Salsa A La Salsa

My guy and I ordered Salsa A La Salsa to go on a Saturday around noon. When we got home, we realized my entrée had beef in it. This was a huge problem as I am a vegetarian. The receipt clearly said beans. I called the restaurant and asked to speak to the manager, hoping to get the cost of the entrée removed from our credit card statement. The hostess took my name and number promising the manager would call me shortly. After 5 hours without a phone call, I called again. The hostess took my name and number again, but being that it was now dinner on a Saturday, promised the manager would call over the weekend when things were less busy. I still haven’t heard back. What I was able to eat of the food seemed okay. I was able to eat their nachos, but the service and helpfulness of the staff was abysmal.

I am not ashamed to say I’ve been here many times by myself!
I love the food, love the happy hour and love the atmosphere!
My favorite thing I have gotten so far is the chimichanga. It is MASSIVE. Without a doubt, it will be enough food for even the hungriest of bears. I did not expect them to have such a large selection of beers on tap, but they do, and it’s marvelous!
The restaurant itself is a dark dungeony feel (cool dungeony though), with a mexicano pop of bright colors and cartoon like skull décor. The bar is lit with changing colors, and it’s beautiful. It’s hard to explain, so just go see it for yourself.
My FAVORITE thing about this place is that it has it’s own parking lot! This is extremely rare in Uptown! If for some chance the lot is full, there’s some paid street parking right out front depending on what time you’re there, and it’s not a far walk if you park on some nearby streets.
I only really have one problem with this place. The chairs at some of the tables have arm rests that are very uncomfortable for people with big ol’ butts like me. It was so uncomfortable I almost wanted to get our food to go. I assumed it was just me, but my average-​sized friend was complaining it hurt her hips too. Skinny mini’s never have to think about this kind of stuff, and I’m assuming whoever decided to get these chairs «fit» in that category, literally.

So, I can tell you most definitely that Origami is amazing and the service is to be envied. I say this because the experience I had at Salsa A la Salsa: Uptown, let’s not confuse it with the restaurant on Nicollet that is awesome. The experience at this restaurant was extremely homophobic. I have seen the adds in Lavender and would conclude that this establishment would be inviting especially located in Uptown, however, not so much. Or at least not Andrea the server whose section we had the misfortune of sitting. After having to have the host staff retrieve her after her passing by the table three times without a peep, she finally appeared. I have not had such obvious homophobic interactions with someone since living in Oklahoma. The conclusion was that not being able to get her to come to our table to take our order for 25 minutes, we were forced to leave. That is how we ended up at Origami. Amazing place! Perhaps vetting your people might be a good idea., especially in Uptown.

I have waited so long for a Mexican/​Latin American restaurant to come to Uptown! This was a HUGE disappointment. There about 20 items on the menu, and it is all foods you could get at Chevys, ChiChi’s, or Applebees.
Horrible. My experience at the Salsa A La Salsa on Nicollet was so much better! They actually had Mexican dishes at that one. Come on Uptown.
The service was also horrible. We asked for a booth, the person seating us gave us a table and said they were reserving the booths for bigger parties. Excuse me? First come, first serve. Plus they sat another couple at the booth we asked for. Really?!
My advice, avoid this place.

The space still has the influence of the former southern restaurant that was here for a heartbeat, it doesn’t look like the owners did much to it… which is fine because it still feels new albeit maybe not authentically hispanic like Barrio does.
The chicken diablo is not Minnesota spiced, in a good way. It is HOT and delicious — one of the best Mexican dishes I’ve had in a while. The portions are sizable for the money. The patio is one of the nicest in uptown. The margaritas are better at other joints, like Stella’s or the former Bar Abilene, may it rest.
There is a private lot that occasionally is valet only, blech. Find a meter and save some money.

We went for lunch on Christmas Eve, and we had a fantastic experience. Our server was so authentically friendly and welcoming. When we asked her if she was bummed out to have to work on the holiday she said no, she was glad to see people coming in.
The $ 8 lunch special is an amazing deal, with sizable appetizers + entrees; we felt like we ate like kings. Delicious cocktails to boot (yes, it was 5pm somewhere!).
All in all, a great time with great service and great food, we will definitely be back many, many times whenever we are visiting Minneapolis.

The tacos were delicious. The drinks were pretty good. But the service was just awful. SO slow. Our server had no idea what she was doing. She had no clue about the menu. She even tried to convince us that their coconut cake was the same thing as their tres leche cake. And even after we pointed out the difference, she tried to charge us for the more expensive coconut cake.
Awful and slow service, but good food.

I went here about a month ago and had a very forgettable experience. So forgettable, I don’t even recall what I ordered but I do remember the «service». We went on a weekend night around 7 and the place was less than half full, that should have been a red flag to me. We were seated and then waited what seemed like 10 minutes before our waiter came over to take drink orders. Food took a long time and we had to wait forever to get our check.
I had high hopes when this first opened but in my opinion, this place wouldn’t succeed, at least in this location. Food isn’t anything special and service, at least when I was there, was pretty terrible. There are much better options in Uptown. If you want to stay close, maybe try Libertine or Coup d’État instead.

Have not tried the place for a couple of years since having a bad experience at their old location in terms of service. Got a coupon in the mail for a free entrée and decided to give it another try.
Service was prompt, helpful and attentive (unlike the old location). The manager seemed very engaged and stopped at all the tables to make sure customers were happy.
Portions are humongous… but the food is unfortunately still just a-​ok, a bit bland for the most part and nothing memorable.

Pushed this to 4 stars due to the service I had, but would have been a 3 since the food was just meh…
Met with some college friends and we had a pretty large group of 12. It included my small three children all under 5. I am always a bit cautious when bringing my kids out to eat since 1) they don’t have a long attention span and get antsy 2) hey are sometimes picky with their food 3) it was a Saturday night in Uptown (all I have to say right???)
The hostess staff was great, they were very welcoming and were really accommodating. They didn’t realize at first that we would have small children with us and the reservation was set at a high top, but it worked out but in the case it didn’t they were very open about reseating us if we changed our mind.
Server was nice, I couldn’t tell if she was very happy to have a large table with kids, but we weren’t the only diners with small children.
Décor was nice, server let me order just a side of shrimp and rice (not on the menu) for my picky 5 year old. He loved the rice but the shrimp were bland (too much chipotle seasoning but no salt?) Staff/​Manager checked in with us multiple times and gave attention to the kids too, they felt special :)
I ended up just getting a couple of apps for myself and my sister. I like the wings with jalapeño cream sauce (loved it) and the sopes (bland)
They do have a kids menu, which really helped. The twins had cheese quesadillas with rice and they inhaled it! Perfect portions for them.
I’m a maybe on coming back if it was just adults, for sure if with the kiddos since I think they liked it.

Horrible. Don’t do it. Easily some of the blandest, flavor-​less Mexican food I have ever had in my life. Period. Save your money and if on a date, your relationship.
Thought we would give this place a try as it has a good sized patio on a nice day. Outside of the cold Corona this place gets an F. Service was slow, Fish Tacos were smothered in way too much patchouli and filler, Steak fajitas were flavorless with 9lbs of onions.
Skip. Wait for the place to close and a new restaurant to move in.

Maybe living in San Deigo I might be a Mexican food snob but how could this even be considered cuisine? Food was the blandest meal I’ve had since I was in the hospital. Clearly the food is the weak link in this equation and management is doing nothing about it.
Service was decent. Not over bearing or rushed. That’s the only reason I gave 2 stars.
***Listen to what the people are saying if you plan on making it through the winter.

We have always had a good experience at the Nicollet location, so we decided to try the one Uptown. We weren’t disappointed. The chopped salad was chock full of flavor and the veggie enchiladas hit the spot. There is a good variety of veggie options, including veggie chorizo. It’s not the greatest stuff (maybe they should contract with The Herbivorous Butcher!), but it’s nice to have the option.
The space is pretty cool too. Service was good. Prices are reasonable. Nothing spectacular, but a solid pick for a casual night out.

My sister and I went to Salsa La Salsa pre-​Uptown Art Fair. They had great advertised drink specials and a cool looking patio.
I ordered a $ 5 strawberry mango margarita to start. It was OK. Not delicious and not gross… but somewhere in between. My sis ordered a classic margarita and it was better. We shared chips and guacamole — quite good, but would have been better with some spice. They have a spicy guacamole on the menu but the description said it has oregano in it… that’s just weird.
For lunch I had a salad with oranges and jicama and topped it with grilled chicken. Edible but incredibly boring. The chicken was dry and bland, the salad was light on flavor and heavy on lettuce.
My sister’s Mexican salad looked better, and she said she liked it. I think I just ordered wrong.
Round two of drinks was a $ 5 Modelo for Kim and a $ 5 glass of house wine for me. My wine most definitely came from a box… but it was OK. Kim offered me a sip of her beer but I declined after she told me it was a little ‘skunky’…and that’s ok because it’s supposed to be? Haha… in that case, I’ll just take that one off my list of beers to try.
I think I would give this place one more try-​and make sure I order tacos or something more standard. The service was Ok, but not great.

Food is ok but the service kills it.
I don’t know where they find their bartenders but every single one of them are terrible! They act like its a chore to place an order and are rude to everyone. I asked for water to begin with and the bartender was so rude about it! I was the only person at the bar. I would understand crabbiness if it was full but not when I’m the only person there. I ordered food and once again he acted like it was a chore to take my order and to bring out my food.
Another group of people sat down near me and asked for water to start. They were celebrating a birthday. The bartender gave them attitude over that so the group left.
Every single time I’ve gone here, I’ve had a bad service experience. I recommend the owners get new bartenders before they lose their clientele.

Came in with my boyfriend, never been to any of the previous restaurants, but walked in and was really impressed with the layout and décor.
We had the taco Tuesday special accompanied by the house margarita which was delicious! I ordered both the beef and chicken taco to try it and liked the chicken taco a lot more! The waiter was super nice and came to check on us at the right moments. The music was great!
Chino Latino is our normal spot but because it doesn’t open until 4:30 we came here, and def will be back!

Having just returned from San Diego I may be a bit spoiled but SALS just didn’t do a thing for me.
Chips and salsa were ok at best. None of their salsa’s had any flavor, everything just tasted blah. I asked our waiter for their hottest sauce and he brought me what he considered a mouth burning hot sauce. It literally tasted like Campbell’s tomato soup. Really bad.
My fish taco’s were ok, they had a slice of avocado on top but they were greasy and pretty bland.
Not a re-​do for me.

Skip it. Probably the most bland tasting Mexican food I’ve ever had. Go to Lago tacos instead, seriously they know how to cook rice. Rice! You’re at a Mexican restaurant for crying out loud.
I got the plato de barbacoa. The meat had no flavor, I had to add salt & pepper in addition to the hot sauce. I was also confused that the tomatoes weren’t diced so they could be worked into the tortillas.
The service was sub-​par. We arrived after the dinner rush so there was no excuse for the poor service.
We were approached by what we could only assume to be the hostess, asking about the meal. We didn’t hold back. She offered another plate but we’d had enough to know we weren’t going to enjoy any other dishes.
When our server brought our bill to the table he opened it looked confided and said he needed to check on something. A solid 5 minutes later he returned to tell us they had taken care of the meal.
The situation was bizarre and awkward. No manager approached us to ask about the experience or to find out what they could have done different.

A lackluster reincarnation of the equally uninspired Boneyard.
In terms of aesthetics, little was done to overhaul the place. Identical layout with the same Pinterest-​y mason jar light fixtures still intact and cowboy ropes draped from the ceiling. The most notable aesthetic difference was the Dia de los Muertos-​style skeleton wall art adorning Barbie-​pink accent walls. It all seemed like a shallow attempt at portraying Mexican culture, just as Boneyard did to the South.
The food seemed half-​hearted. I ordered the tuna ceviche, which was reportedly leaps and bounds ahead of the other ceviche varieties on the menu according to the waitress. But it definitely fell short compared to the few other ceviche dishes I’ve sampled in the Twin Cities (Café Ena hands down gets the gold, followed by Los Andes).
Salsa boasts an extensive cocktail menu, with largely tequila-​based options (lots of margaritas). As I’m highly repelled by even the scent of this spirit, I opted for a mango mimosa. Fine, but I’d say Victor’s takes the cake for best tropical mimosa.
Our server was sweet and attentive, and the food came out in a timely manner and was priced reasonably… but all-​in-​all, just (unsurprisingly) underwhelmed.

I’m curious to see how long this place will stay around. I really wasn’t impressed, especially because Crave is somehow affiliated with Salsa a la Salsa. I came for dinner, not drinks. I did read a few reviews about how the drinks were good but the food wasn’t. The décor was basically the same as the Boneyard, expect for an accent of hot pink and candy skulls everywhere. I ordered happy hour nachos, my friend ordered the chimiltufias and happy hour tacos. Everything was ok, but extremely overpriced. A side of sour cream was $ 2.50. Sour cream should be free or at the most $ 0.50 if you are at a Mexican restaurant! We also had fried ice cream for dessert, again it was average and expensive. It seemed like the ice cream wasn’t deep fried but just pressed with granola, or maybe it was deep friend but then frozen for a few days until someone ordered it.
If I were to visit Salsa again, I would have to try the pupusa. I would like to see how their more expensive pupusas compare to the real deal.
Overall I am just sad that the Boneyard was replace with this.