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El Guanaco

4.3 (423 reviews)
InexpensiveMexican, Salvadoran
Closed • 11:00 am - 9:30 pm

Order El Guanaco Takeout or Delivery

El Guanaco Photos

EL GUANACO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Divey
Casual
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - El Guanaco

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Menu
Kirsten F.

This place is always great. The food is homemade and is the closest I can get to Mexicantown tacos without driving the 30 min to get there. I love the outdoor seating and they've upgraded it so it's more enclosed and heated. Staff is always friendly and kind. We bring the kids and it's very family friendly. Food is always good. I love their beans and rice and the kids love the lengua tacos. They are adventurous eaters when they want to be. The steak or al pastor tacos are very tender and flavorful. Always my go to when I'm craving some authentic corn tacos. Check them out and you won't be disappointed.

Quesadilla with Meat Pupusa with 2 Ingredients Side Fried Plantain
Jennifer C.

I have been on the hunt for authentic latin american cuisine besides mexican food & I found this place randomly on doordash. Sadly I was unable to place an order due to living too far so I decided to go the next day after work to try it out. The restaurant is pretty tiny & seems to mainly be a takeout type of place. I got a chicken quesadilla which was ok, nothing special. I also tried a pupusa with beef & another one with chicken. It was good but not my thing tbh. However, I LOVED the fried plantains! It was my first time trying them at this restaurant & I have been hooked ever since. They served the side with sour cream which I thought was odd because fried plantains taste sweet like caramelized bananas so that plus sour cream doesnt make sense. It worked out because I used that sour cream for the quesadilla. I'm not sure if I will go back because its a little out of the way for me but I'm glad that I was able to try el guanaco out. Maybe I'll try something else next time.

Super burrito
Tabitha H.

Don't let the building fool you. Hidden gems are among us. Started out with chips and salsa. We order cheese dip, the taco dinner and the super burrito. The cheese had jalapeños in it and was super creamy and a little spicy. I think it was served in a 8 ounce container. The taco dinner had three chicken tacos and came with rice and beans. We also order a tongue taco. The tongue taco was really good. The super burrito with steak was delicious, the meat was seasoned so well. The waitress was helpful and super friendly.

Pupusa (chicken, cheese, jalapeño)

I would not hesitate to recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic mexican cuisine. The setting is small and intimate and the service is genuine and thoughtful. It was my first time trying Pupusa, and definitely not my last. There were many options on what was included in the Pupusa. I went with chicken, cheese, and jalapeño. It was very cost effective and very satisfying in all aspects. I cannot wait to come back and try more of their menu, especially an Al Pastor taco. Officially saying goodbye to Americanized Mexican food and saying hello to El Guanaco!!!

Chicken enchilada
Cierra W.

This is my go to favorite Mexican restaurant that never disappoints me. The tacos can be very simple but extremely delicious. I recently tried their tamales and it was very flavorful. I have tried both locations and the food was good and consistent each time.

Tres leches- this fell flat for me. Needs more milk! Was dry
Nicole N.

Stopped here after a movie day and was craving some tacos and quesadillas! There is plenty of free parking! This place and indoor seating that is very limited and covered outdoor seating. This is your normal "whole in the wall" kind of joint. So nothing exciting about decor. The service here was very friendly! The woman who took our order was super nice and patient while we figured out what we wanted. The food: I got a chicken quesadilla that was seasoned so well! It came with a salsa that was tasty, lettuce and pico. There was also south cream but I don't eat that so I asked for it to be removed. I got their classic cheese pupusa and it was delicious!y friend got chicken and steak tacos but noted he did not like the corn tortillas and thought the meat was "just ok." I ended with the tres leches cake and it was the worst I have ever tried.... Very dry and disappointing... Overall, if I lived in this area I would go back based on customer service and the delicious/ flavorful quesadilla and pupusa!

Chips and salsa
Brian E.

After a recent trip to Puerto Rico, I was craving some good Latin food. Not the crappy Americanized Meh-xican stuff that is a plague on my part of Macomb county. But good authentic Latin food. El Guanaco hit the mark. Had a nice sampling of empanada, arepa chachapas really enjoyed everything Also liked that they had a little grocery section. Was able to get some plantain chips like I enjoyed in PR

Busy busy for dinner.
Gary C.

The food was hot and fresh. The flavor was bursting through. The papusas were amazing. I thought the wait for the food was a little long but it was all fresh made so I'm not complaining. The refried beans were very smooth consistency which some people might not like, but I was pleasantly surprised. The hot sauce was very hot which I always love. And the cabbage medley was also very fresh and delicious. I only know of one other papas place around and this one takes the cake

2 papusa and 1 taco
Michael T.

got their bowl with shrimp and beans. Nice blend of freshly sauteed vegetables/peppers, rice, beans, shrimp. Nothing special but that is the beauty of it. It is filled with good well-cooked ingredients. Combine this with their salsa and/or hot sauce and it is a perfect meal. Still the winner for me is the papusa. Can get different combos but please include cheese as it is like a meant-to-be ingredient. Melts in mouth experience. So warm and soft. Add in your meat of choice and/or beans/spinach and it is a definite win for a relatively inexpensive menu item. Tacos were so-so. Not the best I've had for sure, a far away from it. It is not bad, just not amazing in comparison to the Papusa, and not as filling either. It was better with hot sauce whereas the papusa was good by itself. Service is what you would expect from authentic El Salvador restaurant with Salvadorean staff who speak minimal English. Ambiance is a that of a hole in wall and gave a Salvadorean atmosphere for sure. Overall good experience and would return.

Interior
Dharamjit R.

I was getting groceries nearby and saw this on Google Maps. Didn't know there was a place in the area for Salvadoran food and wanted to check it out. I've had pupusas before and these were good quality. Yuca was nice and hot too. Place was nice and cozy, with an eating area outside as well.

El Salvadorian chicken tamale

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1 month ago

La comida estuvo muy buena y el servicio estuvo aún mejor. El ambiente fue muy amigable. 10/10

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4 months ago

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6 months ago

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3 days ago

Wonderful authentic central American food. We often come here before or after going to MJR movies

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5 months ago

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6 months ago

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1 year ago

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7 months ago

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4 months ago

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5 months ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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6 months ago

Order the pupusas and empanadas- both are really good! ¡Las pupusas y las empanadas son deliciosas!

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11 months ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

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3 years ago

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4 months ago

Service bad. Food beyond expensive, environment not good. Lady on the front very rude

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

AMAZING LOVE THIS PLACE .. they always have great food here the service can at time be slow when they are busy but worth the wait

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

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10 months ago

Terrible service only 2 in the whole place an hour for my food I am still sitting waiting and I'm about to walk out of here

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5 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

Delicious authentic meal - cool environment. The pupusa was delicious.Service was superb.

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

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El Guanaco Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - El Guanaco

Are their pupusas gluten free?

I don't think they are, but I don't know for sure. I didn't see them denoted as such on the menu anyways.

View All 2 Questions

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Got a large chicken quesadilla, fajitas, two tomales, and chips/salsa. Two hungry adults and a 2…read moreand 6 year old. Stuffed full of delicious food! Love places like this when you walk in you just know it's gonna be delicious. Will be back!

Excellent hole in the wall taco joint that splits its retail space as half restaurant and half…read moregrocery. The restaurant itself has a relatively small foot print where the tables are close together and where there are no frills about this place and definately a tad on the rustic side. Facility aside, this place makes some excellent authentic Mexican street tacos where my El Pastor and Asada taco's were well made, PACKED with meat (no scrimping here) and oh so tasty. Service is quite quick where once seated you get your food within a few minutes making this an excellent spot if you are on the run and looking for a good meal on the quick. Prices are cheap in my opinion where my three taco's and a coke came to just $12. NICE! Two things to note here is that the chips and salsa are not gratis but come at an extra cost and follow up once you get food was non existent in my case. Chips and salsa was not a big deal to me but lack of follow up prevented this business from getting a fifth star. Overall and my minor gripes aside, if you are fan of really good Mexican street taco's than this is a must visit if you are in the area! I wish this business was closer to my home in West Bloomfield as I would be a regular here for sure!

La Cuscatleca

La Cuscatleca

(9 reviews)

Southwest Detroit

We went to La Cuscatleca over the weekend after trying Salvadoran food from a place in Ann Arbor…read morethe previous day. I didn't really like the food there so I was a bit confused whether it was that place in particular, or if I didn't like Salvadoran tamales and pupusas in general. I figured going to La Cuscatleca would help settle the question. La Cuscatleca is one of those marketplace/restaurant combos so common around SW Detroit and Dearborn. In the front is the register where you can pick up prepared drinks and tamales. The left half of the store is dedicated to selling Salvadoran sundries and food items. A bunch of ingredients and spices I have never seen before are stuffed into hand labeled bags and adorn the multiple shelves. The grocery area is quite crowded, with only maybe 2.5 feet in between each aisle. The restaurant order window and kitchen is in the rear, and the right half of the store is the eating area with a couple of tables. Ordering is pretty easy but requires you to know at least a little bit of Spanish - you place the order at the window, then find a seat and they'll bring the food out for you. After you finish, you'll get a handwritten bill, which you take up to the front register to pay. Again, just be aware that the people here speak little to no English. Pupusas ($3.50 each) - We tried three on the menu: revueltas, loroco, and chipilin. I think we screwed up the order with our one month Duolingo level Spanish because we weren't brought any salsa or curtido on the side. Still, these pupusas were super rich, completely stuffed to the brim with cheese and the other ingredients, with the cheese actually spilling out the sides and caramelizing a bit on the griddle. The salsa and curtido could have helped a bit to cut through some of the richness, but I think the pupusas in general are top quality. The revueltas is the most familiar with some nice refried beans spread on the interior. I wonder what the difference between the revueltas and the frijol queso is? (5/5) The loroco adds a very nice mild vegetal quality - the are very generous with the filling of cheese and whole loroco buds so you can taste and appreciate the flavor. This was my favorite of the three. (5/5) The chipilin is really, really pungent. It's kind of like spinach with the mouthfeel, but way more pungent in flavor. It's tender and not stringy or tough at all, but it's just a little too pungent for me. (4/5) Tamales ($3.33 each) - We got one puerco, one pollo, one pisque. These are wrapped in foil, then a layer of banana leaf, and finally the filling. As with a typical Salvadoran tamale, these are soft and tender masa, almost like a custard texture. The masa is an absolute flavor bomb - it's meaty, savory, full of umami. For the pisque, there's refried beans added only in the center. The beans are pretty dark looking for refried beans and has a bit of bitterness/acridity to it like it has burned bits mixed in. I'm not sure if it really was burned or it should taste like this. If it didn't have the burned taste, this would be more of a 4/5, but as it stands, it's a (1/5). The pollo has some tender potato and green pepper mixed in and the chicken maintains moisture well (4/5). The puerco has pressure cooked pork mixed in. They include the rib bones and cartilage, giving an unpleasing texture on the interior, but overall the meat portion is pretty tender and juicy (3/5). Atol de Elote ($4.50) - Woah, this is one seriously thick and rich drink. It's like drinking condensed milk mixed with corn and cinnamon. Or like a drinkable pudding or custard. Super sweet and super filling. It's served warm, so it seems great for a cold day (4/5). Bathrooms: One single room behind the eating area. La Cuscatleca is very popular with the local Salvadoran community for good reason. The pupusas in particular are hand made fresh and are absolutely delicious. While we were there, we saw several other parties all enjoying large bowls of soups and stews. We'll definitely have to come back to try those dishes and some of the other authentic specialties.

I'm OUTDONE. I don't know what the ambiance is like but, I'm guessing the service is pure BASURA…read moreFROM A PLACE that calls this a tamale. It's grease and slop in a banana leaf. I almost puked looking at it alone. Idk if it's because we're Afro Latina or what but, it's disrespectful to serve this to ANYONE. I HAVEN'T ever in my life felt this bad about food. STEER Clear. I want to call the health department.

El Guanaco - mexican - Updated May 2026

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