Review Highlights
“For the Best Pupusas in Arizona, come to San Salvador Restaurant, very Friendly Staff, they are inside the Desert Sky Mall on 75TH av and Thomas Rd...” in 2 reviews
“We were meeting up with my brother for Saturday lunch and were craving El Salvadorian food.” in 3 reviews
“The masa has a perfect texture that I can only imagine is a result of a slow cook.” in 2 reviews
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Overall rating
22 reviews
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1 star
- Kyle G.Phoenix, AZ04Jan 26, 2024
The pupusas weren't even that good and my kid found a nail in the dough! In my 83 years of life this is the 2nd nastiest thing I've seen. Thankfully he was playing with the food instead of eating it. If you want really good tasting pupusas go to Restaurante El Guanaquito and ask for well done, if you don't want to travel a lot, Salvadoreño Restaurant is good too and it's across the street
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Ruby Z.Youngtown, AZ02818Dec 23, 2023
Food wasn't bad but the service was. I waited about 40 minutes for 2 popusas. I was told the wait would be about 15 and was late to work due to it. Alongside, they tried charging me 16$ for something that was 7$. Overall, awful service.
Helpful 1Thanks 1Love this 0Oh no 1 - Maira B.Las Vegas, NV54312535Jan 14, 2022
Food court dining.
Overall tasty but a long wait for 2 Pupusas. I got the Chicharon w/frijoles y queso which is Spanish for (pork rinds and beans, and cheese) and a regular cheese. The pickled salad was a bit old and wilted. They give you 1 tiny salsa cup... and sour cream is 50 cents extra. Good, but not amazing. Try this spot if you're shopping but no need to go out of the way....Helpful 5Thanks 0Love this 4Oh no 0 - Andy G.Phoenix, AZ2118365Nov 11, 2015
When traveling to a Papusa Festival we were halted by the sheer volume of people in the small parking lot the festival was catered at. So with that said, we hit the Yelp for the closest Salvadorian Food Joint.
Like other reviews have said, the wait is a little long however the set up is to blame in my opinion. Food court setting in a rat race Sunday night shopping day weighed the experience down however the food is worth the wait. As you can see with my picture we ordered almost everything on the menu. It was all fantastic, the Papusas were spot on and even better than other "highly rated" Salvadorian Food Joints around the valley. I would recommend enjoying the wait, be patient, the light is bright at the end of the tunnel. Price is low, taste is high, wait is worth it.Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Maira S.Las Cruces, NM7691123Mar 25, 2018
Delicious pupusas! The wait was somewhat long otherwise I would have given them 5stars. There are limited Salvadoran restaurants in the area. I was glad this one has reasonable prices as I recently tried a Salvadoran food truck on the west side for food truck Fridays. I suggest you try it out, but be patient with waiting for your food.
Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Paul K.Tolleson, AZ01411Aug 15, 2017
This place is amazing! I have been coming here for many years. It is so delicious! The pupusas must be an old family recipe because they are way better here than several other places I've tried. The prices are really good too. You can eat like a king for less than $10 here.
The one bad review on Yelp was obviously written by an idiot with a broken watch and a sense of entitlement. I have eaten here literally hundreds of times and I can tell you the wait has never been more than about ten minutes except for a couple of times when the mall was packed with people and they had a lot of customers, the wait was about 15 minutes... but well worth it for such delicious food made from scratch!
I'll be eating pupusas here for many years to come.Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Sandra P.Phoenix, AZ01Feb 16, 2019
Great pan con pollo! Willing to put up with holiday traffic, congested parking and lines. They did not disappoint. Only reason I go to Desert Sky mall.
Helpful 3Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 0 - Roberto R.Phoenix, AZ7532129Oct 25, 2013
We Discovered this place by accident, when walking around the mall we got hungry of course!
But being tired of everything else we wanted to see if they sold PUPUSAS...which is my favorite Salvadorian Dish...and they do! Delicious!! i usually get "revuelta" ones and my Wife really likes the cheese ones...so now that we found this place we come here often...usually Sundays after church if we are in the mood for some really good pupusas. The staff is really attentive and friendly, they give you this card that's sorta like a loyalty card...and stamp it every time you visit...by like the 9th visit you get a free meal...who wouldn't want a free meal!?Helpful 4Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 0 - T-Squared S.Sun City West, AZ152819May 5, 2018
Hard to find, as the first 2-3 clerks in the mall had not heard about it. Best way to find the small shop, is to ask for the food court.
Be ready to wait for your food as it is prepared after you order. I noticed some people ordered ahead and showed up to pick it up.
Food was ok. But the low prices earned another star. Doubt that we'll go back. Next time we'll probably try another pupusa place.Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - McKenna U.Glendale, AZ08Feb 22, 2016
We were meeting up with my brother for Saturday lunch and were craving El Salvadorian food. We needed a central location, so I did a quick Yelp search and selected this one based on its rating alone without checking any details. When we got there, I was surprised to find it in the food court of a Latino mall, but the ratings did not lie-- the food is delicious. The pupusas are excellent; we tried cheese (my favorite) and meat. They came out piping hot and their cabbage slaw was on-point. We also got fried plantains with crema and beans. Drool. So good.
Pros:
-Delicious food made fresh.
-Cheap.
Cons:
-If you're looking for a quiet sit-down restaurant, this is not the right place for you. It is in a noisy mall food court.
-The food takes awhile to come out.
-Location can be inconvenient if you don't live nearby.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0
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