Zipotes

Had some excellent veggie pupusas with salad, beans, rice, and horchata. The place had a cozy ambience, some friendly faces, and I couldn’t find anything to fault. Would definitely go back again. The beans especially were delectable.

I had the Japaleno pupusas and the Carne Asada meal. The pupusas were warm and very delicious. The Carne was a lot more flavorful and delicious than i expected. It was the perfect combination between crispy and juicy piece of meat. I would definately visit again.

I placed an 2 spectate orders togo of popusas. They did an we awesome job supplying us with a can a salsa for each and a bag each of the coleslaw order. I thought that it was a nice gesture. Usually in other places you gotta ask for forks, salsa, napkins and etc. Will come back.

Adding this to my list of favorite local joints! Most Latin food around here scratches the itch, but after a meal here, I will be craving this above all others. First of all, they are no longer cash only – I paid with credit card. Now to the food: the combo plate is a great way to sample their offerings. You get 2 pupusas, their version of an empanada, and a tamale. All are juicy and FLAVORFUL. We also tried the Steak Salvadoreno, which was also good. From the looks of things, they make everything from scratch and will bring out food as it’s ready – so it’s not fast food. Be patient – it’s worth the wait. Looking forward to trying out their breakfast menu at some point. They close early for dinner so get here at least 30 mins before closing. It’s all worth it.

I was craving some Salvadoran tamales, so I ordered 2 tamales de pollo with a pupusa de revuelta! OMG! I mean, I have already had the pupusas there and they are so good and to be honest I was skeptical of the tamales but it is SO good and they are big too! I am a Redwood City native and grew up eating Amelia’s pupusas, and since they closed a couple of years ago, there hasn’t been a place I have found that compares to them… UNTIL NOW! Also, keep in mind, I am 100% Salvadoran myself, growing up with eating nothing but Salvadoran food. I LOVE IT! And the prices are NOT bad at all!

5 stars because the pupusas are so good! They aren’t greasy, the masa isn’t too heavy, and you can never go wrong with melted cheese. This place is pretty affordable too. So far I have only tried a revuelta and jalapeño & cheese one.

I saw some reviews claim they were cash only, this was my first visit (so perhaps this is a new change), but they had a modern point of sale and took at least VI/​MC with a $ 10 minimum.
I tried the pupusa revuelta, the queso con jalepeno pupusa, the chicken tamale, and the horchata. I enjoyed the entire meal, but I felt the chili cheese pupusa and the beverage were the items that were extraordinarily noteworthy and would bring me back with strong cravings for them.
The cheese and jalepeno pupusa included the most AMAZING crisped cheese bits oozing just slightly from parts of the tortilla. It was pure heaven. Crunchy, and a little salty, and gooey cheese filling. Just amazing.
Also I was not previously aware that Salvadorean Horchata is a distinct and unique blend that is slightly different from the other ones (e.g. Mexican) that I’ve become familiar with. This horchata was a touch more viscous and had strong notes of cocoa. It was delightful. I wanted to take it home by the pitcher full. I can’t wait till I’m back in RWC to stop by and get more. SO GOOD!
Service was warm and straight forward. The restaurant was clean and simply welcoming.
Prices seemed super reasonable. The pupusa’s were under $ 3 (tax /​tip excluded).

Hit or miss. When the pupusas are good, they’re great. When they’re ok, they are just ok. Pastelito (empanada) is heavenly when available. Platanos are always on point.
It gets crazy busy, and the hipsters have already (unfortunately) figured out this is a bomb lunch spot. People may complain about the customer service, but hey it’s not some uppity, swanky place, you see them hustling behind the counter, so calm your butt down and take your ass to Chipotle if you don’t want to wait

I am impressed! The location makes it a hidden gem but if you’re looking for authentic Salvadorian food, this is the place.
I ordered the Zipote Breakfast and everything was delicious! The plantains were the best I’ve EVER had and the chorizo eggs were perfect. I also ordered two pupusas with cheese, beans, and chicharon — also delish!
The service is great. The workers are bilingual: English, Spanish, and our waiter even spoke some Chinese! Armando, our friendly waiter, made us feel welcome, like family, which added to the «at-​home» vibe with the authentic homeland cuisine.
The prices are totally doable. The most «expensive» plate is no more than $ 12.70! The dish portions are filling and worth every penny.
I love Mexican food but it’s nice to have found an alternative Latino restaurant like this Salvadorian spot. My boyfriend is Salvadorian so he loved the authentic taste and dishes!
We’ll definitely be back for more! Yum!

I don’t remember what we got for lunch that day but the food there is good. It reminds me of when I would have it at my friends house. I’m quite a ways from home so this would definitely be the place for me to stop on by. Highly Recommend.

TL;DR: These are some of the best pupusas you could find in the bay area.
When someone who is Salvadoran tells you about a place that makes authentic pupusas, you should follow their recommendation. I ordered a combo plate with 2 pupusas, a tamale, and an empanada, and I was impressed.
The tamale was fresh out of the steamer. The masa was soft and fluffy, soaked with the juices from the meat stuffed within. Although there were bones in the meat, they were easy to pick out, and the meat was tender and flavorful.
On to the pupusas: both cooked fresh to order, nice and hot. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, and well stuffed; one with carnitas and the other with jalapenos and cheese. To accompany them we were given some slaw which added a hot and sour dimension to the meal.
To round off the meal there was the empanada. At first I wasn’t sure it was an empanada, being a little more round and dark that I was used to. But all my misgivings were dispelled when I took a bite and was met with the wonderful taste of creamy leche and sweet plantain.
We came as a group of 10, and it did take slightly longer than expected for the food to arrive. However, the flavor and authenticity more than made up for the wait. I’m excited to come back again, have more pupusas, and explore more of the menu.

ZIPOTES
NOTE TO READER: Before I get my head chopped off by other Unilocalers. (This has happened before) I am about to go on a 14 hour flight, out of the country. During this flight I have nothing to do and I know I have slacked on my reviewing because I have been crazy busy! Although every time I have gone somewhere new I made it a point to check-​in so I may go back and review later. It has taken me a while to review these restaurants but I am finally doing so. Before somebody says «you posted x9843058048 reviews in one day», please know that I am reviewing as my flight is in the air and will be posting once landed at my destination. Thank you! Also, I review on trip advisor before anybody goes psycho crazy on me saying they seen this review elsewhere. I post on both Unilocal and trip advisor of my reviews! Thank you (:
Location: Within a small plaza, it is not hard to find and parking is available. Although during lunch time it truly gets packed!
Customer Service: Fast service, I called in and since I worked fairly close by the time I got there I only waitied about 5 minutes and my order was done!
Décor: Small mom and pop feel and you can tell it’s probably a neighborhood favorite!
Presentation of Food: I did a to go order!
How did the food taste?: Papusas! Hit the spot and they are inexpensive also!
Overall Experience: I don’t live in the area but I would definitely go back for lunch!
Would I Come Back?: ^^^

This dump doesn’t even deserve one star.
Where to begin… Let’s talk customer service first…
I ordered the combo plate which comes with one tamale, 2 pupusa’s and an empanada with leché. Not hard right? Well apparently to the restaurant staff it was the most complicated thing to understand. My boyfriend ordered the Salvadorian breakfast which comes with casamiento, tamale, platanos and eggs. He said no cream on anything. He also ordered one pupusa so he could see what the big hype was.
No lie, 30 minutes later I received my food and 5 minutes later he then received his, but with cream on the plate. My boyfriend didn’t make a big deal about it because we were just happy to have received our food. So far everything was just ok; a little bland… just sayin.
I took a bite of my empanada and it was not what I ordered. The empanada had beans when it should have had leché. My boyfriend was wondering where his pupusa was. He asked the lady where his pupusa was and she came across disinterested. I told her my empanada was wrong and again she came of disinterested. Not once did she apologize for any mistakes. I asked if she could fix my order and she said «oh like you want me to remake it?» I said yes, can you? Her response, «well we gave away the last empanada with leché.» I said well you put cream on the plate, you messed up on my empanada and we’re still missing my boyfriends pupusa. She had this dumb look on her face and said, well what do you want, your money back or something? I said yes! So she gave me $ 2.75 for the empanada. Mind you we still haven’t received the pupusa. We eventually told her to make it togo. 5 minutes later or so we received the pupusa with no cabbage. My boyfriend asked for cabbage and that cashier chick said she would have to charge for the cabbage because we didn’t order it togo originally. I was livid! Like woman you messed up on our entire order and yet you have the audacity to charge for some cabbage. Like wtf! Anyways he took my cabbage from my plate and we left. I seriously wanted to cuss her out for her nasty attitude and terrible customer service, but looking at the staff and seeing how they dealt with my issues it would have been a waste of energy and time.
Now, as for the food…
The tamales were wet, soggy and lacking flavor. I’m such a foodie. I’ve traveled around the world, have tried many different types of Latin cuisine, not to mention my boyfriend is from Central America so he takes me to all the greatest hidden gem Central American restaurants. This place was a dump! Bland, DIRTY, and overall gross! The cashier chick was handling food while handling money! Yuk! The kitchen floors were disgusting! All you notice is food all over the place and clutter everywhere. I’m sure many hole in the wall places are cluttered but at least it’s hidden. This place sucks! Go to San Francisco to the Mission district if you want great Latin cuisine.

I’m so happy to have found a cheap, quick, and scrumptious lunch spot within minutes from my work. Each pupusa is about $ 3, price varying slightly based on the filling, and I ate two for a lunch of a mere $ 6. I ordered a chicharrones pupusa and a bean and cheese pupusa. The savory meatiness of the chicharrones one complemented the corn exterior well, and it was my preferred out of the two. There was ample cheese in the bean and cheese one. With the pupusas they give you hot sauce and bowls of pickled cabbage; the hot sauce was not extremely spicy and the slaw I eagerly piled on top of the savory pancakes.
I brought my coworkers to Zipotes for our biweekly lunch outing and they all seemed thankful I had suggested the spot, as we all thoroughly enjoyed our various pupusas, an authentic Salvadorean meal for an inexpensive price.

Thank you Unilocal!Without your recommendations I’d never ever try a place like Zipotes.
It’s tucked away in a tiny strip plaza in Redwood city, next to a liquor store and a laundromat. It’s not the prettiest place to look at, but oh my their food is so good and cheap!
We were short on time and so ordered 2 pupusas and 2 Salvadorean tamales to chow down. While we sat down in the small restaurant and waited, we saw the family at the two tables next to us have this hot drink cup. It seemed pretty popular so we asked what it was and were told it’s the Atole de elote — a mildly spiced hot corn drink. We got a sample from the friendly lady at the register and decided to buy a large cup.
Once our food arrived, we concluded that it was the best $ 14 lunch we have gotten in a while. The tamales were ginormous and the pupusas really tasty with the complimentary pickled cabbage. Some of the other menu items look good too and I hope to return soon! Great find.

Found this spot near the office, thanks to fellow Unilocalers. Select items from the menu up on the board. Order at the counter then seat yourself.
Food:
Wide selection, from breakfast items, to the usual Mexican flair, to soups (with beef tripe, or nerves or feet… maybe next time!),
BEEF SOUP $ 11.00
CHICHARON PUPUSA (corn) $ 2.67 — ordered it to go.
Service: The woman at the counter was friendly and welcoming. She made a recommendation on the type of Pupusa when I asked her. I liked that she was smiling and gave it good thought. An older woman bus-​ing the tables. she was not so attentive, she cleared other tables before getting to my table, which still had the mess from the previous patrons which I politely put aside (to try to make it obvious). She prob thought it was my leftovers, but still.
Paying with debit/​credit cards: No longer cash only! They accept debit/​credit cards as a week ago, the woman said, yay! I used cash since that’s what Unilocalers mentioned, which I didn’t mind.
Parking: tons in the front, as it’s in a small strip mall next to other small businesses.

I had never tried a pupusa before visiting Zipotes, and I’m definitely a fan. I’ve tried their regular and corn pupusas, and while I enjoy them both I prefer the corn. Everything here is made fresh to order, so if you’re in a rush it may not be a great place for a quick bite to eat. That said, everything is incredibly fresh and tastes home-​cooked. The menu is large, and there’s a huge variety. I’ve only tried a couple of items but have been happy every time. The only downside is that it’s cash only, so be sure to bring your Benjamins.

Me gustan las Pupusas

Really torn on judging this review because the pupusas are so good but I waited 30 minutes for one pupusa and a side of rice. :(Apparently my order somehow got screwed up, but instead of coming to tell me this, after a half hour I had to go up and inquire about my order, and at that time I’m not even sure what the lady was saying but she showed me a rice pupusa saying they mixed up my order. Well, can you just make my order correctly then? I mean… :\
The good news is the pupusa was absolutely delicious, soft and very cheesy. The rice was great. White rice with bell pepper. And the better news is she refunded me for the food (minus my bottle of water) so at least she acknowledged the problem and I didn’t have to ask for a refund. I will probably come back eventually as there are not many good pupusa places near me.

I know what probably most are thinking? A review about Pupusa? What does he know about Latin American cuisine? Stick to phở!
Well, I’ve never been to El Salvador but I have been to a few of the popular Pupusa shops around and know enough to chose my favorite shop for cheesy goodness.
Zipotes is the very latest and it’s located on a remote and strip mall location in Redwood City. Most know that Redwood City has one of the highest concentrations of taquerias so it’s not surprising that this Latin American restaurant has chosen this location.
During the lunch hour, this spot (and the laundromat next door) receive brisk business with many locals and Spanish speaking customers enjoying the cuisine.
The space is clean and bright and has about four to six tables with a television playing soccer. Orders are taken at the front and the menu features breakfast specialities, their signature Pupusas, soups and lunch and dinner platters. Our choices:
Pupusa Revueltas — Pupusa filled with chicharrones, beans, and cheese. It’s served nice and hot and the cheesy goodness is paired with a great price ~ $ 2.50-$ 3. Rincon Sabroso in Mountain View is as good but with a smaller menu while Pupuseria Dubon had better entrees.
Sopa de Res — $ 10. Given the wet weather, we felt like a large bowl of soup. They were out of the hen chicken soup and the tripe but had this beef oxtail soup. It’s a good sized bowl and full of tender oxtail. Lots of vegetables as well. Flavor was good but overall I’ve been disappointed by Mexican soup broths except tortilla soup and tripe soup. The others are not flavorful enough and too plain with cabbage and carrot. $ 10 isn’t cheap but it’s oxtail.
Churrasco Salvadoreno — $ 10.75. This lunch platter came with thick tortillas and a grilled steak. «Steak» is a bit generous as the beef was thinly sliced and grilled overly well. It was more like flank steak but not as tasty or thick. I did enjoy the black bean rice and the small spicy sausage that accompanied it but would skip this next time. The recommendation was disappointing because it was the priciest item on the menu. Should have gone with the fried chicken.
Overall, Zipotes was a solid stop and great for those liking Pupusas. The higher prices entrees and soups were ok but it’s clear the Pupusas are what have many coming back. The Horchata and Agua Fresca were awesome too and service is both low key and friendly. My lunch ended up being north of $ 30 which is more than you’d expect for the ambiance but everything was fresh and I definitely could order their popular but more affordable items next time.
Zipotes accepts cash only.

We’ve been comin back here more often this month than any other place in Redwood City (other than The Patty Shack)! We spend way less for a delicious diverse menu, and friendly service!
Pupusas are a must, hot & fluffy buttermilk pancakes, fish, chicken, beef, soups, burgers, plantains, breakfast to giveya more pep inyer step! Burritos, quesadillas, omelettes, tamales, atoles, juiced orange or carrot drinks. Understand, There’re lotsa folks fr Mexico whom live roun these parts so they offer some Mexican dishes as well as Salvadorian meals so don’t be thrown off.
They make your Pupusas & tortillas by hand so be patient.
You get packaged tortillas most other places.
Bring your laundry too! You can bust out your warshin at the laundromat next door whilst you’re satisfyin your hunger!
On the go?! There are bus stops nearby w lines 270 & 276 to downtown RWC! Call ahead for take out so you don’t miss your bus!
BUEN PROBECHO!