Clavo & Canela Cocina-Café — Restaurant in Antioch

08/10/25 @ 12 noon for Party of 2

Sorry not sorry - We came across Clavo & Canela IG page the evening prior deciding to cross the Antioch Bridge with $8 toll bridge just so we can support local business and give this place a try! We were lead to believe their menu were 100% El Salvadorean dishes based on the IG reels which was not the case (sad).

We were immediately seated soon after we arrived and while waiting for the service, we’ve witnessed a few groups that came in and left soon after since they couldn’t wait 15-20 mins for available tables.

Based on the menu presented to us, we were told that there were a few items on the that weren’t available and one of them was “Ube pancakes” and that’s when we kinda lost it a bit like “Ube pancakes?!! Isn’t this an El Salvadorean restaurant?! Why offer Ube pancakes?!” Whatever- anyways we told the server we came to try the following:

1 pc rice pupusas with queso con loroco $5.25 1 pc regular masa with queso con loroco $4.75 1 Desayuno Salvadoreño $15.95 As stated on the menu “Delicious deep fried plantain, scrambled eggs with vegetables, CASAMIENTO (see picture), sour cream, and cheese.” There was NO trace of CASAMIENTO on the plate nor were we told otherwise by the server.

Moving right along to SERVICE: Understandably so, we didn’t expect much when it comes to service with two young adults running the floor (taking orders & cleaning tables) - definitely needs more training! Something as simple as bringing over napkins & utensils either soon after cleaning the table, taking an order or even delivering one of the orders or whatever. We waited probably a good 7 mins before we were given teaspoons for our coffee cups and I was literally halfway done my rice pupusas (thanks to my teaspoon!) before we were given proper utensils and a mason jar of curtido. Note to self: BYO utensils smh

It’s as if you’re force to only order “to-go” rather than dine. Both pupusas were pretty good nevermind the experience but as far as the plate order, we will skip it for now until they figure it out whether or not to serve it with a couple of plain tortillas and/or bread (see picture) and perhaps actually serve...

We are from town. We come to try the arina de arroz pupusas. Which I rate 3/10. The cheese wasn’t even streachy and melted had like chunks of it that were not even melted. My son order 2 cheese which he left. Rating the arroz masa I give it a 2/10. The thickness was good but the texture needs alot of improvement. They are supposed to be super soft and not crunchy. I know that masa is very hard to work with. $5 bucks for a pupusa that wasn’t filled with good cheese and bad texture is too much. We also order 2 serving of platanos fritos con crema. As soon as they were delivered to our table I could tell the bananas were not ripped and weren’t ready to be fried. We paid $80 for 7 pupusas, 2 order of fried plantains,and drinks. Also they didn’t have horchata… which is something they should always have … is very unique horchata so I jist got a kolashampsn. It was 3 of us...

Hello - In response to your reply, I visited yesterday and was excited to try. Unfortunately, I experienced over 50+ minutes of wait time with each plate being sent out periodically for me and my two kids. When my food arrived last, I received the wrong order (carne asada fries instead of the carne asada plate) to then find out that it was sold out. With respect to the environment, only one restroom was available when there’s two functional restrooms causing a long wait line. As a dad taking my kids out to eat, these details can be frustrating and cause an unpleasant experience. I truly wish you guys the best and hope you consider...