El Caracol Cafe — Restaurant in Vancouver

Best place ever!! First of all, they were so patient with us as we ordered (and we ordered a lot...at 4pm and then came back again at 9pm for more pupusas because ADDICTIVE!!)

We had the chicken soup and bean and cheese pupusas to start and it literally brought tears to my son's eyes. He is of Salvadoran decent and our family is Irish/Canadian so no matter how hard I try to make foods he'd have had as a little boy, it never turns out quite right. This was the taste of his childhood he'd been missing for so long. These were the flavours that comforted him when he was sad or were part of celebrations when happy. I was so grateful to be able to bring those tastes back to him.

The soup was rich and delicious and the portions giant. Big chunks of bright vegetables and tender chicken...soooo good that yes, we drank from our bowls. The pupusas were crispy on the outside and so soft and creamy inside. I have made these before for him and having tasted the real thing at El Caracol, I now understand why mine were not a hit....I didn't even come close. We also ordered the tacos and the nachos and the rice flour cake. All were delicious. Our server recommended taking the cake home and heating it up to serve with ice cream so that is what we did, as at that point we couldn't fit in another bite and had to roll ourselves to the car.

The cake was dense but creamy in texture. The flavour light but rich. I've never had anything like it before, but I'll be making it ASAP because it was amazing. And warm with the ice cream was to die for. TO DIE FOR!!

I have googled the cake recipe and have found many that are almost identical, but I cannot recreate that soup to save my life. We live in Edmonton so we can't visit for dinner once a week (I WISH), but I'd love to make this for my boy regularly. It brought him such happiness and it was wonderful to be able to experience his culture with him. We love him so much, we will definitely be back to treat him to this...

During this time this place only offers take out and delivery. I've been coming to this restaurant for many years. It's the only place around this neighborhood that I frequently choose to go at when ever I have the cravings for some south american cuisines. My last visit here was at the same evening when I wrote this experience. I ordered for pick up. It was almost closing time for the restaurant when I called them. They said to come by in 15 minutes also the employee said to me that they only accept cash. Unfortunately I didn't have any cash on me but it's right by the Chevron gas station where I was able to withdraw cash out of the ATM. After taking out cash from the ATM I started to walk over to this restaurant. I noticed that the entrance door was wide open as I was coming into the restaurant. . Right before I even stepped in I was greeted with a very comforting, aromatic and delicious smell that is coming from the kitchen. This made me more hungry and more excited for the food that I ordered. I choosed to have CARNE ASADA ( GRILLED BEEF - SERVED WITH BEANS, RICE AND SOFT TORTILLAS ) and EL POLLO TACO ( GRILLED CHICKEN IN SOFT TACO - WITH THEIR HOUSE MADE SALSA ) I honestly think that this restaurant offers one of the best if not the best Salvadorian cuisine I've ever tasted in my entire life. If you are ever around this area and want to try out something new, something south of the border kind of cuisine. Don't hesitate to come to this restaurant. It's amazing. The people that work here are very friendly, professional, patient and above all confident with what they HAVE TO OFFER EVERY ONE. Everytime after eating the food coming from this restaurant. I've always felt happy and full. I'll give this restaurant a 5 star for the food and the above all experience. This neighbourhood is heavy on all kinds of ASIAN cuisines. This place though is a hidden gem in this area. I will keep coming to this restaurant till the...

Great cheap food, in a restaurant that really shouldn't exist.

Look, the first thing you should know about El Coracol is that the food is worth it. I'm not talking about the price, it's clearly worth that. You pay twice as much for food half as good elsewhere in the city. No, it's worth the little hassles, and worth the the fact you'll ask yourself "Are they allowed to do that?" more than once.

The place is cash only, so keep that in mind. The sort of "cash only" that suggests the proprietor can have a bank account for, well, reasons, or that they don't trust any form of payment that can't be stuffed in a mattress for safekeeping, NOT the "cash only" front for organized crime sort, so you're conscience can remain clear as you scarf down the deliciously underpriced morsels on offer.

Cash only, but you won't need to bring a lot of it. A plate of 3 exquisite tacos (choice of beef, chicken, carnitos, or. chorizo) was only $9. And nothing on the menu runs more than $12.50, and that was a dish with side dishes!

Is so damn good you'll make excuses to yourself after wondering, "Are they allowed to do that?" when you ask for directions to the bathroom and you're told, "Through the kitchen, to the back, and to your left."

You'll wander back there, part the kitchen crew busy coming and chopping, past the home stove loaded with a pot of boiling chicken - I think today's chicken - and mistakenly out the back door. You'll turn around, and realize" to the left meant" the door hiding behind a shower curtain, where a tiny one toilet bathroom awaits.

And you won't give a damn whether any of this is to code or not, because the food IS JUST THAT DAMN GOOD!

Go before some pesky city regulation shuts it down. Which I hope doesn't happen, because I'm about to become a regular.

No liquor license. Which is fine. Liquor inspectors are sticklers...