El Atlacatl Restaurante

"El Salvador is famous for pupusas, and El Atlacatl serves some of Miami’s best. The pupusas here have impossibly thin crusts of crisp nixtamalized corn masa and rich fillings inside. The loroco and cheese, a meatless option, is stuffed with loroco flower buds that taste like mild asparagus. The meatier chicharrón option features fried pork belly that gets braised in a tangy tomato-based sauce. Besides the great pupusas, the ambiance makes it ideal for a family meal. It's got chandeliers, royal blue accent walls, and flat-screen TVs in a hacienda-like space." - ryan pfeffer, virginia otazo

"The pupusas at El Atlacatl have a beautiful crispy bottom just begging for a cooking influencer to scrape a knife over. Their pupusa de loroco y queso is thick and has mozzarella cheese oozing out of its cornerless sides. The cabbage and pickled vegetables have a polite kick to them and are the perfect companion for these gracefully overstuffed masa spaceships. The best place to sit and enjoy a pupusa is at the bar where you have the best view of their chaotic ventanita. And to drink, get the passion fruit juice that’s the kind of sugary housemade version we love with a salty pupusa. " - mariana trabanino, virginia otazo

"You’re probably familiar with a group of Salvadoran restaurants in Miami that have the same name in slightly different spellings. They’ll all claim they pioneered the Atlakat (or Atlacatl) Salvadoran restaurant movement in Miami. But take what they say with a grain of maize. Regardless of who came first, this is the most charming Atlakat of them all. They have red swivel bar stools and play old school reggaeton that transports you to a jorts-wearing version of Miami that was objectively cooler. They make a delicious and large sopa de mariscos that’s loaded with tender crab legs in a buttery broth. And their pupusas are some of the best in Miami—slightly crisp, filling, and for $4.25, one of the cheapest meals you can have in this city. photo credit: Tasty Planet photo credit: Tasty Planet photo credit: Tasty Planet" - Mariana Trabanino

"El Atlacatl is the restaurant offspring of El Atlakat that’s just a few blocks away. The Salvadoran restaurants have nearly identical menus but this Atlacatl is larger, more modern, and a couple of cents more expensive. It’s perfect for families because the portions are large, it’s affordable, and dads won’t shut up about their free parking. If you come on the weekend without a reservation, you will have to wait for a table. Or you can get a seat at the bar, which is our favorite place to sit because it provides the best view of their chaotic ventanita. You can have a pleasant and filling lunch here with a pupusa revuelta and a ridiculously creamy tamal de elote." - Mariana Trabanino