Izalco Restaurant

I was searching for a pupusa place in Chicago and was happy to find Izalco. Definitely a mom & pop kinda place. You know the food is gonna be good when you see they are bringing it out on the home paper plates. I ordered beef empanadas, cheese & been, and steak pupusas. Everything was a 10/10.

Full review: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8MANJg2/

Izalco is an unassuming looking place. The interior is nothing fancy nor are the plates anything presentation-wise, but here in this little place you'll find THE BEST pupusas in Chicago. I've eaten in most places in Chicago and many in NYC, these are the best. Service is always attentive and friendly too. Also get an agua de Marañon (blended cashew juice). It's so refreshing we'd drive 40 minutes to get one In the summer. Pupusas reheat well too. If you want to try something homey and fresh but also super unique to El Salvador get the Pupusa de Lorroco. I can only describe lorroco as a jalapeño thats bit spicy. They only take cash so come ready for that.

Best Pupusas ever!!! This is the spot I I my go to get my order to go.
Your order comes with a salsa and a salvadoreño Slaw that goes on top of your pupusas.

Street parking but easy to find. Very authentic delicious food, cash only, no split checks. I ordered the corn tamales with cream and pupusas but their soup was very popular and they had many to go orders while we were there. The food was delicious, 2 pupusas are enough for an adult, 1 might not be enough. New favorite place! Since they were so busy they did have a little bit of a wait for tables and food but it is also because each pupusa is hand made. I love the pupusas with everything inside but we got many flavors and they were all great!

Amazing service and food can't even explain how delicious it is. I live in Aurora and drive all the way over here to eat because it's that good and worth it.
El servicio es impecable y la comida ni se diga súper deliciosa. Yo vivo en Aurora y vengo desde acá para comer la verdad vale la pena es un local muy bueno y fresco. Recomiendo las Pupusa's y yuca con chicarrón excelente.

I was in the Smokys visiting friends when they introduced me to pupusas. Store bought, frozen and in rural Tennessee, go figure. So when I got back to Chicago I went looking and looking. Hard to find even in the frozen aisle. Through some research found two spots mentioned repeatedly. This spot has them on the menu and on weekends almost everybody is ordering them.

As others have mentioned it is a family style, hole-in-the-wall. Go into it with lowered expectations and you may enjoy. However, their staff are basic trained. Signage on their Covid protective glass above the check out counter give many instructions. Such as ordering at the counter and paying there as well. CASH ONLY business. You could also opt to sitting and dining in. Although English language tends to be a barrier, so having a friend along that speaks Espanol would be of great help. Sweet people work there but in trying to figure out ordering, getting water refills and checking on whether all food items ordered have been prepared and served.. ayyee.
**Although waitstaff are present, they do not know how to process customers. Timing in regards to serving. Nor bringing out the bill in a timely manner. Last, if your order is missing items, they may even forget to subtract those items from the final bill.

On the tail end of my visit we were told the empanadas were on the way but fifteen minutes later nothing. Our trip for pupusas, beans & fried plantains took a whopping hour, far too long to wait for the items that hit the table. It became terribly tedious to work with them any longer. Even when a bill was requested that never arrived. Ultimately we hit the counter and peaced' out. They didn't confirm or say anything about the two empanadas and we just ate the cost and left. Having a friend with that spoke some Espanol helped a bit but imagine visiting and solely relying on English. It could be frustrating.

The pupusas were it! The fried plantains were not as sweet nor picked at the appropriate time for preparation. It happens.
I mention the play-by-play to offer a glimpse of how your visit can go. Reviews across the web complain about similar issues.

Originally posted this review as 4 stars. But the experience was hardly 4 star worthy. Solid 3.5. Hiring staff that speaks English, Espanol and restaurant servicing fluently would be a great help.

Best Salvadoran food! The service is prompt and GREAT! Love going to family owned businesses.

So when they say the place opens at 10am on Saturday, you can't take that literally. It's more like 10:20. Thankfully it hasn't been that cold outside.

Anyway I enjoyed my meal and thought the service was fine. It definitely helps to speak at least a little Spanish, otherwise your questions about the food just may not get answered.

I had the Plato tipico. It was $16 and huge, enough for more than two meals. The goodness of that meal included two pupusas, fried plantation, beans, rice, yam, and a few other things I can't remember. I would definitely eat here again because all of the food tasted great. My friend got pupusas as well as a taco dish, and she was also a fan.

Great spot. Hole in the wall authentic food. We will go back! Those tamales yummmmmmmm

Having just finished my leftovers for breakfast I had to write a review before I forget. I have had several pupusas and while I like them all, I have my favorites. I am SO glad I found this spot, they blew all the other ones away. I stick with laroco when available and chicharrones. Decided to get the platter with rice and beans.

Best BEST pupusas.. not greasy, filling and perfect. Rice was average and beans were very flavorful.

I can't wait to go back and try other dishes on the menu. They have a sweet cheese rice flour cake I want to try. Fried yucca also .. so many to choose from.

Cabbage slaw was awesome and salsas were flavorful, but not hot.

Servers were friendly .. pupusas are made to order.. worth the wait, but it's not fast food.