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    El Rey

    3.7 (15 reviews)
    InexpensiveMexican, Salvadoran
    Open 8:30 am - 9:00 pm

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    Tacos Al Pastor
    Nick B.

    This place is great! I come here for lunch quite often. Great prices! Amazing authentic food. Wonderful staff.

    Tacos Pastor
    Nick B.

    First time here. I got three tacos Pastor and a papusa. They top their tacos with onions and cilantro. I will be back! If you are looking for authentic food this is for you. Not a whole lot of places like this! Thank y'all and see you soon!

    Exterior.
    Jeff Y.

    I was actually looking for Latino Village across the street but ended up at El Rey first, so after reading its few Yelp reviews decided to try it out anyway. I'm glad I did! El Rey is a combination market/eatery. There are some tables/chairs with waitress service for dining-in, but I got my food to-go directly at the back food counter. There is a partial picture menu up on the wall, but more dishes if you ask (e.g. pupusas). I think they sent someone with English-speaking abilities to take my order when they saw me approach the food counter, and I believe I was greeted with "Hello," but when I ordered my sopa de mondongo with decent pronunciation, the rest of the conversation automatically proceeded in Spanish. I was even complimented on my Spanish by the same employee when I went up to pay later at the front counter, lol. I don't think my Spanish is that great, but we did chat about my having studied Spanish in high school and college, and that I was currently a medical student at VCU. Anyway, I ordered the tripe soup as I said, plus a pork pupusa. The soup stayed quite hot even though I didn't dig in to eating it until over thirty minutes later! And it was excellent, served with lime, chopped red onions, and a side of what were more like sopes (or unfilled pupusas/really thick tortillas). The pupusa was great too, and came with cabbage slaw. In total, my meal was only a little over $10! Definitely a steal for such authentic food, and as good as it gets in Richmond (hence the five stars). Can't wait to come back and try more off of their menu!

    Pupusas!
    Lisa G.

    In search of great pupusas, I ended up at El Rey, which is the Latin Market next to Mekong on Broad Street. I think it used to also be called Happy Mart, but on the menu and over the door, it says El Rey. Anyhow, it's like some of the other Latin Markets nearby where it's a grocery AND a restaurant. This is the real deal where you're lucky if anyone in the place speaks English and you almost feel transported to a Latin country. Because of the language barrier, it can be a learning experience when you go. I didn't realize, but they do have a waitress. I was supposed to sit down like at any other restaurant, and wait for my waitress to come to me, but I went straight up to the kitchen counter and placed my order, which I think is what you're supposed to do when you're getting it to go. Anyhow, my pupusas came right out, and they were delicious! The accompanying cabbage salad was also great. And who could complain at $1.50 per pupusa? Dinner and bottled water for $6! When you're finished eating, you pay at the grocery counter. And I think they prefer cash, but they will take a card. When I walked in, I was the only one there. When I left, the dining area was full. Popular place! Very nice people/service. I'll be back when I need another pupusa fix! They also have pool tables in the front if you're so inclined...

    beef tripe soup

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    8 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Servers very nice food, amazing employees at the store counter there are so nice they even gave me a free chip

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    10 years ago

    The steak burrito is the b e s t. Cheaper than Chipotle and 100x better. Prefer this place over Latino Village any time.

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    El Jardin Latino Market - Next best thing to homemade

    El Jardin Latino Market

    4.0(28 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $

    I always go for the pupusas! They're fresh and made to order, have plenty of meat and cheese. The…read moretacos and rice are also great.

    The name of this market has been changed to: Cielito Lindo, which is a popular Spanish song and…read moreroughly translated means "Lovely Sweet One" although "cielo" means heaven and "lindo" means pretty - combined this phrase is typically a term of endearment. This tidy little Latino market carries many Hispanic, Mexican and South American products. Being of Cuban descent, I frequently head to this site for Goya products, including rice, black beans, plantains, Adobo spices, coffee, Maria cookies, fresh fruits and veggies, tomato items, empanada shells and my "never be without" Mojo Criollo Goya marinade. This marinade truly is the spice of life and I use it in many of my recipes! You will also find baked goods, household items, and sundries at this store. There's a deli/butcher in the back and a frozen food section. There's also a small restaurant and pupuseria serving Latin fare, from Cuban sandwiches to tacos to tostones to tamales to yucca to soups/sides and more. They serve Cuban coffee, horchata, Latin sodas, and other drinks and some tempting desserts, like flan and tres leches cake. For an inexpensive, quick bite in a casual, no nonsense eatery with lots of festive atmosphere, you've gotta try Cielito Lindo, it really is "a slice of heaven". And not to worry if you don't speak Spanish, some of the folks there speak English. ¡Provecho!

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    My weakness!!

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    El Rey - mexican - Updated May 2026

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