The best Salvadorian yet !. You can tell everything is fresh here . Not a lot of grease and fat like Mexican food . Try the green corn tamales with sour cream . Combined in a bite they are amazing . You can eat here inexpensively or spend more if you wish .
The staff is friendly and understands the menu but don't ask their opinion on Obama Care the lost airplane as they will not understand you at all but they will keep smiling . Don't expect exquisite form or decor just good food at a very reasonable price . You go in the back door from sort of dingy parking lot .
Don't be scared . Just go .
Super solid El Salvadorean.. Tucked in an unassuming building on the north side of mcdowell, Guanaquito is an affable little restaurant that serves traditional El Salvadorean cuisine and more. I would recommend the papusas, corn based tortllas stuffed with your choices such as cheese, beans, or pork. Try all three in a mix too! For the carb-happy diner, the fried yucca root puts the filling yet mundane "French fry" to shame. Try something different like the yucca root flower relleno. Everything is correctly prepared, flavorful and relatively inexpensive. Lunch for two for under 20 bucks... Spanish is the preffered language here at Guanaquito, but the friendly staff will help you if you find yourself unable to wrap your mouth around the pronounciations. At least you should have no such issues with the meal!
We had been looking for a good place for pupusas and we found one! The plantain, black beans and cream is also a must! Everything we had was so tasty! We took home their breads - pudding and quesadilla (not the Mexican kind). They were so good and authentic! My husband who grew up eating this type of food in Guatemala said it was just like home. We went back twice in our short visit to Phoenix.
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Today 12/1/23 grabbed lunch and I don't know what changed, new cook/manager/ holiday spirit but everything was fantastic. Empanadas were just perfect. Keep it up.
Just picked up from this restaurant for the first time 10/18/20. This is now my #1 salvadorian restaurant in phoenix. Food is delicious, pupusas are the best in town, empanadas are amazing, nuegados are tasty(not for everyone) and the quesadilla is delicious. Every time I'm near guanaquito, I may need to order.
This place would earn 5 stars if they had more efficient service. Customer service is very polite. However, I can see customers getting upset for long waiting times. I think their problem is from lack of a computer system for ordering and lack of communication with the kitchen.
But I do want to thank you for the delicious meal I was able to enjoy today.
I revisited the location on 3-6-21 and still impressed. Best pupusas in arizona that I have had.
On august 21 2022, I finally decided to dine in and as always the food is on point. If this restaurant fails it will be because of the lack of restaurant experience the owners have. They need to have a better system for the restaurant. Especially since they're heavily understaffed. They need to have a hostess, bussers and a pos system. Taking orders by hand is pointless with all the technology we have in society. Please don't change the way you make food, just help the staff have the right equipment to function efficiently. Also upgrade your Air conditioning. Thank you for the great food. Best Salvadorian food in the valley.
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Boy am I late to the party! Turns out this place has been around for c. 20 years, next door, but 5 years at present location. A welcoming woman gave a warm "buenos dias" and I repeated it back to her and looked over the menu, wanting to get something with the most variety, so I picked the Plato Tipico which included two pupusas (like a gordita I had at a street fair)--I think made with a flour/cornmeal blend or cornmeal flour--it was smoother than the grittier empanada and stuffed with bean and cheese, two empanadas/pasteles(corn tortilla-like pastry with potato and beef--I think--maybe a few peas or peppers--something green and soft), one fluffy filling with chicken tamale wrapped not in corn husk but banana leaf, yuca fries (very starchy and if you pull them apart they have a layered papery bread-like texture, and added chicharrones (pork rinds: I'd never had fresh ones before and they had some meat attached and just melted in my mouth, not at all hard and super crunchy crisp like the stuff in a bag). The curtido (spicy fermented slaw with some mysterious seasonings--am thinking oregano may have been one) and salsa roja were put in plastic bags and knotted but I couldn't open the knot on the salsa, mind you this is not chunky salsa, more like just thin tomato sauce, so when I got home and tried to gently clip the corner of the bag away, it slipped and the sauce went everywhere. Yikes! Still enough to taste though and it was mild and very tomatoey, so be forewarned for a salsa explosion if you're not more careful than I was. Too bad they use styrofoam--a paper alternative would add to the traditional homey food vibe, and a non-recyclable fork and knife (which I didn't need since I was taking it home--places should ask if needed). Next time I'm going to dine in and get the full El Guanaquito experience!
Authentic pupusas. Some of the best I’ve had in the US
Good service and food..
I love pupusas🥰
This place came through when I needed 100 pupusas for an event! They were ready at the time they gave me. Also, I had to post the picture of the orchata because it’s so authentic, delicious and refreshing! The 5 stars should tell you that the pupusas were good. I haven’t tried the other menu items.
Neat little spot. By the looks of it, it looks like this used to be a Chinese restaurant. They have some round tables that have the turning platform in the middle.
But they made it their own with the murals and decorations.
The food was as expected for a Salvadorian restaurant. Being from Los Angeles, I'm hesitant about Salvadorian food elsewhere, but this hit the mark. The horchata was on point (which FYI is starkly different from Mexican horchata).
Pupusas we're to my liking. I love it when they aren't super greasy. Some places make them too greasy just to have them cook faster and get them to the table. My brother prefers them oozing with grease. Me, not so much.
If I'm in AZ again, I'd come back.
Pupusas were delicious, glad to have a nearby spot to come to for Salvadoran food. Curtido was seasoned nicely, oregano flavors coming through🤙🏾
Plato Tipico
Chicarron Pupusa was delicious. Didn't care much for the Meat pie. Yucca fries had a interesting texture that I would probably get again.. Ended up getting another pupusa instead since their tamales werent ready yet.
Best pupusas in Phoenix hands down. I've tried most Salvi restaurants in Phoenix and Guanaquitos has the most authentic, best tasting pupusas.
I got a recommendation from a friend to go here and strictly on a food basis it was awesome i got the Plato de papusas cheese and jalapeño prepare your self they are SPICY, the bean and cheese and the pork wasn’t feeling the horchata just cause im use to my typical horchata but the fruit salad drink is a must taste just like a fruit salad with pieces of fruit in it the chips and salsa was ok chips a little stale salsa nothing to be remembered the price for three came out to $32 with isn’t bad at all my only complaint was the service only time they came to us was for the order not to ask how was the food to refill drinks we had to shout out and request so that was a bummer and menu had alot of choices but hard to make out since its not all in English but main dish was truly satisfying will recommend and revisit to try out more of their Authentic Salvadorian food
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