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    Irenes Pupusas

    2.6 (66 reviews)
    Closed 9:30 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)
    Updated 3 months ago

    Irenes Pupusas Photos

    IRENES PUPUSAS ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Baleadas- my husband only ate half of one because they were cold!
    Lucrecia A.

    EDIT: make note of the following: THEY AUTOMATICALLY ADD 20% TIP TO YOUR BILL. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE (we were a party of 2) and when the bill came tip was already included. No wonder they have bad service! Bad service, depressing ambiance -- place is old and dirty. This is more like a "cantina" (low end type of bar) Not a family friendly restaurant. Food took forever to come out and of course it was cold! The only reason for the 2 stars is because of the pupusas (very good). I would not recommend.

    Metal looking thing in the beans

    Found a piece of metal in the refried beans. Almost fed it to my daughter but took a bite first. Thank god I did. Can't go back here anymore.

    Pastelitos
    Luis A.

    This restaurant has low rating, but I enjoy coming in here. For some people, the music may be too loud. The noise doesn't bother me at all. The pastelitos and pupusas are definitely tasty. I always order 2 pupusas and 2 pastelitos. I will definitely stop by next time I'm in this area.

    Nasty restaurant

    Bad food bad service I don't recommend this place to go eat with family place is nasty dirty tables food take about 40 minutes to be served

    The beef soup and the chicken soup are amazing I get it weekly
    Robert S.

    I love their soup the most. Beef soup could eat amy time. Has squash, yuca, corn, carrot, celery and meat. You can also get chicken

    The outside
    David S.

    You walk into a large seating area, since I came in around 4PM it was largely empty. I didn't really care about ambiance (I rarely do), I was there for the Pupusas and that was it. The menu is filled with tons of other delicious options, but I didn't come to a Pupusa restaurant for anything but Pupusas. Your options are: Pork, Chicken, Cheese, Pork with Cheese, Chicken with Cheese, or Cheese and Beans. They're all two dollars a piece so you can really go nuts with as many as you want. They also have a bunch of ala carte sides if you want, I suggest ordering the fried plantains. After a short wait, my food was brought out to me. The pupusas were piping hot as were the plantains, they all came with curtido which is the Central American equivalent of kimchi or saurkraut. It's essentially a pickled(ish) cabbage that's spicy, it's delicious and the perfect compliment to the Pupusas. The plantains were ripe, so that made them extra sweet and delicious. The sweetness compliments the spiciness of the curtido perfectly. I suggest your bite to be a combination of the three (curtido, plantain, and pupusa). The star of the show as obviously the pupusas, I ordered a pork & cheese, a chicken & cheese, and a solo pork. Each one was heavenly, they're served piping hot so the cheese is gooey and melty. The pupusa crust whatever you want to call it is crispy but still fluffy without being gritty. The meat is seasoned perfectly and the it's incredibly tender. Essentially, these pupusas were flawless. All in all it was one of the best meals I've had in a long time and I will most certainly be back. Oh yeah, all of this only cost 12 bucks! Parking: Plentiful and Free Service: Friendly (having a grasp of Spanish is helpful for the menu, but not essential) Cost: Cheap (they take cash or credit) Ambiance: Tough to judge because I went at a bad hour, they have a full bar set up too so I imagine it may get busy later in the evenings. Overall one of the best meals I've had in a long time, writing this review made me crave it again! Don't be intimidated by the not so lovely exterior of the shopping center, this amazing gem awaits you.

    The place it's literally EMPTY ALL THE TIME - DAYTIME BUSINESS HOURS. Smells like "HANGOVER" a clear statement that they serve mainly MAN
    Flowercita L.

    If there would be an option for NO STAR --that would be the rating. This is not a descent place. Its a place where man are definitely treated better than woman. I told the guy at the door, food handler, who usually hand delivers the phone orders about the situation with the waitress who said that my teenage daughter and me could not eat at the restaurant-because we pre-ordered the food by phone. I pre order at the chinese restaurant in Aspen Hill, at the Pho Restaurant on University Blvd (W) at El Catrachito in Wheaton etc etc etc NO WHERE I HAD ENCOUNTER A WAITRESS SAY WE COULD NOT STAY BECAUSE WE PRE-ORDERED. Hello, I paid for the food, it was not FREE. The guy by the door, the food handler, said its THE OWNERS REGULATION NOT TO ALLOW PHONE ORDER CUSTOMERS TO COME AND EAT AT HER EMPTY COMPLETELY RESTAURANT. I order mostly PUPUSAS from this place, close to home and right off the Metro. Other than that its a Horrible Business. I've heard it many other times from neighbors and friends not to go there but now I experienced on my own. This are my negative observations and review they receive based on their service they provide.

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    11 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    11 years ago

    I've been coming to this place since 2010. The stuff is very friendly and the food is great. I would recommend it to anyone.

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    10 years ago

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    Lime & Cilantro - Chicken empanadas

    Lime & Cilantro

    4.5(105 reviews)
    3.6 mi

    Oh, I can't believe I didn't leave a review for the spot, even though I've been a few times though!…read moreIt's been a while, but man are they delicious. I would describe them as a combination of classic and elevated Latin food. The vibe of the restaurant is very casual, but the presentation of many of the dishes takes it to another level. They also have a wide selection of beer and wine. I have had tacos, octopus, breakfast tacos, and tamales. Everything was flavorful and quite tasty. I will admit service was a little slow the last time I went, but given the weather and the fact that we weren't in a rush it wasn't a big deal. If you haven't been yet, you should go. The colorful presentation reminds me of Palette 22, and rumor has it they are expanding to the Ethiopian restaurant that closed next door. I hope that's true!

    Nice ambiance and good brunch menu offerings. I didn't know that they only offered brunch during…read morethe weekend so I was a little disappointed as I wanted to try something more complex but we enjoyed what we ate. Could work on those fried plantains as they were a little soggy. The quinoa salad was good, a bigger portion would have been nice for the price paid and maybe if it would be easier to eat if served in a bowl. The chorizo sandwich was okay. Presentation and bread could be better. We left curious about their regular menu so we may give it a try some other time. Their staff were nice but not very knowledgeable about their menu items. They didn't really know how to answer my question about their vegan tres leches and told me it was not actually vegan after indicating it had condensed milk and heavy cream.

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    Lime & Cilantro
    Lime & Cilantro - Empanada

    Empanada

    Lime & Cilantro - Cilantro rice.  A simple dish, but a level above any I've had before.

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    Cilantro rice. A simple dish, but a level above any I've had before.

    Maria's Cafe & Restaurant - Chicken quesadilla. Where is my guacamole? Insert sad face here

    Maria's Cafe & Restaurant

    4.5(38 reviews)
    1.4 mi

    Delicious Salvadoran spot in the heart of Wheaton! I live in the area and was in the mood for some…read moreauthentic Latin breakfast. My husband ordered the pupusas and I ordered huevos rancheros. We also shared a corn tamale. Everything was delicious! The huevos rancheros came with fresh plátanos fritos and casamiento, which I enjoyed. The pupusas were cheesy and delicious. The tortillas that came with the huevos rancheros were freshly made--Salvadoran style in thickness! The corn tamale also tasted homemade, not frozen like Rio Grande brand (which is still great but this is 100% better). Thoroughly enjoyed my visit here, I will be back.

    Maria knows what she's doing! I was greeted by a friendly lady at the front…read more I ordered the Birria Tacos that came with mashed black beans and rice with a side of pico de gallo. I added the empanada made from plantains. The order came with pickled peppers and onions, a spicy green sauce, and the birria dipping sauce. I enjoyed everything. The Birria tacos were huge! Some places I've been the 3 tacos are small and you feel like you could've eaten one more. I was full off the 1st one and saved the other 2 for later. The beef was tender and came in a fried double tortilla; not the best I've had but good. The beans and rice with the pico de gallo were good, although I prefer my beans whole. Now here's where things got freaky, the plantain was the size of a medium fist sprinkled with sugar, inside of it was this thick sweet white cream, wasn't expecting this. It was good, but weird because I couldn't figure out what I was eating exactly. It's not just plantain, it's a Salvadoran empanada, where the vanilla milk custard is placed in the center of the plantain, then rolled into a ball and fried till golden brown. If you have an appetite and want to try authentic Salvadoran cuisine. I highly recommend, there's a lot to choose from, and you will get plenty of food for your money.

    Photos
    Maria's Cafe & Restaurant - Bar

    Bar

    Maria's Cafe & Restaurant - Salmon and Fried fish

    Salmon and Fried fish

    Maria's Cafe & Restaurant

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    El Sabor Latino Bakery & Catering - flan $5.50 (instagram: @issa.cheatday)

    El Sabor Latino Bakery & Catering

    4.3(60 reviews)
    1.3 mi
    $

    I stopped by El Sabor Latino Bakery & Catering because another breakfast option fell through on an…read moreearly Saturday morning. I went with a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. I forget the name of the sandwich, but it had eggs, chorizo, plantains, and something else that I cannot remember. Although I was a bit surprised the sandwich was around 8 bucks, I understood why when the sandwich came out because it was HUGE. Put it like this, the sandwich kept me full for a good 4-5 hours, so it definitely was worth the eight dollars. While waiting for my sandwich, curiosity got the best of me, and I ended up buying a few pastries for later. The sandwich, coffee, and four large pastries were about $16. Overall, I thought my sandwich was absolutely delicious...especially the bread/roll that it was served on/with. Like I said earlier, the sandwich was jammed packed with eggs, chorizo and plantains. Throughout the weekend, I tasted the pastries, and I thought all of the were pretty delicious. Unfortunately, I do not know which pastries I purchased because many were not labeled. To be honestly, I completely picked the pastries at random. One of the things that I enjoyed about the pastries: none of them were overly sweet. For me, they had just the right amount of sweetness, which might be considered bland for others. The bakery is kind of small, in terms of dining in, because it has about 2-3 small tables. However, the bakery seems more like a place to grab food (or pick up orders) and go. While eating, I was the only one who actually ate their food inside of the restaurant. I thought the two women behind the counter were exceptionally nice. Also, interacting with them gave me a chance to practice my Spanish. Overall, I thought this was a great random find, and I'm looking forward to returning and trying some more of their delicious pastries and other platos fuertes.

    Tuesday 1/21/25 I…read morerandomly found out about this spot a few months ago while on TikTok. I heard A LOT of high praise for it, so now I'm trying it. The service experience was quite memorable and funny. There were differences in language barriers, but we still made it work out in the end. I was overwhelmed, to say the least, as I was completely new to the experience of a Spanish bakery, so I got suggestions from the workers, Yelp & Google, and what caught my eye. I ended up spending $43.20 total and got: Brazo gitanos $2.75, torta $3, pan de pina $1, steak egg and cheese sandwich $10.75, tipico platter $14, flan $5.50, pork & cheese pupusa $2.75, and chicken & cheese pupusa $3.50. Also, I was excited to try the tres leches, but they didn't have any at the time. - The brazo gitanos is like a pound cake with a cherry/strawberry swirl, and it was alright. - The torta was my favorite bakery item as it tasted the best, and was elevated further when I warmed it up. - The pan de pina is a Spanish pastry with pineapple "jam" in the center, and it was alright. - The steak egg and cheese sandwich was my favorite item. The Spanish bread paired well with the ingredients to create a great flavor with every bite. - The tipico platter was decent, but I wish I had gotten more portions of the chorizo because the portion I got was limited. One thing that makes it truly amazing is combining all of the platter items on their homemade tortillas to create a sensational taco of taste and flavor. - I'm not a fan of flan (it's alright), but theirs was pretty decent. - The pupusas (pork & cheese and chicken & cheese) were great, and they might just be the best pupusas I've had. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at El Sabor. I would recommend it and be open to returning (maybe next time they will have tres leches available).

    Photos
    El Sabor Latino Bakery & Catering - Inside

    Inside

    El Sabor Latino Bakery & Catering
    El Sabor Latino Bakery & Catering - (4) steak egg n cheese sandwich $10.75 (instagram: @issa.cheatday)

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    (4) steak egg n cheese sandwich $10.75 (instagram: @issa.cheatday)

    Irenes Pupusas - latin - Updated May 2026

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