Doña Salta — Restaurant in Salta

We walked into Doña Salta with genuinely high hopes, ready for a fantastic meal, but left feeling utterly let down. Honestly, it was a pretty disappointing experience from start to finish. First off, let's talk about the food. We ordered the Carbonara, expecting that classic, rich, and hearty dish. What we got was shockingly bland and had almost no meat in it. It was a real letdown and definitely not what you'd expect for a proper Carbonara. Beyond the food itself, the prices were also much higher than we anticipated, especially considering the quality we received. When you're paying a premium, you expect premium food and service, and Doña Salta just didn't deliver on either front. To make matters worse, the service left a sour taste. Our server was quite aggressive about the tip, which frankly just made us uncomfortable. It's one thing to offer good service and hope for a tip; it's another entirely to be so pushy about it. And just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, they charged us for "cubiertos" (a cover charge for bread). Not only did we have to pay extra, but they even charged the kids for it, and the bread itself was rock hard and clearly not fresh. It felt like a slap in the face to be charged for something so unappetizing, especially for the whole family. All in all, Doña Salta was a pretty big miss for us. Between the subpar food, the surprisingly high prices, the awkward service, and that stale bread – even for the kids – it just wasn't the enjoyable dining experience we'd hoped for. We definitely won't...

The food I had was great, but I'm sacking three stars for a ridiculous charge on my bill. I got the bill and there was a 30 peso charge for "cubiertos." I didn't know what that was, so I asked the waiter. He just pointed at the general area of the table. I said I didn't understand. I asked him if he meant the bread that was brought out when I sat down, as is typical at restaurants, and he said no. He pointed at my fork. I said I still don't understand.

I lifted up the corner of the placemat on the table and said "this?" He said yes. At this point I'm frustrated and have no idea what he's talking about, so I say "ok" and pay it.

Sure enough, I get outside and look up what "cubiertos" means on my phone: "cutlery."

In all of the restaurants I've eaten at anywhere in the world, never once have I been charged to...

We arrived at Doña Salta for a late lunch in December. We were ushered into a side dining room that had four or five tables and a Juliet balcony with windows open to the street. Waiters dressed as gauchos made us a little nervous that the food would be subpar and geared more toward tourists, but we were very pleased with our meal overall. My husband and I were hungry, but were unprepared for the feast we were served. We started with yummy empandas (one of each kind) and were then brought our side items -- papas and an ensalada. Like all the salads we were served in Salta, we were given oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to dress our salad at the table. We each got steaks and they were cooked perfectly. I would highly recommend you visit if you are...