Chalateco

Angelo Kaplan

I tried this restaurant for the first time last Saturday and was so impressed with the quality of the food and extensive menu. I think it is my new favorite local restaurant and I plan to visit often. I wanted to try everything! We got the blue corn quesadilla with huitlacoche, and another quesadilla with squash blossoms (flor de calabaza), and mushroom papusas (hongos). Those were all vegetarian. The huitlacoche was my favorite, the flavor was really good and just the right amount of filling and cheese. Very good quality and the portions are huge, well worth the price. I also tried the huarache with pastor, it was the best I've ever had (and I've had a lot, including in CDMX). I also got an order of birria papusas, the meat and consume were perfect, again, some of the best I've ever had. Lastly, we tried the plantain empanadas (empanadas de platano) for desert and they were also delicious. We really liked the salsas as well, the orange one is spicy. I can't wait to come back. Wish I took pictures for the review but I was too busy eating!

RAMON FLORES

My wife and I visited this restaurant for a quick bite to eat. We had never been to this place and decided to try it out. The food here was delicious and authentic to the El Salvador cuisine. we definitely would return and would recommend our friends to this place. Ramon

Me and my partner first came across El Chalateco at the Alum Rock location down the street across from the Mexican Heritage Hall when I saw a Taquero outside grilling Al Pastor on a trompo. I can’t resist pulling over to get some tacos when I see that lol. Fast forward to more recently when they closed down that location and focused on the Jackson at Alum Rock location in a former Carl’s Jr space. They still have the same Taquero, Luis, but in the evening starting from Friday through Sunday. There are other Chalateco locations, however, the Jackson location seems to be the main location and their quality is much higher than the others. They have many dishes on their menu, including pupusas, enchiladas, tortas, Birria, and much more. They are decent but what I will keep coming back for are their Al Pastor Tacos. The tortillas are nice, thin and double layered. The flavor has that nice bit of tanginess and oily meat to go with the diced onions, cilantro, and flick of pineapple. The quality of their tacos is higher from Friday until Sunday when Luis the taquero is doing his thing. The waitresses will bring the tortillas and fixings out to him, and he shaves the pastor straight off the trompo onto the tortilla then brings it straight to your table. Some might find the prices to be off-putting compared to some of the other Mexican or Salvadoran restaurants in San Jose. Can’t say that I blame them. For my birthday party a couple years ago, the bill came out to quite a bit more than expected. So keep an eye on what you are ordering or it could add up fast. They finally got a card machine, so you don’t need to withdraw money from the ATM to pay if you don’t have cash on hand. In my opinion, El Chalateco on Jackson & Alum Rock have the best Al Pastor Tacos that I’ve found in San Jose, by far. They hold up against street tacos I’ve had in East LA. They make the tacos at the massively overrated Nuevas Generaciones taste flavorless in comparison. Beyond that, the service, the cost, and all the other stuff doesn’t really matter to me as long as I can get my tacos.

We love coming here for our pupusa fix! Our favs are the revueltas (pork, fried beans & cheese) with all the fixings and I love them extra toasty. We always order the Volcanes (almost like tostadas with cheese, choice of meat & loaded w/ pico de gallo) and they never disappoint. My husband loves the consomé de pollo - it's a must for him no matter what the weather is like. Just FYI - Cash only, but they have an ATM.

Food is good. Place has an small parking behind it. Service is ok. It was a bit slow but it was decent. Food was ok and portions are ok. I did feel that it was a bit pricey. Menu doesn't contain prices. Bill was over $30 not including tips

We ordered a large steak torta and fries. It was very good and enough to feed 4 people or 2 very hungry persons. 😋

Danny K (DSKO)

Me and my partner first came across El Chalateco at the Alum Rock location down the street across from the Mexican Heritage Hall when I saw a Taquero outside grilling Al Pastor on a trompo. I can’t resist pulling over to get some tacos when I see that lol. Fast forward to more recently when they closed down that location and focused on the Jackson at Alum Rock location in a former Carl’s Jr space. They still have the same Taquero, Luis, but in the evening starting from Friday through Sunday. There are other Chalateco locations, however, the Jackson location seems to be the main location and their quality is much higher than the others. They have many dishes on their menu, including pupusas, enchiladas, tortas, Birria, and much more. They are decent but what I will keep coming back for are their Al Pastor Tacos. The tortillas are nice, thin and double layered. The flavor has that nice bit of tanginess and oily meat to go with the diced onions, cilantro, and flick of pineapple. The quality of their tacos is higher from Friday until Sunday when Luis the taquero is doing his thing. The waitresses will bring the tortillas and fixings out to him, and he shaves the pastor straight off the trompo onto the tortilla then brings it straight to your table. Some might find the prices to be off-putting compared to some of the other Mexican or Salvadoran restaurants in San Jose. Can’t say that I blame them. For my birthday party a couple years ago, the bill came out to quite a bit more than expected. So keep an eye on what you are ordering or it could add up fast. They finally got a card machine, so you don’t need to withdraw money from the ATM to pay if you don’t have cash on hand. In my opinion, El Chalateco on Jackson & Alum Rock have the best Al Pastor Tacos that I’ve found in San Jose, by far. They hold up against street tacos I’ve had in East LA. They make the tacos at the massively overrated Nuevas Generaciones taste flavorless in comparison. Beyond that, the service, the cost, and all the other stuff doesn’t really matter to me as long as I can get my tacos.

Andrea Lerma

We love coming here for our pupusa fix! Our favs are the revueltas (pork, fried beans & cheese) with all the fixings and I love them extra toasty. We always order the Volcanes (almost like tostadas with cheese, choice of meat & loaded w/ pico de gallo) and they never disappoint. My husband loves the consomé de pollo - it's a must for him no matter what the weather is like. Just FYI - Cash only, but they have an ATM.

Jose Perez

Food is good. Place has an small parking behind it. Service is ok. It was a bit slow but it was decent. Food was ok and portions are ok. I did feel that it was a bit pricey. Menu doesn't contain prices. Bill was over $30 not including tips

Sandra Rosas Olden

We ordered a large steak torta and fries. It was very good and enough to feed 4 people or 2 very hungry persons. 😋

This cash-only Chalateco located at corner of Jackson Street and Alum Rock Avenue in San Jose, boasts a spacious dining area and plenty of easy parking. It actually has a pretty cool street view at night of traffic and nearby buildings. The bathrooms however could be cleaner and in better condition. Also, none of the menus have prices. This is a big turn off as it can lead to staff charging people different prices for the dish if they want. The service is stern and the food is okay. Overall they get an M as a grade. M is for mediocre.

Cash only spot, luckily there’s an ATM inside this restaurant. This place is really clean inside. Unfortunately I was not impressed with their food. We ordered the bistec ensebollado, chorizo and potato pupusas, and a michalada. Perhaps other menu items are tastier so my review is based on these items I ordered. The food was okay, not super flavorful to me. I also have a high bar for Mexican food so keep that in mind. Worth trying out this spot if you live nearby.

Joe Macias

This cash-only Chalateco located at corner of Jackson Street and Alum Rock Avenue in San Jose, boasts a spacious dining area and plenty of easy parking. It actually has a pretty cool street view at night of traffic and nearby buildings. The bathrooms however could be cleaner and in better condition. Also, none of the menus have prices. This is a big turn off as it can lead to staff charging people different prices for the dish if they want. The service is stern and the food is okay. Overall they get an M as a grade. M is for mediocre.

Ana Tyler

Cash only spot, luckily there’s an ATM inside this restaurant. This place is really clean inside. Unfortunately I was not impressed with their food. We ordered the bistec ensebollado, chorizo and potato pupusas, and a michalada. Perhaps other menu items are tastier so my review is based on these items I ordered. The food was okay, not super flavorful to me. I also have a high bar for Mexican food so keep that in mind. Worth trying out this spot if you live nearby.

Just like everyone else has stated, the service and staff was definitely the worst part. It seemed to be the younger workers for sure that seemed distracted and inattentive( laughing and talking to each other). I was able to order a Michelada with shrimp which came out pretty fast (took order as soon as I sat down), but after that service vanished. I also did not like that the entire menu had no prices and I was able to get over that. If you have plenty of time to wait, this is the spot for you.

Not what we expected. Definitely not a salvadorian restaurant. I ordered casamiento breakfast and they use mexican rice and Mexican pinto beans which had a totally different flavor and texture to a salvadorian casamiento. Restaurant has 1 menu only. Cooks(male and female)in the kitchen where making out during business hours.Bathrooms are very dirty. Will not return to this restaurant.

Rarely order from here and I order sea food and as soon as I opened it i see a cockroach. Do your self a favor and never eat from here unless you don’t mind eating cockroaches

Fernando BEST

Just like everyone else has stated, the service and staff was definitely the worst part. It seemed to be the younger workers for sure that seemed distracted and inattentive( laughing and talking to each other). I was able to order a Michelada with shrimp which came out pretty fast (took order as soon as I sat down), but after that service vanished. I also did not like that the entire menu had no prices and I was able to get over that. If you have plenty of time to wait, this is the spot for you.

Evelyn Alas

Not what we expected. Definitely not a salvadorian restaurant. I ordered casamiento breakfast and they use mexican rice and Mexican pinto beans which had a totally different flavor and texture to a salvadorian casamiento. Restaurant has 1 menu only. Cooks(male and female)in the kitchen where making out during business hours.Bathrooms are very dirty. Will not return to this restaurant.

Luis Villavicencio

Rarely order from here and I order sea food and as soon as I opened it i see a cockroach. Do your self a favor and never eat from here unless you don’t mind eating cockroaches

I just wanted a burrito, not one menu with prices that I could find. I wasn't happy about a $16 burrito, when it was an extra $1 to use my debit card I was done. Won't be back. $20 for fast food in 2025 without a drink is too much...

The menu doesn't say what the food cost, the receipt says comida & the price next to it but, it doesn't say what food your being charged for. They add a tip without asking. The customer service is bad. The food is bad. The place is dirty & smells bad. Wouldn't recommend it 👎

First and last time i eat here The service was bad. The food was bad even the drink i ordered was bad. Plus overpriced. Wasted my time and money. Disgusting food. Hateful lazy servers. Don't waste your hard earned money.

Terrible experience from start to finish. The server barely acknowledged us, just stood there waiting instead of taking our order properly. He clearly didn’t care, and I later noticed he clocked out before our food even arrived, which took forever. The food itself was awful! Dry chicken, pupusas with more masa than filling, and everything tasted old. I got a stomach ache right after. Definitely not fresh, definitely not worth it. Never coming back.

They have a special 3 pupuas for 9.99 i came for the last 3 weeks because my family and I are not eating meat during lent. Even though I ordered a large order the last 2 times I came of just pupuas and they gave them to me this time they said it was 3 per person only and that is there policy. I said it doesn't say that but they said well I'm telling you now. I said I bought a large order the last 2 times and said wow that is such horrible customer service. So I guess if you are more than one person you better not order here or they are going to turn you away. I will not go back on principles not a good time be loosing good custo.ers that eat out alot.

Zen

I just wanted a burrito, not one menu with prices that I could find. I wasn't happy about a $16 burrito, when it was an extra $1 to use my debit card I was done. Won't be back. $20 for fast food in 2025 without a drink is too much...

G E

The menu doesn't say what the food cost, the receipt says comida & the price next to it but, it doesn't say what food your being charged for. They add a tip without asking. The customer service is bad. The food is bad. The place is dirty & smells bad. Wouldn't recommend it 👎

Yvette

First and last time i eat here The service was bad. The food was bad even the drink i ordered was bad. Plus overpriced. Wasted my time and money. Disgusting food. Hateful lazy servers. Don't waste your hard earned money.

Nica Nellis

They have a special 3 pupuas for 9.99 i came for the last 3 weeks because my family and I are not eating meat during lent. Even though I ordered a large order the last 2 times I came of just pupuas and they gave them to me this time they said it was 3 per person only and that is there policy. I said it doesn't say that but they said well I'm telling you now. I said I bought a large order the last 2 times and said wow that is such horrible customer service. So I guess if you are more than one person you better not order here or they are going to turn you away. I will not go back on principles not a good time be loosing good custo.ers that eat out alot.

Ængı Šœl

Terrible experience from start to finish. The server barely acknowledged us, just stood there waiting instead of taking our order properly. He clearly didn’t care, and I later noticed he clocked out before our food even arrived, which took forever. The food itself was awful! Dry chicken, pupusas with more masa than filling, and everything tasted old. I got a stomach ache right after. Definitely not fresh, definitely not worth it. Never coming back.