El Cuscatleco pupuseria y restaurante

Salvadoran but nowhere near the best I’ve had. Pretty sure the beans came out with cheese that may not have been the freshest… Pupusas were good. Elote Tamales were missing sweetness and dry. Pina fresca was damn good.

The Waiters were very very pleasant. I got my food within 10 mins of waiting and the food came in very big portions! you get what you pay for. The Pupusas were very good as well.

First time here and it was a nice surprise. Serving sizes are just write. Service was very good. Waitress was polite and courteous. We got three platters and all were rather tasty. The different mix of Central American flavors in the dishes offered just the right hint of taste and spiciness. Will definitely be heading back here

YUM! Do yourself a favor and get the pupusas from here, they are so yummy!! The cheese and revuelta ones are the best but all of them are yummy. We normally only get pupusas when we come here but this past time we did get a veggie quesadilla because my FIL wanted one… he didn’t like it, said it was too much cheese but my MIL liked it. My FIL really enjoyed the pupusas and we ended up ordering him more.

Food was hot & tasty. Went on an early Saturday afternoon. Great prices with generous portions.

Food is affordable, delicious and presented nicely! We had the pork and cheese pupusas, beef burrito, breakfast platter and tamarind juice. Each dish was served warm and tasted like your grandma worked in the kitchen for a few hours in the morning preparing it. Service was quick. It fills up quickly!

The food tasted really good and the prices were good as well. Great portions for the price as well. I would definitely recommend and I will be going back.

As a Salvi, this is my new go-to when I’m missing home. 🫶🏽♥️ make your way over here for some DELICIOUS pupusas.

Stopped in for lunch with my daughter. She ordered chicken enchiladas and I had eggs with plantain, beans, sausage, avocado, cream and cheese. The server was very nice and answered all our questions. She provided excellent service throughout the meal. Our food was tasty and fresh. We will return.

You should make a trip to this gem on a row of ethnic food from everywhere! When you walk in you are struck at the cleanliness of the place, everything was neat and very organized as well. The cashier/server/host was excellent, she was very attentive and explained the menu in detail. You are able to eat in BYOB and order to go with Uber eats etc. There is a bar down the street with to go beer and a Wine and Spirit store about 10 blocks away if you prefer wine. Now for the food. This is the restaurant no matter what your preference may be as far as style of food when you can tell that the chef is an excellent cook. You could probably tell them to cook anything and it would be enjoyable to your pallet. I started off with the marinated pork it came with fried yucca, coleslaw, lettuce, tomato and cucumber. The coleslaw was surprisingly very good and the yucca was delicious. I really loved the pork it was tender and tasty especially with fresh squeezed lime. My main course of a fried whole tilapia with beans and rice was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! You get a lot of food at a very fair price. I really recommend this restaurant!

I've ordered from here a few times since the pandemic started since I can't make my frequent stops to South Philly as much. They're one of the only places with Tacos Campechanos in Delco and I have to say they're really delicious and for a good price. I've also dabbled in the horchata but I wasn't too impressed--I think it was the end of the mix so I had all of the grainy bits. But if you're not picky you get a great deal out of that too! I've also had the appetizer platanos that come with cheese and sauce--besides being a little on the ripe side, I can't recall having anything as close to what I make at home! They're seriously so good. On a bad day, I drop a $20 on a bunch of food here and wallow away. Something about tacos and other carbs makes my soul happy and I'm almost mad it took me so long to discover this place. Don't be like me! Use this pandemic to expand your horizons and try new places :)

I was looking for authentic Central American cuisine and El Cuscatleto came up as the top option in my Yelp search. I can't believe I've never discovered this restaurant before! This little gem is one of many ethnic restaurants on this block of Garrett Ave. in Upper Darby, but it outshines its neighbors. When I walked in to pick up my takeout order, a very friendly waitress greeted me and asked me for my name so she could check on my order. She said it would be maybe another 5 minutes before my order would be ready. After the waitress went back to the kitchen and a moment later she walked out with my piping hot order that was ready about 10 minutes earlier than Grubhub had promised. It smelled so good it took a lot of will power to wait the 15 minute ride home and not pull my car over to dig in to my dinner. I ordered the Carne Asada Hondureana with an order of Nachos con Frijoles y Queso for a take out order and I was blown away with how delicious every single part of my meal was. The Nachos were plentiful with a good sized serving of their delicious frijoles with a perfect amount of shredded queso. The Carne Asada Hondureña included both a small and large piece of marinated and grilled skirt steak, rice, beans, chimol, avocado, cheese and fried plantains. When I lifted up the take out container, it felt so heavy because El Cuscatleco serve such large portions...definitely not a bad thing! The steak was juicy, tender and super flavorful. The beans were so rich and flavorful that they may be one of the best sides of beans I've had from a restaurant. The rice while it may have looked plain in appearance was quite deceiving as they packed a ton of delicious flavor into what normally can be a bland side dish. The plantains were fried perfectly and did not need the tasty red and green sauces. The chimol was the perfect addition to the carne asada on El Cuscatleco's fresh homemade corn tortillas. I will most definitely be returning to El Cuscatleco again for another delicious Central American dinner!

We decided to check this place out due to all the positive reviews on Yelp. We opted for take out since it was late. Reservations are NOT needed. Located on Garrett Road right off of 69th street. Plenty of street, metered parking. I was able to easily park in front. The inside is nice and the tables/restaurant is clean. The waitress was very friendly and helpful. I told her it was my first time visiting. She mentioned that I should try the pupusas so I did. The pupusa Frijol con queso (bean and cheese) was absolutely amazing. I never tried it before and I'm glad did. The taste was unique and very good. Ordered Cheese/chicken quesadillas and it was very tasty. Platano frita con queso y carne molida. My hubby LOVED this. He said the Platano was so tasty that it did not need to be filled with the meat. The meat was bonus. Carne Asada was listed as the special so we had to pick up an order. I can see why it's popular. The steak was very good and easy to eat. The rice and beans were very tasty. We were very satisfied with our order and will definitely be back since it's close to home. Can't wait to try more items.

I loveeeee this place. Always great service and quality is top tier. I regularly come to this spot and I know I will not leave disappointed

The food was delicious and the portions very satisfying. The chile pupusa was spicy and wonderful and the bean & cheese pupusa was mild and so good too. They all come with slaw (similar to sauerkraut) which is delicious! We went specifically for Salvadorian food as we'd never had it before so the Salvadorian combo (papusa, corn tamale, fried yucca and fried plaintain) was a nice beginner choice and the Carne Asada Salvadorena was amazing. The woman who took our order was so friendly and helpful. It was a great experience.

The most fresh guacamole & suck a cute place it's definitely a gotten Gem & worth every penny !

Great service and a nice selection, try the rice drink, it's sweet, but not over powering. I got their pupusa queso and pupusa revuelta, with guacamole, rice and beans. Everything is fresh!

Don't come for the decor or ambience. Come for the food. Their Salvadoran specialties (pupusas and baleadas) are fantastic, and we also enjoyed the plaintains and tamales. You get tremendous value for the money. They have a wide range of Mexican offerings too but I've not had them recently.

Went for the papusa! A little different that the first place I tried in North Jersey, but still just as good! I'd just suggest asking for them to be well done, add some extra crunch.

Hey I'm giving El Cuscatleco five stars for just part of the menu. I'll explain. El Cuscatleco - which is a word for anyone or thing related to El Salvador - basically has three menus. One El Salvadoran, one Honduran, and one Mexican. I have never tried anything from the Mexican menu as there are Mexican restaurants everywhere in Philadelphia but El Salvadoran and Honduran restaurants are much rarer. That's too bad because Central American food can be quite tasty. And it is the El Salvadoran and Honduran menus that I order off of in this unassuming Upper Darby eatery. I think everyone knows the most famous food from El Salvador - pupusas ... and here these stuffed corn tortillas are flavorfully rendered. I especially liked the Pupusa Revuelta (pork & cheese) and the Loroco Flower Pupusa. Nicely accompanying them is a tomato and cabbage side from El Salvador. Well the counterpart to pupusas in Honduras are the Honduran delicacy of Baleadas. Baleadas are made from flour tortillas and are larger than pupusas. They are just as tasty. I had the Baleada Sencilla which contained refried beans, cheese, and sour cream. Meals begin with a serving of nachos accompanied by both a homemade green and a red chili sauce. There are many other El Salvadoran and Honduran dishes to try here so I will stick to Central American cuisine whenever I come here. El Cuscatleco has an attractive dining room and the service is friendly. It is located in the international restaurant row on Garrett Road. Definitely check it out!

You should choosa these pupusas. Best out there, best the ones in Southern California. Get the one with pork and beans. Super inexpensive. 3 papusas will fill you up!

I would have given it four starts, but our waitress didn't listen well. She missed an important request and left something off our order.

This is a local Latin restaurant and is decent for what it is. They allow you to BYOB which is cool. The prices appear consistent with the quality of food. The average meal is around $12. The staff is friendly and the food taste delicious. It's nothing fancy. It's a great place to check out if you don't feel like cooking at home and craving authentic Latin food that taste home cooked.

I absolutely loved this place! I had been looking for a pupusaria in Philadelphia for a little over a year and I finally found El Cuscatleco. The food was very good as was the service. It wasn't very busy, so we did not have to wait long. Plus, the pupusas are so affordable! Love it here! Can not wait to go again.

I ordered chicken rice and beans salad and came with ranch dressing and the beans were put in a separate container the waitress was nice, the restaurant was clean and quiet the food was tasty and the portions are satisfying will return again thanks.

Food: 4 Decor: 2 Ambiance: 2.5 Service: 2.5 Value: 4 Good and authentic Mexican food in a hole in the wall location in Upper Darby. Some of the best Al Pastor tacos in the area. Tortas are also very good.

I used to think Upper Darby was mostly for getting Korean food however El Cuscatleco has educated me otherwise. Dinner started off pretty nicely with complimentary chips and refried beans. One of the best I've had, it was so tasty I wondered if they put meat in it or used some beef stock. If you are a vegetarian you should ask. Be cautious with your ordering as the chips and an entree will be more than enough to keep you full. I've only had pupusas at one other place and I was not a fan, but luckily my opinion turned when I tried them here. We ordered the pupusa with cheese and vine vegetable, the pupusa had a nice texture and flavor almost like a chinese bao but flat. Unfortunately our pupusa was served without any sauce or salad/slaw which I think it was supposed to. However, it was still tasty and I would go back to try the other pupusas. We also tried the baleada with egg and chorizo, in terms of flavors nothing stood out, but it was very delicious. The specials board advertised pastelitos hondurenos which we smartly ordered. It was like fried chicken in a tasty dough. I think the server was nice enough to put four to our order instead of the usual three since there were four of us. For entrees, we limited ourselves to the seafood soup and a paradilla platter. The seafood soup was absolutely delicious. A very flavorful stock that wasn't too fishy and it was a never ending bowl of seafood. When I go back I will order this just for myself and not share!! The paradilla had steak, pork, and chicken. Pretty standard for Latin American cuisine. While here we were able to bring our own beers however the window did have their application up for a liquor license.

Excelente food and service. This is the only restaurant with real authentic Salvadoran food. I'm from El Salvador and the papusas are the best. You get a lot of food for your money.

The menu is Salvadorean, Mexican, Honduran. Too big to review, but I had pleasant flashbacks to the Mission in SF (where I lived within stumbling distance of so many Mexican and Salvadorean restaurants. We had late night pupusas, tacos and burritos instead of Wawa). The pupusas with queso and loroco (some kind of flower bud) were very good, served with a tomato sauce and curtido--a cabbage slaw. A little cheesier than I'm used to, but very flavorful. I'd go back for them.... but there are few places to get them. The menu as a whole was too extensive to evaluate. Tacos de lengua were okay. Al pastor tacos okay. My daughter ate the steak out of her tacos cause her new braces were bothering her. My friend's enchiladas weren't obscenely overloaded with melted cheese, and served with a sprinkling of queso fresco. All good. We had been headed to try Don Memo, so we'd brought a bottle of tequila for margaritas...but Don Memo was packed with college kids celebrating a birthday. So we brought our bottle of tequila into El Cuscatleco... and they offered to make us margaritas! Might've been from a mix, but they were very, very drinkable. I am glad Don Memo's was too crowded to even let us wait...

Don't be scared off by the no-frills dining room. We went for lunch and had a fabulous meal. For the four of us we got one order each of pupusas revueltas, baleadas, enchiladas, tacos lengua, and plantains. We got more than enough food, and at an almost ridiculously low price. The pupusas were definitely the main event here, and the tacos and baleadas were both very good. If I go back, I'll probably skip the enchiladas--nothing wrong with them, they just weren't special like the pupusas.

I almost don't want to write this review. I want this to be a secret delicious hole in the wall nobody can ever know about. but that's not fair. food this good belongs to the world. I'll start by making a pro con list. I should warn you that the pro's outweigh the cons by a landslide. Con's: -In a super inconvenient location- you basically need to have a car to eat there -The service is friendly but not necessarily helpful -We tried to order a couple different things on the menu and most of it wasn't available (no guac, no pork etc) -The decor isn't amazing (but lets be honest you are coming here for the food not the ambiance) Pro's: -Pupusas (seriously. get them and then cry because it's over and then smile because it happened.) -the salsa's (not too salty not too spicy. literally just perfection) -BYOB -Lots of metered parking infront -crazy cheap (my entire meal was 5 dollars) Basically the pro's win because pupusa's are like a salvadorian angel descending from heaven and delivering you a delicious food baby in your mouth. It was my first experience eating pupusa's and if you've never had one you, too, should absolutely try it if you are a fan of delicious things.

Mexican/Salvadoran/Honduran food. There are actually quite a few places like this on the Terminal Square / Garret Road block of Upper Darby. This one is relatively new. Pupusas (stuffed fluffy corn tortillas) are the "must-order" item at $2.50 per. There of these would make a meal for the average person (and they are served with a cabbage slaw, so you DO get a "green vegetable." I split a mashed-pork and cheese version with the wife. We COULD have eaten several more. Fresh and made to order. The menu is HUGE and basically broken down into Mexican/Salvadoran/Hunduran sections. Most of the ingredients are common among them, but the preparations of beef/chicken/pork/shrimp/goat/tongue/sausage/fish vary radically. We went with the Honduran side. As I had made up my mind on the fired chicken (UBER crispy - cornmeal crusted) wife went the easy way with Carne Asada (thin-pounded flank steak marinated in lime juice and garlic.) The horchata (sweetened rice/water with cinnamon) was very thirst-quenching and cheap. We were the only gringos in the place. Waitress speaks SOME English, but not enough to make recommendations or discuss a lot of detail, so be prepared to guess a lot. Most of the preparations are self-explanatory. Portions were VERY large (if you count the cabbage and plantains.) Certainly a good deal for the price. Lunch for two, splitting a pupusa) was $30. We will definitely go back. Food is not REALLY spicy, but more delicately seasoned with stuff like cilantro and lime juice. Would be fine for kids.

LOVE THIS PLACE. So good. The pupsa is amazing! You do have to be clear when ordering. Have them read it back to you. People are really nice who work in there too.

Nice service but be careful to read the ingredients. The burritos we ordered were good in house. But when I got home the one I ordered was poorly made and it was basically filled with rice and that's it. Definitely not worth $9+. I could have done better at Taco Bell for under $5.

Great service. Amazing and authentic food. Definitely a great place to order from. The women at the desk were really thorough, made sure we had everything. They went over it all with us. My kids loved the food as well.

Aweeeeeeeeesome food. Wish they would do margaritas. Its the only thing missing! Never had a bad visit!

Menu organized somewhat poorly. Lax on refilling waters. Difficult to communicate with server. Platanos were good; Tamarind juice was meh. The best thing about my carne azada was the rice. Pollo Asada was too salty. Cash only.

Make sure to bring a friend who is decently good at Spanish. My husband I went and the night started off kind of funny- the waitress couldn't understand us, even though I was speaking in what I thought was Spanish, as well as pointing to the order in the menu! She went to grab someone in the back, who was able to understand us and put the order in. We were pleasantly surprised with complimentary tortilla chips (housemade, I think) with a heavier pico de gallo, as well as a tomatillo salsa (the green stuff you see in the pictures). The pinto beans and cheese on the chips was a nice touch, and I would have happily eaten more. The pupusas were really tasty, although I'm not sure if the one I have was the loroco or revueltas... ;) They are a bit expensive, at $2.50 each. For entrees, T ordered the Parrilladas Salvadorena, and I got the Rellenos de Lengua. The parrilladas came with pork, chorizo, chicken, and shrimp, all seasoned super well, and had nice charbroiled-tastes to them. I got the Rellenos de lengua, which was lightly egg-battered beef tongue cooked in tomatoes until the tongue was practically falling apart. This was delicious!! Both entrees came with pico de gallo (different than the one served with the house chips), some shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, and a few slices of avocado. The rice was just alright; I think it was just rice with butter or lard (?). Pinto beans were tender but not fancy nor greasy. We liked it a lot, and are actually returning tomorrow, where we will have the help of our Spanish speaking friend who told us about the place ;)

We really love this BYOB for very affordable and authentic Central American food, such as pupusas and Honduran enchiladas that we can't find elsewhere locally. Don't let the fact that it is usually fairly empty scare you away...it seems they do a fairly active delivery or take out business. Added benefit is that you can bring a fairly large group there for events and they can be very accommodating.

The food was absolutely delicious! This is the ONLY restaurant within the Philadelphia region serving authentic Pupusas and I am soooo happy I found this place. Other reviewers have commented on the curtido and how it's a bit watery and the cabbage a bit too finely sliced which it is. But I think this is because their curtido resembles that of other Central American countries (like Honduras and Costa Rica) instead of the classic Salvadorian one. We also had the yuca frita con chicharron (fried cassava and fried pork meaty bits, not the Mexican kind) and sopa de res (beef and veggies soup). The beef soup was a little anemic - more soup than beef and veggies - but still delicious. The soup was accompanied with white rice and salvadoran styled handmade tortillas. I will definitely be back with more people to try out the other items on the menu! 10/29/17 Edit: Call ahead for your order even if you plan to eat in because they will literally take over 45 minutes every single time. Also, servers need better training. They consistently gety order wrong most times I've gone here. Never coming back. Bad service with bad attitude = learned my lesson and not coming back.

My girlfriend and I woke up on Sunday and decided we wanted some real, authentic Mexican food so of course we went to Yelp for some assistance. Yelp is usually a go-to app for these kinds of situations but on this fateful day it was unfortunately the worst thing we could have done. This place is a dive to say the least. No decor, the wait staff was not warm at all, the alarm was beeping every 5 minutes, and oh yeah, I haven't even gotten to the food part yet. If you like rubbery chicken this is the place to go!! We got the nachos con pollo and chicken tacos and the texture of the chicken was a mix between a raw chicken and an old tire. The only good part about this meal was that neither of us got good poisoning. My suggestion? Go elsewhere.

Finally a pupuseria in the Philly area! This review is only based on the pupusas here. To be fair, though, it's because they're so good. I haven't found a reason to explore the menu beyond them. They're decent size (I've had larger and smaller), but they're made fresh to order. I highly recommend the lorroco - squash blossom & cheese. The revuelta (bean, cheese and pork) are also excellent. You can't go wrong with basic bean & cheese either. I usually order 3 and I generally leave satisfied. Although, I could probably eat four without too much trouble!

Been here a few times, the food is awesome. We didn't know what to order so the waitress made great suggestions. We had a birthday, and the hostess went next door and got her a cake! We asked to thank the chef, who came out to greet our table. Excellent food and service!

Great authentic Salvadoran food! Their pupusas remind me of the ones back home. Also they serve you some great complimentary chips and salsa. Their plantains were also great and delicious. Waitress was also very nice and attentive and she gave great recommendations and answered all my questions

Amazing food just like mom used to make, pupussas always hit the spot. Have to come here at least once a month.

For the area this is a great find specially if you are from the central American countries. The local is not a 5 star restaurant but when the food is delicious who cares about the decor. My favorite is the pupusas and baleadas something simple but delicious. I would recommend one coming here if you can get pass the decorations.

I was so happy to find a place that serves pupusas... I hadn't had them in years (my mothers side is Salvadoran). Going to have to take my mom here

My husband and I were looking for authentic Mexican food. We accidental found this location because our initial location was packed. The waitress was so nice! The food was good too. It was not crowded but the people in there were so nice! We would come back. It is not fancy and is reasonable.

I love eating here lol . The pupusas are 100% salvadorean . Their place is always clean and their nice people . I love their menu it has 3 sections 1 salvadorean 2 Honduran 3 Mexican . Theirs a large variety of food to choose from . Come eat at El Cuscatleco is a gem .

The pupusas are fine. Their accompanying cabbage is a little watery and too finely shredded, but the salsa is not bad. The tamal de elote is overly fluffy and watery and has only the faintest far-off flavor of corn. Whatever the filling is in the pastelitos, it is not the "ground beef & vegetables" promised by the menu. I think it's shredded pork, maybe; it has a boiled flavor. The refritos are pretty good. We went out of our way to find Salvadoran food, but this place isn't worth the trip. If I lived around the corner, I'd go for the pupusas again.

I am from Honduras, so I really needed to check this place out. My expectations were low.....boy was I surprise.. Really authentic..great pupusas and amazing Honduran enchiladas ( nothing like Mexican enchiladas). I recomend this place

what a disappointment to see Don Memo closed in Upper Darby. Still in the mood for Mexican, we decided to try this place. Just from the clientele, it appears that this place is probably authentic; however, I was pretty disappointed with my dish. I really didn't like the seasoning of the chicken in my chicken enchilada dish. Don't know what it was but it had a slight hot dog taste and I detest hot dogs! The rice and beans were pretty good.

Awesome, authentic Latino food. Reasonable, large portions. The only problem was that my server's English was worse than my Spanish and she wasn't able to answer too many questions about the menu.

I am surprised of all the positive reviews for this restaurant I found this place and since I'm salvadorian I was just excited to give it a try . I bought quesadillas, and the salvadorian steak platter . I gave this place a one star because of the food . I honestly didn't enjoy it my food was over salted and I was very disappointed in the rice and beans . I'd figure I get salvadorian rice and got white rice with a side of beans . The quesadillas were dried out . I've eaten Latin food all my life and this definitely doesn't represent Central American food .. I won't be eating here again :(

Good place. I had sopa de mariscos. That dish is pricy, but it is OK since it is seafood. I have not tried pupusas yet, but I will in my next visit.

Love it!! Been looking for a place near us with pupusas, and we've struck gold! The cheese and jalapeno one is delish and the pork is devine!

I couldn't wait to find a place that serves Salvadorian papusas and other goodies ...can't wait to try it soon!