Fernando’s Cafe Guanaco

Great service, amazing food. Looks like a dive, but is truly a gem. Cabbage and salsa brought out with papusa’s was delicious. If you are looking for delicious authentic papusa’s for an amazing price this is your place!

This place isn’t fancy by any means but their papusas are awesome & their staff is nice & quick with the orders. I only took away one star because the place was freezing when we dined there. We even asked the staff if they could turn the heat off & they said yes but didn’t seem to do anything. I’d eat here again (but maybe in the summer instead).

Love this little gem, hidden in south salt lake. I love their Pupusas and the cabage that comes with it. They are always friendly and have great customer service.

For Pupusas in Salt Lake City this little off the beaten path place is exceptional. Cheap, friendly, English-​enough speaking.

The pupusas are that good. No parking? Find some on the street and walk. No table? Wait on line or come earlier next time. Didnt bring your Visa or cash? Go home, right now and get it. Get two pork and cheese pupusas, and for God’s sake, use your hands. Break off a piece of hot steamy goodness, split it open, and use as a scoop for the cabbage slaw-​ish type mixture. Skip the soda and get a horchata or a juice. Like I said, the pupusas are that good.

Terrific Food! Amazing Flavors! Plantano Frito & Pupusa (Queso/​Loroco) so good! Incroyable Value!!!

We love this place! We drive all the way from Ogden to eat here. The food is inexpensive and tastes great. My husband lived in El Salvador for a few years and says the food tastes just like it does in El Salvador. The pupusas are our favorite, but we also love the tamales, fried plantains, and horchata. We would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for authentic food from El Salvador.

Sad when the fried plantain with sour cream and fresh Mexican cheese is the star of the plate… The pupusas themselves are too think with masa. The meat is too bland and the salsa is from a can and it’s boiled with herbs…
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Triste cuando la estrella del plato son los platanos fritos con crema y queso fresco… Las pupusas estan demasiado masudas. La carne de las pupusas revueltas le hace falta savor. La salsa es enlarada y solamente herbida con hierbas… No bueno.

The service is a little slow but the food is amazing!
I just had the platanos fritos breakfast plate– holy smokes it was delicious!
Highly recommend.

Absolutely awesome! I’ve eaten in San Salvador numerous times and this place has the most authentic food I’ve had since I’ve been back. An absolute must visit.
Pupusas and Horchata.
The silk beans… amazing. Not watery refried beans like others use.

Here You’ll find some authentic tasty homemade Salvadoran cuisine. The Pupusas and curtido (a cabbage salad with slight hints of jalapeño) was really delicious and fresh. I’ve also tried their Tamales and Carne Asade and have yet to come up with a complaint!
It may be a hole in the wall but the food is totally worth it!

If you are looking for some cheap food, that tastes great, and will fill you up, look no further. This place is great for some filling food that won’t break the bank.
I have to admit, I haven’t tried anything else other than their papusas, but these little guys are great! Don’t let the size fool you though, one of these things will get you pretty full believe it or not. I like to have mine topped with lots of cabbage and hot sauce which comes out with the dish.
I will be coming here again and hopefully trying something new.

Not a bad little hole-​in-​the wall café. Fill yourself with cheap papusas and fried plantains. Just be careful they don’t over charge you like they did to us.
The loroco and cheese papusa was unique and tasty. Heap on lots of the special cole slaw on your papusa and you have a meal that will fill you up.
The horchata served here was not my thing. It choked me with its spices and was a bit too sweet for my taste.
The beef soup is a bit pricey but could feed 3 people. it s very good and full of big chunks of veggies and beef.
I think their breakfast special sounds good. Maybe one day I will come back to try it.

This is the best place to eat on this continent. I am not exaggerating. I love their Pupusas so so SO much. There are no words to describe their greatness. Every time I go in they are friendly and fast. Tonight was no exception. The waiter was fun to talk to, he gave us great suggestions and even stayed open for a few extra minutes for us.

Excellent papusas, excellent food! Fernando and I got to chat and you can tell he loves what he does in owning this fine establishment.
The place is a little small but take out seems pretty popular also. The service was lovely this evening and I’m happy the food came out fast. The plantains, though lightly fried, were awesome. The variety of drinks I think is also a plus.
I need a quesadilla to go for next time! Definitely worth the bite! Riquisimo!

This place was recommended because of their pupusas — they did not disappoint! They were fresh and cooked to a good crispiness. The curtido was also good and complimentary.
I also tried the platanos fritos and would have preferred them a little more frito :)
The café is very, very small. There are 4 tables that seat 4 adults and you could probably add a chair on the end. There is only one highchair FYI if you are bringing little kids.

I’m not familiar with Salvadoran food and so I don’t have much to compare this place to, I also had no idea what to expect from the food.
It was Carb day so we went straight for the Pupusas. We ordered the bean and cheese, pork, pork bean and cheese, the beef, and the chicken. My favorite went in the following order…
1. Bean and cheese
2. Pork bean and cheese
3. Beef
4. Chicken
They were steaming hot and fresh. Definitely had a homemade taste. They were crunchy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside.
The pickled slaw they brought out with the Pupusas was awesome. I probably could have just eaten an entire bowl of just that.
Even though they also bring a homemade hot sauce of sorts, I found myself wanting another sauce to dip the Pupusas in. I am a condiment hound though… So take that for what it is worth.
We also ordered the fried pork with fried Yuca. The pork was very crisp but very dry, which had me once again wishing I had something saucey to dip it in. I did very much appreciate that they didn’t cut the fat off, leaving a couple of delectable pieces. As for the Yuca, they were also super fried to the point of being too dried out. I actually love super crispy food, so long as the flavor is there, or… Again… There is something awesome to dip it or cover it in. Long story short, probably wouldn’t order that dish again, unless of course I smuggled in my own bottle of Ranch… Which yes… I have done.
My BF and I shared everything and were plenty full. The price was pretty decent too, I don’t think we spent more than $ 17 before tip.
If you want to carb out, I highly recommend you get you some pupusa!
*one word of warning* They evening we went it was hotter inside the restaurant than outside it. Not sure if that is normal… Just be prepared.

Best Guanaco food that I’ve had… outside of El Salvador.
Every year in the late summer when the weather starts to swell — humidity greets you in the morning and follows you wherever you go. The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. The air seems thick, but doesn’t yet threaten rain… It’s the beginning of Monsoon season in Utah. Some times it takes a few days, but eventually, the rain shows. Quick showers that roll in from the south west and then just as quick roll on over the Wasatch Range.
Every time this happens, I’m taken back to my first love: El Salvador.
I look around at our first-​world comforts — Running water, indoor plumbing, paved roads, sewage, and a lack of roving street gangs — and I’m willing to give it all up to go back. First I look into airfare — one way. It’s not too bad, I could swing it. Next, I find housing. $ 75 a month. Not bad. Then I show my wife the plan.
She gently reminds me that they have cockroaches. That are the size of your fist. That fly. I’m ok with that.
Then she reminds me about dengue fever… I’m not looking forward to getting it again, but I can deal with it. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. (and destroys your kidneys)
She shows me photos of the volcano eruption… I remind her that I survived.
Then she gives me the look… I’m stuck here in Utah — for now.
The Guanaco in me doesn’t go away, though. It’s fed by each rain storm that washes over the valley. My only resort is Café Guanaco. My heart quakes when I walk in the front door and I’m home.
Authentic doesn’t begin to describe this place. If it wasn’t a hole in the wall it wouldn’t be authentic. I never sat on anything but plastic lawn chairs or mismatched seats while eating pupusas.
A quick lesson in all things El Salvador: Pupusas aren’t just some novel item. Pupusas are a staple. It’s not uncommon to eat them twice a day. Every day. They never get old. Pupusas were what fell from the heavens to feed the children in the desert. (Just not with chicharron)
It is impossible to go wrong on the menu.
An order of four or five pupusas, chase it all down with a Kolashanpan and a Tamale de elote frita, or, perhaps atole.
I walk out of the restaurant and I’m ok with being here, not there.
Then the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as the next storm rolls in.

Mmmm. That’s really all you need to know. As everyone else has said in their reviews, you can’t go to Café Guanaco and not get a pupusa. I tried the queso and loroco and really, if you don’t love everything stuffed with cheese, I don’t trust you. I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh cabbage slaw that accompanies all of the pupusas because it adds a fresh crunch and flavor to offset the warm gooey cheese.
My dining partner ordered a couple of the tamales. Due to «meh» experience, I rarely order tamales at restaurants here but these were pretty delicious. They have a couple of different types but I loved the sweet corn tamale. It’s pretty sweet so you could even have it as dessert.
Speaking of dessert, I really wanted to try the platanos because who can pass on fried things with custard? (Can you sense my fat kid theme here?) Alas, they were already out for the day. That just means I get to go back again soon. Don’t forget the fried plantains too!
If you like horchata, give theirs a try. It’s different than traditional Mexican horchata but really tasty. Less cinnamon, more nutty and gritty.
Last but not least, go because of the owner. There’s nothing like sitting down in a tiny hole in the wall place and being served by someone who puts their heart and soul into their business. He was working his ass off to get everything out in a timely manner while still laughing and interacting with the customers. He was very helpful and willing to explain anything on the menu. You can just tell he’s a kind and gentle man. Go support him.

This had been an interesting new experience for me, since I never actually had Salvadoran food until Café Guanaco. We sat on the outside since the place was tiny inside with about four tables.
I got Passion Fruit drink and Carne Asada Steak since that was what everyone got. The drink was tasty and refreshing. The steak was delicious, as the refried bean bought a well-​balance flavor with the strong flavor on the meat. I sampled a bit of pupusas, fried plantains, and filled-​plantains. A little salsa and salvdoran coldslaw made the pupusas quite nice. Our server Jose was a fantastic, and he even the salsa dance for us when he bought them over. The filled-​plantain tasted a better than the regular ones.
This place really opened up another side of Latin American cuisine to me, I will definitely be back to explore more of their menu.

Small place, not very romantic or well kept. Good for some lunch pupusas or other Guanaco cuisine. The owner was nice. Pupusas were good.