Salsa's Gourmet Mexican Restaurant

Second time here and just as good as the first. The Pupusas de queso and steak tacos with a side of yellow rice omg so good

Worst restaurant I've ever been to. EVERYTHING was terrible. I threw everything away after 2 bites because of the quality and I didn't want to risk getting food poisoning as well. Inside smelled like a bathroom. You could almost taste it. Not Mexican food. Barely call this food in general.

The waitress was nice but almost forgot to get water with ice for my table. They get busy around noon time with their local Hispanic customers that come to eat and take out. The chef took around 20- 30 minutes to prepare our meal. I ordered chicken tacos with beans with rice and I ordered a separate order of guacamole. Their guacamole is the best I've ever had really FRESH and flavorful. I would come here again. Parking is free in which is next to the restaurant. The neighborhood was sketchy but that's where you would find good food with reasonable price.

This was my second time here and I am so impressed with the food quality and authentic flavors. While it is build as a Mexican restaurant it has its roots in Salvadorian cuisine and the combination works extremely well for me as I like both. I ordered the chuletas with salad, rice and beans. The flavor of the rice and beans is unique and unmatched, at least in my experience, any where here in this area. The chuletas were deep fried to chrispy chicharones goodness, the taste and texture was truly remarkable. I am anxious to return to sample the pupusas as that is one of my favorites dishes.

Coming from the west coast and eating in SF's mission regularly, we are pretty critical of Mexican food. That being said, this place was decent. We hadn't had a burrito in weeks- and were craving one badly. The menu is Mexican/ Salvador
I got cheese enchiladas and a Tamale. Cheese wasn't melted and the tamale was super soggy. Like it sat too long in the steamer. We ordered my son carne asada nachos and she brought him the carne asada plate. Oh well. The meat tastes "weird" with different spices than we are used to.
My other son ordered chicken nachos, and he said they were "alright"- (typical teenager).
The neighborhood was really sketch, like I'm sure people stay out of the area for safety purposes. But our car wasn't boosted/stolen, so it was all good.
All in all- not some place I would ever return to and I can't recommend it. Sorry.

I love this restaurant!!! Definitely doesn't look the greatest on the outside but the food is awesome!! The papusas are great! One of my favorite things from this restaurant!

This place is amazing!

From the outside, it's not much, the blinds are closed and it has the feel of a pizza place inside, but go in, please go in you'll be so happy you did.

First, try the horchata-it's a sweetened rice drink and it's a total treat.

The pork and cheese pupusas were amazing. The best I've ever had. We asked if they could make the quesadillas with corn tortillas instead of flour-it was no problem. They were clearly homemade and I was able to eat them because they were gluten free. The carne asada corn tortilla was amazing.


The prices are great, the service is great and the food is amazing.

CAR-NI-TAS! CARNITAS. Carnitas! This might be the pork talking - but whatever you try, add on a few Carnitas or Pernil tacos for good measure.

Ask for the Pernil or Carnitas. I promise you'll fall in love. The decadent chunks of meat are fried to absolute PERFECTION - crispy, juicy, partially caramelized, with a smoky, salty flavor similar to bacon!! Not earthy at all, just PERFECT!

Tried the Huevos Rancheros next: We loved the runny, over-easy, wonderfully spicy eggs, served with light, chewy rice (rice was heavenly), and refried beans. Overall, an excellent dish.

Al Pastor tacos were the next dish in line: Very satisfying, tiny chunks of meat, fried to near crispiness, with a savory flavor and a richness that I usually don't get with al pastor.

Their Chorizo is chunky, spicy, and tastes similar to a spicy Italian sausage - very herbal too, with flavors like paprika and marjoram coming through. It's not oily like other chorizos - which I think is nice but I prefer the oily/greasy versions.

Pupusas were excellent, thick, and packed with pork and cheese. One of the best pupusas we've had.

As a hole-in-the-wall little place, I expect authentic, bold flavors and Salsa's delivers. They blast latin music to no end - which I think is fantastic. They also offer several beers! However, If you only try ONE thing - make it the Carnitas/Pernil.

I'm a native of California, so I'm pretty picky about my Mexican food. For the past 4 years I've been searching for a good Mexican place in the Springfield area. I found it yesterday! The food is fresh, tastes great, with a nice presentation. And the beer is uber cold, just like I like it. The restaurant itself could use some TLC.

This small storefront restaurant located conveniently at Springfield's heavily trafficked "X" serves hearty plates of authentic Mexican and Central American food.

The space might not be much to look at, but with its crowds of Mexican, Central and South American immigrant regulars, voluminous Latin music, Spanish-language television and wafting kitchen scents, the atmosphere is friendly and comfortably lived-in.

However, it's the food, which is authentically simple but surprisingly delicious and generously portioned, which is the real reason to visit this humble, and some might argue easy to overlook eatery.

So far I've stuck primarily to the chicken dishes, with a few beef items mixed in, and I can wholeheartedly recommend both the chicken burrito and the chicken quesadillas, as well as the ground beef and steak tacos, but everything else I've seen LOOKS delicious too.

One of Salsa's strengths is their meat, whether chicken or beef, which is of notably good quality, naturally good-tasting, cut into perfectly bite-sized pieces and imbued with a smoky, grilled flavor which sets it apart from other similar restaurants.

If there's any weakness in their fare it's their rice, which is on the plain side, but is perfectly flavorful if you mix it up with their admittedly straightforward beans, which is what you should be doing with it anyway.

That being the case, I don't know if I'd recommend ordering a side of rice or beans by itself, but since the burrito plate comes with a side of rice and beans that's not really an issue.

If you're expecting to pay less for a plate at this spot than you would at one of the Mexican joints in Northampton or Amherst just because it's in Springfield and is frequented by the Mexican community, think again.

But being comparable to the competition as it is, even if the competition is for the most part relatively far afield, Salsa's food is far from overpriced.

So, if you're in Springfield, especially in the Forest Park neighborhood, and you're craving a real taste of Mexico don't hesitate to stop in.