Platano

Absolutely delicious and authentic Salvadoran food! I tried a little of everything and was so happy I ordered more to go!

Platano may just have become one of my go to weekend spots. The service is fairly quick, the staff is very nice, and the pupusas are great. They come with cole slaw and tomato juice/​salsa/​sauce. I have tried all of the pupusas and they are all exquisite, I would recommend one of the lunch meals, or if you are really hungry, like I usually am, ordering just 3 pupusas. They will for sure fill you up. The chicken tamale is far and away better than the corn tamale. Each pupusa is under $ 3, and they play soccer on tv. What is there not to like?

After my boyfriend and I recently went to Platano for the first time we found that it didn’t take long before we started craving pupusas again. We went again to Platano again today and had another delicious, filling and inexpensive meal.
Between the two of us I think we’ve tried most of the pupusas — I really like the pork ones! Each table gets their own jar of pickled cabbage and a tomato based sauce. They’re both a really nice complement and add a nice balance and flavor to the denseness of the pupusas.
I’ve gotten the lunch combo #6 and 7 and I prefer the one with the chicken tamale (the chicken one is SO good and moist, the corn was a bit dry).
The restaurant space is comfortable and laid back, and was decently packed for a Sunday. Although we had to remind our waiter a couple times for our check the service seems really friendly. Although I haven’t really had Salvadoran food the food seems very authentic and is another great food spot in Berkeley.

Saturday, 6:00 PM.
Quickie:
+ Food quality
+ Friendly staff
— Hygiene
— Turnaround
And then???
Plantains and pupusas were the highlights. Entrées with chicken were tender. All dishes held the grease in check. Visit for your Salvadoran fix!

Buen servisio… y la comida sabrosa… el lugar muy limpio…
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…

I came here for an early lunch on a Tuesday morning after craving some good Salvadorean food for months, and this place did not disappoint. I was the only one here as I arrived rght when it opened, so service was very quick. The waitress gave me a picture book with the menu so that I knew what each dish looked like.
The daily lunch specials from 11:30 — 2:30 looked particularly appealing to me because everything on the menu looked rather pricy compared to other El Salvadorean places that I’ve been to, so I ordered their #6 with a cheese pupusa, plantain, and a chicken tamale. Quick note that Salvadorean tamales are generally more moist and liquidy than Mexican tamales which are more solid, so don’t be surprised if you come across those types of tamales.
My order came with a side of slaw and salsa that served to enhance the flavor of the foods. I was definitely impressed with my entire order as each bite was as delicious as the first. The pupusa was one of the better ones I’ve had around the Bay to say the least. I’d definitely come back to try more of their pupusas and

The food was very good. More on that below. Nice paintings on the wall. Noisy room.
I’d give it 4 stars, except the service was painfully slow. The waiter took our order promptly, but then we waited 30 minutes for the meal. After 20 minutes I got the waiter’s attention and politely asked him to check on it. He frowned, didn’t say anything, and went into the kitchen. When he came out he just avoided us rather than checking in with an update or bringing bread or anything. Low marks for service!
We ate:
Papa Guidada — Billed as vegetable stew with potatoes, carrots and green beans; true, but hardly any green beans. Nice savory tomato-​y broth.
Pollo Asado — Tender, nicely seasoned, good stuff.
Sides — Good side salads, Salvadoran rice with a tasty but too-​subtle seasoning, black beans and plantains fine, pleasant little corn pancake thingies (tortillas?).
Best thing about this food: they didn’t go overboard on salt or fat, which is often a problem with similar cuisines. However, I would have liked things a bit more highly seasoned and interesting (I don’t mean «hot,» just a more distinct flavor).

Platano is really great– it’s not quite the best Salvadorian you can get in the Bay Area (or the cheapest), but if you are Berkeley-​bound, it is THE place go for your pupusa fix. The restaurant gets a nod of approval from my half-​Salvadorian boyfriend, so take that as you will!
The overall preparation and taste of the various meat dishes can be slightly inconsistent, varying from really excellent to ho-​hum depending on the day— but the pupusas are always on point. We usually try to cycle through all the flavors from visit to visit, with the exception of lorroco, which my boyfriend has bad childhood memories of (he says it tastes like medicine — I would say it is pleasantly herbaceous). The homemade hot sauce and curtido (fermented cabbage mix) are the perfect accompaniments to the pupusas— and my boyfriend and I have been known to eat the reminders by themselves, because they’re that delicious!
We also frequently order the plantains with beans and crema, because yum. And most of the platillos and platos fuertes are good, with great flavors and textures. It’s worth eating your way around the menu to see what suits your tastes best, but you can’t go wrong with casamiento as one of your sides (seriously, I wish I could order casamiento as a main, and then also get it as my two sides — beans and rice, what else do you need, really??).

Reasonably priced deliciousness. Get the 2 pupusas + plantain and beans combo. I am partial to the chicharonnes pupusas. And the sangria is so good too.

So like I went to this place when they first open, I order the pupusas pork and cheese and they were hella good but for $ 2.50 for a small pupusas is a little expensive ! So me being a chef I was frustrated and looked on YouTube on how to make pupusas and then made my own once in awhile.
So last night I took my Mexican best friend and her daughter to this place because I want to pupusas the wait was little longfor our food, because it was busy but once you put the first bite in your mouth like oh my god it was so damn good it was worth the wait!
So we left a good tip because we will be definitely going back to this place to have more pupusas so at that note definitely go and have some El Salvadorian food very very tasty :)

I’ve never had Salvadorian food, so when my friend and I stumbled upon this place, we decided to give it a try! I ordered the albondigas with rice and fried plantains. The albondigas, which are essentially meatballs with a tomato based sauce, were very tender and juicy. You could actually see little tomato chunks, so it was definitely made in house from scratch and not out of the can. Tomato sauce can easily be too sour, but the sauce here wasn’t sour at all. It went well with the rice. The pupusas were warm and super chewy and it was delicious dipping it in the tomato sauce! I’ve never had fried plantains, and they give you a pretty big portion for a side. The plantains were soft with a coat of sugar glaze and some parts were a little burnt which gave it a nice crisp. I had a little bit of leftovers, so I ate it for lunch the next day. The pupusas hardened when I warmed it up but the other dishes taster the same.
I would give 4 stars for the food, but I knocked off a star because of the service. Upon walking in, the only waiter on the floor was leaning against the counter with his back turned and was on his phone. He turned around after a few minutes and finally noticed we were waiting to be seated. It was a pretty pleasant experience in terms of food, but it was pretty pricey for dinner. I saw the lunch prices and they were much lower. I paid $ 14 for my dinner, and I think that’s pretty pricey. If you come here, definitely come for lunch.

Pupusa con frijole negro — ⁵⁄₅
Chicharron Pupusa — 4.5÷5
Rez Pupusa — ²⁄₅
Tamales De Sal — ⁰⁄₅
Both the black bean and pork pupusas were delicious. The tamales had a jello-​like texture (its not good) and not very tasty. I will be back for the pupusas!

If you get a dinner plate, one of your sides must be the casamiento (fried black beans and rice!) no questions asked. It’s that good. Plus you get the rice and beans as one side, and can pair with salad as side #2 for a balanced plate.
+ Fried plantains are delishh!
+ Pupusas are cheesy and filling! Get a couple to share for the table (or one if you’re dining solo) No meal here is complete without ordering pupusas
+ Dinner plate portions are a lot! Got the tiger shrimp and the shrimp was very juicy! No butter sauce drenching here, they cook it in a way that’s savory yet leaves room for natural flavors shine through
Service is terrific. We had a decent sized group and stayed for a while chatting. Didn’t feel rushed at all and still got constant water refills even after our plates were cleared.
Take a break from your usual Mexican fare and try this place out!

Delicious pupusas! I tried the pork & cheese, along with a chicken tamale and plantains with a crème sauce. The pupusa was very tasty, the tamale was soft and tender in texture. Service was friendly, I would recommend trying this place.

Pupusas are delicious! After finding out this place has them, I was more than tempted to give it a try.
I’ve been here twice & the first time I came here was the better experience. But for both experiences, service was moving at a glacial pace. I can’t even exaggerate because it’s the truth. It took us over 30 minutes to receive food after placing our order and later found out it was because there was a mix-​up between whether it was for take-​out or dine-​in. Should it matter? The waiter entered our order for take-​out. I would think that it would speed up the process but instead, it made it much slower. Half the time I noticed that waiters were just walking around and talking. It didn’t seem like they were working even though the restaurant was a little more than half full. I thought coming back, the service would improve but I was disappointed to find out that that’s how it is.
As for the food, I love the salad. I forget what it’s called, but it had avocado, black beans, red onions and tomatoes for a bed of mixed greens. What truly makes the salad is the cilantro lime sauce. Replicating it would require a food processor, one of the kitchen appliances I lack, so I opt to come here and enjoy it drizzled over my salad. And of course, I came here for the pupusas. I loved their chicken and beef pupusas (separate orders). I may just take pupusas to go if I decide to come back. The memory of slow service may deter me from coming back unfortunately. These days, I’ve been pressed for time and waiting for my food would not make me a happy camper.

The food is amazing. I recommend any of the pupusas, the pastelitos, tamales, pollo asado… it’s all delicious! It also may not appear to be a lot of food, but it fills you up!
The reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because the service is not top-​notch. It can sometimes take a while to be served, or you might find yourself occasionally feeling neglected at your table. If a large group is in the restaurant, that can also delay your service (unless you are part of the large group).
I will say that I did come here with a very large group one time (work-​related), and as we were leaving, the owner of the restaurant approached our boss who made the reservation, and asked him how it was. I was impressed by the professionalism shown in that moment.
I have come here many, many times since I discovered this place, and I tell everyone I know about it.

When we got there I was expecting the old antique smell that everyone on Unilocal was talking about, and they were right! We sat near the window next to this pretty epic painting you gotta see it. I ordered the Revuelta and topped it off with the restaurants homemade mild sauce and pickled cabbage. It was awesome and crispy.
Then I ordered platanos. It was so good! Salvadoran red beans are my favorite kind of beans and these were pretty awesome! The bananas were nice touch too! Then the dessert came out. I was soooo full, but it was crème brûlée with fried banana on top! It was like a banana churro. It was a nice crunchy banana and the crème part so yummmm. Overall, the food and service was great!

The Pescado Frito was pretty good… and HUGE. It is a simple dish and although it’s fried it doesn’t taste heavy at all. Well worth the money if you don’t mind picking out the little bones yourself. If you’re like me who (generally) doesn’t wanna deal with the little fish bones they have another fish dish that is boneless,. I honestly think that their other dishes are probably more worth checking out.
Their Ensalada Tropical though… that is one of the best salads I’ve ever had! The fruit tasted fresh– the shrimp was plump, juicy and flavorful (wish there were a couple more pieces); the cashews made for a nice extra crunch and creaminess. and the cilantro sauce paired perfectly with the rest of the ingredients.
Although the salad would have been enough I couldn’t say no to a papusa! The papusas here are realllly good! They also make their own «hot» sauce and curtido which make for the perfect garnish on this comfort food.
I think it was my dads first time having a papusa and he absolutely loved it! He also got a corn tamale. Simple but he enjoyed it a lot… which reminds me, they have some pretty decent lunch options for $ 10!
Another bonus — free range and hormonal free meats!
Walking distance from bart but there’s a cheap parking garage on addison which is just a street or two over if you can’t find street!
Good service, great food (can go light of for comfort) and in general just a nice spot to just eat and hang out with friends/​family — highly recommended!

Pupusas here are the best I’ve ever had! They’re crispy, chewy, and cheesy. Their plantains are also really good. As for the tamales, I’ll pass on that. They’re too mushy and fatty; but maybe tamales aren’t my thing.
Restaurant itself is kinda dark and old and it smells old when you walk in. Other than that, everything was fine and service was nice.

I always get me some pupusas for take-​out, though last week tried dining in for the first time. They seated us promptly, and they tell you what number to go to – they should say «table» before they say a number, because he just told me «4» and at first I was Iike, «huh? 4? What? There’s only 2 of us» *points at me and other person*
But you quickly realize that the tables all have posted numbers next to them so you’re not caught off guard for very long.
Food-​wise, pretty much any pupusa is good. They’re made with a masa tortilla and served with curtido (chopped cabbage and vinegar) and salsa. I literally drown my pupusas with both for a nice kick.
Usually 2 pupusas fill me up, and I get one meaty, the other extra cheesy.
My faves:
Revuelta con frijoles – filled with pork, black beans, and cheese
Queso y loco – with cheese and a salvadoran flower
The Platanos are also good: fried plantains, red refried beans, and sour cream. I heart all things sweet and savory like this dish, and it tastes great, although one of the plantains was pretty dark and almost burnt this time around.
The food came out real fast, and not sure if it was the owner or manager that brought out our food, but he always had a jovial smile on his face. Refreshing to see!
Smells a bit funky when you walk in, like an antique store, which threw me off at first.
But overall, I’m a fan!

One of my go to’s in Berkeley! I’ve celebrated everything from bombed midterms to birthdays to breakups here and it never fails to disappoint!
Start off with a carafe of their sangria! It’s not too sweet but isn’t to full bodied. Just right! They put a good amount of apples and oranges in there but I like to ask for extra and they never charge me.
FOOD: I’ve tried all of the different flavored pupusas, but my favorites are the revueltas! Pork and cheesy goodness and only for $ 2.50 each! I usually get 2 or 3 depending how hungry I am. Don’t worry, they’re pretty filling, so 2 or 3 is enough. Eat it with their curtido slaw and salsa it’s the best! Other sides I like to get are the platanos which are just fried plantains, refried beans and sour cream.
I have a couple friends who aren’t big fans of their service, but I’ve honestly never had that problem. They’re really quick to fill water (a plus in my book) and aren’t bugaboo’s. I’ve never had to wait more than 5min for a table even on their busiest weekend.
You can bring your kids too, they have a small play area for them. Great for groups, dates, or even a midday drank sesh. Enjoy!
Til next time, LIVE.LAUGH.LOVE.EAT.REPEAT

Soy Hondureña y mi pareja es Salvadoreña
Por el he disfrutado de ese platillo tan delicicio
Como lo son las Pupusas ‚. He ido a muchos lugares, donde realmente son
Deliciosas, pero sus lugares dejan mucho
Que desear, con respecto a su decoración
Y atención al cliente. Los Salvadoreños
Tienen que visitarlo para que miren lo que es el buen gustó Felicidades

Went to Platano because we were craving Salvadoran food. We had the pupusas (revueltas and pollo con queso), tamales de sal & the pastelitos (corn masa stuffed with shredded chicken, carrots, green beans and potato). The food was good and I would go back. The salsa and curtido were great and its a must when eating the pupusas. The service was good and the place itself is actually really nice.

I ordered 2 papusas with revuelta con frijoles and another with queso y vegetales. Sangria was great as I waited!