The mojito and the food were soooo good. The steak was juicy, the rice is like butter. They grill…read moreoutside, and the extra effort to make our time in the restaurant meaningful was amazing. You need to try it!

I think this was the first time (and hopefully not the last time) visiting a Tex-Mex AND…read moreSalvadorian restaurant. While folks at my table went with Tex-Mex options, I decided to go with a Salvadorian option. In particular, I went with the Sopa de Marisocos, which was served with fish, a whole crab, mussels, shrimps, clams, and eggs. I thought the 20 dollar price tag as pretty fair considering how much seafood was in the bowl of soup. Although I thought the soup should have come with rice, I did not realize that the soup was served with tortillas. I guess the tortillas were the rice substitute. Overall, I thought the soup was very delicious and seasoned very well. I'm glad that I followed the waitress' advice and went with the addition of cream to the soup because it elevated the soup's flavor. Besides the soup, I had my fair share of margaritas. I thought the margaritas were mixed well because they were not too sweet or acidic for me. Also, the restaurant has happy hour most days until 6 pm (or was it 7 pm?). I have to say that I must visit again, because there are a lot of things on the menu that I would like to try during my next visitS. Overall, I thought the service was impeccable. Our bartender, who later became our waitress, was very helpful in making recommendations and suggestions regarding the menu. Also, she was very patient because it took us a while to finally order food - although we did order plenty of margaritas while deciding on what to eat. The restaurant is a decent size with both indoor and outdoor seating. From the way the tables are arranged, El Gavilan looks like it is very accommodating for medium sized groups. The restaurant does have parking; however, the parking lot is a bit tight.

The food is delicious, this is definitely one of those places you can't judge a book by the cover…read more The pupusa are the best and you can't beat the prices with the carne, although the meat may have been too well done. I still truly enjoyed. I would recommend coming and parking at the liquor store next door. If you're looking for affordably delicious food this place won't disappoint. Thank you for the patience and food. Location can still use some love don't stop trying to do better! La comida es deliciosa, este es definitivamente uno de esos lugares en los que no puedes juzgar un libro por la portada. Las pupusa son las mejores y no se puede superar los precios con la carne, aunque la carne puede haber estado demasiado bien hecha. Aún así, realmente lo disfruté. Recomendaría venir y aparcar en la licorería de al lado. Si estás buscando comida deliciosa y asequible, este lugar no te decepcionará. Gracias por la paciencia y la comida. La ubicación todavía puede usar un poco de amor, ¡no dejes de intentar hacerlo mejor!

I hate writing this. I grew up eating at this spot with my family in the early 2000's. I hadn't…read morebeen here in at least 10 years and was excited to return. The food was not good. The pan con pollo's flavor wasn't there. The chicken was included with the bone. Big pet peeve of mine but whatever I can look past this. It even looked a bit unappetizing when I received it but I was hoping the taste would be there. It wasn't. 2/5 Pupusa de queso was a 3/5 - nothing bad but nothing great. Could've been cooked a little more. Pupusa de chicharrón con queso had pieces tomatoes in it. I know the chicharrón was probably cooked / seasoned with it but it was off putting to see tomatoes in my pupusas. Also nothing bad but def not great. 2.5/5 The curtido and salsa for the pupusas was great. My boyfriend got the sopa de marisco - he didn't even eat 1/3 of it. He said the caldo itself wasn't so bad but the actual pieces of seafood were unpleasant. Def not fresh. I didn't get a pic of this but he says 2/5 I hate that im writing this but maybe they can improve and bring back what so many of us loved about this place. Service was also not bad but def not great. The waitress made me feel like we were a burden. All of the food came out at different times. Half the pupusas we ordered came out then 10 minutes later the sandwich, 10 minutes after that the other half of our pupusas arrived. Then the soup like 10 minutes after that. I could've looked past this if it had been busy but it was not. There's also no parking - they had to give us a paper (like a printed out temporary parking pass) to go out in our car so we wouldn't get towed. The inside still looks good, clean and authentic. I felt sad as I drove away. This place was amazing when I was younger and it was always so packed on a Friday night we knew there would be a wait! Hoping they make improvements to keep this place open.

We have never been there in person, we have only ever ordered through DoorDash. Honestly I didn't…read moreknow that it was operating from a gas station until I saw the yelp reviews. I always had a negative look on gas station food/restaurants but we just moved here from Texas and this place is honestly the closest we've found to the food there. I gave 4 stars because only one time we received chicken in the burrito instead of steak, otherwise everything we tried is good.

Good food here, but it helps if you know the drill. Food needs to be ordered at the counter; there…read moreis no table service. That means also asking for a menu if you have not studied one online. Once you know this, everything else should go smoothly. Our food came out after a short time and was delicious and well priced. We had a combo of beef and chicken tacos and the chicken mole. The tacos were the far superior of the two dishes - perhaps not surprising as it is a taqueria! They are made to order and take a few minutes but are well worth it

My mom told me she wanted some food from this restaurant, because her priest friends frequent it…read more We drove up around 530pm on a Friday afternoon and it was decently busy. They have a fairly robust menu covering tacos, papusas, mixed plates, soups, and seafood, to name a few. We ended up deciding to get an array of items to try. We ordered: un pastelito de pollo; yuca frita; tacos de pescado; papusas de jalapeño and queso; and papusas de frijoles and queso. We ordered for take out and it took about 30 minutes for the order. The negatives are that: $10 dollar minimum credit card order (never a fan of this anywhere); the pastelito de pollo was a bit dry; the tortillas for the taco were a bit eh. The positives are that: $20 bucks was about 3 meals worth of food; the tacos were great, although the tortillas weren't; the papusas were top notch; service was friendly; lots of parking; and the yuca frita was great. There is a little sauce that comes with the yuca that is real good, but they only gave me a little. I don't know what it is called, but it is whiteish-green. All in all, I felt this was around a 4-4.5, but it is locally owned, and has more positives than negatives so I will give the bump. I would come again and my mom likes it, so you know that is like an extra star too.

First off this is my first time eating at this place and I can assure you that you should go…read moreelsewhere. To start off we ordered the sopa de res and ordered a side of yuca for carry out. When we got home we were stunned by how undercooked the meat was. The meat of the soup was red and when we called to get a refund they had the audacity to say that the meat was completely cooked and that the reasoning to why it was red is due to the seasoning. As you can see in the picture the meat is obviously not cooked and this is a safety hazard for them to deny. Someone can get food poisoning and they wouldn't even care. Posting as an awareness because this was a horrible experience to deal with and will never go back to eat there.

the pupusas were the size of my palm and as a salvadorean i thought dang these are a little smaller…read morecompared to others i've had but the taste is amazing. the place also has its tables and its pickup area for faster service.

This place is a hidden gem among many Hispanic restaurants in the area. The food is amazingly good,…read morecheap and portions are big ! The pupusas are so stuffed with flavorful chorizo and/or cheese and they serve it with curtido, the Salvadoran cabbage slaw - just the perfect combination We also had the baleada which was a huge portion filled with chunks of beef, avocado, refried beans, cheese and sooo yummy & filling ! The servers are very nice & attentive. The place is nothing special but is very clean. The place was filled with locals when we went which is always a good sign !! Feels authentic !! Go and try it !!!

Love this place!!!!! Awesome staff Monday-Friday. The churrasco is my go to meal. My every day…read morelunch spot!

Got here hoping those 4.5 stars review was as great as it should of have been, but it was more like…read more.5 stars I give to the girl working the counter, she was helpful, on the other hand the food had NO taste, and the ambience was terrible. Place was dirty. My first and last time!... Llegue esperando un servicio digno de un lugar de 4.5 estrellas, hubiera sido mejor .5 y eso se lo doy a la dependiente, quien fue amable. La comida no tenía sabor, el ambiente fue horrible, el lugar estaba sucio, las mesas estaban hasta pegajosas. La primera y última vez.!...

Very authentic El Salvadoran papusas and plates....all to go from a truck! Hand made thick…read moretortillas are used for their tacos...which are very different from authentic Mexican street tacos and not spicy or hot at all. Try the papusas made with frijoles for something different. There are at least four other Latin American food trucks nearby, mostly Mexican or Tex-mex...this one is authentically El Salvadoran and we'll worth the trip. Five minutes from Sligo trail by bike and 5 min from beltway by car.

Well this place is widely known for their tacos and unbelievable pupusas. I've been here several…read moretimes and will be back. Got the quesadilla today along with tacos and such. Always a hit. The staff is nice, patient, and there's typically a line.

The lady and her son to operate this truck are SO nice. They make the food to order and everything…read moreI've had has been good, but the tacos are especially good for the DC area. Walk past the truck while they're making them and the smell will draw you in. Pro-tip: the food does take a few minutes, so stop by, place your order, go get your groceries, and come back.

Really delicious fish taco topped with a tasty sauce,, along with a very nice salsa verde and a…read moregenerous wedge of lime. Also liked my pupusa. The horchata drink was refreshing. Everything was so much better than the local fast food options. You can call ahead and they'll have it ready for you in about 15 minutes or less.