El Carbonero Restaurant
Category: Latin American [Edit]
Neighborhood: Wilshire Center4281 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90004 (323) 665-4749
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
107 reviews
Los Angeles, CA
"I went here recently and took up the waiter's suggestion of trying the "statistically popular" pork dish which name escapes me right now.…" read more »
5 Reviews for El Carbonero Restaurant
This cozy place doesn't offer much in terms of space. Prices on the menu are pretty average ($7.00). I was there on a UYE pupusa event so I tried all their pupusas.
The pupusas were EXTREMELY greasy. So if greasy food is your thing, you will love this place. Out of all the pupusas, the meat one was the best. However, when compared to other places, I've definately had better pupusas (jaragua's squash).
Prices wise, its cheap.
The horchata tasted like beach.
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I've never had pupusas prior to Monday and the Pupusa-Palooza UYE so take my reviews with a grain of salt. I mean, I really don't know what's "good" or "authentic". But, I do know what I like and of the three stops we yelpers hit that night, I liked El Carbonero the least.
El Carbonero's pupusas were a little bit too greasy for my taste. I mean, it's bound to get just a little greasy if you're eating tons of cheese but, with the pupusas here, you could see the oil. Plus, the curtido (the pickled cabbage) wasn't pickled enough for me...I wanted more flavor!
My horchata was a little too grainy too - I'm used to the commercial Mexican horchata so when I got the Salvadoran kind, I was a little weirded out by the roasted rice taste. But seeing I was fine with the one I ordered at Atlacatl, I think the horchata here just doesn't have the right combo of rice and milk and sugar (or whatever goes in an horchata...all I know is that the combination wasn't quite right).
Considering all the other great pupusa places located on that same strip of street, just pass on El Carbonero.
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#2 Stop on our Pupusa Palooza UYE Crawl.
We pretty much took over all of the tables at this tiny restaurant, but they were able to handle us with a smile. Most Salvi places offer pretty much the same menu but at El Carbonero they had some drinks (chan & sebada) that were not offered at the other 2 spots we hit.
The pupusas are a bit small, greasy, and lacked flavor. The pork filling was coarse and didn't have that smooth consistent texture found at other pupuserias. The curtido was just plain cabbage and didn't have the sour pickled flavor im used to. The tomato sauce was runny and a little spicy which i didn't care for.
If im ever on a really tight budget, i may hit this place again for their .99 cent pupusas Mon - Thurs. There are 2 pupuserias right across the street (El Palermo and El Chipilin) as alternative options as well.
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This was the second stop of the Papusa - Paloosa Progressive Crawl.
If you're looking for ambiance, turn your car back towards West LA.
After having gone to Jaragua and Atlacatl, the papusas here were comparably more greasy. They were also smaller, but for $0.99, I say that it was reasonably good for what I paid for.
Note that the water is NOT free here. And the horchata (see Felicia's review and ensalada (see Amy's review) did not live up to Yelpers' expectations.
Why come here when you can have better tasting pupusas and drinks, better ambiance, and less grease just a block away at Jaragua?
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
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I know the others on the pupusa-palooza crawl didn't enjoy this place but I liked the pupusas here more that Jaragua. The curtido was more roughly chopped which made it easier to eat with the pupusas and cut the heaviness better. I didn't think they were that greasy, actually, just very filling.
The ensalata drinks were beautiful here with plenty of chopped fruit in 'em but I didn't get one. Instead, I got a pink drink (cebada) that I'm pretty sure was cactus syrup which was very refreshing.
For a small joint, they accommodated our group of 14 easily. We ordered 4 of each of their pupusas and I enjoyed the pork one the best.
Again, I'd be interested in coming back to try some other dishes.
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