Market Latina Restaurant

One of my El Salvadorian clients brought me here for the second time, upon my request. It was rather chilly outside about 45 degrees, so I wanted something warm for the tummy! I looked over the menu and decided on a variety of pouposas or El Salvadorian quesadillas, but better! He ordered caldo de pollo or chicken soup… big chunks of fresh veggies and it looked good too! Our waitress Carla was friendly and helpful… the bad thing about the restaurant… is that they had the heat off… it was 62 degrees inside! When I mentioned it to Carla, she didn’t wince and when I told the hostess… she seemed very non-​chalant about the situation. Everyone in the restaurant was wearing a coat! I definitely like the food… just need to pay to have the heater fixed :/

Market Latina is a Salvadorian-​influenced restaurant that is located at one of the most dilapidated strip mall at the cross-​road of N Story Rd & W Irving Blvd. However, when you enter it almost feels that somehow it has managed to detach from the stereotype of the location, albeit it feels a little dark. It has quite big seating area with wooden tables and bench booths on the peripheries and little better seats within and a pyramidal shade on the right side of a partition that divides the seating area.
The Pollo Asado was grilled well and it was really flavorful. The charred onions at the bottom and salsa-​like topping was good. It came with a big baked potato which was alright, red beans on a flour tortilla, a small green salad, and a separate tortilla warmer with a couple of Salvadorian tortillas; with the option to choose either corn or flour. The corn ones I got were thick and tasted good. The chicken pupusa was good but that watery red sauce was really bad. It came with shredded cabbage marinated with vinegar, Curtido which was really good. On the menu, the pollo asado had rice but not baked potato; got the latter instead but no complain about it.
Service can be slow but worth the wait. Menu is quite extensive and is also subtitled in English. The smartly alike-​dressed waitresses were nice and helpful. Don’t be discouraged with the location or outside look; the food and service was surprisingly good to compensate them.

When I came here the place was really empty and service was slow. However, the taste of their pupusas was amazing! I got the revueltas. I’ve eaten at many Salvadorian restaurants and this place makes the best pupusas. The reason I only give three stars is because service was slow, even while almost empty. I came here on a weekday so it might be busier on the weekends.