Review Guanaquita Restaurant - Kitchener

The food here is amazing! They many great vegan options. We've eaten here several times and each time I have had a different vegan dish. The staff is friendly and helpful. One of our favorite places in Downtown Kitchener. Update June 21: Just had another amazing experience here! Food was amazing as always. Staff is super friendly. Really one of the best places in KW!

My boyfriend and I had a great time here with our friend, we enjoyed how polite the staff is, but as for the food none of it was bad but there were ones better than others for instance my plate with the fluatas and loroco were Amazing and i will definitelyorder it again! But the Mari-tiera was good but I thought could use a little more seasoning like salt and the shrimp was delicous but and so was the fish but it was dry. Maybe it was just that one time so we will have try it again. We also had a beef taco (carne asada) and it was very good and so was there mild sauce with it. As for the flan I thought it was over cooked, needed sugar and just wasn't the best I've tried, not horrible but not my top choice. I would definitely order everything again (except the flan) plus we enjoyed the atmosphere here and the view at sitting at the windows, it is very nice!

We got 2 Guanaquita platters, a veggie platter, and the 3 enchiladas salvadoreñas. The food was very tasty and they had many veg options. We also tried their churros which were amazingg. My only issue was that the food was very fried and oily, in that my mouth - which isn’t used to eating fried foods - hurt quite a bit afterward. I really enjoyed the enchillada on my Guanaquita platter though!

My first time ordering from here and it was DELICIOUS. We ordered the delivery and everything was hot and fresh when it arrived. Asside from the incredible food, the staff member who answered the phone was also amazing. A member of our group has a severe shellfish allergy and the staff who answered the phone was very clear about cross contamination policies, very reassuring, and was very helpful addressing all of our concerns. In terms of food: I had the pick 4 combination platter and tried the pastelitos and pupusas. The bean and cheese pupusa was okay, but the steak and cheese pastelito, chicken bean and cheese pastelito, and the pork and cheese pupusa were INCREDIBLE. The only thing I would say is the medium hot sauce was not as hot as I was expecting so I would definitely go up a spice level next time. I will be ordering from here again for sure!

It was our first time at The Guanaquita Restaurant last night and we were so impressed with the food and service. My mom and I both enjoyed the vegan platter and loved everything on it. It's wonderful that most menu items can be made vegan. Next time we are in Kitchener we will definitely be back to try more of the menu.

Hands down the best papusas you can get. They're large and absolutely stuffed with ingredients. Everything is always fresh and perfect. The curtido and salsa also cannot be beat. The staff is friendly and the quality is always a 10.

Great establishment! Food was great, atmosphere was awesome, service was lovely! Cannot wait to come back! We came back! SOOO much better than I remembered! I got the vegan platter and filled my hollow leg!!! See you again soon!!!

Love the people and the food here! Favourites are the pastelitos & pupusas. Lots of vegetarian & vegan options.

Visited this lovely place for the first time yesterday & holy jeebs the food is to die for!!!!!!! The staff was very friendly and the awesome waitress took the time explaining all the mouth watering food. I will most definitely be coming back, perhaps a weekly visit!!

The food was amazing and reasonably priced! The staff and owners are super friendly. I highly recommend the pupusas!!

Amazing place delicious food. Service was great definitely a place.to go to eat Spanish and Mexican food will be back

Such delicious and economical food! The combination platter is the best, and I'm never disappointed with the amazing pupusas, pastelitos, and tamales. It's great that there are a ton of vegetarian options. Love the cute balcony, too.

A Kitchener gem! Lucky to have such an amazing establishment serving delicious Salvadorian food!

My favourite food downtown, best service and an awesome patio!

Tried this place based on a friend's recommendation and was not disappointed. Everything was fresh and delicious! We will definitely be going back.

I love this restaurant. Plan on chilling a little while they prepare your awesome authentic meal, but enjoy a great mojito while you wait.

Amazing service Amazing food Reasonable prices A cute and quaint little restaurant...... we will definitely return!!!!!!

I want to start by saying that this used to be one of my favourite places in town, and my go-to spot when I didn't want to cook lunch or dinner since it's right across the street. Going out to a restaurant is about the overall experience though, and not just the taste of the food. Guanaquita serves up delicious food; it's the service I'm disappointed in. The last three times we've gone, we have waited over an hour for pupusas and our orders haven't been correct two out of the three times. It isn't because the restaurant was packed (unless you consider 6 tables to be packed), but rather because the kitchen and service is not efficient at all. I would never have written this review just based on one bad experience, but it has been three in a row now and the staff and owners have not made any improvements. This is what happened on our last few visits: We waited 50 minutes just to get our drinks for two people (2 waters, 1 beer) and had to ask multiple times. There were 6 tables in total seated at the restaurant so there is no reason to take 50 minutes to bring a table 2 waters and a beer. After getting drinks, we inquired about when our food would be ready. The server replied, "well we have to finish serving the table over there first." I asked if that meant they were serving one table drinks, appetizers, and meals before serving other customers and she said, "yes." I suggested our food could be prepped after serving the table of 6 sitting near us their appetizers. We didn't order appetizers, just pupusas. She insisted that they had to serve the table of 6 their entire meal before making our food. I've worked at a restaurant when I was younger, and I know how restaurants run. Even with a small kitchen, there is no excuse for service that is this slow. Sure enough, once the table beside us fully cleared out they started making our food while informing another table that they would get food when ours was finished. This is ridiculous, and if the kitchen was working efficiently there would be no reason why multiple plates can't be prepped at the same time. If you go to a place like Taco Farm, where there are only 2 people working in a very small kitchen, you'll see them prepping food for 7-8 tables at once and they make every minute count. Another great example is Ellison's Bistro in downtown Kitchener; small restaurant but magical (and incredibly efficient) service. It ended up taking 1 hour and 32 minutes for pupusas at Guanaquita on this last visit. When they brought our food, it wasn't even the right order but there was no way we were going to risk waiting another hour and a half for the right order to be prepared, so we just ate what they brought us. Even after this experience, we returned to Guanaquita because like I said before, it was one of our favourite spots. Then it happened again, and again with friends we brought, with wait times of over an hour for pupusas. The food here is good. It's really good. I just don't want to wait that long for my food, and I don't think it would take that long if Guanaquita committed to being more efficient as they grow. Service is most important to me, and what this says to me after so many meals we've had there and so many people we've brought in is, "We don't care about you as a customer." Guanaquita, let me know when you're ready to improve how you serve your customers, and we'll be back.

Nice place to eat, very clean, very comfortable, nice attitude from the employees! It's awesome! Congratulations! ��

friendly, prompt service, good prices and great food! very nice atmosphere too, great place to chill out sipping a corona or to have a delicious meal without breaking the bank! try the 3 milk cake for dessert!

Friendly and helpful service. Excellent food ! Our second visit and sure won't be the last.

Had lunch there today and the food was amazing! We will being going back often i'm sure!

El mejor restaurante en Kitchener y en la region. Tambien el mejor lugar para bailar.

Best food and service in the city! You won't regret a visit.

Truly authentic, homestyle, Salvadoran fare, served by friendly faces, at prices that can't be beat! Excelente!

This is one of my favorite restaurants, I am from El Salvador and this is a little piece of my culture. Love it�