busy pupusería within walking distance of the Casa Frolaz - the owner Javier often joins guests there for a late-night snack. Pupusas come in many varieties, including chicken and loroco (squash).
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Comedor Carolina
A popular - and packed - lunchtime favorite, Carolina's serves fresh comida a la vista. Salvadoran dishes change daily but you can always be assured of a vegetable, chicken and meat dish. Arrive early for the best selection of food and a seat under a fan.
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Hotel y Restaurante El Obraje
A popular restaurant in the heart of town, El Obraje serves up classic Salvadoran dishes. Take a look at the floors - covered with gorgeous tiles that were imported from Europe in the 1840s. Apparently the tiles were shipped along with those in the Iglesia Santa Lucia.
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Bar y Restaurant Doña Amelia
Other than the tiled walls and the black light over the bar, the ambiance is actually rather pleasant: tablecloths, air-con, lively music (unless there's a game on the big-screen TV), even plastic flowers. Steak is the specialty and comes in large portions with soup and salad.
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La Pema
This San Miguel institution is famous for its mariscada - creamy seafood soup, served with a mallet to crack shellfish and two thick cheese tortillas. It's not cheap and it's a trek to get there - 5km along the road to Playa El Cuco - but it's worth the effort and expense.
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Bati-jugos Carlitos
Crowded and friendly, this tiny restaurant is known for its huge variety of batidos (shakes) and jugos (juices) - 45 in all. In addition to being a great place to get a drink, it's also good for tasty and cheap sandwiches, burgers and chicken plates. Two thumbs up.
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Laura's Comida a la Vista
This long narrow restaurant is especially popular for breakfast, but is busy most mealtimes. As the name implies, it's all comida a la vista, all the time - choose from various dishes displayed in steam trays. It's nothing fancy, but the food is homemade and consistently good.
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Comedor y Pupusería Chilita
One of the most popular restaurants in San Miguel, this open-air place offers a good variety of meals - from a steamed vegetable and beet salad to a hefty grilled steak dish. Repeat diners are the main clientele, but everyone leaves full and happy. After 16:00, steaming pupusas are served up from the side entrance.
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No Name Comedor
This tiny place, next to an upscale Japanese restaurant (Kamakura), is popular with drivers waiting for their bosses to finish their California rolls, and one of the few budget eateries in this part of Escalón. Serving mostly típica, the occasional stir-fried noodles or rice-and-veggie dish does appear.
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Restaurante Los 44
Smaller and somewhat less charming than Lover's, Los 44 is still a reliable place for a steak, and is closer to the town center. The front room and a little nook left of the door have a nicer ambiance than the long sterile back room. There's live music - well, a guy with a mic and keyboard - on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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Pan y Cakes Liz
Not much to look at, but an oasis of friendly service in the hectic streets just west of the market. Fill your tray with good comida a la vista, including eggs, tamales, plantains, beans and coffee - as with most buffet-style places, it's best to come during (or slightly before) the morning and noon rush, when the food is freshest.
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El Establo
This newcomer is a meat lovers' heaven. And, apparently, half of San Salvador thinks so too - the driveway is packed most nights. Portions are hefty: the plato típico includes a steak, Argentinean-style sausage, chicken-broth soup, refried beans, tostones (fried plantains), cheese, cream and garlic bread. Bring your appetite.
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La Bella Esquina
A 'beautiful corner' indeed, which you can enjoy from a window table at this friendly eatery. Fresh comida a la vista (meal-served buffet) includes beef soup, baked chicken and other Salvadoran fare. For breakfast, look for eggs, beans or tamales; the weekend speciality, as at most restaurants, is sopa de gallina india (wild hen soup).
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El Tejado
Travelers with kids may appreciate the large enclosed grounds here, with hammocks and a clean swimming pool within view of the main dining area. Service is excellent, and meals, mostly large meat and chicken plates, are perfectly fine. The dining area boasts yet another stunning view, this one over the valley to the south, with the end of the reservoir way off in the distance.
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El Sopón Típico
A pleasant open-air restaurant in the middle of mall-land where you can get such típica treats as conejo (rabbit), garrobo (spiny tailed iguana), gallo (rooster) and cabrito (baby goat). The super sopón (super giant soup) lives up to its name, full of the meats of your choice and veggies. It's popular with families.
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Dulce y Salado
Don't let the girlie ambiance - hanging plants, doilies galore, opera classics - stop you from sampling the excellent menu at this cozy restaurant. Light meals, including lots of vegetarian options, make up its core - salads, quiche, empanadas, and even spinach lasagna are all offered. Mains include a choice of two salads and a fruit shake. There is also a full coffee and tea bar.
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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.
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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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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.
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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.
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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).
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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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