Walking Spanish, from chefs and spouses Rene and Stephanie Coreas, serves creative spins on Central American classics, such as pupusas inspired by birria de res, green goddess dressing, backyard asadas and Koreatown.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
12 must-try dishes that celebrate L.A.’s vibrant Salvadoran food scene
Newlywed chefs Rene and Stephanie Coreas launched Walking Spanish in 2020, after losing their jobs at Bon Temps, the Arts District restaurant where they met. The closure left them on unsure footing, but despair quickly gave way to a new ambition: elevating Salvadoran flavors through a chef-driven pop-up. Now a permanent pop-up on the patio of the West Hollywood mezcal bar Las Perlas, Walking Spanish reimagines pupusas in a way that makes you feel as if you’re having them for the first time.
“There’s no limit to the pupusas we can create,†said Rene. “We think outside the box and cook from the heart. I get the sense that there is a movement happening, especially in Los Angeles,†he added. “We are rewriting the narratives of our own community.â€
In Los Angeles, pupusas are often the go-to Salvadoran food; they’re affordable, easy to transport and widely available across restaurants, farmers markets and street stalls. But the cuisine of El Salvador, affectionately known as “El Pulgarcito de América†(or the “little thumb†of America, a playful dig at its status as the smallest country in Central America), has much more to offer.
Especially in light of the current “Salvi Renaissance,†a term coined by popular Salvadoran comedian Hoozay, which he uses to describe the resurgence of Salvadoran culture in L.A., particularly in the comedy and food scenes. “Growing up Salvadoran in Los Angeles, I never felt represented. Being a part of this movement is important to me because it means my kids get to grow up with this kind of representation as the norm. We are laying the groundwork for generations to come,†he said.
The sentiment is echoed by former Osteria Mozza chef Jimmy Reyes, owner and operator of Boyle Heights’ newest dining sensation Leña, who’s taking a fiery approach to Salvadoran cuisine. “Cooking over wood-fire is something that takes me back to enjoying cookouts with my family in El Salvador,†he said.
Owning a restaurant has been Reyes’ lifelong dream, but he credits his aunt, Candida De La Luz, as one of his biggest motivations for opening his own place. “I’ve been watching and helping my tÃa in the kitchen since I was a kid,†said Reyes. “Owning a restaurant has always been her dream, but she never pursued it because, like many other immigrants, her focus was always on working to help her family. And now with growing support for Salvadoran food and culture, I’m proud to be by her side again watching her achieve her goals.â€
From saucy pan con pollo in Huntington Park to protein-packed pastelitos in Pico-Union, here are 12 dishes that showcase the depth of Salvadoran cooking and the best places to try them across L.A.
Showing Places
(Eric Valle)
Salpicón from El Majahual Pupuseria
Westside Salvadoran $
Salvadoran salpicón is a citrusy and herbaceous beef salad. Minced beef is mixed with a slaw made of chopped radish, onion, cilantro, mint and lime. It’s served with a side of pureed black beans to smear on two thick handmade corn tortillas and Salvadoran-style rice. Pair this bright summer salad with a fresco de arrayán, a refreshing drink with a flavor similar to guava and a slightly tart finish. In Historic Filipinotown, El Majahual Pupuseria makes one of my favorite versions of this dish. Owner and operator Rosa Guillen has been delighting the community for over two decades with an expanding menu that includes hard-to-find rice flour pupusas filled to the brim with combinations of savory ingredients such as ground chicharrón and cheese, along with daily offerings of vibrant, fruit-flavored frescos such as marañon (cashew fruit).
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(Eric Valle)
Churrasco TÃpico from Jaragua Restaurant
Salvadoran $$
The longstanding Jaragua Restaurant in K-Town boasts a comfortable dining area and a full service bar thanks to its partnership with the Copper Still. The no-frills menu includes classic Salvadoran dishes, but the star of the show is the churrasco tÃpico, a hefty meat platter with rib-eye carne asada as the centerpiece. The dish is rounded out with a link of Salvadoran-style chorizo, casamiento (a mix of rice and beans), queso fresco, fried plantains, chimol salsa, a side of pickled jalapenos and carrots with two thick hand-formed tortillas. The setting is slightly more formal than the average Salvi joint, turning Jaragua into a destination for hungry families looking to celebrate life with good eats and refreshing libations. This inviting L.A. institution is also a great place for a casual beer and shrimp cocktail.
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(Eric Valle)
Pastelitos from La Pupusa Urban Eatery
Pico-Union Salvadoran $
The team at La Pupusa Urban Eatery in Pico-Union has been remixing traditional Salvadoran cooking with their own L.A. flare for close to a decade. Husband-and-wife owners Juan Saravia and Stephanie Figueroa are among the most respected restaurateurs in L.A.’s Salvadoran food landscape, even earning a spot on The Times’ annual 101 Best Restaurants guide in 2022 and 2023. They unapologetically express the city’s influence on them with offerings such as a carne guisada burger, a play on traditional Salvadoran beef stew that’s commonly served at weddings and quinceañeras. The menu is in a constant state of rotation with seasonal items and a not-so-secret section which is where the burger originated. One constant is the chicken pastelitos, deep fried corn masa hand pies packed with juicy stewed chicken and a medley of peas and carrots. Served with a tomato salsa that compliments the bright acidity of the curtido, this is a fun dish to crack open and stuff the condiments in.
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(Eric Valle)
Sopa de pata from La Flor Blanca Salvadorena
Adams-Normandie Salvadoran $
Down the road from USC, La Flor Blanca Salvadorena churns out pupusas to hungry students on the go. But if you’re in the mood to dine-in, another stand out dish is the sopa de pata, or cow foot soup. Affectionately known in El Salvador as “levanta muertos,†or soup that raises the dead, it is a surefire hangover cure and a hearty meal. The richness of the broth stems from the steady stream of bone marrow released from the cow hooves as they slowly simmer with aromatics and warm spices like achiote and cumin. The soup typically features soft yuca, guisquil squash, cabbage, sweet corn, plantains and beef tripe. If you’re a fan of menudo, this is right up your alley. Owner Alexis Navarette has seen many changes in the neighborhood since the restaurant opened in 1999, but remains undeterred and believes there will always be a place for Salvadoran cuisine in LA. “Change can be a good thing, if you’re willing to adapt,†said Navarette, who recently developed a new quesabirria pupusa.
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(Eric Valle )
Salvadoran quesadillas from Leña
Salvadoran $
Chef Jimmy Reyes and his fiance Luisa Cartagena debuted this tasting menu pop-up at their Boyle Heights home, paying homage to Reyes’ family’s roots in Chalatenango, El Salvador. The menu is anchored by staple Salvadoran dishes including pupusas and grilled meats prepared in the chef’s homemade hearth and intended to capture the essence of a backyard gathering. The unsung hero of the dinner experience comes at the very end with his aunt Candida De La Luz’s Chalatenango-style quesadillas — thin rice flour cheesecakes made with curds, queso fresco, sour cream and sugar. The rich, buttery flavor and crispy edges of the quesadillas are complemented by Salvadoran coffee thanks to a recent partnership with farm-to-cup coffee growers Cafe Juayua, who import green coffee beans from their farm in Sonsonate, El Salvador, and roast them in L.A. Reservations can be requested by direct messaging Leña on Instagram. BYOB is encouraged.
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(Eric Valle)
Salvadoran tamales from Mama’s International Tamales
MacArthur Park Salvadoran Vegan $
McArthur Park is a fast-paced neighborhood west of Downtown L.A. with food vendors on every other corner and music blasting from shops as you walk by. It’s also home to Mama’s International Tamales, a legacy restaurant from mother-daughter team Claudia and Norma Lopez. Mama’s is known for its all-vegan selection of Latin American tamales, with house-made vegan cheeses and creams available daily. The Salvadoran-style tamales are among the most ordered and are easily distinguishable by the signature banana leaf wrap that adds flavor as the tamal is steamed to a soft yet firm texture. Jackfruit “pollo†tamales are the most ordered item, featuring meaty jackfruit that’s stewed in recaudo sauce brimming with spices, herbs and chiles, resulting in a balanced flavor profile that leans more sweet than the traditional version. Vegan pupusas and pan sin pollo are other notable items on the meatless menu.
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(Eric Valle)
Desayuno tÃpico from Panaderia Cuscatleca
Pico-Union Salvadoran Bakery $
The Pico-Union bakery from father-daughter duo Oscar and Gabriela Monroy is home to one of my favorite Salvadoran-style breakfasts, La Abuela, named in honor of Gabriela’s grandmother, Ena Casamalhuapa. Casamalhuapa would make the dish daily for breakfast, featuring a chunky red salsa made from leftover tomatoes, onions, oregano, bay leaves and spices, ladled over fried eggs and served alongside caramelized plantains, pureed black beans, sour cream and queso fresco. Use the accompanying pan Frances (Salvadoran bolillo) that’s baked daily to sop up the mixture. Dining in, you’ll find yourself surrounded by vibrant Salvadoran pan dulce with the intoxicating aroma emanating from the industrial bread ovens in the back. The pantry features candied nances (hogberries), yuca chips, cookies and many more Salvadoran snacks. Breakfast is served until noon, when the bakery switches to a menu of deli-meat tortas to accommodate the lunch rush.
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(Eric Valle)
Pan con pollo from Pupusas Eli
Huntington Park Salvadoran $
Izabel “Eli†Martinez inherited the recipes of her grandmother, Maria Luisa, after spending years by her side in the family’s kitchen growing up in the state of Cojutepeque, El Salvador. Finding herself out of work and feeling out of place in 2020, Eli decided to open her first food stall with her family that same year. Fueled by her dream of owning a food business that could both financially provide for her family and serve as an ode to her life in El Salvador, the family-run business has found a home in the form of a new bricks-and-mortar nestled in an unassuming strip mall in Huntington Park, where an expanded menu includes beloved Salvadoran tamales and the highly coveted pan con pollo, a juicy chicken sandwich with chicken legs and thighs that are stewed in a recaudo sauce made from charred California chiles, dried bay leaf, ground annatto seed, cloves, roasted squash seeds, toasted sesame and peanuts. The sauce is served separately to preserve the integrity of the toasty French-style roll that’s stuffed with the saucy chicken, lettuce, cucumber, radish and topped with escabeche. Things can get messy, so don’t be afraid to knife-and-fork the bits that fall out as you savor each bite.
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(Eric Valle)
Mojarra frita from Rio Lempa Restaurant
Huntington Park Salvadoran $$
Fans of fried fish can trek to Rio Lempa restaurant to indulge in whole fried mojarra. Owner-operator Maria Martinez has been running the show for nearly two decades, serving the city of Huntington Park traditional Salvadoran cooking inspired by her hometown of Texistepeque in Santa Ana, El Salvador. The delicate white fish is carefully pan fried till golden, and served with rice, grilled onions, a blistered chile toreado, salad and plenty of limes. As you break the crispy skin and dig into the formidable mojarra, you’ll notice the bones are typically left in, so eat with your hands as much as possible to easily pick around them. Pair your meal with a refreshing ensalada, a fruit salad drink with sweetness derived from diced cashew fruit, apples and nance.
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(Eric Valle)
Sopa de gallina from Sivar Treats
Whittier Salvadoran $
Salvadorans are known to enjoy a good soup, even in peak summer, with sopa de gallina, or hen soup, being among the most ordered. Sivar Treats in Whittier makes one of the best in the city, boasting an aromatic broth loaded with potato, squash, spinach and loroco served alongside Salvadoran rice, tortillas and a pan-seared quarter chicken. The dining area is adorned with faux foliage and warm bistro lighting highlights a black chalkboard covered in messages from past customers. Owners Andrea and Ronald Caceres gracefully tow the lines of tradition while finding innovative ways to introduce new flavors to their customers through fun pupusa fusions such as the Buenos Aires pupusa that features Argentinian chorizo and chimichurri. The restaurant also offers pantry items including Salvadoran queso, creams and baked goods such as quesadillas and milhojas cake, a sweet treat made from layers of puff pastry and Chantilly cream.
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(Eric Valle)
Yuca con chicharron from VChos Pupuseria Moderna
Montebello Salvadoran $
Yuca con chicharrón is a staple dish at Salvadoran family functions. Thick cut strips of cassava are paired with generous chunks of crispy fried pork belly and typically served alongside a heap of curtido, flavorful tomato salsa and a wedge of lime. VChos Pupuseria Moderna inside Montebello’s BLVD MRKT is an outstanding place to try it. Chef and operator Wendy Centeno’s business started as a roaming food truck that has proudly carried the mantle for Salvadoran cuisine in L.A. since hitting the streets in 2011. Today, Centeno commands a fleet of three food trucks that serve greater Los Angeles, plus a bricks-and-mortar in Montebello, which opened in 2021. From pupusas to Salvadoran-inspired sliders, VChos has cemented itself as an essential piece of L.A.’s Salvadoran culinary scene.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Mini pupusa flight from Walking Spanish
West Hollywood Salvadoran Guatemalan $
Husband-and-wife chefs Rene and Stephanie Coreas have found a permanent home for their rock-and-roll inspired pop-up inside West Hollywood’s Las Perlas bar. Sit under warm lighting and enjoy a flight of mini pupusas, a five flavor sampler with some of their best hits, such as the East Los with tender, flavorsome birria and cheese in comsomé-infused masa; the Green Goddess that’s loaded with loroco, spinach and cheese enveloped in garlic herb masa; and the Shatto 39, named after Rene’s favorite bowling alley in K-Town, with braised short rib and cheese in scallion pancake masa that comes with a side of kimchi instead of curtido, which Rene playfully calls “kimchido.†Stephanie, who is of Guatemalan descent, has put her stamp on the menu with garnachas and Guatemalan bean enchiladas.
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