Taqueria El Carrizal

We were in search of good pupusas not too far away from where we live. This was a win! It's a pleasant sit-down experience. They have lots of good beverage options- my bf Francisco P. & I had horchatas and our dinner companion had a papaya shake. On request, they can prepare the shake with water instead of milk. You can see the female chef in the kitchen preparing the food lovingly by hand. I tried the bean and cheese pupusas, which were very good. Our companion also tried the chicken pupusas, which she said were also very good. We thought they tasted freshly made, to order. I love that the pupusas had the bits of crunchy cheese that form when some cheese leaks out the side. I was also glad to have the red sauce and pickled cabbage for putting on top. Maybe next time I'd order more of that because I love the pickled cabbage, or curtido. My bf had a Salvadoran combo plate- that had a pupusa, a Salvadoran tamale, and a Salvadoran enchilada (which closely resembles a Mexican tostada). I had a taste of the tamale, which had chicken, & which I thought was really flavorful, and different in consistency than a Mexican tamale- softer.

A hole in the wall more people should definitely know about! As it is more of a spot for locals to hang out, they don't get too too busy so you're usually able to snag a table for walk-in. Service is okay, but they are more attentive to the tables with locals who stop by. Chips and salsa are free for the table, but you need to ask them for it since sometimes they don't bring them to your table automatically. The tacos here are decent and the Tipico Montanero plate is pretty good loaded up with food. However, I usually come here for the pupusas and nachos! Definitely come here for dine in since the pupusas get soggy and wet if you get them for takeout. Once, I ordered pupusas for takeout and for some reason the bag soaked through everything and onto my hands I couldn't hold onto the bag anymore.Overall pretty good spot, but can be more cognizant of the service they give to customers who are not locals. What I've tried here:- Pupusas- Tipico Montanero Plate- Tacos (beef tongue is pretty good)- Steak or chicken nachos - Horchata

Recently my mother came over to visit from Mexico. She has tried pupusas on a previous trip, which are hard to come by in Mexico, so she asked if we could get some. After some research on Yelp, I came across Taqueria El Carrizal. I lived in Allston a while back but this is the first time coming to this place. I can honestly say I had been missing out! This place has some standout items and is reasonably priced for the area. I tried a Salvadoran plate that had a pupusa, a tamal, and a Salvadoran enchilada (which resembles a Mexican tostada). The pupusa was my favorite. We could see and hear the lady making them through a small window in the kitchen. You know that you're in for a treat when you hear the kneading sounds from making the pupusas. The curtido and the sauce were delicious and the portions of each were appropriate per pupusa. The tamal was the most surprising part of the meal. It was softer and sweeter compared to the spicy and savory Mexican tamales I'm used to. I enjoyed it very much, and I was happy to experience a new kind of tamal. Lastly, the tostada was okay. It had a lot of cream for my taste and I did not have any sauce to pour over it. I had an horchata. It was certainly not the best I've had but I'd rate it as the standard kind you may acquire in Boston. My mother was trying to consume non-sugary drinks. Unfortunately, there were not many options. However, the waitress offered to make a sort of papaya shake for her without any sugar. I hear it was not the best but we appreciate their willingness to improvise to meet her needs. Parking around the area is horrendous. It took a while to find somewhere to park. I may have to try other items like the Mexican plate in the future. Nonetheless, I think this will be my go-to takeout spot for pupusas moving forward.

A hike to get to but totally worth it! This is a no frills place and the food was excellent.I had a horchata that was delicious. Not too sweet and just the right amount of cinnamon. We ordered tacos and the Plato montanero ($21) for our entrees. The beef tongue tacos were so good!! Basically the same as CDMX which is hard to find around here. The meat was super soft and the flavor was great. They were market price so $4.75 per taco. I also had a fish taco that was not so good (but not bad either). Wouldn't get that again but worth trying.The plato montanero was the best! A huge plate with perfectly seasoned steak and all the sides. The plantains were so sweet, they might be the best ones I've had in Boston. We usually go to east Boston for this plate but it was nice to find a spot in Allston that has the same thing! The service couldn't have been better and we will definitely be back.

Resturant: Was well kept, clean, and had plenty of indoor seating. They played Latinx classic jams and displayed new latinx and hispanic music videos on a TV. Parking: street parking outside but we walked to it. Food: We ordered for 2 and got complimentary chips and salsa, 1 tostada ceviche (perfect appetizer for 1 or 2 people), sweet plantains with cream, and 2 order for for Chilaquiles dish heads up the tomato sauce is spicy and not for the weak! [I did not finish mine but it was delicious]Everything was steaming hot fresh, homemade yumminess !! Such great seasoning and flavor the only spicy thing was the tomato sauce on the chips for the Chilaquiles dish which we were not expecting based on the description so I would ask in case you are not a fan of spicyness for what may or may not be spicy.Service: Our server was handling 1 or 2 other tables between ours and was very efficient. She made sure we had refills, asked how we were doing or needed anything else a few times and was open to answering questions.

Amazing food brought my Family here and Loved it will definitely recommend to others to come eat here INGRID the waiter was incredible thanks so much !!!

Charming spot with quality food! The ambiance is fun, with great ranchero music playing, and the service is really friendly. They serve a wide variety of authentic dishes from Mexico and Central America. You can find the classic Tex Mex items, but also the special dishes that are rarer in the US--pupusas, flautas, maduros, etc. I had a combo dish of Salvadoran food, and enjoyed it all very much. My friends dining with me also enjoyed their Mexican dishes. The place seemed pretty popular too! Highly recommend :)

This is the type of restaurant every neighborhood needs and should do whatever necessary to keep in business! Family run, homemade, delicious, and affordable food that you'll come back for. Everything we had was delicious and came out quickly. The service was very friendly. Even their tortillas are made in house and you can tell. We split a pupusa and a tostada as appetizers. For dinner my wife and I each got our own types of entree platters so we could try different things. The platters came with a ton of food and our final bill before tax was about $40, an absolute steal in the Boston area. Run here!

I've been living Allston for about two years now, and I didn't know this amazing place was around the corner! Service was prompt, and we got our food relatively quickly. The pork and steak tacos were extremely flavorful, and the portions were big. I'd love to come back here another time to try their pupusas.

My rule of thumb for restaurants: if working men patronize the place, it must be good. Right! All of the other customers this lunchtime were latinos. I ordered the Salvadoran plate, which included one pupusa, one tamale, and one taco. The pupusa and the curtido (a cabbage slaw) were the best I've tasted in Boston. The pupusa was slightly crunchy, and the curtido delivered a complementary kick with a strong dose of vinegar and black pepper. For the first time, I tried atol, a hot corn drink. Thick and sweet, it had a hint of cinnamon.My server, Ingrid, chatted with all the customers and me, making me feel welcome.