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    La Santaneca

    4.6 (241 reviews)
    InexpensiveSalvadoran
    Open 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    Order La Santaneca Takeout or Delivery

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    LA SANTANECA ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Carne Asada
    Julie L.

    My kids & I love La Santaneca! Super friendly, welcoming service! Unfussy, large dining areas. The pupusas and curdito are delectable! Steaming hot fresh pupusas, made to order.I always ask for the spicy salsa to supplement the milder thin tomatoey sauce (not sure what it's called). The spicy salsa is SPICY & fresh! My child always orders the fruit drink and carne asada, which comes with two fluffy fresh handmade tortillas. She raves about how delicious the rice is! The organic chicken soup, made on the weekends, is comfort food to the max. Michelada is served with special Guatemalan beer. Next time I'll take better photos!

    2/26/25 FYI. Interior.
    Lee D.

    Quality/Quantity - What a great discovery. If you are looking for FAST food, this is not the place for you. If you are looking for a slow, really good made-to-order meal (see my picture of the front of the menu), then you are in the right place. The speed of the owner dictates the speed of service, if you know, you know. She is so sweet. Today we got the following: Pollo Empanizado $21.99 - Breaded Chicken. This was the only boneless chicken on the menu and my wife did not want to work for her meal, lol. And she did not realize it was deep fried. For me, that was part of the reason it tasted so good! Came with rice, salad, and two "tortillas." Two Pupusas - I got a steak one (Queso Con Carne Asada) and a zucchini one (Queso Con Calabaza). Both of which were good. This came with a bottomless amount of housemade slaw and salsa, see pictures. BUT the hot sauce was the real winner. It was so hot (And I like it hot, was this habanero). After a few bites, I had to dilute it with the salsa. The salsa was nothing special for me, very light in flavor. Atmosphere - Huge place, see pictures. Clean restrooms. Plenty of mall parking. Live music today. See picture. Service - Good; again, the owner is so sweet. Price - $33 + generous tip. You have to walk up to the counter to pay. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 2015. Nice to have a good Salvadorian restaurant nearby.

    In the parking lot from afar, you can read "Pupusaria", but the full sign is in a slant, away from the street. There's the door.
    Darla B.

    I have been eyeing this place for years! I just always forget when we are thinking of where to go eat! Not so today! We were in the area so dropped in for a small meal. We both ordered two pupusas each. Oh, lovely large pupusas! Mine were cheese/mushroom and pork/cheese/loroca (a flower found in El Salvador). Ray ordered shrimp and chicken. Although his were good..... mine were better! So tummy and with the syrup container of pupusa sauce delivered to our table (along with slaw we can not eat) we could put as much sauce in as we wanted! They've got so many choices of pupusas the rest of the menu went in noticed this trip. Although I did get pix of it and hope to try their dinners or breakfast some time soon. Tried their horchata. A bit different flavor I can't seem to put my finger on. They've got beers to the left of the payment counter. We were served by, what I suppose, the owner. Nice man. Explained the loroca to us. Ambiance is your typical tables in two large rooms that are painted lovely colors with tapestries hanging. No table cloths, more a tapateria than a cafe.

    Chicken sandwich.
    Gus M.

    We were there early in the afternoon, and there were only a handful of people at the time. We ordered a few pupusas and a chicken sandwich, just to give them a try. I nearly fainted when I saw that each pupusa is almost 5 dollars! I get mad because Pupusas and Reno are three dollars!! I think that their tomato sauce lacks a lot of flavor, to make it authentically Salvadoran. I didn't feel the chicken sandwich was 100% what it should be. I don't think I ever remember seeing sandwiches with Romain lettuce, no water rest, zero escabeche, and no mayonnaise. I don't think I will be coming back.

    Chicken/Jalapeno & Pork/Loroco pupusa. Sides of Slaw/Sauce.
    Craig H.

    I've only had a pupusa once before from a food truck and it was okay, no reason the revisit pupusas, I thought. My son hypes up this pupusa place which my wife and I decide to try out. These were really good...definitely better than my previous pupusa experience. We each got 2 pupusas, which were served with pickled cabbage and sauce (Chicken/Jalepeno, Beef/Cheese, Pork/Loroco). Chicken/Jalapeno was my favorite of the 3. I tried them on their own, and while tasty, the sauce and slaw made them even tastier....I wasn't a big fan of the sauce, but the tables have Tapatio on them, which worked better for my palette. The owner worked our table and was extremely friendly and gave us a breakdown of the pupusa experience. Would recommend and return.

    Pupusas Locas - Cheese, beans, pork, zucchini and jalapeno ~ OMTASTY goodness!!
    Lynda B.

    Want to know one of Carson City's local hidden gems...then walk in to be greeted by La Santaneca's warm, friendly owner for wonderful service and delicious housemade Pupusas, Empanada and El Salvadorian food that will absolutely be daBOMB!! On several occasions we have ordered: Pupusas Locas (this is the super, super LARGE one) w/Cheese, beans, pork, zucchini and jalapeno and the Empanadas stuffed beyond with ground beef ~ both are absolutely deLISH!! don't forget the pickled slaw and in-house hot sauce to top these off ~ yummyyyy!! We also LOVE, love the smaller Pupusas: Cheese, Chicken & jalapenos; Cheese, Pork & Loroco; Cheese & Shrimp ~ yummyyy!! Shrimp Cocktail is INCREDIBLE, large enough for two and OMTasty!! Excellent deLISH food with great service and restaurant! Owner and staff are very friendly and make yummilicious recommendations so don't be afraid to explore the menu.

    Marlene Y.

    El Salvadoran pupusa (quesadilla) is the highlight here in Carson City. Take out or eat in. These pupusa are filled with cheese and almost anything else you can think of. We ordered a bunch of different fillings from beans to chicken and jalapeño. These pupusa are soft rather than crunchy. They give you crisp pickled cabbage and a light sauce to go with the pupusa. The only thing I wondered about was the minimal filling. Maybe that's just how they are made. The service was good and the restaurant has ample seating, pictures of El Salvador and other traditional art pieces. Try it if you're in Carson City!

    Homemade tortilla
    Tim K.

    I will start off to say the three stars l have giving them is due to their customer service only. Honestly the food was mid to low for El Salvadorian food all Salvadorian food in Los Angeles I have had was way more flavor and softer. Their customer service was wonderful I feel that their empanadas were overcooked and almost too hard for me to eat because I have veneers and the pupusas were to undercooked and missing some of the flavor all in all I would say that I wouldn't go back. I do like empanadas and I like El Salvadorian food but I wouldn't recommend this place if you if you enjoy the style of food and have had it in big cities. I wouldn't use their restrooms because they were really smelly and not very clean.

    Carne Asada
    Joe M.

    Food is great. We loved the carne asadas and rice. Host/owner was very friendly and made the place feel inviting. Def recommend! If you need a big dinner make sure to order an extra serving of rice

    Curtido, sauce, and Mexican Coke
    Wilma J.

    Don't let the empty seats on the weekdays confuse you. This place has some of the best home made Salvadorian food I've ever had. I usually make the drive to Reno and hit up Delicious Caffe for papusas because I've been here to La Santaneca and their papusas I felt we're not as thick and cheesy as the ones from Delicious Caffe. I was thinking they must have a new chef because this evening them papusas were fire! Soooo good! I asked the lady to make me revueltas and add fresh chopped habanero. Revueltas come with refried beans, crushed pork rind (chicharrón) and cheese. Poor Ms. Dina (new chef) came out coughing to deliver them hot to my table, she waited to make sure that's what I wanted cause it made her eyes water and gave her the hiccups from the habanero heat. I thanked her for doing this for me because I know it's not an easy thing to handle this kind of spicy. My papusas were perfect! The cabbage curtido had just the right amount of tangy and crunch. I almost asked for a beer but nah, I had to have a big 1/2 liter Mexican Coke with this. It just hit the spot. I ordered their leche empanadas for dessert (fried banana dough pockets with creamy milk inside) these , they don't make at Delicious Caffe anymore so I was happy they had them here. Those were perfect too, not too sweet. Thank you Ms.Dina for cooking for me. You're amazing!

    Tortillas hechas a mano
    Glenda M.

    If you want to try authentic Salvadoran food this is the place to go. If you're in Reno it's definitely worth the drive. I have tried many items in the menu and it never disappoints!!! Service is always with a smile and they greet you like family. Spacious and lots of parking. As a Salvadoran native I want authentic food that reminds me of home. Love this place!!

    Huevos Revueltos

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    5 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Great food. Great service. Highly recommend the carne asada plate. Everything made to order. Worth trying if you're in Carson city

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    4 months ago

    Best papusas you could ever get and amazing owners! Worth the wait for fresh handmade deliciousness.

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    6 months ago

    Great fried tilapia which they marinate before frying. The flavor is fabulous. I drive from Reno to buy their Papuans and homemade tamales!

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    1 year ago

    Pupusas are amazing, curtido on point. I haven't tried anything other than the Pupusas but damn they are truly the best in town.

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great food and service. The atmosphere gives off an authentic vibe. I will be back again!!

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    Every now and then I have one of those where have I been moments?…read moreWell, today was one of those times. I was at a plaza, not far from where San Marcos Grill is located. We were hungry and decided we wanted Mexican food. We've been really tired of the place we've been visiting as we are regulars there. We've been really wanting to try something new and I remembered there was a place down the street from the plaza we were at. San Marcos Grill is not very hard to find. It's just off the main drag going through Carson City on Winnie Lane. We pulled in to the parking lot and I have to be honest. My first thought was wow I hope this place is good. Because I had my doubts being in a strip mall. But you never know unless you try. So we walked, and I was amazed, how awesome this place looked I'm talking very festive, very clean. Tables were well spaced out. The lady greeted us immediately and pointed us to a table where we could sit at. She was there taking our drink orders very quickly. As we sat and looked over the menu, I could not get over the size and beauty of the bar that they have in this establishment. Complete with a great selection of any kind of drink, you could possibly want also TVs that are spaced around the establishment so if you want to watch a sport event, there's not a bad seat anywhere in the restaurant. After looking over the menu, our server came to our table was a very nice young lady and took our orders. My wife chose the beef enchiladas, and a taquito, which comes with rice and beans As I always do with a new establishment, I chose the Carnitas plate. I am a Carnitas aficionado and I always try everyone's Carnitas to see if they are legit. As we're waiting for our food, I noticed an older gentleman who was just helping everybody, come to find out he is the owner. I do not know his name, but he's very friendly guy and very warm and welcoming. As I said, the establishment is very spacious and clean. The bathroom was even clean, so it was a real joy to be there, even though we were waiting on our food, which did not take very long. My wife ordered a margarita that she really liked and I just had a Modelo with a lime. The gentleman I just told you about who I think is the owner brought our food to us and it looked amazing. Needless to say, we dug right into our food and I could not get over how great these Carnitas tasted. Not everyone can make really good Carnitas, they're either dry or they're cooked too long to were they are too crispy. These are so tender and flavorful. I enjoyed every bite. My plate came with rice in a small bowl of beans, a garnish of avocado, sour cream and pico. It also came with very hot corn tortillas The tortillas, however we're spoiled and tasted really old. In fact, you can smell how old they were. I let our server know, but it was no big deal because I had tortilla chips still on the table. She offered to get me some new tortillas, but it was fine because I only use the tortilla to kind of put my food onto the fork. So the tortilla chips worked just fine. I kept trying to eat the Carnitas slowly because I was savoring it so much. I did not want to hurry and be done with the meal too fast. This was our first visit here, and I can tell you that we will be back and probably become regulars. The staff here is very wonderful welcoming and I cannot recommend this place high enough to anyone that wants a great place to eat really great Mexican food. Kudos to the staff.!

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    This was my first time visiting this restaurant, and I was immediately impressed by the friendly…read morestaff and spacious dining area -- they have two separate sections available for customers to enjoy their meals. I was a bit disappointed to learn that they no longer serve tamales, but any disappointment quickly faded once I tried the food. I ordered the sopes combo plate, which came with rice and beans, along with a small agua de Jamaica. The drink was flavorful and reasonably priced, and the entire meal was excellent. The sopes were perfectly cooked, and the rice and beans were just right -- the rice was moist and well-seasoned, not dry at all. I also noticed that the old menu posted on Yelp lists soups as being available only on weekends, but the updated menu now offers them daily -- a nice improvement to note. Overall, this Salvadoran/Mexican restaurant has quickly become one of my new favorites. Español: Esta fue la primera vez que visité este restaurante, e inmediatamente me impresionó el amable personal y la espaciosa zona de comedor: tienen dos secciones separadas disponibles para que los clientes disfruten de sus comidas. Me decepcionó un poco saber que ya no sirven tamales, pero cualquier decepción se desvaneció rápidamente una vez que probé la comida. Pedí el plato combinado de sopas, que venía con arroz y frijoles, junto con una pequeña agua de Jamaica. La bebida era sabrosa y a un precio razonable, y toda la comida fue excelente. Los sopes estaban perfectamente cocinados, y el arroz y los frijoles estaban perfectos: el arroz estaba húmedo y bien sazonado, no seco en absoluto. También me di cuenta de que el antiguo menú publicado en Yelp enumera las sopas como disponibles solo los fines de semana, pero el menú actualizado ahora las ofrece diariamente, una buena mejora a tener en cuenta. En general, este restaurante salvadoreño/mexicano se ha convertido rápidamente en uno de mis nuevos favoritos.

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