This is the best kept secret in Durham. I consider this the best Mexican restaurant in the triangle, and have a lot of good memories here (wife and I had a magical snow night here where this place was open and we were the only ones dining here). It doesn't look like much from the outside, but everything here is delicious. You also usually get enough for more than one meal to take home with you. We've left Durham, but this was a spot we frequented the most read more

See all

Such a hidden gem! The best pupusas I have ever had. They also have great tacos with many meat options and lots of traditional Salvadorian dishes. Ask for a side of their house made salsas if you like spicy. Nothing fancy on the inside but we like dining in. It's very tiny and cozy inside with older decor. Be prepared for possible language barriers but the staff is always kind and service is good. In my top 3 Hispanic restaurants in Durham for sure. read more

The food and flavor was delicious don't get me wrong but the service was awful!!! The place was dirty and had food on the floor that they never cleaned up. Will probably go again just for the food and get it for takeout but will not be interested in dining inside. The server did not check up on us at all but was able to check on her other tables frequently, not sure why she could not check up on us. I will say that the food was delicious. The fish was beautifully fried and had wonderful flavor the quesadilla albeit we ordered beef and we got chicken was still delicious. read more

See all

The best tacos in town in my opinion. Reasonable priced and the vibe is amazing. The parking is small but finding a spot isn't difficult for all the times I have been there. read more

They have amazing pupusas and tamales de elote!! Service is always good! Something they even have live music

All the food was incredible. I ordered the plato típico because I wanted to try everything. The fried plantains were probably my favorite but I could've eaten four of those pupusas. Definitely will be returning. read more

El Cuscatleco - Plato Tipico - Salvadoran Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Good, local restaurant. Reminds me of a mom and pop place which are typically good. I got locoro pupusa's to try and a cheese enchilada because I read they were good... and they were! For an entre, got the Camaorones Acajuta which was very tasty. My friend recommended the place so while he was in town we went for me to tey it out. It was as good as he remembered. read more

See all

I've been here before and have enjoyed it but this time the tamales were not that good, had carrots and were not soft and flavorful. The Pupusas's revueltas were more like cheese Pupusas's and did not taste good. I could not even finish mine. read more

Really delicious food that you can order online and pickup. Specifically went because I like the iceberg lettuce and white cheese combo that comes on the "taco" in the Mexican food combos. This restaurant surprised me because it used yellow cheese and shredded beef in the taco. The burrito sauce is flavorful. The only issue is the rice was from parboil and I'm not a fan of that texture. But I still ate it and enjoyed. Delicious. Will definitely be back. read more

El Cuscatleco - Beef taco - Salvadoran Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

See all

We love the food here. It's our go-to in this part of Durham. Easy to order online and pickup.

Homey place. Not my favourite. Loroco pupusa - 2.5 stars My comparison is with pupusas made by my El Salvodorean friend's grandma's homemade pupusas. This had the texture of a spongey pancake to me, and the bottom was burnt with black crusted edges. The cheese filling was unremarkable - couldn't taste the loroco but I've never had a loroco pupusa before. Elote tamale - 2 stars Disappointed by this. I've had the best tamales when I was living in SoCal, at a farmer's market that had tamales stuffed with pineapple. This one was dry and crumbly, and the elote filling was hard to distinguish from the masa - more corn with corn. Chile relleno with cheese - 3 stars The best dish of the lot I had, although that's not saying much. It came with rice (not the kind I like), beans (yummy), and salad. The chile relleno was fried with an egg in kind of a brunch omelette kind of style and the cheese was a compatible topping. read more

"Excellent hole-in-the-wall Salvadorean/ Mexican on 15-501" I've reviewed this place at least twice before on Yelp but something keeps deleting the business and all its reviews, and we start over. So, here we go again. Advice: If you're coming here for the first time, I suggest you get the "Plato typico" to sample several of their Salvadorean dishes (and specify the pupusa as "cheese/ queso"). It's only about $10 and is a HUGE amount of food. After that, just order the daily special each time. Negatives: - This place looks like a converted 7-Eleven or other convenience store, so not the nicest-looking building inside or out. It's clearly rather old, too, and a bit run down. - They have a parking lot, but rather few and awkwardly laid-out spaces. Positives: + The tastiest cheese pupusas I think I've had anywhere around town. I love their chicken tamales, too. And love their salsa. Really, I don't think I've had anything there that I didn't love (except maybe the bean pupusas). + Amazing and super-cheap daily specials. Many of these are $5-6 for lunch and variable for dinner (e.g., often $7-8, but may be more if they have shrimp or steak). They're always delicious, too. Example might be steak with egg, and rice and beans, but sometimes they're more basic (e.g., enchiladas with rice and beans). But price-point and quality are always great. + Good service. Staff are good-- not amazing but thoughtful. The owner is nice-- he doesn't personally come to check on tables, but you often check out with him, and he's always very pleasant and responsive. A few Yelpers have noted roaches there. Maybe I'm not as observant, but I've been going there regularly (e.g., monthly) for over a decade now, and I've NEVER ONCE seen a roach there. I'm sure the Yelpers are telling the truth-- I don't doubt that one can potentially find a roach sometime (as noted, it's an old building in hot Durham, and I know they often leave the back door open to air out the area near the restrooms), but it's not like roaches are all over the place or regular occurrences. Synopsis: I love this place. Basically, whenever I can't decide where to go, this is on my "default great food" list, and it's where I often take out-of-towners for some good traditional central American food. Try it and see for yourself! read more

Love this place!! I was sad they were out of the melon batidos this time, but the strawberry one was pretty good as well! The burritos are great here. The sauce they put on it isn't as spicy as I'd like but it is definitely read more

El Cuscatleco - Salvadoran Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

See all

We are all entitled to our own opinions, right? Well here's mine: Parking: -1 Location: 2 Decor/ambiance: 2 Customer Service: 2 Roaches came out to greet us! I would normally just not write a review if i had nothing good to say ... but I do have something good to share. El Cuscatleco... wow... well I came here with some coworkers on a lunch break. The parking lot was SLAMMED! There was no where to park at all. People where parked all in the middle of the driveway blocking one anothers cars. Once we finally got a parking spot we made our way inside. This place is more like a Spanish hole in the wall so don't go expecting any lavish views. As soon as we walked in all i could notice was a 'make shift' bar directly front and center. Once I sat down I looked to the right and low and behold a roach was running down the wall. Once we killed him the waitress came over to take our orders. Once she left another roach was spotted on the wall across from us. We didn't kill him... we just let that one run free. The server was nice but I think she was a little over worked. There was about 4 other groups and she was running rapid between the four tables. The place is small (probably no more than 16 tables). I asked her for 'togo silverware' and i didn't receive it until it was time to leave... The whole idea was for me to use the togo silverware (I was scared, I'd done viewed two roaches and wasn't trying to use nothing they lend you). All in all, the food was decent and the price was amazingly cheap! But hey, you pay for what you get right? Bad parking, roaches and janked service isn't worth it to me. Maybe we came on a bad day. Just my experience. read more

Had dinner at El Cuscatleco the other night and yes, this restaurant is all everyone says it is, never mind first impressions. I had the Ceviche de Mariscos appetizer and four chicken tacos -- excellent meal. Very glad I tried it and I'll be back. read more

The food just isn't good! I love authentic Mexican and supporting local. This just wasn't it. The salsa is good and quest is okay. I had shredded chicken enchiladas and they weren't flavorful nor were there any vegetables at all. My mom ordered tacos with beef m (assuming it would be ground beef) according to our server they do not have ground beef. Odd? Thankfully they comped most of our food after with kindly shared our experience. They also offered to remake our meal which was a kind gesture. The customer service is solely why I gave them 3 stars. Won't be back sadly. I had such high expectations! read more

El Cuscatleco - Salvadoran Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

See all

We love this restaurant, their pupusas and horchata are on point. Don't be put off by the parking lot and exterior.

Love El Cuscatleco! Great Salvadoran food tucked away on garret. Pupusas are the go to for most. Small and not fancy but it's clean and I come to eat. read more

El Cuscatleco - Two beautiful men waiting on food - Salvadoran Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Awesome food we are from Texas and have variety of all types of food and this place here really did a good job right amount of spices and portions I recommend getting your next meal here. read more

Best Pupusas and chicken quesadillas! We come here for Pupusas often. Today I ordered chicken quesadillas and they were amazing. Very few places actually have flavorful chicken but these were yummy! read more

El Cuscatleco - We love their Pupusas! - Salvadoran Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

WOW. My sister used to live here so she suggested this spot. It's definitely off the beaten path but does not disappoint. I had never heard of a Papusa before but I'm so glad I tried the comb #7 with one. They are out of this world! It's similar to a quesadilla but with thin naan instead of a tortilla. The restaurant is not your typical Mexican dive spot - it has a Salvador flair making everything so much more unique- even the tamales. 10/10 would drive to North Carolina to visit this place again. They also have a vegetarian section and awesome daily beverage specials! read more

El Cuscatleco - Tamale , Papusa Combination #7 - Salvadoran Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Authentic, unlike most Mexican restaurants around here. But best of all, it's centered mostly around food from El Salvador. Very yummy.

This place has become a new favorite dinner spot. Consistently good food and service.

I REALLY wanted to like this place.. but sadly I was turned off. Background: I have heard great things about this place from several people- including some of my Hispanic/Latino friends. Their recommendation made me believe this place must truly be authentic. Let's start off with the good... - The queso dip was bomb. Definitely recommend. - You get a lot of food for the price... which is extremely cheap. Now here's the bad: - I usually get ground beef when I go to Mexican restaurants, if I'm ordering a taco, burrito, etc. The beef that came with this was almost like steak and kind of chunky? I don't know maybe I should have clarified GROUND beef. Anyways, the meat turned me off a little. - Our waiter was a bit rude. She seemed pretty irritated that I asked for queso sauce on my burrito instead of red sauce.. didn't know that was such a big issue. Now here's the really bad... Not too long after we sat down we noticed a roach crawling on the wall. Unfortunately this was one of those small brown roaches.. not a big palmetto bug that can make their way into the nicest of restaurants. Small roaches like this make me thing the place is dirty, or worse, infested. About halfway through our lunch we noticed yet ANOTHER roach on another wall close by (keep in mind we killed the first roach so this was definitely a second roach). Needless to say I lost my appetite. It's hard for me to say I would try this place again, as I HATE bugs. I think there are just as many other authentic Mexican restaurants in the area that I'll try my luck at. read more

I hate hate hate leaving a bad review, and I really thought this one was going to be a great one. This was my third time here and I ordered the combination fajitas. They were outstanding. If this review was based purely on the taste, I would have given it five stars. But unfortunately, that's not all that you're looking for when you go out for a meal. In this particular case, I was hunting for that hole-in-the-wall tradition mexican food that gives your fajitas that charred, "I really know my $h!t" attitude that only comes from an experienced chef that knows EXACTLY how your food should taste. In this case... it sure was delicious. It sure was a hole in the wall. But I didn't expect roaches to come crawling out of that hole. I spotted a roach mid-fajita, and it broke my stomach's heart, because I really love the food here. Every bite - all two - that followed my sighting of the heinous creature, was filled with a charred crunch that made me feeling like I was biting on dead roaches. Gross. I stopped eating and told my boyfriend we had to leave. Who knew if they were crawling around under the tables or if they had somehow made it into our food?! Our server approached us with surprise, asking us if we wanted boxes. I politely declined and mentioned that I had spotted a roach. She smiled awkwardly and said, "OKAY." ... Seriously? Give me my money back or have a manager speak or, maybe, I don't know, apologize? I'm disappointed because I really liked the food here. Live and learn. read more

Authentic. Fresh. Well-priced. Central-American. #pupusas Our favs are any of the Combo Platters, the Quesadillas (way better than avg), and the Taquitos. Add plantains and pupusas to go all in read more

This is my and my sister's go-to spot for lunch dates. It's convenient for us, the prices are great, and the portions are huge! You get tons of chips and salsa, of course, but then each entree will run you between $5 and $10 and you get a plate full of food! I recently tried a papusa and a tamale, mixing it up from my usual lazy picks of tacos or a burrito. I loved everything! Plenty of vegetarian entrees as well. read more

We stan. I'm positively addicted to their cheese enchiladas. Could eat every day for the rest of my life. Pupusas are firmer than I'm used to & have filling mixed in instead of in a central pocket, but STILL I never met a pupusa I didn't love and the curtido is perfect! They're still open for pickup and delivery. Don't miss out. read more

Ordered online the Taquitos with yellow rice and beans...AMAZING! Always the freshest ingredients and best tasting everything. Complimentary fresh house chips and salsa. A+ read more

This was my first and last time to go to this place to eat, It's dirty, bad costumer service, I ask for pupusas not to bad but not good, for me I don't like it. read more

I love this little spot for lunch! The food, price, and portions are great, and the place is a nice little cozy spot for some good Salvadoran food. Note, this place isn't about frills, but prides itself on their authenticity. From the outside you may not expect much, but if you're looking for an authentic meal and experience this is where you go. If you respect the culture, food, and people of El Salvador I think you'll really enjoy. If people are knocking this place because it isn't upscale? Great! That's not what it's meant to be. If people say it's not authentic but spent their whole lives in the Triangle? Cool, they have no idea what they're talking about. I grew up surrounded by Mexican and Latin culture and this place hangs with all of my favorites back home. read more

If you're looking for authentic Salvadoran food, this is the place! They have the best pupusas in the area! I usually get the pork and cheese or bean and cheese. The pork pupusa is a little greasy (hey, it's pork) but tasty and the bean pupusa is delicious and has a slight crisp to it (it adds to the flavor!). I heard the locoro pupusa is good too, but I haven't tried it. The pupusas come with a cabbage slaw that you eat with them, and it's delicious. Ever since I first tried this restaurant after a recommendation from a friend, I've been coming to El Cuscatleco for the past 5 years whenever I crave pupusas. They are amazing and at a great price! I get full off of 2 or 3 and each one is only $2. I haven't had anything else from their menu, but they have a lot of options. Although they also serve Mexican food, it appears to be "Americanized" Mexican food. So this restaurant seems to be primarily Salvadoran. Hole-in-the-wall restaurants usually have the best and authentic food and El Cuscatleco is no exception! read more

El Cuscatleco - 2 bean pupusas and 1 pork pupusa with cabbage "slaw" - Salvadoran Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

This is actually one of my four favorite restaurants in the area and I'd give them five stars but the bathrooms are a little embarrassing. They have the best rice in town. The people are nice, it's unassuming and local, much prefer that to a chain. Everything is tasty. read more

This is a great hole-in-the-wall place. The pupusas are good and they're cheap. The Plato Tipico is another favorite. It has a very casual ambiance, but that's what you expect with great, authentic food like this. I did take out for a group of 10 and the food was hot and ready very quickly. This is definitely one of the most underrated restaurants in the area. read more

I just moved to NC and have yet to find a good pupusa spot and this is definitely it. Taco salad and sopa de res was also great!

One of my favorite places to eat. The meals are delicious, authentic, and well priced. They also make my favorite margaritas.

The first time we went to this restaurant the service was only friendly and acceptable if you identified as Latino or spoke Spanish. As a black couple we received minimum service. The food was excellent then. My take out experience was much different. The beans were old and smelled moldy, the huevos rancheros had egg shells left in it, and I only received 1 out of the 8 tamales I ordered. We were highly dissatisfied that not even the quality of food could overcompensate the carelessness and lack of professionalism from the staff at this establishment. We will not be going back! read more

IF I COULD DO -5 I WOULD. ANYWAYS, HERE IS MY WHOLE FAMILY'S REVIEW. PS: WE ARE ALL SALVADORIAN. The food had no salt, in any of the dishes, consider we all had something different. The food didn't have flavor, nor condiments, except for the tamales, the talanes had a shit ton of condiments. They were yellow, which is not supposed to be that color. The Tamarindo juice was fucking sweet as fuck, it didn't fucking taste like tamarindo, it tasted like fucking dissolved sugar, to the point where she had to drink coke to take out the flavor. The horchata was okay, it tasted like milk, so yeah. The carne, pollo, and camarones were fucking flavorless. The shrimps were chewy, and tasted like tires. The chicharrón wasnt fucking cooked well, it was over cooked, and the inside looked yellow, it was fucking dry. The pupusas, oh my god, the fucking cheese was not even cheese, that shit was rubber, it wasn't stringy, it just plumpled up. The chips tasted like nothing, we had to flavor up the salsa and picado. The picado tasted expired, it didn't have salt. We took some picado to our house and on the way there we stopped for a few minutes to buy something edible and when we got back the whole fucking car smelled like someone died in there, it was a fucking unknown smell. It smelled like garlic, onion, sewer water and something out of this world. OVERALL, we had to basically season our own food. We recommend going to anywhere, even McDonald's, but there. read more