Restaurant El Mana

We went at 5:30 on a Sunday night, and were the only people in the restaurant; others showed up later, though. The food was great! Between four adults and three kids, we had three of the Plato Tipico Salvadoreño #12, a Bistec Encebollado, and a Pechuga de Pollo. It was all really well flavored and prepared. As other reviewers noted, the tamales, tortillas, and other items are Central American style, not Mexican. The tamales were wetter and softer than Mexican style, but the server explained that is because Salvadorean style has them wrapped in banana leaves and boiled, instead of steamed in corn husks. Besides the great food, we had a really great experience, because our server was very helpful in recommending new things to try and explaining the traditional way to eat the things on the plates and pointing out the differences between Salvadorean and Mexican cuisine. The portions are generous but not crazy — just right in my opinion.

Loved this place. Pupusas were great as were the tamales. Tamales are South American not Mexican which I like better. And both are great prices. I had the chili relleno also. It was very good and very authentic. Black beans and rice were also excellent. Had tamales take out second visit. Were excellent.

My wife and I gave El Mana a try last Saturday for lunch, and were generally quite pleased. The place was almost empty. Most of the business, at least when we were there, appeared to be take out. When we arrived there was one other table occupied by a family finishing their meal, and a couple of people waiting for their to go orders. The family left shortly after we left, and there was a numbert of people picking up food, but we were the only ones actually eating there for the rest of our meal.
The waitress came to table immediately, and was very friendly. The chips at that arrived at our table shortly thereafter were freshly made, and they came with a salsa and a runny black bean dip. The salsa was quite hot, but had an excellent flavor. I like spicy food, if you don’t like spicy food you might give the salsa a pass. The runny bean dip was quite surprising. The flavor was excellent, and having it runny meant you could actually eat it on tortilla chips without the chips breaking.
I had the typical Salvadoran plate, which was a sampler platter of a number of dishes, and my wife had the caldo de res. Being the only people in the restaurant for most of our visit, it took quite a while for our food to arrive. They had a help wanted sign in the window for a cook, so I assume they were short handed in the kitchen. When the food did arrive, it was generally excellent. My wife’s bowl of soup was enormous, with a whole ear of corn in the middle. The meat was tender, the vegetables tasty, and the broth delicious. That pretty much covers all the bases for soup in my book. My plate was also very good. The only negative was one of the items that had fried pork chunks on top of cabbage with a spicy red sauce that was then on top of fried potatoes. The chunks of pork were a bit dry and overcooked. The spicy red sauce however was the star of the plate, it was absolutely delicious. The fried plantains were also some of the best I’ve ever had. Neither of us could finish our lunch, and we had to get to go containers. Some places don’t bother to stock to go containers for soup, this one does.
I’ll definitely be back.

This was a nice hole in the wall find in Duncanville. The place is big, so I doubt there is ever much of a wait, and the staff was friendly.
The food was good too and reasonably priced. I’d stick the traditional El Salvadorian food and not venture out much past that though. I didn’t get try the breads or pastries, but they look good.
They get an extra star jus for serving breakfast all day, I’m a big fan of breakfast, and when done right, it’s nice to be able to eat it for lunch and dinner too!

I decided to give this place visit. I usually go to other places that are similar however I noticed this location one day while in Duncanville. When I entered the location it seemed very which usually isn’t a good sign. I went ahead and try to place anyway and ordered a traditional Salvadoran plate which had pupusa, a tamale, yucca and plantain. The plate is definitely filling. To my surprise this place has food quality comparable to other locations that serve the same at a fraction of the price. This is definitely a place I would like to try other entrees at.

This place used to be a hidden gem in Duncanville but it’s gone down hill since our last visit. The new staff seems to not care. Only brought one drink, not napkins, had to ask for more chips and food took forever. Was not good this time either. Sad to see it go. But we won’t be back.

I loved El Mana, an affordable and delicious El Salvadorean /​Mexican establishment. It’s classy enough that you can bring a date here, yet the prices are reasonable enough that you can be a regular as well.
I got the special plate #12 that had a little bit of everything. It was absolutely delicious, especially the black beans. I begged for the recipe but they gently refused. Our waiter, Angel Garcia, was infinitely sweet and patient. He gave us recommendations and brought us to-​go boxes and bags and extra cups and extra pastries and everything we asked for, even if it meant yet another trip back up to the front, since we couldn’t seem to remember everything we wanted when we wanted it.
The pastries are really affordable and yummy. I must admit that I stupidly picked up my paper bag by the wrong end and accidentally dumped those lovely pastries out on the ground. I felt like a kid who had licked my ice cream off the cone and is standing there looking at it trying not to cry. Angel quickly swooped to the rescue, giving me fresh ones without any extra charge. When a business has this sort of attitude, you know they’re going to do right by their customers.
Please, everyone, go here and give them lots of business! There aren’t enough good restaurants in this area, and I’d hate for yet another quality place to close because of lack of business!

All of the food was very good. We had a party of 9 and everyone loved it. I had the #12 which is the El Salvadoran special. I highly recommend it!

Tried it based on other reviews. Agree. Very good Salvadorian food. Chili R. very tasty. Would go back in the near future.

Decided to go here after weeks of passing. What a pleasant surprise. Glad I stopped in. Everything was well priced. Food tasted great. This place is like a Glorias without all the fancy woodwork and fountains… The staff was nice, but a little more attentiveness to the customer and this place should flourish. Also no refills unless you get tea or water. Other than that I was very impressed at the taste of the food and the overall decency of the joint.

Ha ha, I see my hubsters did a review already, so I really agree with most of what Gary F. Said. I really like the number 12 it’s a lot of food for a great price. For me, one of the negatives is that NO ONE there speaks English very well, and 2^nd is they don’t have free refills on soda, cuz they bring you a cup of ice, and a can. But the food makes it worth while. Another suggestion for my Unilocal friends, is the place is HUGE, and would be perfect for parties and stuff, really it’s big enough to rent half of it for your party, and the other half could still serve regular customers. Also, they have pastries and sweet bread! Go try something different and support the businesses in Duncanville! Oh and PUPUSA!

Very tasty Salvadoran food. If you like Mexican, give it a try. Its not TexMex. It is different. Fresh, delicious food at a decent price. The negatives are that they don’t serve beer or liquor. They also don’t do a great job of explaining the different food options. The staff is all nice. They all seem like family members, which is cool, but they all stay gathered in the back of the restaurant and sometimes can be hard to flag down when needed. If you are in the area and want a change of pace lunch, give it a shot. Hopefully all the negatives can easily be fixed and this place can succeed.