La Cocina de Chepe

I had been living in the northwest for 15 years, I had never found the best Pupusas as la Cocina de Chepe best Pupusas a lot better than la Santaneca en San Francisco, the owner was very nice and helpful, very friendly I wish him the best luck on his business .
Food is awesome and very pleasant place to be with your significant other,
I wish the parking lot was more easy but he told me people will be ok to park on the stark street.
God bless you, please keep the good work.
Jorge rodriguez

Pupusas are amazing !!! Service is ok. People don’t drink there water. When I went my water had small little food particles. Gross!

Pupusas here better than the one’s my mom made — that’s how damn good they are. I can never decide what to get here, since I want to eat all the Salvadoran goodies and there’s only so much room in my stomach. Salvadoran tamales? They’re made slightly different, taste (in my opinion) slightly better than the average tamal. I get a chickan tamal, a cheese pupusa, a bean n cheese pupusa, a sweet empanada, some horchata, and then they have to roll me home because I am totally explosively full.
This is a great cart especially in the summer — music playing, families everywhere, sometimes the tv is out, it’s like a picnic in Sonsonate.
Please eat this food, please tip them well, and please try pupusas with cheese and lorocco. This has been a PSA from the your local Salvadoran Portlander.

This place is awesome and recently had a remodel. Ala Carts was getting a little ramshakle and health code violation looking. They did away with their ‘indoor” seating which will be a bummer in the winter but go anyways. The papusas are perfect however you get them, the revueltas are esp good. I love getting breakfast here with eggs, beans, homemade cheese, and fried bananas, just like in Central America. Chepe himself is super nice and there are always Salvadorenos eating here, good sign.

Delicious pupusa & fresh off the grill

The food here was really good. I got a steak pupusas and it comes with a really good sauce and this almost pickled salad. The individual elements on the meal were good on their own but when you get a little bit of everything in one bite it really compliments each other. I will go back.

Amazing food, Chicken Tacos were awesome and the pupusa was also good. I will be going again!

This place is a food cart with a little indoor seating area. They have great pupusas here and prices are reasonable.

La Cocina de Chepe’s food was my first introduction to Salvadorian food, and boy, I am hooked.
I pretty much loved everything I’ve had there. Cheese pupusas, the loroco pupusas, the one topped with a fried egg, and more recently, the avocado pupusa, were all extremely delicious. I mean, honestly though, really can’t go wrong with corn masa stuffed with whatever delicious stuffing you want and cooked on a griddle. The cabbage slaw and the sauces they serve on the side were perfect accompaniment to the pupusas.
So, if you’ve never had pupusas, want something new to try, or just want a really good pupusa, stop by this cart. Grab yourself some pupusas and a Mexican coke, sit outside their patio, and you pretty much have a perfect meal right there.

Local, healthy, organic, vegan options & gluten free. Whole foods! Yay

I love their food and the service is always very friendly.
try the chorizo and egg pupusa or ranchera.

I’m glad to see more pupusa joints popping up more often in this city. Years ago if one were open, chances are it wouldn’t last long. One could never pinpoint why either. Maybe because of a location or visible signs saying it’s a Salvadorian restaurant. I have come to enjoy these delicious savory pupusas over the years thanks to my best friend.
The past year or so I would drive by and see the pupusa sign in the Mall 205 food carts area. On a cold and chilly Saturday evening I walked by and they were open. Their cart area is huge and even has a dining area. Even more surprising, they take reservations for big groups! To me that has to be a first for food carts. Even one of the workers was surprised a big group would be arriving as all the toppings and sauces were laid out. I chose a basic meat cheese and bean puposa and an vegetarian option consisting of jalapeño and cheese. The prices is super reasonable: $ 2.50 for the basic standard pupusa options.
A word of caution, this is not a food cart where they just slap everything together in 5 seconds and then hand you the food. Pupusas take a little time to prep and cook and they cook everything when the order is in. I patiently waited then the server gave me my bowl of pickled slaw and hot sauce. He had a feeling I loved the spice so no need to ask. They have a big flat screen TV showing soccer so I enjoyed watching that for the time being. As I waited, more people were coming in to place their orders hence a sign this is a pretty hoppin cart.
My food arrived and I slapped some pickled slaw and drizzled hot sauce to each pupusa. I used a fork and knife to savor each bite. These hot cakes were not greasy but very moist with the right amount of meat and cheese filling. The slaw has a hint of spice with a few slices of jalapeño blended in. I tackled the jalapeño and cheese pupusa and the cheese was very flavorful. The diced jalapeño was more for looks but gave it a nice color texture. I realized I was getting full already so 2 pupusas are definitely my limit.
I definitely have found my to go place for my pupusa fix. The people working at the cart are amazing and take great pride in their food. They do take cards and they also have specialized pupusas for a few dollars more. I may venture and try those at my next visit!

Pupusas FTW! Have you had one yet? If not, listen up:
I’m so glad I wasn’t craving Thai this afternoon, because it forced me to skip my default of Thai Garden, and try something different. Naturally with the help of Unilocal,I noticed this new cart… El Salvadorian food? sounds good… take a look inside and it’s got more people eating lunch here than at all the other carts in the pod combined… another good sign… and then I noticed their $ 4.95 lunch special (2 pupusas and a drink)…you got me!
These «Pupusas»…they’re kind of like corn tortillas hiding secret delicious filling (beans, cheese, and marinated pork) in between, then perfectly grilled until the cheese is oozing out… and THEN you add this awesome salvandorian vinegar-​marinated cabbage, and some BOMB sauces (ranging from red tomato sauce for weenies, to the orange crazy hot sauce that only Aaron W. could handle), and you have yourself one of the most flavorful lunches you’ll find in town!!!
The interior of the cart is really nice — it’s brightly-​designed & colorful interior paintings and art, and the outside has been totally winterized: the front deck area that’s usually open now has solid walls/​windows completely surrounding it and a couple heaters, so even if it’s raining cats and dogs or blowing 50mph, you will have a warm, dry dining experience!
If you’re in the area looking for something new, flavorful, cheap, and quick, and the chance to talk with great, friendly owners, you need to check this place out!!!
***Review #27 in the Unilocal 30 in 30 Challenge!***

I have a friend who married his high school sweetheart. As far as I know he’s never been with another woman. And he’s happy as a pig in shit.
I have never had a pupusa before. And I have no foodie drive to compare these to someone else’s. They are amazingly good, wonderfully made, and cheap as hell ($ 2.75 each). Order them plain or with the sauce on the side to keep them from getting soggy.
The only downside is it’s slow, plan on waiting 15 min if they are empty, 45 if they are hoppin.

We love this place. Even on a super tight budget we can always afford to eat here. The pupusas are freshly made and always tasty as is the curtido and the folks who work here are friendly. The only complaint? I wish they took cards as I don’t always have cash. Otherwise I love this place.
I’m not sure who designated this place as Cuban but it’s 100% Salvadoran.
added 12÷129÷12: Still love this place. The atole is the perfect winter warmer. But, because it’s me, I’ve got a new complaint: styrofoam plates! Argh! Is that even legal in Portland? I thought we banned styrofoam in food service years ago. In any case, I know my pupusas would taste better served on nice, clean, biodegradable paper rather than on toxin-​laden polystyrene. I’d happily pay .25 more per pupusa for a greener option – what do you say, Chepe?

I love this place.
Not only is it super friendly, but the food is amazing.
It’s always fresh, and … You know, honestly, I have nothing really that much further to say about it other than you need to go here and eat amazing made to order pupusas and crunchy, heavenly fried pork skin right now. The longer I write my review, the longer you will be reading it and not going there.
Also, their sauces are like amazingness personified in a squeeze bottle.

Outstanding! Go there now! Can’t recommend a place more! The staff is very friendly and service is great.
We moved up to PDX area from LA a few years ago, and one of the things we missed was good Salvadorean food, specifically pupusas. They were some of the best we’ve ever had, and we’ve had a lot. By far the best in PDX. Sometimes they have a tendency to be greasy, these were not, not at all. They are freshly made, they don’t start until you order. Fresh made food, for a great price the pupusas are large and only cost $ 2.50. One is a good amount of food, 2 is huge! so for $ 5 you can get stuffed to the gills.
The staff takes a lot of pride in what they do. I was talking with them as they were getting my order ready and I told them how the recommendations from several food sites brought me there, they were smiling ear to ear. I love to see good people that have a passion for what they do succeed.

Ok. First time trying El Salvadoran food. It was very good. Maybe not exquisite like thai, but definitely good flavors. A different twist than the usual mexican tacos. This is a nice cart, with a nice enclosed, headed eating area. It was busy on a weekday afternoon at 5:30pm, and appeared to be very popular.
The papusas are good. And inexpensive. I spent under $ 20, and got enough food to feed 4 easily, or 6 if you aren’t starving.
We tried several things. My very favorite, by far, was the Papusa Rancheros. This may be a «breakfast» papusa, but they made it for me in the evening. It is a papusa with a sunny-​side-​up egg on top, and avocado. The flavors were excellent together.
Really though, all of the papusas were good. I got one chicken «plate» meal which included a salad, which was un-​inspriing. The rice/​beans on the plate were very flavorful, and not your usual fare. But all things considered, I would stick to the ala carte menu to get some variety on the main dish.

I love Pupusas, but I’ve yet to have a bad one in Portland. So yes I enjoy the Pupusa’s here, but it’s not because they taste so much better than elsewhere, it’s because the menu is extensive, the prices are a steal, and the service is superb (at least it is by the man who seems to run the place.) The Pupusa with eggs and avocado was our favorite; the red tomatillo sauce should be bottled and sold. The special Jalapeño version was good, not great. I’m not a fan of Salvadorian style tamales, they have a slippery texture that very different from the Mexican version. The dessert fritter with milk filling was also a miss. Lastly, I realize the cabbage thing before the meal is a favorite, but I’m not a fan. There’s usually a small crowd at any given time, so the positive word is out.

My friend and I discovered this exceptional Salvadoran cart while visiting the always-​growing Ala Carts food pod near Mall 205. Our first visit was just to check the menu since we had already ordered some Mexican food nearby, but several visits later I can report that the food quality is top notch, the service friendly, and the prices perfect.
I can easily recommend almost everything there, since my roomie and I have tried most of the menu by this point, but the star of the show is definitely the house special, the Pupusa. They have cheese, squash and cheese (5-​stars!), Loroco (a native flower bud), pork, and I believe a couple others ranging from $ 2 to $ 2.50. The masa is delicious but simple, sturdy but tender under the knife, and they come out as quick as you can order them. The wonderful side dish that accompanies every dish is Curtido, a fermented slaw with a wonderful saffron-​yellow color and a spicy kick.
Each day the menu has some slight variances, so try it more than once to really get a feel for the place and it’s dishes. We were told the menu is intentionally kept small, which makes perfect sense for a food cart and they really do have the whole spectrum covered so I never felt like I was missing out on anything. From plantain empanadas with a custard-​style milk center that I am obsessed with, to a wonderfully light sweet cake we sampled, to the most delicious fruit drink you will ever encounter, this place has got to have something for everyone. A tray of probably two dozen different sauces keeps you entertained while your food is being prepared. With a food style similar to Cuban or Yucatan dishes in some ways, it will be familiar to well seasoned American tongues, so don’t be afraid to try something you’ve never had before. The always-​present upbeat music playing on the dining porch boombox will help put you in the Latin American mood.
The fine people who work here are already like neighbors to us, always friendly, willing to offer samples of any dish, and they step out to chat whenever they aren’t too busy, which is rare since this is an increasingly popular dining destination on the SE side, judging by the customers we always see filling their bellies with these delightful dishes.
I am so grateful to have these folks in the neighborhood, and I believe they have the perfect recipe for success!