La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill

This place used to be one of my favorite places to go, but it seems like every time I go the service gets worse and worse. Food takes long to be prepared, but it is good. Not the best, but good. I enjoy the burrito ranchero very much. However this place loses 2 stars due to the bad service. Seems like they are always short handed, as the tables are often very dirty. The salsa station is very messy and they are mostly out of forks or napkins. The staff is also a bit on the mean side. I didn’t feel welcomed at all, almost like I was a burden to them. I mean, I chose to eat at your restaurant over hundreds of others… its quite a shame. Not sure if I will ever be back.

Got the chili lime salad, which has a kick! Love their salsa bar — it looked clean and fresh.
Prices are $ 7+, but it’s a good amount of food for sure. However, you can see the calorie counts on the menu which makes you realize it should probably be broken down into two portions…

This place is ridiculously slow! Waited twenty minutes for a take out order, took a bite and spit out the inedible quesadillas. Horrible horrible horrible

Decent Mexican style food served with a smile. You get exactly what you pay for– cheap and yummy fast food.
Very friendly staff! They work so hard to make everyone’s orders just right during the crowded lunch hour! Fast service, even when it’s crowded. Would have rated three stars, but gave an extra for the awesome staff! Way to go, guys!

what happened to the La Salsa on Grand and 5^th, a few blocks east of this location on figueroa. the service was great at the larger one on grand. the figueroa location seems so dirty and small. the food is great. service is verrrrrry slow!!! don’t go here if you are in a rush.

I’ve been eating in «La Salsas» since the early 80’s; I think I may have eaten in their first LA location. I’m not as impressed as I used to be; this location (Figueroa) seems to be sliding downward. Their food is less tasty, their portions seem to be shrinking, their service is more lackadasical, and their prices keep slipping upward.

i go here often. mostly for the breakfast burrito. its really good. price is great under $ 7. they also have good fish burritos for lunch. the staff here is always nice and my food is always hot and ready fast. good seating inside and a great outside patio for lunch in the sun. if youre downtown, and want a good burrito, this may be the stop for you.

Decent little place tucked away in a small downtown strip of similarly convenient better-​than-​fast-​food eateries.
Opted for the Taco Salad. Choice of meat adds $ 2 for grilled chicken or $ 2.49 for steak. I had the chicken.
Pretty good assortment on the salad. Guacamole, sour cream and the Chicken was good.
Big plus is the salsa bar with several varieties plus chopped onions and cilantro available as well.

The food was good. The service was mediocre. I went for a late lunch, around 3:00PM and there was nobody there. I avoided the lunch rush. So I’m not sure how crowded it gets during the lunch rush.
It’s good, but nothing to write home about. It’s pretty much like every other fast-​food Mexican joint.

Had the Los Cabos Shrimp Burrito. The worst burrito I ever had in my life. Ever! It had exactly 4 small shrimps and in the name of vegetables, 90% of the burrito was filled with tasteless grilled onions and pepper. Ate half of it and the rest to trash. It looks big to start with but just plain old tasteless garbage,.
I would give them an A for store cleanliness and the salsa bar. Anyway, overall no more La Salsa for me.

The McDonalds of Mexican food. Just fills the void.

So far so good. Chipotle shrimp salad is prettt good.

Not bad. A step down from Chipotle or Qdoba. No complaints really. Maybe if it costs a dollar more, I’d definitely knock the rating down to a 2 or even a 1.
This is a fast food type place. Wait in line, order your food, get a number, wait, pick up your food, find a seat. On a nice day, the outdoor seating gets really busy so I’d suggest to take a friend with you and have one of you wait in line, while the other finds and seat and holds it.
If you or your friend don’t want Mexican, there are other choices here. There’s a Johnny Rocket upstairs and a Greek and other places just next to each other. Nice place to go and eat and relax.
Parking: None
Price: $ 5-​$ 9 per person
Wait: The wait in line is about 10 – 15 mins during the regular lunch rush

I got their shrimp tacos and was entirely unimpressed. The shrimp were not seasoned very well. They put way too much sauce all over the tacos (likely to make up for the lack of seasoning), the vegetables weren’t that great and the tortilla had a large tear in it.
Oh, and the chips on the side were becoming stale before my eyes.

Went here on a quick lunch break, and I was excited for some good Mexican food. The smell was pretty enticing, but sadly the good memories stopped there.
I ordered the chicken and avocado enchiladas and was excited for some tastiness!
Let down city my friends… the black beans were bland, the cheese tasted like it was melted in a microwave, the chicken was dry and the guacamole was seasoned like tapioca at a retirement home… and to top it off I almost choked on a chicken bone.
Upside? Well, my boss pays for my lunch so it was free.

Another standard lunch place. I have to admit, it us nowhere near the best fast food Mexican I have had, but it serves it’s purpose. I go through phases with this place, perhaps they are aligned with the rotation of the moon, I will explore that theory next.
I tend to gravitate to the Chili Lime Salad, because I roll big. I order half chicken, half steak. Bet you didn’t expect that, huh?
The most annoying thing is that they are trained to say «please enjoy the salsa bar» which REALLY bugs me. I have always wondered what would happen the day they forget to remind me to enjoy; turns out nothing… Happened today. Even though I wasn’t reminded to enjoy the salsa bar, I remembered to do it for myself…
I know I will eat there again, as I am trapped in a sea of limited lunch options. Please, someone, throw me a life line!!!

The only thing I’ve ever tried at La Salsa is the Los Cabos shrimp burrito. Its super yummy! Great portion for $ 6.95. The most recent time I visited La Salsa, I noticed that they took out the mango salsa and replaced it with some pineapple thing. Boooo. Bring back the mango salsa!
Although the lunch rush line may be long, it moves pretty quickly.

After trying nearly everything on the menu, I can safely recommend a few items to my fellow Unilocalers craving Mexican food for lunch in downtown.
Carnitas tacos. I usually opt for the Mexico taco plate with 3 of these bad boys plus rice and beans. The carne and polle are pretty hard and chewy from my many experiences. The fish and shrimp aren’t as flavorful. So get the carnitas if your are really enjoy tacos.
Chicken enchilada platter — satisfies my enchilada cravings with red sauce covered corn tortilla baked with cheese and chicken. Add on a side of beans, rice, and free chips & salsa for a complete lunch.

Three words: Happy. Hour. Tacos.
I’m only basing this review on their happy hour tacos because I haven’t tried many of the other options. BUT! From 3−5pm, you can get their carne asada tacos (usually for like $ 3) for only $ 1 with free chips! Ok Ok I know we are in Los Angeles and you can probably find a million taco trucks with $ 1 tacos. However, their carne asada tacos are actually pretty good. They come with steak, onion, cilantro, and guacamole. Then, you go to their salsa bar. which has everything. They have like 8 different sauces, pico de gallo, chopped peppers, more onions/​cilantro, carrots/​jalapenos, and surprisingly good fruit sauce (usually mango or rasberry). Since I’ve always been in LA, I am spoiled and usually only want the most genuine Mexican food around but for a chain restaurant, this is definitely on the better side. I approve!
Take a break from work and get an afternoon snack!

La Salsa = La Fail
We had just arrived in LA and were starving! This place was close to the hotel, and looked good (the salsa bar is so enticing.) It was SO bad! The burritos were both tasteless as was the much touted salsa. Big waste of valuable tummy space.