El Sabor de Puebla

What other place in Madison gives you guacamole and chips gratis? For this and other reasons, El Sabor de Puebla is a bang for your buck. If you’re a person who appreciates a good taco or huarache, you will like it. (Same goes for mole.) If you’re a person who veers toward less authentic fare and expects a gargantuan margarita, then forget it. It’s a no frills place. But what they do, they do well, and the prices can’t be beat for this neighborhood. One huarache will feed you. One mole dish will feed you for days. If you live on this side of town and aren’t within a stone’s throw of Naty’s or Taqueria Guadalajara, this is your place.

The only thing that would make this place better is a margarita. While they don’t have a liquor license, the authentic Mexican food is great. This is a family owned business with a menu that expands beyond your typical burritos and enchiladas. You feel like you are getting a little taste of Mexico when you arrive. Be prepared to take your time and enjoy. It’s not quick, but it’s worth it.

The mole is a MUST have. It came recommended by our server, who was prompt and thorough. I will be coming here again. The sopes were also very good and fresh.

Great food for a decent price. We had the mole burrito verde enchiladas both were very good. Service was great and we received our food quickly.

Great and authentic verde enchiladas, mole burritos, and chips and salsa. Good service, nice price.

I wish we could use ½ star ratings to bump a place up or down. 2 ½ stars here. Portion size for price was great. Beans and rice were not warm though. Needed to ask for silverware and napkins, after dish was brought to table. Needed hot sauce for every bite. That tells you a bit about the lack of seasoning. The service was good though, and two people stopped back at my table to inquire about my meal. That is huge in my opinion. Would not rush back. Average experience, and not that memorable. Specific to flavor.

Solid choice for authentic Mexican food. It was pretty slow for a Thursday lunch, but the service and speed was excellent. Food was very flavorful — huaraches had a hit of spice that added interest but not heat. Will definitely be back to try other menu items!

Service was terrible, he didn’t know what a torta was when I asked him, I looked online and it looked like a sandwich so I asked, «is it a sandwich?» He didn’t know. Then I asked what types of tamales they had, if they were different meat or sauce? He didn’t know. Then I just ended up ordering one taco (el pastor-​pork taco) ²⁄₅. My fiancé ordered 2 carne asada tacos and a tamale and I’d give it a ¹⁄₅. Also had to go inside and look for a drink menu because the sign board read, «now serving alcohol» found the cooler and had to ask if I should help myself or what?
Overall: service was really bad & food was bad. Really disappointing because I am obsessed with Mexican food! Good thing Chocolate Shoppe was down the road

I had the saucy burrito, which I enjoyed from the first smell (rich, garlicky) to the last bite (deep flavors with a clean finish). None of that post-​burrito coma I have gotten used to. While I did not dine in the restaurant (I opted to pick-​up), the atmosphere seemed bright and cheery.

Okay so I’m a huge fan of Mexican food. And yes the food had good flavor however the way the restaurant was run is not at all favorable. We walked in at about 8:30 on a steamy Saturday night. There is no air conditioning, no fans and the windows were shut. When we walked in we weren’t greeted at all. So we sat wherever we choose once another couple directed us to do so. After waiting about 5 minutes we were brought menus and asked if we would like something to drink.
The chips I think are homemade but must have sit under the lamp too long. But the salsa was good. We finished our waters and finally someone took our order. Now at this time there was only another couple that got there a few minutes before us but we ordered before them and shortly after we ordered another gentleman came in and ordered. Both other tables got their food before us and we waited approx 35 from ordering to service. We were offered more water but it was warm.
The taste of the food wasn’t worth the wait.

I like what they are doing, still needs some work around the edges, but it has potential. I especially love the micro-​farmers market they do and sell fresh veggies right out front. Service was a bit slow.
Let’s start with their salsa — it’s very close to pico and just didn’t have much flavor, which is odd, because their house-​made hot sauce is flavorful and pretty spicy.
The enchiladas were a bust — taste was bland and dry tortillas, just weren’t flavorful. The taquitos on the other hand were pretty tasty and included lots of cheese on top. They had lamb barbacoa tacos on special and I thought they were on the right track, but a bit dry and the pieces weren’t cut small enough .
I think the mole-​covered burrito is probably the way to go. How can you go wrong? The menu has some nooks and crannys and with the specials — there is quite a bit of exploring to do.
They need to get some side money to the city councilmen (or whatever it takes) to get their liquor license — Mexican food without Mexican beer is a tragedy.

They were right as far as Service not being so good. Only around 6 people on Sunday afternoon and took almost 45 minutes to be served. The food was so so. Would not come back.

Authentic mexican food in Wisco doesn’t often go this deep. Cooking with organic ingredients when available, sourced from this family’s own hard work, this is a unique opportunity to try some of the great foods loved by many. I appreciate the rare glimpse into southern Mexico (think Puebla and Oaxaca). Their Mole, tamales, salsas, etc are a must try. If you haven’t enjoyed this food at the northside and hilldale farmers markets (though they still run a tamales and burritos/​tacos stand at these markets), dive into this great food seven days a week on Willy Street.

This small Mexican taqueria is a welcome addition Willy St. The service is considerably better than that of Café Costa Rica, which occupied the space formerly. The menu is simple and the ingredients are fresh. The enchiladas mole were really great; the freshness of the ingredients really shone in this dish. The tortas are also a good bet. The al pastor torta was delicious and filling. The meat was perfectly seasoned and grilled, and the tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado on the sandwich were very fresh. I believe they get their produce from the Los Abuelos Farley Farm. They have specials listed on the whiteboard in the back, which is hard to see if you are sitting up front. Be sure to ask for some of their aguas frescas!

The food was really good here but the service was awful and it took nearly 1 hour to get a few tacos at 5pm on a Sunday. As a former waitress I’m usually very sympathetic to wait staff but this was really bad. We had to get up and ask for everything every step of the way– menus, to order, our food, silverware, the check.
Hopefully they can figure out the service end of the restaurant business since it is hard to find decent authentic Mexican food in Madison.

I went back to El Sabor de Puebla, and felt that they read my review! The food AND the PORTIONS were ideal. This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Madison now. I hope I will be able to see consistency.

My family came to this place after reading about a new Mexican restaurant opening. I like these restaurants that are converted houses. They’ve also decorated the inside to have a more «traditional» Mexican restaurant feel.
The salsa was very watered down and not very good, but the chips were good.
To start, we ordered the chicken and pork sopes as an appetizer. Both were good and filling. Could easily be a meal in itself.
For our dishes, the best was the al pastor taco and the chicken tamales. If you add a radish and rajas to the taco, they’re as good as you can find. The tamale was very good too with some salsa splashed on it.
Other than that, we ordered a variety of enchiladas with mole and the green salsa. The mole wasn’t my fav but it was ok. The green salsa enchiladas were similarly ok. Can’t really object to them but probably wouldn’t get them again.
Overall, place is alright. Would go back for the tacos

I recently went there because I absolutely love Mexican food and I am always up for a new restaurant, especially Mexican!
I don’t know if they are still figuring out their kinks or not, but the food wasn’t that good. The meat was really dry and there wasn’t too much flavor. Our table tried 6 different dishes and we all felt the same about the meat and flavor.
The chips and salsa were really good but as someone said before in their review, they don’t really give you a great amount verse other places that I have been before.
The staff was friendly, but there was a good amount of errors which is completely normal for any new business. With time, they will hopefully get better.
One thing to note is they do not serve alcohol, so if you are looking for margaritas this isn’t the place.
Overall, cute place and nice staff but pretty disappointing.

Delicious, fresh, authentic, not overly salted/​seasoned like many other local Mexican restaurants! Refreshing salsa with the perfect ratio of ingredients. Delicious, fresh chips. Loved the beef, chicken and pork tacos with cilantro and onions — the small size is miniature but great for sampling. Roasted steak and cactus was perfectly prepared. The restaurant still has a few logistical quirks to work out but the food was the best I’ve had in the Madison area.