Great flavor, original taste, fresh food and unique service. Had lunch with my wife at her work brake and was great to come here! read more

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Nice Mexican restaurant with an impressive list of dishes including a few Salvadoran specialties. Definitely a mom 'n pop kind of place, the owners are very nice and hospitable. They serve parrilladas and molcajetes; mariscos caldos, tostadas and cocteles; burgers; omelettes and breakfast plates; traditional plates and more. The Salvadoran specialties include pupusas, platanos fritos, yuca frita con chicharron and others. I had the delicious Calentano plate, which includes carne asada, pollo, camarones, arroz, frijoles and ensalada verde. A very filling plate for less than $20. I've had very good pupusas here, served with curtido and that tomatoey red salsa. The asada fries were okay, and the chilaquiles were tasty. It's open every day serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it looks like they have (or had) karaoke on Friday nights. There's indoor and outdoor seating, and a small parking lot in front of the restaurant. As you can see from the hat that features prominently on their signage and menu, El Calentano refers to the unique palm hat from the region in Mexico known as tierra caliente. Give them a try if you're in the area. read more

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Could be better. Prices online were inaccurate. Six tacos, no salsa, and menudo cost 47 total.

My mother is pretty easy to please on special occasions. Pupusas is all she asks for. It sounds simple enough, right? For her birthday, I decided to bring her here so she could try a new place instead of her usual places. There's not much I can positively say about this place. The service was slow, inattentive, and the food tasted horrible. The place was loud, the furniture seems like it's from someone's backyard. The prices on the menu are quoted at $3 per pupusa, but when I went to pay, they were charged at $4 each. There's a sign that says they reserve the right to change prices according to market prices of supplies. That's fine but it should be noted on the menu, not at the cashier's desk. Avoid at all cost. read more

The people were very friendly and nice and I wouldn't mind the price change for the asada fries (~$1, from $9.50 to $10.99) but for literally half the original portion I'm very disappointed. $10.99 worth? No. I spent $14 here. read more

El Calentano - What was shown. - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

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Food is made by hand, fresh as you order. Small family owned business with great customer service & even better food!

Food was superb, fresh and made to order. When I first walked in there was someone's abuelita sitting at the table doing needle point. She spoke and smiled so big and sweet. I felt like home right then. The gentleman and other female worker were both kind and beyond nice. I felt some welcomed. It's clean and has plenty of space to dine in. We ordered to go and it was delicious. 3 bucks for a quality pupusa I'm in. read more

El Calentano - Pupusas - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

Food was delicious, service was friendly. We ordered the parrillada , menudo, pancake breakfast, pupusa and even there flan. All were equally delicious. read more

El Calentano - Parrillada - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

Stopped by on a whim and was surprised by the quality of food and fast service. Very friendly people! The rice, beans, and enchiladas verdes are phenomenal. Very clean tacos, nothing is greasy. read more

Amazing food Amazing service Amazing vibe Highly recommended to go see my friends Guadalupe and Jose and eat their yummy food right here in Gardena. Will bring lunch meeting here more often. read more

My fave Mexican & Salvadoran restaurant! This is a small mom & pop restaurant in Gardena, off of Van Ness and Marine. If you drive too fast, you might miss it! Service is always 10/10. Business here is slow, but I'm going to help them attract more people here! If I had to describe the food, I'd just say if you came with a group of friends, all you'd see js people shaking their heads and widening their eyeballs at how delicious the food is here lol You have to get pupusas here, it's what they're known for. Next, I'd recommend their tacos. Specifically the Marlin tacos. 11/10 would recommend! Everything I've had here is amazing! I ordered the Calentano plate today with Fish instead of asada... BOMB. Anyways, love the family that owns this restaurant! Go try it for yourself! read more

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Great food with super friendly service. Nice patio seating. Papusas, huarchas and tortas are delicious. Cozy diner setting inside.

We tried their Carne Asada plate and Steak Fajita plate. Both were extremely delicious! Also tried the mango flan and Rompopo flan, not usually a fan of flavored flan, but these were so yummmyyyyyyy. To top off my belly their customer service was great. I placed an online order and came to pick up my food 15 min later and to my surprise they actually close at 7! I showed up at 7:15 (I didn't know they closed at 7) and they were so nice to wait. It is a bit hard to see from the street, the owner is doing renovations and there is a gate in front of the restaurant. I wish I knew about this place sooner. We will be back! read more

Service is great, food is a joke 15.00 for nothing but caldo menudo.. Juanita's can would of been better .. That's all that came in my bowl .. Puro caldo! read more

El Calentano - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

Have gone twice to this location in the week. Food is fantastic, reasonably price and great service. I highly recommend it. Very friendly staff. read more

Very good service, the food was delicious, and it's a family owned business. I ordered a gallina india a Salvadoran plate very yummy. read more

El Calentano - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

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It's hard to find a good place for menudo, at least for me it has been. This place right here has a seasoning that I've only tasted in my moms cooking! The chilaquiles are delicious too, the sauce is made and not from a can. Service was great, very welcoming Inside is perhaps what made it feel like a breakfast at home, such chill ambiance... will be visiting very soon. read more

Good quality food! Todo una Belleza! Nice owners ! Small place left a huge impact! I will be coming here every time I want mariscos read more

El Calentano - Ostiones preparados - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

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I'm so glad I came back to try this place after a change in ownership, highly recommend this place, the food is great and made fresh, and is well seasoned (carne asada). I will definitely come back and tell others to try this spot. The service was also great too, workers were friendly and welcoming. There is indoor seating, please don't forget to bring cash. Also I learned I can order anything on the menu at all times of the day. Here is an additional menu I noticed was missing on this Yelp page. read more

El Calentano - a menu for a mexican restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Gardena, California

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Nice flavors, but the penny-pinching servings means we probably won't return. I know meat is more expensive nowadays. But skimping on salsa? $40 and we left hungry. Go if you have the money to order double servings for yourself. read more

Small hole in the wall with real good food... family owned business kind people come and try the food so far everything I've ordered is great!!! read more

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Food is savory and delicious. Very pleasantly surprised. Great customer service! We'll be back.

We ordered our usual pupusas and sopes, not realizing there was a change in ownership. Thankfully, there hasn't been a change in the quality of their food, which is excellent! The cheese and beans pupusas were as good as always--the beans were delicious and the cheese plentiful. We also had chicken and asada sopes, and the meat was well-seasoned and cooked perfectly, so good that I'll want to try their tacos in the future. The new owners are very nice and have decorated their new covered outdoor seating area nicely (we typically order to-go from here so we haven't actually tried eating there yet). All in all this is a fantastic pupuseria and I hope they stay in business through the pandemic! read more

Underrated authentic Hispanic food. Not going to regret coming here. Flavors burst in your mouth! Delicious!

False advertisement not open on Sundays. I thought coming here was going to be good but noticed the place was completely closed as others were also waiting. read more

Family owned restaurant, excellent customer service! The good is outstanding! The stuff only your gramma makes! Camarones cucarachas are to die for!! Must try! read more

La comida muy sabrosa , negocio manejado por una familia muy amable , todo muy limpio , altamente recomendable

Such a. Great place for breakfast! My family & I wanted something yummy and their pupusas are amazing. The customer service was equally as amazing and such a nice atmosphere. Not to mention, very clean! read more

This was my first time coming in since the former owner Jimy retired and I am just as happy with the new name/ownership. I am super easy to please as long as my food is delicious. I was craving a super simple cheese quesadilla with jalapenos either in it or on the side. Like I said, easy to please. I got a cheese quesadilla packed with jalapenos that made me super happy, though I will be feeling the heart burn later, and a surprise bonus of sour cream and obviously a house made guacamole that was super yummy. No imitation guacamole here. I will definitely be back soon. Even if it is just for chips and guacamole or something more. read more

Pupusas are really great here and a nice size for the price. The salsa and the curtido for the pupusas are great too. Every time I have come they have been really nice. read more

Food was soooo fire! Definitely coming here again workers are so nice and the esthetic is dope. Love it!

The Camarones a la cucaracha are indescribably delicious, the dipping sauce phenomenal, absolutely delicious!! Their fried yuca and pork appetizer is to die for! My husband LOVED the tostada mixta! Marlin tacos/quesadillas are mind blowing!! My son couldn't get enough of the asada fries! You have not had the best aguaschiles until you've had them here! Best dinner experience ever! It's hard to find a place that nails everything you order!! Excellent and friendly service! Place is a gem!! A must try!! read more