If you are looking for authentic Salvadorian food look no further! Café El Buen Gusto of South Charlotte is where you’ll want to visit! Café El Buen Gusto is a family-owned establishment, the wife is in the kitchen whipping up pupusas while the husband takes the orders. Their kids also help with the cash register and kitchen duties.

If you’ve been in Charlotte for more than 10+ years then you may remember Plaza Fiesta, the “Hispanic-themed” mall next to Carowinds, now the home of Cabelas. Plaza Fiesta had the best food court known to mankind and one of those food court restaurants was El Buen Gusto! 

Sadly, Plaza Fiesta was a fail and had to close its doors. It took the owners of Café El Buen Gusto a while to find a new location but they eventually locked in a restaurant space at 410 Westinghouse Blvd.

The restaurant is a hidden gem as it manages to stay off the grid with no social media or website presence. I’m changing that today as I present to you the breakfast of champions!

A typical Salvadorian breakfast normally consists of:

• Huevos Revueltos / fried or scrambled eggs with veggies and sometimes ham
• Refried Beans or Casamiento / a mixture of rice and beans we call “marriage”
• Crema y Queso / Salvadorian [sour] cream and cheese
• Platanos Fritos / Fried sweet plantains

Usually accompanied by warm, hand-made tortillas, or better yet, some warm, cheesy pupusas! A hot cup of coffee or Salvadorian hot chocolate is essential to complete this authentic breakfast ☕️ 

Just in case you’ve managed to get this far in life without having a pupusa, listen up because I’m about to put you on! Pupusas are thick, hand made tortillas, typically stuffed with authentic Salvadorian cheese, beans or pork. The pupusa is then topped with red salsa and curtido/pickled cabbage salad.

I grew up loving revueltas (mixed with pork, beans and cheese) but ever since I discovered the bean and cheese pupusa a couple of years ago, it’s my go-to! 

Finish off your meal with some delicious empanadas! Salvadorian empanadas are like no other! Sweet, fried plantain balls stuffed with a sweet, creamy milk filling or beans!

They have a full menu of authentic Salvadorian dishes and I definitely recommend you get familiar!

Here are my recommendations:

PUPUSAS

• Bean & Cheese
• Revuelta: Pork, beans and cheese
• Cheese with loroco (a tropical flower grown in El Salvador)

BREAKFAST

• Desayuno Tipico
• Pan Frances (breakfast sandwich)
• Tamal de elote (fried corn tamales)

DESSERT

• Empanadas
• Quesadilla (Salvadorian pound cake)

DRINKS

• Hot Chocolate
• Cola Champagne

OTHER GOODIES

• Tamales

Please be advised that everything is made fresh and from scratch at the time of your order, be prepared to wait around 20-30 minutes for your food but I promise it will be worth it 😉