El Guanaco Troy Restaurant

El Guanaco is truly something else, and I hope to get more of my friends to try their food here. I can definitely tell it’s family owned, and authentic. I love the outdoor sitting area, I’ll have to eat out there with a friend or a group or something. My only complaint is I am unsure of whether there was a restroom or not, and I feel like the beans were more of like a gravy than actual beans. However, other than that; I ordered rice, beans, 1 pupusa, 1 empanada and 1 corn fried tamale. And everything was totally phenomenal. This is definitely a hidden gem, like other comments said the authenticity is like that of Mexicantowns and it’s really spectacular to see and I’ll certainly be returning.

My work had a contract with El Guanaco the month of January for grubhub deliveries. I had never been to the restaurant and may never have otherwise since I'm not often in the area where it's located, but I'm so glad this was one of our options! During this time I had their ground beef and cheese quesadillas and i love that the tortillas were cooked with a little crisp, but also... the flavoring on the ground beef was out of this world! I also tried an empanada for the first time in my life and wow - so delish!! Their rice was very tasty too. Like I said, I'm definitely glad I discovered this restaurant, I just wish it was closer to my house LOL. I'll have to try making it into the restaurant sometime!

Nice find. Generous portions. Tasty food. Serves Mexican and Salvadorian food. No hot sauce on the table. Separate $1.39 charge for it. Lol.

A family owned hidden gem! Great food and even better experience. Someone recommended it to me and I’m glad they did. It truly is a hidden gem and the food is very authentic. If ur looking for generic Mexican food don’t waste ur time but if u want authentic tasting tortas and tamales then this is ur spot.

This is disappointing ...Are these beans? Yes taste like beans! No surprise beans🙅🏾👎🏾 Iv bought food from this restaurant the other day and the food was good. A few days later I stop by to grab some tacos and dessert... I had to go back to work so I had to wait about 30mins before I could eat. I wanted to make it home and relax with my food.. Steak tacos were good BUT the empanada de plantain was very wrong! Who puts beans in a dessert 👀🫣 Iv ordered this dessert from this restaurant a few times before.. it's always filling with a sweet pudding.... This one was filled with beans! (Photo included) The outside was plantains and inside beans. Very disappointed and will think next time about visiting this restaurant. I just want my food the way it should be! By the time I realized it was wrong the restaurant was closed for the night 😞. I should have knew something was going on when the order was taking longer than usual to come out of the kitchen and the lady at the counter had to yell back there and tell the kitchen to hurry up.

Spent a wonderful date night on their patio enjoying Salvadorian food. I am blown away by the quality and quantity of food. Got to try a few new favorites, like pupusas and fried yuca. Delicious Mexican food as well, I had the shrimp ala diablo and was delighted by the spice. Please, please try this place! You won't regret it 😄

Delicioso! This small location has great taste. Pupusas and tacos are amazing, they have fresh strawberry milkshake. We enjoy their food! Be patient when coming here they have a family staff and they are all very nice and attentive.

Yesterday was my first time here. I have heard so many good things about this place. I got here around Seven. They have tables set up outside if you want to sit outside, so that is nice. I chose to dine in. I sat down right away and got chips and salsa. I ordered my food, and it was over thirty minutes from the time I sat down until I got my food. I don't know what I thought when I ordered The Mexican Platter #1 Mini Quesadilla, two Enchiladas, and a mini burrito. A lot of food for one person. I ended up eating everything but the burrito in that sitting. The food was unbelievably good. My only rub about the visit was the service. The place was so busy to carry out the two girls were getting slammed. Not their fault. I think they needed more staff working. Other than that, this place is fantastic.

Home. Comfort. Warmth. Real. All of these words describe El Guanaco. The food tastes like a delicious meal made at home. It makes you feel comforted and warm. It is authentic, distinctive, and real. Take my dinner tonight. It started with the best chips and salsa I have had in years. The chips were thin and crispy without being brittle. The salsa was fresh with small tomato chunks and herbs. Then, came my main course: pupusas with cheese, spinach, and loroco flower; refried beans; rice; and spicy cabbage. The pupusas were yielding but not mushy. The cheese and vegetables were mild and well-balanced. Both the refried beans and rice were gentle and subtle. The cabbage contrasted with this, giving a good kick. The room, with a few tables, is relaxed. The staff is friendly and helpful. It's times like this that I wish Yelp had a such special star. El Guanaco is just that good.

Stopped here after a movie day and was craving some tacos and quesadillas! There is plenty of free parking! This place and indoor seating that is very limited and covered outdoor seating. This is your normal "whole in the wall" kind of joint. So nothing exciting about decor. The service here was very friendly! The woman who took our order was super nice and patient while we figured out what we wanted. The food: I got a chicken quesadilla that was seasoned so well! It came with a salsa that was tasty, lettuce and pico. There was also south cream but I don't eat that so I asked for it to be removed. I got their classic cheese pupusa and it was delicious!y friend got chicken and steak tacos but noted he did not like the corn tortillas and thought the meat was "just ok." I ended with the tres leches cake and it was the worst I have ever tried.... Very dry and disappointing... Overall, if I lived in this area I would go back based on customer service and the delicious/ flavorful quesadilla and pupusa!

After a recent trip to Puerto Rico, I was craving some good Latin food. Not the crappy Americanized Meh-xican stuff that is a plague on my part of Macomb county. But good authentic Latin food. El Guanaco hit the mark. Had a nice sampling of empanada, arepa chachapas really enjoyed everything Also liked that they had a little grocery section. Was able to get some plantain chips like I enjoyed in PR

A very small restaurant, the quintessential hole-in-the-wall that you could easily pass based on the exterior. However, if you're seeking authentic el Salvadorian or Mexican dishes, I'd recommend that you DO NOT pass on this place. This was my first time here / everything ordered was delicious. We came around 1:00 and the small wait was worth it. Tasted like you were eating at someone's house. Authentic fresh & soo soo delicious. Plantains were on point & the tacos were my favorite.

Still amazing! We ordered take out and ordered too much food. We had a burrito with al pastor, lengua tacos dinner, and Mexican platter #1. We should've just ordered the platter. The mini burrito and quesadilla are full sized. All tasted like abuela cooked them just for us. Best tasting and super authentic Latin food you can find in the Troy area. The workers are always so friendly and sweet with the kids. Ordered over the phone and was ready for pickup in 20 minutes on a Saturday night. Couldn't asked for more.

We loved our food it was really good we would definitely love to eat here again. Only con I have that made me uncomfortable was the attitude the worker had. She had an attitude from the jump when I placed my order over the phone, my boyfriend went inside to pick up our order and asked for a hot sauce and the lady was extremely rude about going to get it and complained to her coworker right in front of my boyfriend and I would not want to be in a situation like that. I don't think it was appropriate

got their bowl with shrimp and beans. Nice blend of freshly sauteed vegetables/peppers, rice, beans, shrimp. Nothing special but that is the beauty of it. It is filled with good well-cooked ingredients. Combine this with their salsa and/or hot sauce and it is a perfect meal. Still the winner for me is the papusa. Can get different combos but please include cheese as it is like a meant-to-be ingredient. Melts in mouth experience. So warm and soft. Add in your meat of choice and/or beans/spinach and it is a definite win for a relatively inexpensive menu item. Tacos were so-so. Not the best I've had for sure, a far away from it. It is not bad, just not amazing in comparison to the Papusa, and not as filling either. It was better with hot sauce whereas the papusa was good by itself. Service is what you would expect from authentic El Salvador restaurant with Salvadorean staff who speak minimal English. Ambiance is a that of a hole in wall and gave a Salvadorean atmosphere for sure. Overall good experience and would return.

Loved everything about this place. Our waitress was the sweetest woman and kept making sure we were enjoying our food. The lengua taco was my favorite of the 3 I ordered (I also got the fish and shrimp) and next time I'd like to try the Al pastor taco as my boyfriend raved about that one.

I am sooo glad I finally tried this restaurant! I pass it on my way to work and have been dying to stop in and I am SO happy I did. I got 2 chorizo tacos with beans and rice. They were incredibly flavorful. The meat portion is very large so 2 was definitely enough. I also loved the flavor of the hot sauce that comes with it. My bf got 5 chicken tacos and he loved his as well. We also split a beef empanada. The slaw that comes with it is delicious. So crunchy and tangy. I would definitely come back! The workers were kind and welcoming too.

I had never been to a Salvatore restaurant, but this is one of my son's favorites. We had pupusa's, which were absolutely amazing. I'll go back just for those.!! Full of flavor and deliciousness. We also had empanadas and they were good as well.

Love the Salvadoran brunch with the eggs, spicy salad and plantains. Have always carried out and the food has never disappointed us. Absolutely delicious.

Authentic Salvadoran food. Quaint little diner with a few indoor tables and large enclosed patio seating outdoors. Order was ready in less than 10 minutes. Had the Pupusa with pork, cheese and jalapeño. Served with spicy cabbage and tomato sauce. Corn dough stuffed. For $4 this was well worth the price and very filling . The stewed pork was phenomenal in this.

I'm sad to say I won't be a returning customer to El Guanaco. I've had terrible service on my last few orders. Since take out is SUPER SLOW, I had been getting delivery to bypass this, but my last delivery was very late and very cold. So I decided to get pick up. I called in my order and they gave me a 20 min wait. Waited 25 mins then went to pick up my food. They looked at me with a blank stare because they never put in my order. I had to reorder and wait an additional 15 mins. Came back another time, ordered online. Waited the time and went to pick up my order. It wasn't even entered AGAIN! waited longer for them to make my order. Came back another time and this was my last straw. Called in the order, 20 min wait. I called the restaurant after 20 mins and asked them if my order was ready and was told yes, it's ready. Went to pick up my order and the cashier looked at me with a blank stare, then asked what I ordered, then asked more questions like she was taking my order for the first time. So I asked, do you guys have my order ready at all? They gave me food and I left, but as I sat in my car I realized it smelled differently. Checked the box only to find a completely different order! Went back in and had to wait an additional 20 mins for them to make my food. While I waited I let the cashier know how much I loved the food, had even raved about it to others, but the take out service was completely unacceptable! She just said the lady who took my order didn't speak English well. Finally got my food and when I got home I realized there was NO MEAT in my pupusas even though I repeatedly asked for meat. I won't ever be back and that's sad because the food was pretty great when they got it right. I'll drive out of my way to get pupusas in Oak Park now.

Fantastic food, love the Pupusas, at great price and fast service. Plantains with beans and sour cream are always a bonus.

I went here with some friends and we were sat in the sorta outdoor/patio area (it's not like outdoor because there is coverage but it is separate from the main building) and despite the cold outside we stayed warm in there! We all ordered variations of the lunch special which was a really good deal and the food was really good as well! I got 2 al pastor tacos that were delicious and came with this super spicy sauce on the side, i'm big on spice so I LOVED it, but if it was too spicy there was also some other hot sauces available on the table. The chips and salsa were amazing as well, might be one of my fav chips in the area tbh. The special also comes with salvadoran rice and refried beans, I really enjoyed the rice, but the beans were a little too liquidy for my liking. That being said I still ate them all haha! The service was normal, our waitress was nice and at the end of the meal we went up to the register to pay :)

We love El Guanaco! They have hand made tamales in banana leaf which is such a treat! I gave them 4 just because it's a cluttered space -- but honestly I hope they never change a thing, bc it feels like going into a bodega or something. They have a little DIY covered patio area w lights that's very low budget comfy cozy. Don't take your mother in law here - there are plenty of upscale taco places around - but take your best friend and hang out back there chilling and talking! Truthfully, the food is the best part, so carry out is king too. They have a small freezer w fruit and such, plus imported pop and chips.

I was getting groceries nearby and saw this on Google Maps. Didn't know there was a place in the area for Salvadoran food and wanted to check it out. I've had pupusas before and these were good quality. Yuca was nice and hot too. Place was nice and cozy, with an eating area outside as well.

Prime example of why you shouldn't judge a restaurant by the exterior. This place has amazing homemade empanadas. They are delicious. The fried plantains are also great. We tried the lunch burrito and the taco Al pastor as well and both were great. The meal came with a side of unique, homemade slaw and it was super crispy, a little spicy & very bright/citrusy. I recommend if you are open to trying new food and already have a love for Latin cuisine.

Delicious food! Great lunch spot. Fast and friendly service. I love the burrito. The patio is fun to sit at.

Best Mexican food hands down. Fajita salad is the bomb. Fresh ingredients and great service

I've been a frequent customer for many years, back two locations. Always consistent. Love the empanadas (Salvadoran style). Burrito is similar to Tienda, large and flavorful. It's a little greasy sometimes and slow, but I'm fine with it. It's not too bad outside in the summer. Great service, with a smile!

I hope this visit was just a fluke because we normally enjoy this place a lot. First they were out of what I came for so I ordered something else. The food was fine but the service was bad. 2 younger girls working that forgot part of our order so I had to reorder which made the experience even longer. No offer to refill drinks or chips and the food took a while to come out even though there was only 1 other table and I didn't see a lot of take out going on. I don't know if I'll be in any rush to go back since there's another really good El Salvadoran place we just discovered in Hazel Park.

I have the Cuban sandwich delivered & it was incredible! I highly recommend it! The hot sauce served with it was actually hot and I love extremely hot sauce. I will definitely go there and eat it.

If you're looking for a no-frills authentic Mexican taco, El Guanaco is your spot. I dined in with my husband but most people were carrying out. Food is out of this world good.

I'm so happy to discover this Salvadorian food establishment! The place is relatively small. The tables and chairs crowd the indoor space and they have a small outdoor seating area too. It really doesn't look like much, but don't sleep on it! The food here is great! I think it's family-owned. The menu consists of Mexican and Salvadorian food, such as tacos, burritos, quesadillas, pupusa, tamales, and various other entrees. They also serve you free chips with salsa and pico de gallo. The staffs are very friendly and accommodating. I ordered 2 pupusas (served with a side of cabbage and tomato) and a tamale. You can choose the filling for your pupusa. However, if you want the pupusa dinner (which has 3 pupusas served with rice and beans, tomato salsa, and cabbage) you can order only 1 flavor. The portion was pretty big. The pupusa was delicious. It has an almost gooey texture. They don't skimp on the filling, so that's great. The tamale was soft and hearty. Price was good! I happily recommend this place to anyone, esp for Latin cuisine

Authenticity to the max! (Minus the dirty hands and cockroaches). You can't get better fried plantains anywhere in the area

The food was pretty good. I ordered chips and cheese, the cheese was kind of runny but still tasted good. Also had chicken flantas for lunch. The flauntas were really good but the beans were runny, beans and rice were both tasteless. I would try again. Service was great.

Everything was so fresh and amazing! My first time here and will definitely be back. I got the lunch chicken chimichanga and it was the best one I've ever had! Also the chips and salsa and so fresh and not too oily or overcooked. My experience was 10/10

I heard this place had the best empanadas in Michigan and had to see for myself. Yelp has not steered me wrong again! The waitress was more than helpful in our selections. This was my first time here and really I am not all that familiar with Salvadorian food. They have an extensive Mexican menu as well. She helped with what add-ons should go in our empanadas as well as our pupusas. Everything was delicious fresh and hot. My torta Cubana was delicious. They also serve breakfast here which I am very very interested in coming back for. This whole menu looks so good and the staff really make you feel welcome. Nice job Yelp! And my fellow yelpers that put this one on the map.

Just went here on my lunch during the week and was very impressed by the food quality. They have a great selection of Salvadorian menu options, as well as basic Mexican food, like tacos and quesadillas. I tried out a beef and cheese pupusa and then two tacos. They were so good! I've never had a pupusa before and I will definitely be going there again! Very reasonably priced as well, and the inside had a very cute small dining area too. Overall, 10/10 for an authentic Mexican or Salvadorian meal.

The super burrito, and fried plantains are my all time favorite comfort foods. The burrito is packed with flavor from the barbecued meat, and spicy sauces. Fried plantains are also very unique, and sweet/crispy in texture on the outside, and soft on the inside. I have been here a countless number of times growing up in the area, and the quality of the food has remained simply outstanding over the years! Kudos to the owners, this is easily one of the best authentic Salvadoran restaurants in the metro detroit area. I would recommend trying out this truly hidden gem :)

The food is really the focal point of this place. Ambiance and service are fine, but nothing special. Get some pupusas and platanos to go and be delighted and surprised. Some of the best food I've had since moving back to metro Detroit.

El Guanaco had some of the best Latin American food I've ever tasted. I am so glad we stopped by this quaint place for lunch while we were passing through. We sat ourselves and then were greeted and given chips almost immediately. We most definitely were hungry so we brought our appetites. There were numerous good options, it was difficult to choose from! We decided to go big and between two of us, got the Guanaco platter #2 and the tacos al pastor. While we waited for our food, we watched some fútbol playing on the TVs and several families came in to enjoy the food. The servers were always so warm when anyone came in, you can tell this was a friendly small business. The food came out quick and hot and was mouth-watering. Although all the food made us so full we could hardly finish. The food and the experience was authentic and incredible. My friend who has never had a pupusa before in his life even said "this is some of the best food I have ever eaten." And it can't be beat for the price! If you are in the Detroit area, you NEED to make a stop at El Guanaco. I promise you will not regret it.

wow....probably the best burrito I EVER had! Got the lunch special. Complimentary chips and salsa was fantastic. Service was very good as well. Look forward to coming back next time I am in town.

I've been there several times now and while there's occasionally been some difficulty making sure we're been on the same page with some of the wait staff (language difficulties? I dunno?), the food has been consistently good and predictable. I would highly recommend this restaurant!

I don't recall how I heard about El Guanaco, but I've wanted to go here since. I was in Troy today so we stopped in to check it out. First off, it's very small inside. Only a few tables but we were lucky and got the last table. Our waitress was a lovely older woman that reminded me of my abuela! She was super nice and had me try several different small items. A potato and cheese empanada, fried plantains, a pork Salvadoran tamale, and a pork and chicken pupusa. Each plate included the most amazing slaw! It was tart and sweet and spicy and so delicious! Best slaw I've ever had. Simply amazing. All of the food was amazing. The empanada was totally different from what I am used to and I absolutely loved it! The dough was different, but in a very good way. The tamale was sooooo good! Super moist and the pork flavorful and tender. The pupusa was my favorite. It was so different and delicious. I can't wait to go back! Please note that everything is made when you order it, so either order ahead or be patient as it's well worth the wait! An absolute gem. Go check them out!

I love discovering small family run ethnic restaurants that make delicious food and may be flying "under the radar". I would count El Guanaco as one of them. Found them on YELP and went with my family for lunch on a rainy Saturday post shopping malls. Ordered a few Papusas and Empanadas and a delicious queso along with their home made chips and we never got past these three dishes. Fairly priced, all clearly home made and fresh and deliciously prepared by people who genuinely seem to care! Great place. We will be back !!

Fast, hot and traditional El Salvadoran food with 5 star flavors...your going here to fill up, not to hang out.

Food is pretty good. I have to say it is a very small place and not updated, but I have yet to be disappointed. The staff is friendly.

Came here on a whim because we didn't feel like driving to SW Detroit and were in the area. This is definitely a no frills type of place (and no alcohol, just FYI), small, family owned. Slow service but the server was so sweet and accommodating. I had the taco platter and it was REALLY good. I'm pretty picky about Mexican food and this was a win!

The food wasn't fresh. It tasted like most if it came out of a can. The service is always fast and reliable. But it doesn't not taste very authentic.

I mainly stop by for a take-out order of empanadas and have been really pleased with them. One of these times, I'm going to allot a bit more time for a sit-down El Salvadoran meal.

Yesterday was my first time here. I have heard so many good things about this place. I got here around Seven. They have tables set up outside if you want to sit outside, so that is nice. I chose to dine in. I sat down right away and got chips and salsa. I ordered my food, and it was over thirty minutes from the time I sat down until I got my food. I don't know what I thought when I ordered The Mexican Platter #1 Mini Quesadilla, two Enchiladas, and a mini burrito. A lot of food for one person. I ended up eating everything but the burrito in that sitting. The food was unbelievably good. My only rub about the visit was the service. The place was so busy to carry out the two girls were getting slammed. Not their fault. I think they needed more staff working. Other than that, this place is fantastic.

There was another restaurant with Salvadoran food that I had on my list for years and never tried and they closed! I've had El Guanaco on my list for a long time now and decided to not make that mistake again. So we arranged to meet our monthly lunch group here despite the crummy weather. Our group varies from about a dozen to as few as four; today we were five and that's a nice size for this cozy dining room. We could probably have figured out how to make it work for up to eight. More than that could prove difficult! We were met with a friendly greeting and seated immediately at 11:30am on a Saturday. The server brought menus, took our drink orders, and delivered baskets of warm chips and salsa to get us started. Since my wife and I had already been studying the photos and menus on Yelp for over a month, we had already decided what we would order. Our friends needed a few minutes to figure theirs out. Because Salvadoran food is new to me, my focus was on that rather than Mexican. My wife ordered the Guanaco Platter #1, and I ordered Guanaco Platter #2. I had read in reviews that these platters can be enough for two (or maybe three) but we were fine with leftovers and this way we could try most of the Salvadoran dishes. Two of our friends ordered the Mexican Platter #2 to split (they still had leftovers) and our final party ordered a Quesadilla that also filled the plate. Everything we tasted was excellent and service was great throughout the experience. So far, so good. But things deteriorated from there. My wife is not a fan of fried potatoes and, upon learning that yucca is basically a potato, filling half her plate, she was not impressed. In addition, her platter was supposed to come with two Chicken Tamales but there was only one -- as you can see in the photo. And that was her favorite item! Because of all of the conversations going on, she did not realize about the missing tamale until the next day when she was ready to enjoy the leftover. It is unfortunate but we are not interested in ever coming back to a restaurant that cannot do a basic quality check prior to serving the dishes.

I love that this place, though small, offers a variety of food I don't find at other taco shops. Their empanadas are delicious! They use a different wrapper from the typical ones I've always had. Its crispy outside and moist inside. They have 4 different types of meats for them. I also had to have papusas! They make them to order so there's a variety of combinations you can order. Both the empanada and papusa are well balanced with the coleslaw it's served it. You get a balance of rich decadent flavors with light citrus crunchy slaw. Pozole soup was also on point. The only complaint I would say is that the lobby was pretty cold for dining in but our waitress was more than pleasant and the food was worth the slight discomfort!

Hidden Gem. Have passed by this place for years, but only stopped in when the restaurant I had plan to go to was closed to dine-in, due to COVID. Sat outdoors and was pleased to find they were not Mexican, but El Salvadorian. I am a huge fan of Antonio's Coney Island in Ypsi and this place is very similar. Everything was delicious and fresh. I particularly enjoyed the vegetable soup. Have not had a chance to make it back here, but would highly recommend people stop driving past this place and stop in.

Without a doubt the best Mexican and El Salvadoran food in Troy and surrounding areas. Pupusas are hard to find in Michigan and they are so good. Friendly staff, quick service and great prices. You will keep coming back to this place!

Best Salvadorian food I've had since New Mexico. So far from my house, but I hope I am out this way again before I'm pushin' daisies. We debated staying here to eat after we parked... It looks like the municipal services have not visited this establishment lately. Stick it out and go inside. It feels like you came home from college on break and your sister and mom are so happy to see you that they make you some food.

Simplemente lo mejor. Honestly. Don't listen to anyone who rates this place below 4 stars, this easily is the best Latin food I've had in the United States. I normally stay between LA-NYC and Glasgow UK. I've been to my fair share of Hispanic joints and travel a LOT(check my history) as well as having a degree in Latin American studies. I've never come away from a meal feeling this satisfied. Ever. Better than any LA taco truck. Had to write a review before I even left the place because of how good it was. I had a pupusa and 2 empanadas along with some al pastor tacos. Eyes got a bit bigger than my wallet and ended up with a 40 dollar bill but could've easily ate under 15 bucks. I'm very satisfied. If you're ever in the area, check this place out.

Love all the food here! Very authentic. The best empanadas ! Chips and salsa are delicious . Live the cheese dip !