Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    El Centroamericano

    4.4 (56 reviews)
    ModerateSalvadoran
    Closed Closed

    Order El Centroamericano Takeout or Delivery

    El Centroamericano Photos

    Business Info

    EL CENTROAMERICANO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    You might also consider

    More like El Centroamericano

    Recommended Reviews - El Centroamericano

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Great view of kitchen very clean and  Organised
    Bob M.

    Very, very clean, and where i sat i could see in the kitchen, Very clean well organised and professional,How hard is that for some of these restaurants to pull off ? You walk into this little market that's up front and you go to the back, And that is where the magic is done. Have you ever said to yourself I want something different I'm tired of the same old thing well here's your chance, If good authentic food very clean almost clinical Is high on your list you need to go in and give it a try. And if you're trying to figure out what countries are Central America look on the wall they have a picture that shows you each of the countries. Now when my wife says you go there a lot I can say I'm in training for our next vacation

    Ann-marie D.

    I enjoyed my meal here thoroughly! I ordered a cheese pupusas (corn patty stuffed with cheese, maduro (sweet plantains), along with the grilled fish dinner plate. The pupusa was sooo perfectly cooked and cheesy. The sweet plantains were almost dessert like and were the perfect compliment to my savory fish dish. My fish dish came with a large piece of fish that was seasoned better than any grilled fish I've ever eaten here in Charleston. So awesomely delicious! My sides were traditional rice and beans along with a side salad. Lots of food for me to enjoy and I sure did enjoy! By the way, the beans were also well seasoned and delicious. I wish I took pictures but I was so hungry I forgot. This meal definitely hit the spot. Best Latino food in Charleston! My husband and daughter ordered the Bandeja Paisa it's a plate filled with food: steak, sausage, sweet plantain, rice, beans, an egg, chiccarrón (pork rind), arepa (corn patty) and a slice of avocado. Neither of them could finish their meal & both of them were quiet while eating. They said their food was just too good to not try and eat it all. My husband said it was the best meal since his last visit to a Colombian restaurant. All he kept saying once he was stuffed with pure happiness was we will definitely be returning to eat here. Both my daughter and I agree!

    Horchata & Passion Fruit
    Sammantha J.

    Never knew this was in my own town. Looked it up after watching a street food show. The Horchata was amazing!! I had the fried fish and plantains (not sweet) and it was so delicious. I really like that there's a store in front and restaurant in back. The restaurant area is not huge but surprisingly there's still a lot of room.

    Steak, fried pork belly and sausage!  With 3 food that we ordered, 2 of us were SOOO full!
    Tentay P.

    Food was great! The lady at the store was so helpful. We can't speak Spanish but pictures posted at yelp were helpful.

    Arien E.

    For a hole in the wall Mexican store and authentic restaurant in ladson SC, this place puts on and excellent feed. I was stuffed. Great deal and lots of food for the price. Heartily recommend this place but it helps if you know some Spanish or really know Spanish food.  Both choices were excellent

    Passion fruit juice
    Ryan H.

    Now one of my favorite hidden gems in the Lowcountry. In front there is a small insurance agency that uses a small table for its operations. And the rest of the front area is a grocery where cool Central American food and drink can be purchased like tortillas, drinks, and a good supply of things necessary to cook Central American goods. Behind the retail area is a small restaurant where the food is fantastic. I had empanadas that were pretty good. I had several other items that were fantastic. The fruit juice is a very large portion and sweet but very tasty. We got the passion fruit and split it. Their refried beans were fantastic and my wife loved the plantains. We went 2 days in a row so a mix of reviews. Our waitress the first day was pretty fluent in both English and Spanish. The second day our waitress knew little to no English. More authentic for sure but a little harder to order but thankfully the menu has pics and you can point. It really is a fantastic out of the way place that I recommend highly and will be back.

    Fish filet with spices, "pescado avodabo" I was warned it was "picante!" - spicy. But really isn't (to my tastes at least)
    Hana M.

    I direct many new in town folks I meet to centro Americano if we make a connection over Culture or being foodies. 90% of the time if they are Latino, they have already been here and agree that it's a little gem and several gave me their word that the horchata is on point. (Horchata is a traditional salvadorean iced cinnamon rice milk, really good when homemade but can also be made too sugary and fake tasting. I still have yet to try centro's horchata but I will) The coke is Mexican coke (same as American coke- but with REAL sugar so it actually tastes better!) I tried the mango juice and that was very sugary and not made with enough mango. The restaurant seems to get very crowded when futbol is on, as there are several TV screens to watch it. Pupusas are a total fail-proof food- you can bring your pickiest eating friend/cousin/sister and if they like cheese and eat wheat they'll love pupusas. I have a bf who is picky this way and he loves pupusas as much as I do- even though he won't try the curtido (a pickled slaw side) that just means extra for me!! My bf orders the shrimp quesadilla and loves it, the shrimp taste very fresh and grilled smokey. I tried the filet fish with spices and I liked that it was saucy and crunchy. I was warned it would be "picante" lol, I'm all for spicy fish!! It didn't taste all the hot though. The rice that comes with the fish is very good too. The service has been really good everytime too. By default, everyone speaks Spanish but you won't be lost if you don't speak any. The waitresses speak English and will speak both if you are a language learner! This gives me the confidence to speak Spanish no matter how silly I sound! I did say I need a moment to look at the money instead of the menu and when I didn't understand what she was asking me with my order of water, the waitress switched to English and asked if I wanted it with ice.

    See all

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Very very authentic. Nice owner and staff. And they will humor you and speak Spanish if you need to practice. We loved it.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of JP C.
    10
    2
    0

    8 months ago

    The service in this restaurant is the worst in whole Charleston !! It's a shame, good food but the service it's incredible terrible

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Bob M.
    166
    1071
    961

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Love this place! Authentic Spanish food! I'd recommend the bandeja paisa !!!!!!!!!!!!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Loved everything we received. As authentic as it gets. Service was friendly, food was excellent. We will be back.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Bobby S.
    26
    60
    55

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ryan H.
    762
    1316
    1524

    6 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kim P.
    132
    1
    0

    5 years ago

    Remarkable papusas and plantains. We love everything about this place, especially the lovely people working there.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Gary G.
    35
    67
    73

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Gerald T.
    57
    39
    30

    12 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Alan S.
    205
    19
    2

    11 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 1

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    This place is real authentic Central American food!!! Highly recommend!! Their prices are reasonable.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Yrb 7.
    1
    17
    9

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Mary R.
    31
    46
    11

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Great authentic Latin food. Price is great. Portions are good. Service was awesome. Old school diner inside a grocery store.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    We are not close to home and this has been the closest food to home made in the area. Fyi food could be hit or miss when it's too crowded.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 2

    El Centroamericano Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - El Centroamericano

    Review Highlights - El Centroamericano

    Definitely, on of the better Spanish food restaurants outisde of the Mexican restaurants littered all over Charleston.

    Mentioned in 6 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Salvadoran 138 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Pupuseria Jireh - Pupusas topped with red tomato sauce and pickled cabbage slaw.

    Pupuseria Jireh

    4.7(48 reviews)
    86.5 mi
    $

    Off the beaten path but a great experience!…read more We went in and asked the staff for recommendations and they did not disappoint! They were very helpful in guiding us in selecting pupusas and an entree. Also very attentive. The pupusas were delicious! Served with two sauce choices and I believe a fermented/pickled cabbage. We ordered the Bandeja Salvatrucho. The chicken was well seasoned and the steak was tender! The shrimp tasted fresh and were a great size. We tried their flan as well and were stuffed by the end our our meal! Give this authentic Salvadorian restaurant a visit! Check out the store in the back while you are there. Great for larger parties as well due to the larger space and many tables.

    Muy bueno! Muy delicioso! This Salvadorian restaurant is off the charts! This has seriously become…read moreone of our new favorite restaurants. I came back a second night in a row to introduce my daughter. Majority of the menu is naturally GLUTEN FREE which is perfect for her. Their specialty, and their namesake, is the PUPUSAS. They are a corn or rice griddle cake (I chose corn) that is stuffed with ingredients such as meat, beans and cheese. It is optionally topped with a tomato salsa sauce and tangy pickeled cabbage slaw. Pretty much everything (if not everything) is HOUSE MADE, including the sauces. They also offer a green habanero sauce which is very spicy but also very flavorful! TIPS: Be sure to top the pupusa with one of the sauces and a little pickled cabbage. It is an amazing marriage of flavors. I recommend two pupusas and a side. If no side then you could order three pupusas. Over my two visits, I ordered: REVUELTA PUPUSA (cheese, beans, pork filled), the traditional pupusa in El Salvador. It was my favorite of all that I have eaten. QUESO/CARNE ASADA PUPUSA (Cheese and Steak) which was my second favorite. QUESO/CHORIZO (Cheese and Chorizo Sausage) could have used more chorizo or else a stronger flavored chorizo. It wasn't bad, but the cheese dominated. QUESO/JALAPENO (Cheese and Jalapeno) was also dominated by the cheese and could have used more pepper flavor. For sides, you must order the PLATANOS DELUXE, which is sweet plantains with Salvadorian cream and cheese. The plantains are delicious on their own, but there is a culinary explosion of goodness when you top the plantain with a little Salvadoran cream and a little piece of cheese. The YUCA FRIES were delicious, especially when dipped in the provided fry sauce. Finally, you must try the hot drink ATOL DE ELOTE (creamy corn pudding drink). It is made with milk and corn, which is slightly thickened and sweetened. The staff is very welcoming and includes members of the family from this family business. The seating area is very casual, and feels like a cafeteria. They place multiple tables together to support large groups. The word JIREH in the restaurant name is a Biblical term that means "God will Provide". This is truly a wholesome business.

    Photos
    Pupuseria Jireh - Seating

    Seating

    Pupuseria Jireh - Yuca Frita (fried Yuca fries)

    Yuca Frita (fried Yuca fries)

    Pupuseria Jireh - Pickles cabbage slaw at table served with pupusas

    See all

    Pickles cabbage slaw at table served with pupusas

    El Centroamericano - salvadoran - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...