They have decent tacos, enchiladas, tamales, burritos, etc, but the best items on the menu are their pupusas. If you've never had pupusas before, they're basically thick, soft, corn tortillas stuffed with fillings like meats, beans, and cheese. My favorite variety is revueltas, which has pork, cheese, and beans in it. It's got a touch of the "hole in the wall" vibe that seems to always produce the best Mexican food. It's very casual. They have these funny "fake window" decorations. The TVs in there are always playing Spanish soaps or soccer games. There's an array of Mexican candies and snacks up by the register. Sometimes on weekend evenings, there's a guy singing music in the corner. No complaints with service. They always start you off with free chips and their fantastic homemade salsa. The waitstaff is friendly and the food comes out fairly quickly. 2 pupusas at $2 each is more than enough for me, so my meal, including chips and salsa, ends up being around $5! Their combo plates range from $5-10.
(4)
Gregory R.
I like this place. I had heard of a papusa but never eaten one. They are real good. I love the cabbage and red sauce that comes with them. The chips and salsa are good too. Plus real friendly service.
(4)
Felipe Z.
If you want a religious experience with the latin kind of food in lame Provo, then you should head over to El Mexsal. Not only it's authentic Mexican/Salvadorian food as you can see the lovely ladies cooking in the kitchen, but its REALLY GOOD, because other latinos straight up from south of the border frequent this place, together with the cops, LDS missionaries, and hundreds of BYU Students. It is cheap, and delicious. They have lunch menus, and a good a la carte menu, but if you ask me what I recommend? I would say the Chicken Nachos (appetizer) and the Pupusas. Holy Hell. The pupusas are incredibly good, have a good amount of filling, and they are CHEAP. And when I say cheap, i mean it. If there's one down side to this place, it would be... its a bit greasy, not overbearing though... but then again, what mexican place doesn't punish its plates and customers with the delightful taste and texture of and overdosed oily delicious plate from the brown heavens?
(5)
Jullie J.
This is one of my favorite places in Provo for good Mexican food. I would recomend this place to anyone who likes Mexican food.
(5)
Cassandra S.
I don't go for the Mexican food (which is just ok). But I LOVE their pupusas! Don't go on a weekend night, though, or you'll be subjected to really strange renditions of vaguely familiar American songs, complete with a thick accent and synthesizer.
(3)
Abby W.
Okay, I know that all the guys in this town love El Mexsal because of the cheap Papusas. But honestly... that's all they've got going for them, and even those really aren't that great. The rest of their menu is mediocre. The service is almost non-existent. Good luck getting drink refills!
(2)
David K.
We really come here only for the pupusas, which are better than any we've found in the area, except for a family from El Salvador who sometimes sells them out of their garage on Saturday mornings! The service is a bit slow, but the food is great.
(4)
Patrick B.
I have to say first, that this is one of my first reviews for a restaurant ever...but this needed to be said... What can I say?! I picked up lunch for 7 people at work today and the restaurant was very busy...I see why now. I personally had been wanting to try them for a while, so ordered the yucca and chicharrone, the revueltas and loroco papusa, a tamal salvadoreno, and the platanos. I also tried a few other items, and I can say nothing was bad. I enjoyed everything. I just wish I could have finished it all. Oh well, there's always later. Service was amazing and even with 7 orders being taken care of and labeled separately (and accurately I might add), everyone got sides and sauce with each dish, their plastic cutlery, salad-anything and everything that should have gone with each item. Not one person out of 7 had a single complaint, except for a couple wishing they had ordered more for later. Trust me, it wasn't that they didn't get enough to eat (the meals and sides are very good size and value for the money), it was just that it was so good, they wanted to at least try to keep eating. So for me, first time there today, and I am absolutely sure I will now be a regular. Thank you El Mexsal!
(5)
Liberty T.
Best pupusas I have ever had and for waaaay cheap! Definitely the place to go for pupusas. They also have way good horchata. I do wish the service was better - they never check up on you and waiting in line to pay takes forever. Still - the cheap and delicious pupusas keep me coming back!
(4)
Cameron S.
This a hole in the wall, great place............. but it's food is great!!! Real Mexico Food.......
(4)
Caroline G.
El Mexsal serves Mexican & Salvadoran food. Its Salvadoran food is the best in this area and that's what I order every time. I am not Salvadoran but married one and visited the exotic El Salvador. The pupusas at El Mexsal are even better than the pupusas I had in El Salvador. My mother-in-law--who lives in El Salvador--agrees with me. If you are a stranger to pupusas just go ahead a try all the kinds and decide for yourself which one's your favorite. The safest one is the revuelta (cheese,beans, and pork). Also, I always order a tamale salvadoreno because they're great. Another typical Salvadoran dish I like is the "pan con pollo". Sadly it's only served on Saturdays and Sundays. So try out this place and enjoy their free nachos and salsa while you wait for your food!
(5)
LeeAnn C.
I don't know why....with all the RM's around here, but it has been difficult for me to find a good pupusa! Well....no longer! They have the greatest pupusas! And all the rest of their food is delicious as well. Not to mention the prices can't be beat. If you find a very large group of people keeping the place open on conference weekend, it's probably my mission continuing the reunion festivities here! I love it!
(5)
Nicholas N.
I love this place. Kinda hole-in-the-wall-ish, but really traditional style mexican/ el salvadorian dishes with tasty rice and beans. The pupusas are delicious (a bit more flavor than the ones on center). I recommend getting one of the combo plates (there are a million). My favorite is the chile rilleno (however that's spelled) and the tamale or enchilada. I always feel like I got more than I paid for and I love the taste.
(5)
Areli A.
I absolutely love this place. Their Pupusas are the best. You should try their Rebueltas. Very flavorful and full of chorizo, cheese and beans. I also love their salsa and curtido.
(5)
Tony L.
Good Mexican and Salvadorian menu selection at an affordable price. I tried the shrimp cocktail (coctel de camaron) and it was refreshing and wonderful. I only ordered the small size but there were probably at least 20 medium sized shrimp in there. Their pupusas are heavenly and at only $2 each, you can't really go wrong. Service staff is also friendly. I will come back soon.
(4)
Booboo L.
The food is good. I ordered caldo de res. But the hour long wait was not worth it. I ordered guacamole two times--never got it. You would think that they would offer more chips and salsa to make the wait not seem so bad. But it never happened. Piss-poor service.
(3)
David C.
As the food goes, I'd say it was pretty good. The pupusas were hit and miss. We ordered 3 different kinds, and while 2 of them seemed kinda bland, 1 was rather tasty. I bet if I had figured out the curtido sooner (jar of cabbage, carrots, etc that goes with the pupusas) the pupusas would have been the highlight of the meal. The taquitos were standard. The beans and rice were standard. I was, however, impressed with the tostada, especially since I was quite full by the time I got around to trying it. The (h)orchata . . . I'm not usually a fan, but I would definitely order another glass if I go back. It was quite good.
(3)
Nathan C.
I heard their pupusas were good, so we went to give them a try. The food was greasy with far too little cheese, and about half-again as expensive as the competition (El Salvador on Center Street). I certainly wouldn't go back for pupusas or the platanos fritos-- can't comment on the Mexican side of the menu as we didn't try it.
(2)
Johan G.
The Pupusas here are alright. The beans and cheese are tasty, but, the tortilla needs some work. The tortilla taste more like Mexican-style, rather than Salvador-style. Another good part was the tomato sauce. Very good!
(3)
Jason B.
I think the Chile Verde contained thermosetting polymers. There was a long delay from order to food delivery, and it tasted fine. The pupusas were tasty and wow the price was right. The the epoxies started to harden, and the "food" had its revenge! Maybe I'm a gringo filled with beans, but I decided there is three vectors of food: taste, cost, and comfort. You can only have two.
(3)
Valerie P.
Let me be 100% frank. I'm not a huge fan of authentic Mexican food due to some unfortunate incidents in my youth. But yelp reviews aren't supposed to be therapy sessions, so on to the actual review. El Mexsal is a small restaurant in a sketchy part of Provo. It was fairly busy, which is always a great sign. I took the internet's advice and ordered the pupusas, which were awesome for $1.85 of cheese, meat, and beans. They were super filling. I ordered two and got full after one smothered with the cabbage slaw (delicious, vaguely spicy and full of thyme, I think) and their tomato/hot sauce. I'd recommend getting a side order of sour cream with them. The free chips and salsa are okay, if you like a less chunky salsa. Other than that, pleasant service, a little bit of a wait for large groups because everything is cooked fresh. It's also pretty loud, but overall, despite my hatred of Mexican food, not much to fault, especially for a meal under $5.
(4)
Tyson B.
Fantastic Authentic mexican and el salvadorian food. After seeing the location and the sign on the building i thought to myself, uh oh. This could get sketchy. And it was bad of me to judge a restaurant by it's cover. But upon walking in, every seat in the house was filled. I sat down and was immediately served with a big bowl of chips and salsa. Delicious. I had no idea what to order so I went with a conservative approach - chicken enchiladas and a papusa. I was very pleased with both. The food came out pretty quick considering how busy the restaurant was, and the staff was very friendly. The chicken enchiladas were served with beans and rice. They came out hot, and were pretty flavorful. They lacked a little bit of accent flavors, but overall they were a winner. What I would definitely come back here for are the Papusas. I'm still not even sure what they are, but they are delicious. Dump some of the hot sauce they give you on them and go to town. I have never had these anywhere else, so i'm not even sure where or what to compare them to but they are delicious. This little hole in the wall is probably the first El Salvadorian (spelling) restaurant I have tried, and I will certainly be back to explore the rest of the menu.
(4)
Grace H.
Best papusas I've ever had! You truly feel like you are being transported out of Provo and somewhere in Latin American when you walk in. The food is cheap, yet delicious and well made. I can easily usually get full off of just two papusas. The staff is friendly too. Sometimes I feel like the patrons look at me weird because not many gringos or gringas come inside, but I don't care because it's really good!
(4)
Kaisha M.
El Mexsal has good, cheap, hole in the wall Mexican food. The food is good, not great but good - but the salsa and the Horchata are great. The staff are friendly and helpful and they sell cool Mexican candy at the counter. It's not a place I'd go out of the way for but it's not a place I'd be upset about going if friends wanted to.
(3)
Jorge R.
I am from El Salvador I don't care for the Mexican food but the ricas pupusas are the best amazing place in provo Utah the mothers land
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Specialities
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch, Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Leah B.
They have decent tacos, enchiladas, tamales, burritos, etc, but the best items on the menu are their pupusas. If you've never had pupusas before, they're basically thick, soft, corn tortillas stuffed with fillings like meats, beans, and cheese. My favorite variety is revueltas, which has pork, cheese, and beans in it. It's got a touch of the "hole in the wall" vibe that seems to always produce the best Mexican food. It's very casual. They have these funny "fake window" decorations. The TVs in there are always playing Spanish soaps or soccer games. There's an array of Mexican candies and snacks up by the register. Sometimes on weekend evenings, there's a guy singing music in the corner. No complaints with service. They always start you off with free chips and their fantastic homemade salsa. The waitstaff is friendly and the food comes out fairly quickly. 2 pupusas at $2 each is more than enough for me, so my meal, including chips and salsa, ends up being around $5! Their combo plates range from $5-10.
(4)Gregory R.
I like this place. I had heard of a papusa but never eaten one. They are real good. I love the cabbage and red sauce that comes with them. The chips and salsa are good too. Plus real friendly service.
(4)Felipe Z.
If you want a religious experience with the latin kind of food in lame Provo, then you should head over to El Mexsal. Not only it's authentic Mexican/Salvadorian food as you can see the lovely ladies cooking in the kitchen, but its REALLY GOOD, because other latinos straight up from south of the border frequent this place, together with the cops, LDS missionaries, and hundreds of BYU Students. It is cheap, and delicious. They have lunch menus, and a good a la carte menu, but if you ask me what I recommend? I would say the Chicken Nachos (appetizer) and the Pupusas. Holy Hell. The pupusas are incredibly good, have a good amount of filling, and they are CHEAP. And when I say cheap, i mean it. If there's one down side to this place, it would be... its a bit greasy, not overbearing though... but then again, what mexican place doesn't punish its plates and customers with the delightful taste and texture of and overdosed oily delicious plate from the brown heavens?
(5)Jullie J.
This is one of my favorite places in Provo for good Mexican food. I would recomend this place to anyone who likes Mexican food.
(5)Cassandra S.
I don't go for the Mexican food (which is just ok). But I LOVE their pupusas! Don't go on a weekend night, though, or you'll be subjected to really strange renditions of vaguely familiar American songs, complete with a thick accent and synthesizer.
(3)Abby W.
Okay, I know that all the guys in this town love El Mexsal because of the cheap Papusas. But honestly... that's all they've got going for them, and even those really aren't that great. The rest of their menu is mediocre. The service is almost non-existent. Good luck getting drink refills!
(2)David K.
We really come here only for the pupusas, which are better than any we've found in the area, except for a family from El Salvador who sometimes sells them out of their garage on Saturday mornings! The service is a bit slow, but the food is great.
(4)Patrick B.
I have to say first, that this is one of my first reviews for a restaurant ever...but this needed to be said... What can I say?! I picked up lunch for 7 people at work today and the restaurant was very busy...I see why now. I personally had been wanting to try them for a while, so ordered the yucca and chicharrone, the revueltas and loroco papusa, a tamal salvadoreno, and the platanos. I also tried a few other items, and I can say nothing was bad. I enjoyed everything. I just wish I could have finished it all. Oh well, there's always later. Service was amazing and even with 7 orders being taken care of and labeled separately (and accurately I might add), everyone got sides and sauce with each dish, their plastic cutlery, salad-anything and everything that should have gone with each item. Not one person out of 7 had a single complaint, except for a couple wishing they had ordered more for later. Trust me, it wasn't that they didn't get enough to eat (the meals and sides are very good size and value for the money), it was just that it was so good, they wanted to at least try to keep eating. So for me, first time there today, and I am absolutely sure I will now be a regular. Thank you El Mexsal!
(5)Liberty T.
Best pupusas I have ever had and for waaaay cheap! Definitely the place to go for pupusas. They also have way good horchata. I do wish the service was better - they never check up on you and waiting in line to pay takes forever. Still - the cheap and delicious pupusas keep me coming back!
(4)Cameron S.
This a hole in the wall, great place............. but it's food is great!!! Real Mexico Food.......
(4)Caroline G.
El Mexsal serves Mexican & Salvadoran food. Its Salvadoran food is the best in this area and that's what I order every time. I am not Salvadoran but married one and visited the exotic El Salvador. The pupusas at El Mexsal are even better than the pupusas I had in El Salvador. My mother-in-law--who lives in El Salvador--agrees with me. If you are a stranger to pupusas just go ahead a try all the kinds and decide for yourself which one's your favorite. The safest one is the revuelta (cheese,beans, and pork). Also, I always order a tamale salvadoreno because they're great. Another typical Salvadoran dish I like is the "pan con pollo". Sadly it's only served on Saturdays and Sundays. So try out this place and enjoy their free nachos and salsa while you wait for your food!
(5)LeeAnn C.
I don't know why....with all the RM's around here, but it has been difficult for me to find a good pupusa! Well....no longer! They have the greatest pupusas! And all the rest of their food is delicious as well. Not to mention the prices can't be beat. If you find a very large group of people keeping the place open on conference weekend, it's probably my mission continuing the reunion festivities here! I love it!
(5)Nicholas N.
I love this place. Kinda hole-in-the-wall-ish, but really traditional style mexican/ el salvadorian dishes with tasty rice and beans. The pupusas are delicious (a bit more flavor than the ones on center). I recommend getting one of the combo plates (there are a million). My favorite is the chile rilleno (however that's spelled) and the tamale or enchilada. I always feel like I got more than I paid for and I love the taste.
(5)Areli A.
I absolutely love this place. Their Pupusas are the best. You should try their Rebueltas. Very flavorful and full of chorizo, cheese and beans. I also love their salsa and curtido.
(5)Tony L.
Good Mexican and Salvadorian menu selection at an affordable price. I tried the shrimp cocktail (coctel de camaron) and it was refreshing and wonderful. I only ordered the small size but there were probably at least 20 medium sized shrimp in there. Their pupusas are heavenly and at only $2 each, you can't really go wrong. Service staff is also friendly. I will come back soon.
(4)Booboo L.
The food is good. I ordered caldo de res. But the hour long wait was not worth it. I ordered guacamole two times--never got it. You would think that they would offer more chips and salsa to make the wait not seem so bad. But it never happened. Piss-poor service.
(3)David C.
As the food goes, I'd say it was pretty good. The pupusas were hit and miss. We ordered 3 different kinds, and while 2 of them seemed kinda bland, 1 was rather tasty. I bet if I had figured out the curtido sooner (jar of cabbage, carrots, etc that goes with the pupusas) the pupusas would have been the highlight of the meal. The taquitos were standard. The beans and rice were standard. I was, however, impressed with the tostada, especially since I was quite full by the time I got around to trying it. The (h)orchata . . . I'm not usually a fan, but I would definitely order another glass if I go back. It was quite good.
(3)Nathan C.
I heard their pupusas were good, so we went to give them a try. The food was greasy with far too little cheese, and about half-again as expensive as the competition (El Salvador on Center Street). I certainly wouldn't go back for pupusas or the platanos fritos-- can't comment on the Mexican side of the menu as we didn't try it.
(2)Johan G.
The Pupusas here are alright. The beans and cheese are tasty, but, the tortilla needs some work. The tortilla taste more like Mexican-style, rather than Salvador-style. Another good part was the tomato sauce. Very good!
(3)Jason B.
I think the Chile Verde contained thermosetting polymers. There was a long delay from order to food delivery, and it tasted fine. The pupusas were tasty and wow the price was right. The the epoxies started to harden, and the "food" had its revenge! Maybe I'm a gringo filled with beans, but I decided there is three vectors of food: taste, cost, and comfort. You can only have two.
(3)Valerie P.
Let me be 100% frank. I'm not a huge fan of authentic Mexican food due to some unfortunate incidents in my youth. But yelp reviews aren't supposed to be therapy sessions, so on to the actual review. El Mexsal is a small restaurant in a sketchy part of Provo. It was fairly busy, which is always a great sign. I took the internet's advice and ordered the pupusas, which were awesome for $1.85 of cheese, meat, and beans. They were super filling. I ordered two and got full after one smothered with the cabbage slaw (delicious, vaguely spicy and full of thyme, I think) and their tomato/hot sauce. I'd recommend getting a side order of sour cream with them. The free chips and salsa are okay, if you like a less chunky salsa. Other than that, pleasant service, a little bit of a wait for large groups because everything is cooked fresh. It's also pretty loud, but overall, despite my hatred of Mexican food, not much to fault, especially for a meal under $5.
(4)Tyson B.
Fantastic Authentic mexican and el salvadorian food. After seeing the location and the sign on the building i thought to myself, uh oh. This could get sketchy. And it was bad of me to judge a restaurant by it's cover. But upon walking in, every seat in the house was filled. I sat down and was immediately served with a big bowl of chips and salsa. Delicious. I had no idea what to order so I went with a conservative approach - chicken enchiladas and a papusa. I was very pleased with both. The food came out pretty quick considering how busy the restaurant was, and the staff was very friendly. The chicken enchiladas were served with beans and rice. They came out hot, and were pretty flavorful. They lacked a little bit of accent flavors, but overall they were a winner. What I would definitely come back here for are the Papusas. I'm still not even sure what they are, but they are delicious. Dump some of the hot sauce they give you on them and go to town. I have never had these anywhere else, so i'm not even sure where or what to compare them to but they are delicious. This little hole in the wall is probably the first El Salvadorian (spelling) restaurant I have tried, and I will certainly be back to explore the rest of the menu.
(4)Grace H.
Best papusas I've ever had! You truly feel like you are being transported out of Provo and somewhere in Latin American when you walk in. The food is cheap, yet delicious and well made. I can easily usually get full off of just two papusas. The staff is friendly too. Sometimes I feel like the patrons look at me weird because not many gringos or gringas come inside, but I don't care because it's really good!
(4)Kaisha M.
El Mexsal has good, cheap, hole in the wall Mexican food. The food is good, not great but good - but the salsa and the Horchata are great. The staff are friendly and helpful and they sell cool Mexican candy at the counter. It's not a place I'd go out of the way for but it's not a place I'd be upset about going if friends wanted to.
(3)Jorge R.
I am from El Salvador I don't care for the Mexican food but the ricas pupusas are the best amazing place in provo Utah the mothers land
(5)Salomon J.
Very good pupusas for the amount of money.
(4)