El Acajutla Restaurant — Restaurant in Fort Myers

El Acajutla - One of Fort Myers’s better long-time well-kept secrets. Review part 1 of 2 by William Noel

One day a few years ago, I left my cell phone on a public bus. I backtracked and had to check in with the main LeeTran office to see if it had been turned in. I had to wait before it could be retrieved from the bus, as it was still on the bus and in operation. I asked one of the LeeTran staff members if there was any place nearby to grab a bite, and they mentioned, among other choices, this Salvadorian gem of a restaurant – El Acajutla at 3226 Fowler Ave, Fort Myers. I had to walk only a few short minutes from the LeeTran main office to get there, and I’m soooooo glad I decided to.

It is located just next to a Popeye’s Chicken Fast Food franchise in a small strip mall. In-between the main restaurant and their ice cream store that I haven’t been to yet is another business – the only other one in that small strip mall. Don’t let the looks fool you. This is not a bad area of town – mostly older independent retail establishments, maybe a little light industry. But it’s also not like the glittery newly developed area of Estero or the upscale Bell Tower Shops or, much less, Naples. Once you enter the restaurant, it is obvious that El Acajutla is refreshingly out-of-place.

Today was at least the 3rd time I’ve been there in about as many years. I rarely venture that far from home in that particular direction, but whenever I’m in the area, I am always tempted to stop in. Mario, the spiffy and eagerly serviceable young son of the owning Dominguez family, informed me, IIRC, that his family has been operating the restaurant for 16 years locally, including 10 years at this current location. One thing that is obvious to me is that the Dominguez family has REAL PRIDE in what they do. They’re not out just for a profit. They are proud of their home country and culture and cuisine and they are proud of their restaurant. Acajutla is a seaport town on the Western side of El Salvador, only about 20 miles from the border with Guatemala. As soon as anybody gets into Fort Myers, they should run from the border of the town TO HERE to experience this place.

As I mentioned, El Acajutla Restaurant is refreshingly out-of-place. Once you walk in, it looks more like a chain restaurant with money behind it and people who actually care about décor and presentation than it does some little modest mom & pop place in a mixed-use blue-collar area. There are nice touches here and there - most notably the numerous gigantic hard-laminate wall posters of various landmarks and attractions from El Salvador, the Dominguez family’s native land. Every time I’ve gone there, I’ve been greeted promptly. Today, I was impressed by the extensive and colorful picture-aided menu which is an improvement over the last time I was there. Today, as well as the first time I went there, I had one of their Honduran selections (the Dominguezes strive to offer a good sampling of cuisine throughout all of Central America, in addition to Salvadorean specialties). It was the Ceibeno Plate which is offered in a number of meat-based options (chicken, both breaded and unbread - how refreshing to have the unbreaded option to keep the meal lean and clean - and pork and/or beef as well). When it came out, there was not merely 1, but 2 chicken breast patties, lightly seasoned, with some sort of pink sauce on top that tastes somewhat like Thousand Island dressing, only better and spicier. A shredded lettuce salad accompanies it with, IIRC, some sort of rice or vegetables. When you see that you get a good amount of chicken and taste it with their signature sauce on top, you forget what comes with...

El Acajutla - One of Fort Myers’s better long-time well-kept secrets. Review part 2 of 2 by William Noel

To me, one measure of the quality and care of an “ethnic” restaurant is whether or not they have drinks specific to their culture, something beyond wine, beer, hard liquor, cola, coffee, tea, and water. If I go to a Thai restaurant, there’s a good chance I’ll ask for a Thai iced tea (the orange/pink colored ones are generally better than the brown-colored ones). If I go to an Indian restaurant, I’ll probably ask for a Lassi, a Spiced Chai, or a Madras Coffee. In addition to the regular coke, wine, water, and other mainstream drink selections, El Acajutla also offers the dependable Jarritos brand of Latin-American soda in its superb Tamarind, Mandarin, and other flavors, in glass bottles. You can buy Jarritos at some 7-11s, but that doesn’t mean that what is convenient is not also good. Another imbibement they offer there, offered more rarely than Jarritos, is their Goya brand Cola Champagne – also in glass bottles. I’ve never had another soft drink quite like this amber colored delight – it’s sort of like turning Sprite from a lemon-lime drink into a nectar-like drink with just a little bit of edge. I bought two more to bring home with me. Last but not least, they also offer Salvadorean Horchata, presumably made in-house, something I will absolutely have to try next time I go. An array of non-mainstream drink options such as these is a mark that shows that the restaurateurs actually care about variety, uniqueness, and giving their customers a real slice of their own culture.

I had actually never tried Flan, a dessert item, until I was either 44 or 45 years old. El Acajutla’s Flan was the first I ever tried the first time I went there. I was blown away by its texture and the wonderfully harmonious blend of vanilla and semi-delicate caramel-like flavors. Every Flan I’ve had anywhere else since then has been a real disappointment in comparison to El Acajutla’s. They offer a few other dessert items such as their Tres Leches cake, which can be a real knockout of a dessert if well-made, but the last couple of times I went there, they were out (probably because it flies out of there not much longer after it’s made, if it’s as good for a Tres Leches as their Flan is for a Flan). I forgot to ask today if they had any of it in, which is just as well in terms of keeping observant so soon after Hurricane Ian struck the devastating blow it did closer to the beach down here.

In short summary, this is an independently owned family restaurant that is an absolute gem and not at all what you would expect looking at it from the outside or where it’s located. Nice décor, great presentation, great food, and great service. The Salvadorean Dominguez family takes obvious pride in their home country and culture and food, and they are successfully passing down this enthusiasm to the next generation. El Acajutla gets my utmost...

Best Lomo saltado (marinated strips of steak sautéed with onions, peppers, tomatoes, & French fries) I have ever had! The sauce & flavor... Mouth watering!

Also, ordered and loved: Papusa loco, chicken soup, fried yucca, green plantains, and the flan. Coffee Americano was excellent! Make sure you get the cabbage and onion garnish called reypollo and their homemade hot sauce. All this we ordered for less than $40!!! Big portions too.

We don't speak Spanish and they promptly switched to an English speaking waitress who patiently answered all of our questions and helped us order some unfamiliar dishes (I didn't want to just get tacos, burritos, etc. but I'm going to go back and try them).

Almost did not give this diamond in the rough a chance: it is very small and loud. It is in a not-so-nice strip mall on a not-so-nice street. The decor is... interesting... But what they do with the flavors and spices is well worth a step out of the comfort zone. It is nice and clean and although we were the only non-Spanish speaking customers there we never felt unwelcomed.

So glad we tried...