If you are planning a trip to El Salvador, one thing is for certain you won’t find it hard to find a place to eat. El Salvador may be the smallest country in Central America but it definitely punches above its weight when it comes to food.
Salvadorans love to eat, so it follows that there is no shortage of good restaurants, and given the excellent climate, many offer al fresco dining.
Traditional And Popular Food In El Salvador
Salvadorans eat a lot of meat as their main source of protein, so meat focussed restaurants tend to dominate.
Many offer largely similar menus, differentiating mostly on the quality of the meat, ambiance, and location of the restaurant.
Service can be hit or miss but it is generally good.
Grilled steak and chicken dishes as well as burgers, tend to be served consistently well wherever you go so can prove to be a reliable choice.
Budget Dining
El Salvador has a number of traditional foods that are still popular today. You can get many of these in non-brand name restaurants.
If you’re traveling on a budget the good news is that reasonably priced food can be found in without much thought.
Many folks don’t look too far past Pupusas the most popular and national dish of El Salvador.
Other cheap eats are soups, hot dogs, crazy corn, tacos, and chocolate bananas!
It’s if you want fine dining at the best restaurants you need to give it some more thought.
El Salvador High-End Dining
Four excellent choice high end restaurants in San Salvador are:
- El Bodegon – San Salvador
- Il Bongustoia – San Salvador
- Irineo Gastronomía – San Salvador
- La Pampa – you’ll find this high-end Argentinian chain in San Salvador as well as various tourist locations around El Salvador such as Lake Coatepeque, Costa Del Sol, and Ataco.
International Food
All high-end restaurants offer a mix of cuisine, however, if you’re after a specific specialty restaurant there are at least Chinese, Taiwanese, Peruvian, German, Indian, Cuban, Brazilian, Colombian, French, Vietnamese, Japanese, Italian, Argentinian, and Mexican restaurants in El Salvador, but mainly in San Salvador.
Famous Brands
If you like brands there are plenty of big American chains in San Salvador such as Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Denny’s, Subway, Starbucks, etc.
There is also an extremely popular Guatemalan chain San Martin.
Home Delivery
Take-out is huge in San Salvador and increasingly in the other major cities so a great place to eat can be at home or in your hotel room.
Delivery from most restaurants is easily available either direct or through one of the last mile food apps such as ‘Hugo’ – a Salvadoran-born brand that is hugely popular.
Vegetarian
While there are no dedicated vegetarian restaurants known at the time of publication, most restaurants in El Salvador are vegetarian friendly although you may need to ask specifically for this option.
Seafood
If you look at a map of El Salvador you’ll see its southern border has roughly 300 Kilometers (186 miles) of coastline, so you might expect the seafood to be plentiful and you’d be right. The general rule applies that the closer you are to the coast the fresher the food will be.
Where To Eat In And Around San Salvador
San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador is a city of contrasts. Art cafés and top restaurants stand alongside excellent burger joints and neighborhood street vendors and canteens serving Salvadoran classics.
While restaurants in San Salvador are jotted all over the place, there are a few places with the highest concentration and more springing up all the time.
Zona Rosa/San Benito
San Salvador’s highest concentration of fine dining is in the Zona Rosa/San Benito area.
Get yourself to Bulevar De Hippodromo and you’ll be spoiled for choice.
La Skina
This is a commercial food zone in Santa Tecla with a wide variety of branded restaurants.
La Grand Via And Multipaza
The two big shopping malls offer a lot of choices.
El Bouqeron
El Bouqueron is the Spanish name for San Salvador volcano and unsurprisingly, the views from high up on a volcano tend to be pretty good.
Combine stunning views with great weather and you can tell why al fresco dining is a big thing.
If you drive up the main road to El Bouqeron there are restaurants all the way right to the top.
They cater to all budgets and many are family orientated offering attractions or play areas for kids.
Weekends tend to be super busy.
Spanish to English Menu Guide
Basics
- Aceite – Oil
- Ajo – Garlic
- Arreglado – Small meat sandwich
- Azúcar – Sugar
- Casado – Plate of the day
- Gallo – Corn tortilla topped with meat or chicken
- Gallo pinto – Rice and beans
- Hielo – Ice
- Mantequilla –Butter
- Miel – Honey
- Mostaza – Mustard
- Natilla – Sour cream
- Olla de carne – Meat and vegetable soup
- Pan – Bread
- Patacones – Fried plantain chips
- Picadillo – Chopped vegetable side dish
- Pimienta – Pepper
- Pupusa – Grilled corn tortilla filled with pork and cheese
- Queso – Cheese
- Sal – Salt
- Tamal – Filled cornmeal pastry
- Tortilla – Flat corn pancake
Drinks
- Agua con gas – Sparkling water
- Agua purificada – Purified water
- Agua sin gas – Plain water
- Bebida – Drink
- Café – Coffee
- Café con leche – Coffee with milk
- Cerveza – Beer
- Chocolate caliente – Hot chocolate
- Jugo – Juice
- Leche – Milk
- Natural – Fruit juice
- Natural con leche – Milkshake
- Refresco – Soft drink
- Ron – Rum
- Té – Tea
- Trago – Alcoholic drink
Fish Menu
- Almejas – Clams
- Atún – Tuna
- Bacalao – Cod
- Calamares – Squid
- Camarones – Shrimp
- Cangrejo -Crab
- Ceviche – Marinated seafood salad
- Langosta – Lobster
- Lenguado – Sole
- Mejillones – Mussels
- Ostras – Oysters
- Pulpo – Octopus
- Trucha – Trout
Meats
- Albóndigas – Meatballs
- Bistec – Beefsteak
- Cerdo – Pork
- Chicharrones – Fried pork rinds
- Cordero – Lamb
- Costillas – Ribs
- Jamón – Ham
- Lengua – Tongue
- Pato – Duck
- Pavo — Turkey
- Pollo – Chicken
- Salchichas – Sausages
Vegetables
- Aceitunas – Olives
- Alcachofa – Artichoke
- Berenjena – Eggplant
- Cebolla – Onion
- Elote – Corn on the cob
- Ensalada – Salad
- Espinacas – Spinach
- Frijoles – Beans
- Lechuga – Lettuce
- Maíz – Corn
- Palmito – Heart of palm
- Papa – Potato
- Pepino – Cucumber
- Tomate – Tomato
- Yuca – Yucca, cassava, or manioc
- Zanahoria – Carrot
Fruits
- Aguacate – Avocado
- Banano – Banana
- Carambola – Star fruit
- Cereza – Cherry
- Ciruela – Plum
- Durazno – Peach
- Frambuesa – Raspberry
- Fresa – Strawberry
- Granadilla – Sweet passion fruit
- Limón – Lemon or lime
- Manzana – Apple
- Mango – Mango
- Maracuyá – Tart passion fruit
- Melón – Melon
- Mora – Blackberry
- Naranja – Orange
- Papaya – Papaya
- Piña – Pineapple
- Plátano –Plantain
- Sandía – Watermelon
- Toronja – Grapefruit
Other Restaurant Terms
- Al grill – Grilled
- Al horno – Oven-baked
- Al vapor – Steamed
- Asado – Roasted
- Caliente – Hot
- Cambio – Change
- Cocido – Cooked
- Comida – Food
- Congelado – Frozen
- Crudo – Raw
- El baño – Toilet
- Frío – Cold
- Frito – Fried
- Grande – Big
- La cuenta – The check
- Medio – Medium
- Medio rojo – Medium rare
- Muy cocido – Well-done
- Pequeño – Small
- Poco cocido or rojo – Rare
- Tres cuartos – Medium-well-done
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