The mainstay of Salvadorean food is the pupusería , serving pupusas , the cheap and filling national snack. These small tortillas are served piping hot and filled with cheese ( queso ), beans ( frijoles ), pork ( chicharrón ) or all three ( revuelta ), and cooked on a hot plate. Pupusas are normally made from cornmeal (although the crispier ricemeal version is worth trying), and are served with optional hot sauce and/or curtida , a jar of pickled cabbage, beetroot and carrots. Pupuserías range from humble street-corner grills to huge, barn-like places filled with families at the weekends - most of them, however, only start serving from the late afternoon onwards.

Other Salvadorean specialities include mariscada (seafood in a creamy sauce), tamales (meat or chicken wrapped in maize dough and boiled in a leaf), ceviche (raw, marinated fish), and sopa de frijoles (black or red bean soup - often a meal in itself). Panes con pavo are breadrolls filled with turkey and served with salad - many restaurants specialize in these alone - and bocas are small appetizers, often meat and/or pickles and vegetables, served with drinks or before a meal.

There are US-style fast-food and pizza chains throughout the country. Chinese and Tex-Mex restaurants are reasonably common too, as are Italian places in the larger cities, though their authenticity varies.

So far, El Salvador has not been struck by a cholera epidemic. If freshly cooked in front of you, street food is generally safe to eat, although there's a lot of dust and dirt in the air and hygiene standards are not always what they should be.