THEY HAD AMAZING PUPUSAS! I recommend it for the food and ambiance! Service was really good too read more

Wanted to try this place for a while and finally went for dinner with the hubs. The place is quiet and clean, and service was friendly. We ordered at the counter and then sat at a table to wait for our order. We had a short wait because we came in on the earlier side of the dinner hour. We tried the bean and cheese pupusa, pollo asado and steak fajitas along with a couple of sodas. With tax and tip and because we paid with credit card it came out to over $70. Definitely on the pricier side, but all of our food was fresh and tasty, and the portions are large- we had plenty of steak and rice left. If you're not familiar with Salvadoran food, it's a lot more subtle in terms of flavors. Don't come in thinking of bold, in your face flavor. Perfect for people who are sensitive to spice. I believe this is the only Salvadoran spot on Oahu - happy we got to try it out! read more

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Wait was appropriate for fresh food. Popusas were good, fresh and hot! I liked the yucca and chicharron plate with curtido. I would have liked it better as a plate if they added black beans, cream and cheese on the side. The good thing is I could have ordered those as sides. My daughter in law loved the empanadas. I tasted it and it was better than I expected and it had mucho sabor (flavor). Curtido was not as hot(taste) For dessert we ordered horchata which was surprisingly amazing!!!!!! And the churros were even better! Hot, sweet and filled with yummy goodness! Bathroom is extra clean! No changing table. Pretty happy with this place. If you need Salvadorean food in Hawaii this will scratch your itch for it pretty good. read more

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Always wanted to try this place...The only el- salvodorian food place I know of on island. Located in same shopping center as Arbys..little caesars..Jak in the krak etc in waipahu. Inside is airconditioned with wooden tables and chairs (kind of dark inside) everything seemed clean and they had an in house bathroom. Staff was pleasant no problems... We got here around 11am on a wednesday and we were the only ones there. Interesting how you go up to counter order your food pick a table and tgey bring your food to you. Menu (pic) had appetizers..plates..ala carte items and few desserts. We went with papusas ..taquitos and tgis kind of flaky thing with meat...everything was good..papusas was good (but greasy) pricing (Menu) wasnt cheap but manageable...not a bad experience definetely worth a try. read more

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We came on a Wednesday afternoon, so wasn't too busy. You go straight to the counter to order, fast food style, then they'll bring you your food. We ordered a mix pupusa, loroco & cheese pupusa, tamale, pastelitos & Pollo Asado. The pupusa were great! Fresh, tender, with gooey cheese. The tamale was the best I've had in my life! So light and soft, with big chunks of potato and chicken. The pastelitos were perfectly cooked and crispy. And the Pollo Asado was flavorful. Service was very good; very friendly and patient. It was nicely decorated inside, as well. Everyone should give this place a try, at least for the pupusas: El Salvador's national dish. read more

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Review from a Hispanic: very friendly, food was quick, no music though so it was a bit awkward to sit in silence, also seems like there was a bit of an identity crisis going on. Mexican and Salvadorian food being offered. The pupusas were just ok. SUPER expensive. More expensive than LA prices. About an hour later I felt sick from the food. Was very excited to try this place but turned out to be not worth the drive in my opinion. read more

La Casita - Bean & cheese pupusa and empanada. - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

Wanted to try this Salvadoran restaurant for a long while but just didn't get there until last week. Sorry I waited so long. Lots of parking, good, relatively fast service, good food. We decided to try one each of a variety of items since most were new to us except the pupusas. We ordered one each: cheese pupusas, pork and cheese pupusas, yuca con chicarron (yuca fries and deep fried pork chunks), tamale Salvadorenos (tamale stuffed with chicken. potatoes, rice), pastelitos (fried empanada made of corn mix filled with ground beef, potato, carrot, rice), a baleadas (homemade flour tortilla filled with refried beans, grated cheese) and served with sour cream. Most items came with a very mild salsa, some pickled cabbage (curtido?) and everything was delicious! Cost was about $54. It fed three of us and we were very satisfied. Reasonable price. Pupusas are bread like dough that appear to be baked, stuffed with various fillings. The pork and cheese was best. Really tasty. Cheese only was too cheesy (lots of cheese). Yuca with fried pork - yuca was really yummy. Slightly sweet, tender, wish they served just a side order of these. Pork was morning special, deep fried so a little dry for our taste, but ok with the sauce. Tamale was excellent! The filling was really tasty, and the mild salsa allowed the flavors to come through. Pastelitos was also good, nice crunchy shell and tasty filling. Baleadas was a fav-like quesadilla, simple and yummy, the sour cream enhanced the flavor. (You can add other items for additional cost, and it and can make a complete meal.) All the items tasted even better with a bite of very mildly pickled cabbage. They also serve traditional Mexican plates such as tacos, carne asado, fajitas, and a Castilla as de puerco, or BBQ ribs. Not sure if they have a Salvadoran seasoning or are more traditional Mexican. Will have to go back and try them. Really recommend the tamale and baleadas, and a pupusas with cheese and another item. We also decided to order churros for dessert. There were three small pieces (each piece was 2 bites) with chocolate sauce. Nice and warm, crunchy, and yummy. Great simple ending We came for lunch so there were only a few other diners, so they let us stay and talk. There were a couple of take out orders while we were there. read more

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Received terrible service from this place. When I first got to this restaurant, I was so excited to eat their food. Everyone raved about it and when I saw that they had yuca fries, I was so happy! I asked the cashier at the front if I can get a side of yuca and not the pork. She said they cannot do that but I can order the plate and instead of giving me the pork loins, they will just add extra fries. I agreed and ordered it. When the yuca fries came out, it was very little. I asked the cashier what happened since I paid for the plate. She said the chef added FOUR extra yuca fries on there and that amount should justified replacement of the pork loins. I've never encountered a place that COUNTED number of fries. We went back and front and even the chef came out, she continued saying she added FOUR extra fries in the basket confused and expecting me to realized I was in the wrong. I don't mind paying for a plate but 4 extra?? The food was mediocre, the rice was sooo dry, they flatten out the rice in the styrofoam plate so it seems like it's a lot. I don't know why people rave about this place. I understand different cultural food places in Honolulu is limited. But counting fries is the line for me. P.S. In the picture, I ate 2 fries from the basket. Use your imagination and add 2 fries in that picture. God forbid if someone miscount it. read more

La Casita - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

First things first this is a family business which I absolutely love! Peep the receipt in the first picture "Mommy" assisted me on my visit and she was so sweet and helpful. She actually helped me pick what I ended up with because I wanted to support while I was in the area but wasn't crazy hungry and also needed something sin leche (without milk) because of my dairy allergy; I ended up with what's listed as pastelitos on their menu. It was a yummy empanada stuffed with a bunch of goodies (comes with a salsa) I totally recommend to order some of their pickled veggies to go with literally a perfect snack in my opinion! It was very quiet in there and I can totally see them having way more business, praying that for them! Everything we got was fresh tasted homemade and I will definitely be back! Gracias Amigas y Aloha read more

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This place was surprisingly tucked away in a little corner of Waipahu. I didn't expect to find this place here, but was glad I did. The parking was easy and inside was clean and spacious. You have to walk up to the counter and order, which signage and the kind staff instructed. This place had Hispanic aroma in the air. We ordered our food, we tried the Carne asada, rice and beans and chicken/steak tacos. The taste was so declious!! We also tried the salsa and chips and wow, they were fresh, the salsa had a unique flavor. Pastelito's were an El Savadore version of empanada, it was great. I'll definitely have to try this place again, but the MVP of the night was the Churro!! OMG!! Definitely the best one out of the 5 places I've tried them in Hawaii!! Must eat it hot and they serve it with dipping chocolate or honey! I'm done!! read more

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The food is terrific. Their tortillas are hand made not given to you from a package. Their carnitas are tasty and chunky. The beans are just right. It's too bad they closed up. I wish them well. read more

The food of El Salvador and Honduras. Never tried so... Disclaimer; I've never been to either country so anything I have to say on authenticity of the food would be BS. Instead this is my opinion as a first world outsider. First, this is humble, honest, simple ... Look, this is food for the working masses from countries that don't have a lot. Its carb heavy (lots of ground corn) with cheap protein (beans, beans, beans) often cooked in oil and flavored by tangy cheese or sour cream to boost the calories. Dieting Cali bunny rabbits, this isn't for you. Straight to it, the pupusas, heavy, oily and oh so good. A corn meal "dough" stuffed with cheese and loroco (edible flower buds with the texture and flavor of artichokes), flattened and cooked on a well oiled flattop. Tearing a piece off and pinching a pile of pickled cabbage covered with a outright delicious, bright tasting salsa just taste right. A variant with beans and cheese, equally good. The pastelitos (think deep fried empanadas made with corn meal), solid. Crisp on the outside with a thick, cooked through corn meal shell surrounding a mixture of seasoned ground beef, potatoes, carrots and rice. Adding sour cream makes it even better. The Baleadas, the national food of Honduras features a puffy, warm, fresh made flour tortilla folded in half around a smear of flavorful refried beans, queso duro cheese and sour cream. An easy favorite. The only weak dish, taquitos. Corn tortilla rolled around chicken and cheese that got overcooked when deep fried. Tip: Call in your order. Yelp ordering is powered by Grubhub with higher prices even for pickup orders. Family business friendly service. Self service dine in available. Looking forward to return visits to try more of the menu. As it stands, highly recommended. read more

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I wanted to try the World Famous Pupusas it was really good! There isn't too many Salvadoran restaurants around the island so once I saw this I had to go and try. They do have a 4% processing fee for card transactions. CASH IS PREFERRED. They have a very cute painted wing art by the door that makes nice for a photo opp. The woman who took my order so nice and eating the Pupusas fresh was very delicious. I definitely want to make my way back here to try more on the menu. read more

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I really wanted to like this spot. Im by no means and expert on Hispanic food but I do normally love all the food I try. I'll start with the good stuff. The staff was friendly, and the restaurant was super clean. The fajitas were a good choice! For everything else I was a little disappointed. First it took 45-50 minutes to be served - and I'm thankful it's fresh but it wasn't that crowded (we went around 2pm) and it seemed like a long wait. 2nd there's nothing to snack on while you wait - they don't give out chips and salsa or anything which is fine - but we ordered appetizers that just came out at the same time as the food. We tried the pupusas and (I'm sorry) but they were bland. The bean and cheese was better than the pork and cheese imo. We also had the tamales which also seemed a bit undercooked (a little cold) and a little bland as well. Which would not be so bad if they were a little more lenient with the sauces - they charge for salsa (1.75 for a tablespoon of pico de gallo) and they only bring out a little bit of hot sauce at a time. For the price it didn't seem worth it. 2.75 for a can of soda is a little outrageous. Maybe it just not my cup of tea. I see a ton of 5star reviews so give it a try and see for yourself :) read more

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Located in Waipahu next to Little Caesar and Taste Tea. It seemed like a medium size restaurant but was empty when I went during lunchtime. I did a phone order since it took about 15-20 minutes. I enjoy Salvadorian food since I first tried it in Arizona a few years ago. This place has been open for a while and I been wanting to go there. I also noticed the prices went up. I had this a couple of months ago, not sure if the price is still the same. Did take out and ordered the: - Yuca con chicharron $12.75 - came with yuca fries (my favorite!), fried pork meat, and a side of pickled cabbage. The yuca fries, very yummy and eating too many is very filling. Will taste much better when it's fresh. The pork was good but on the salty side. The cabbage was vinegary. - Pork and cheese pupusa $5 - by the time I got it home it wasn't very fresh. The cheese has thicken. It tasted different from when I tried it in LA. But not bad. I would actually go back for the yucca fries only. Don't know if they even sell it on the side itself. read more

La Casita - Yuca con Chicharron $12.75 - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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On my most recent trip home, My Mom told me about wanting to try La Casita, Hawaii's first and only Pupuseria serving up delicious Salvadoran specialities right in the heart of Waipahu. We decided on a date and time and headed to La Casita right before they opened. Ordered an assortment of things (see photos) and anxiously awaited our order. Everything we got was delicious and service was stellar. These are the local businesses that need to be supported. Food was so bomb, we had La Casita the next day! Definitely a good change up from two scoops rice and mac salad. ALOHA!!! SHAKA METER: \uuu/ \uuu/ \uuu/ \uuu/ \uuu/ 5 read more

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Having never tried Salvadoran food, I have been wanting to try this place out. We ordered an assortment of items to sample which included World Famous papusas, Yucca Con Chicharron, Baleadas, Chicken Fajitas, Carnitas and Tamales Salvadoreños. Overall the food was pretty bland and there were no stand out dishes. The most interesting item was the curtido which was pickled cabbage similar to sauerkraut. I am glad that I was able to try Salvadoran food, but I don't think I will be returning. It is just a personal choice, but IMHO nothing was very flavorful. Like many other restaurants these days, a 3% service fee for credit card transactions so bring cash! We called in our order and the wait was still a bit. No mention during the call, but was told no churros or tres leches available upon picking up. I do hope this locally owned family restaurant does well as a gentleman who came in after us was super excited to find a restaurant in Hawaii serving his hometown food. read more

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Overall this restaurant deserves a 5 stars rating. The food is delicious. Everytime I visit my friend 1st thing we do is to uber order. My go to food is pupusas, the crunchy read more

I'm happy got my pupusa fix, sad however cause they didn't have anymore yuca chicharron. Pupuas were great, frehly made and hot. The slightly sweet cabbage and added hot sauce brought everything together as well. Also got a taco plate since my yuca was out. Tacos were good, steak and chicken had taste and good chunky cuts and amount where as other places may be more minced cut. Pico, tomatoes and onions were fresh tasting and love the places like here that add lime or citrus Mmm. Rice and beans were ok, always a basic everywhere I go. Overall really go eats here. For more southern Mexican (Salvadorian) foods, try it here. Everywhere is on the Birria bandwagon not here, keeping to their roots read more

La Casita - Pork/cheese pupusas - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

Delicious tacos, epic salsa, beautiful views! We will be back for lunch next time we pass through! The owner was so nice! read more

La Casita - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

I came here looking for caldo de rez but the owner / cook told me she only does that for orders 6+ and if we call ahead of time (days maybe). Which I plan on doing next time I ordered three pupusas of (mixed) pork bean and cheese And let me tell you, I am nine weeks pregnant and craving my home town food this food right here feels like home. I am so happy. Can't wait to come back again read more

La Casita - Three pupusas - pork bean cheese - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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First time to La Casita! Had to to try the Pupusas and it didn't let me down at all. Their world famous pupusa was fire! I also had the Carne Asada plate and that great tasting as well. The cooking was as if I was at El Salvador in someone's home. The customer service was awesome as well. Very nice staff! Lots of parking, but it is surrounded by nothing but food restaurants and food trucks. So it is a busy area. read more

La Casita - Carne Asada - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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I've been hearing some great things about La Casita for a while and I wanted to try it. La Casita is Salvadorian food. I've never had Salvadorian food but I was gonna be brave. When I look at the menu it's kind of like Mexican kind of dishes. They had taquitos, quesadillas, carnitas, tacos, and fajitas. My friend got the chicken quesadilla and I got one pupusa and camarones de crema. According to their website their pupusas are world famous. I've never even heard of a pupusa and after reading some reviews about it I decided to get one. It's really cheap for one, just $4.00. It's a tortilla flatbread stuffed with pork and cheese or bean and cheese. And then it's topped with the pickled cabbage and red salsa. The camarones con crema was sautéed shrimp in a white creamy sauce. The camarones con crema was a plate and the creamy shrimp came in a small luau container separated from all the other extras like salad, beans, and rice. The sauce on the shrimp was delicious. I kept wanting to eat more. I kind of wished they gave more shrimp in the meal. I think it was maybe like 8 pieces of shrimp. I also loved the rice that came with the meal. It was a good complement to the shrimp. I was so full from the camarones con crema that I didn't get a chance to eat the pupusas. I took it home and fed it to my daughter for breakfast. She ate it without the toppings and it was okay but I think the toppings (pickled cabbage and salsa) really make it give it its flavor. Many people wrote about their horchata so I decided to give it a try. I've never had a horchata before. It was delicious. Like creamy cinnamon goodness. It was very smooth and yummy. For the amount you pay, they give you a huge drink cup. I still had some leftover at the end of the day. Excellent place. And as for location of the place, it's not that difficult to find. It's in the jack and a box lot but all the way at the end of the complex. I definitely want to go back again and try their churro and some other desserts and entrees they have. A tip I have is don't order online, it looks like the prices are a little higher than in person. I think the prices are elevated online maybe because of delivery charges. read more

La Casita - Camarones con Crema - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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Food is always fresh and delicious! A little more pricey than you'd think but it's always worth it. We make the drive out here just for the baleadas, fresh tortillas, churros and horchata. So good! Other pros: high chair available, lots of seating, clean and bright ambiance, and always super friendly service. 10/10 recommend. read more

Very tasty all homemade family restaurant nothing fancy but delicious the pupasa is so good with pork was amazing

Can't believe I haven't gone here earlier! Their food is authentic as authentic can be. It was kinda of confusing to find their location and in some photos of the outside, it shows a different location, but after calling the restaurant to confirm, we found out it's in the same area as Jack in the Box Waipahu on Farrington Highway. Once we found the place, we didn't know if La Casita was open because all the windows were blacked out, but upon entering, I was surprised on how the interior of this place was! It was very nice and modern. There were lots of room to social distance from others enjoying their food. Looking at older photos, it definitely is an upgrade from their previous location. When we got to the counter, we were greeted by a super sweet lady. We didn't know what to order as this was our first time here. The sweet lady mentioned "Everything is good because you know why? I'm am the chef!" Hearing that I knew the food was gonna be good!! I ended up ordering the Camarones Con Creme, which was shrimp cooked in a creamy stew! It came with rice, beans, corn tortillas and a side salad. The shrimp was cooked to perfection but the star was the creamy stew! It was such a creamy stew I literally drank the stew after eating the shrimp! Definitely will be ordering that again. I also ordered churros with honey. It was pretty good, but I felt like it could've been cooked a little longer as it was a little doughy in the center. Every time I go to a Mexican restaurant I always order horchata and they served horchata here so I got for sure had to try some. I'm hooked! The horchata here is the best one I tried on the islands by far. 10/10!! So if you're ever in the Waipahu area and looking for some authentic Central American cuisine, this place is the spot!! read more

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Awesome, authentic, delicious. I was looking for pupusas like mom used to make... found the place! read more

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So, I grew up in El Salvador and moved when I was in middle school and haven't been able to go back since. I was sooooo excited to hear there was a pupuseria here on island!! First thing I noticed, is I didn't get to talk much with the lady. I was excited to meet other salvadorians! Anyways she may have been busy or had a bad day so, not griping on that. In El Salvador they normally give you a lot more curtido (tangy coleslaw stuff) to put on your pupusas. I ordered 6 so I should have gotten at the very least two bags. The salsa roja (res sauce) was very good, a bit meatier and more enchilada like than the traditional. It was still good. Overall the pupusas were decent. They lacked the oozing cheese and the masa on the pupusas could have used some salt. Also, a bit greasier at traditional pupuserias, so that may be a good thing if you're look for a less greasy option. They were decent, although they weren't the exact traditional ones from my childhood pupuserias in El Salvador, and I'm not sure I'd spend 3$ a pupusa (like.50$ to make it) again, but it was fun to try it! And they had loroco ones!! I haven't had those in so long! The tamale was fairly decent! Although they didn't have the dulce (sweet) ones, which was fine. They were the correct consistency and pretty tasty. But would be better served with salvadorian crema or refríes black beans and crema, and a bit meatier. But overall good This was a good restaurant! I'm hyper critical because I'm trying to find something to satiate my hometown food memory craving. But overall, especially without knowledge of the best places in El Salvador, it was pretty good and you'll enjoy it. Worth a try! I wish they served hojuelas for día de los muertos that would have been so cool! And charamuscas! And some aguas frescas! They had my order pretty quickly. I called it in and it was ready right on time! Parking was easy. read more

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Only El Salvadorian cafe on Oahu. Tasty and unique. Great service, friendly family owned cozy feel. Not like anywhere else I've ever been on Oahu and I loved feeling like I was in a little Latin enclave. read more

La Casita - Mural - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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Yelped before hitting this local spot in Hawaii. Location is very hidden, with minimum parking spaces, and security walking around the area. However eatery is clean and beautiful decorated with colorful hand painted walls art. This restaurant is a Salvadoran Restaurant. The main dish served here are pupusas. The pupusas were really good, and so was the garlic-shrimp combo plate. Of course we can't forget to feed our sweet tooth, so last but not least dessert. The churros were hot, and you got to choose between chocolate and honey dipping sauce. Food was moderately priced, and so delicious. read more

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Great family run restaurant! The pupusas were made to order and delicious have been back many times. Parking is a bit of a nightmare now with the food trucks setup in the parking lot. But otherwise 5 stars read more

I personally feel like it's hard finding a restaurant that continues to give consistent quality... my husband is Mexican and when we lived back in Nevada we ate Mexican food all the time, so coming back home it was hard trying to find a place we loved and would want to come back, but La Casita is our favorite restaurant!! The staff is always so friendly & the restaurant it's self is very welcoming, clean, very cool and it's a great place to eat in or take out! The food is absolutely amazing!! So tasty, consistent and the price is reasonable is great as well. Everything I have tried I have loved, my favorite dishes would have to be the tacos, quesadillas, chips/salsa, pupusas, churros and horchata! If you are looking for great service, even better food at an affordable price.. Look no further than La Casita!! read more

La Casita - Churros - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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Amazing! You can actually hear the lady making the pupusas after you order. Hand made and hands down the most delicious spot for El Salvadoran food in the state. My go to is always pupusa but we also have tried the chuleta & baleada. The baleada is made with a fresh homemade tortilla. Took me back to the days when my mom would make tortillas on the daily. No packaged tortillas will ever compare to fresh & homemade. The service is always really great too! read more

La Casita - Pupusas - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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I'm visiting my dad from WA, he mentioned wanting Pupusas.. My response was I'll get right on it! I was shocked there is only 1 restaurant on the island that sells Pupusas . But, I was also excited to find out there were some on the island!!! I had 1 Bean & Cheese and the 2nd one was just cheese. I liked the slaw. I was a bit disappointed it didn't have as much vinegar as I liked (personal preference) but it good.. PS: I haven't had a good Pupusa since moving to the PNW from Los Angeles in 2012.. read more

La Casita - World Famous Pupusas: Bean & Cheese and Cheese.. the other plate is my sons sides from his 3 taco plate - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

Is always nice to find something close to home! I have been in Oahu now for a month and I was starting to crave some delicious Hispanic food. After a quick google research, I found La Casita. After reading the reviews and seeing the pictures I visited with my family. Since I was craving the food, I wanted to order everything on the menu! We were three and everything we ordered was very good. My daughter is vegetarian so she ordered two baleadas with avocados. She liked them very much but they are big so one was more than enough. My husband ordered a cheese pupusa for appetizer and the "chuleta con tomate" (pork chop with a tomato and onion sauce) that came with rice and corn tortillas for his meal. He accompanied his meal with a homemade tamarind juice. Everything was very good. As for me, I wanted the "yuca with chicharrón" but unfortunately they were out of it by the time we were there. So, I ended up ordering a pork and bean pupusa (which I used to eat all the time in northern Virginia), an empanada, and a baleada with carnita. Needless to say that it was too much but very very good. I had a homemade horchata as my drink. We finished our meal with a flan de queso. All of the meals were under $8.00 except the pork chop. The place was cleaned, was almost full by the time we got there, and the service was excellent. read more

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Hidden gem in Waipahu. Salvadorian food/ Central American food? Hey I'm willing to try it! It has some things in common with Mexican food. I came here on a whim. Baleadas - flour tortilla with refried beans, sour cream, cheese. You can add in eggs, avocado, etc. This dish sounds so simple, but it's amazing. Each bite has a lasting flavor of cheese and sour cream and sticks with you until you take a next bite. The flour tortilla is also so delicious! I thought I knew what to expect. But I was blown away by it. This is a great appetizer. Pupusia- A meat filled flat hot pocket. The outside is a flat bread with your choice of meats inside. It comes with a side of pickled cabbage and hot sauce. Both sides really pair well. This is also good! Pastelitos (Empanada) - deep fried hotpocket with beef, carrots, potatoes, and rice. Oh so good. You can't go wrong. Yuka Con Chicharron - in Waipahu I'm sure people know what this is. The fried yuka was less known to me. They were like thick fries, but with a thicker consistency. This place is great! I'd just go crazy and order like tapas instead of ordering a meal. Come here if you are in the area. read more

7/30/20: I've got 2 firsts: 1) Trying La Casita and 2) Salvadoran food. DRINKS: We were given FROM SCRATCH tamarindo and horchata samples. I've made my own tamarindo juice before and these two drinks were FANTASTIC! Normally I'm not a horchata person, but the way they make it I like it! PASTELITOS: Similar to empanadas, pastelitos usually have a lighter dough and their shapes are different. We ordered one for each of us. These pastelitos were like if you were ordering a chicken katsu musubi at 711. They were sizable and filling by itself! PUPUSAS: The bean pupusas were sizable and not oily. You could tell the masa was fresh because it didn't break apart...if you get what I'm saying? I'd say equivalent to a spam musubi. YUCA DE CHICHARRÓN: Cut up like pork adobo cubes, these pieces of meat were fried and served with yuca wedges. I don't care for potato wedges...I prefer mine crispier. It comes with shredded cabbage, and a red sauce and sour cream. I LOVED the cabbage. It reminds me of sauerkraut. It compliments the flavors nicely. FLAN: Like all Latin foods, in my opinion, flan is another one of those personal how-you-grew-up preferences. In Foodieville, we are used to fusion variations of this old favorite. But sometimes the simpler, the better. This was one of those flans; it was firm and flavorful. NO DINE IN POST COVID AT THE MOMENT. read more

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While having a late lunch in Mililani yesterday, I received a notification that a Hot and New restaurant opened up. I was super stoked for it to say Salvadoran! That means they have pupusas! Yay! I'll confess, I know nothing about Central American cuisine and have never been to any of the countries. So, my review is strict based on taste and everything was so tasty. At the end of my visit, I quickly chatted with the counter help. I asked where they were from. She is from a Columbia while the cook is from Honduras. Are they authentic? I believe so as their accent is very thick and the counter help had to really think about how to reply in English. I'm glad to see that Waipahu, once an old and thriving plantation town, a mix of Asian cultures, may now re-invent themselves and welcome Central American cultures as there is such a lack thereof in the islands. I hope this continues. Because of all the rail construction occurring in Waipahu, La Casitas can be a little hard to find. If you're coming from Pearl City, you're going to U-turn at Waipahu Depot Rd and make a right into the strip mall shortly thereafter. La Casitas is located at the very end of the plaza, closest to Waipahu Depot road. Because of the side of the road the plaza is in, most of the parking angles away from Waipahu Depot Rd. Of course, I went in the aisle closest to the restaurant but all the spaces were taken up. I had to drive in the wrong direction and back up at an angle in the next aisle. But you can see how hazardous this can be. Not the fault of the restaurant, just a warning. As you walk in the restaurant, you'll immediately see that these are humble beginnings for La Casitas. Right at the entrance is the counter, across from the door is the drink refrigerator and to the right are two counters and 16 barstools, eight on each side. My mom, 86-years young was like, I have to sit up there? "You can do it mom. Have a seat and I'll order." There were two families ahead of me. It was 11:45 am. When the cook came out, she warned me that there would be a wait, about 20-minutes, as she was the cook and taking orders. I said, no problem. I'll wait". I really wanted my pupusas. One thing I understand about new restaurant openings, patience. They're all figuring out the efficiency of their restaurant. However, at about 12, help came and someone was delivering food and taking orders. It didn't feel like 20-minutes. First thing out, horchata. My mom liked it but I'm glad she drank out of the water bottle first and allowed me to have the horchata. A few minutes later, the bean and cheese and pork and cheese pupusas came out. As good as I remember it to be. The little Spanish-style "coleslaw" was great. So good, my mom ate that all up. Next up was the tamales. It was explained to us that unlike Mexican-style tamales that is made with corn, further south in Central America, tamales is wrapped in banana/plantain. I like the banana better. It wasn't dry like the corn version. Super moist and delicious. My dad and sister ate the leftovers at home and they both liked it better versus the corn too. Empanadas came out next. That was crunchy and delicious too. And last, the Camarones con Crema. OMG, that was really good. The Spanish rice was tasty, not dry and crunchy, the beans was one of the best I've ever had. One thing that I thought was strange was there is no trash bin. I asked if I leave everything on the table and she said yes. Other than that, the restaurant is clean. 5-stars for La Casitas for great food, great customer service and cleanliness. I wish you all the success in the world so as to keep pupusas in Hawaii. I'll see you soon. read more

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I have had to be the only newbie to pupusas there today. I decided to try the place along with a cousin who's familiar with the food. The restaurant is very casual, you can either get it to go or a order and pay first then dine in. The seating area sits about 10-15 people, yet I wouldn't recommend going in there with a stroller. The staff is very nice and helpful with newbies like me. The food was AMAZING. I ordered a little bit of each in 2 pupusas (both pork and cheese), a carne asasa taco and empanada. Everything was made fresh and tasted like it. The flavors were very bold and comforting and seasoned well. My cousin taught me how to eat the pupusas and although there is no formal way to eat it, it really boiled down to making sure you get the flavors right and how neat you want to be, ha. Price was on point, all of that and a soda ran me a good $14 after taxes. I personally thought it was a steal considering the level of quality ingredients and process it takes to make it. I'll be back! read more

La Casita - Guacamole, chips and salsa, carne asada with beans and rice - Salvadoran Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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First time having El Salvadorian food so I don't have any reference point to compare it to. But the flavors and textures reminded me of some of my meals Nicaragua, as well as Mexico. A difference was that the food here was heavier on the corn, lighter on the spices. We ordered papusa, which comes with pickled cabbage. That was delicious and next time I'd ask for extra pickled cabbage it was that good. Also got an empanada, an order of taquitos, a tamale, and camarones al mojo de ajo (sauteed garlic shrimp, comes with rice, beans, tortillas and pico de gallo salad). The garlic shrimp was seasoned unlike our local style garlic shrimp, so that stood out). Prices are reasonable and would be willing to come back to try other foods. The place has plentiful seating, lots of parking (it's in a plaza). read more

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