El Sabor de Puebla

Reviews

• Efrem J.

  star star star star star_border 12 June 2026

  El Sabor has become my favorite local Mexican restaurant here in Madison. It's the closest I can get here that compares to the food I remember my parents and grandparents making throughout my life. The portions to cost are fairly well balanced and the flavors and quality are fantastic.
  
  If anything, they tend to kick up the heat a bit higher in their food than other local places, but not so much that you can't eat it. I'm talking heat/bite, not spice. Too many people confuse the two. Their spices are spot on.
  
  I gave them a 4 out of 5 only because I wish they had milanessa de res, botanas, and a giant plate of killer nachos with all of the fixings.

• Connor P.

  star star star star star_border 31 May 2026

  Came here on a Tuesday at 8pm only to find out taco Tuesday ends at 5pm. Seems odd, but ok whatev. Tacos were good nonetheless. Will likely return but will first scope out better taco Tuesday deals.

• Malia Y.

  star star star star star_border 29 May 2026

  The tamales never disappoint! I loved both the red and green sauce; typically I live for the green, but the red added some great flavors and a bit creamier than your typical.
  
  Service was lightning fast. I'd say this is a quaint area, probably not great for a large group. It was bustling with take out orders on a Tuesday. I'd come back for their taco Tuesday lunch (10am-5pm) $1/taco deal.
  
  The beans were okay. I liked the added texture. The rice was bland.  Salsa: definitely spicy, but could have used a little bit more garlic, salt and lime. Overall, I was happy with the main items I had to eat (tacos and tamales).

• Aleen T.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 28 May 2026

  The service here is the absolute worst! My husband and 2 kids ordered some tamales, waited 40 minutes, watched people come and go with their orders, waved hello to our waitress who was busy on her on her phone . We ran out of water, took a walk around the place. Still nothing. We asked another employee if she could check on our order after 50 minutes and she finally got our waitress off her phone long enough to confirm she forgot about us! Even though we were the only customers & right there at a table in front of them! The worst part was she didn't even apologize, just tried to blame it on the kitchen staff! We would have stayed if they had just offered even a tiny apology but now we will go elsewhere and encourage you to as well. We were trying them out to test for a large catering order but no way. There are plenty of excellent Mexican food restaurants in Madison that are more worth your while.

• Sarajane L.

  star star star star star_border 18 May 2026

  My son and I checked out El Sabor de Puebla a couple of weeks ago. It's within walking distance and it was a beautiful summer night. If not for mosquitoes, we could have enjoyed our entrees at one of the outdoor tables, but that was not to be.
  There are so many echoes of 4 & 20, the previous bakery/cafe that was so loved and closed after such an unexpectedly sad event. The layout is the same, only the colors have changed. The interior is awash in warm caribbean hues, and beautiful pottery from the owners' home region in Mexico is displayed as art and available for purchase. Pride of place is evident in the decor and in the food. We enjoyed our entrees and their low prices as well. For some reason, their soft corn tortillas, normally a somewhat bland component of the meal, had the most amazing flavor. Absolutely delicious! The owner was extremely busy catering summer events as well as running the restaurant, so some things weren't available, such as a milder salsa than the extremely hot green one. It made it hard for me to season my food to my liking, as it arrives not spicy at all and the green sauce is killer.
  They have lots of natural light through the wall of large windows (may want to think about installing shades of some sort for when the afternoon summer sun is fairly blinding), but this winter I'm sure that will be an asset when we all crave the light. I'm looking forward to my next visit and checking out some of their other offerings!