Salena's Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Rochester

Delayed update: We were refunded our money and given a really nice apology for this interaction. We were also given a gift card to try the service and restaurant again. We have yet to use it, but I will try and give this place one more chance in the future :)

Old review:

I have to say that this was a very disappointing visit last night. My sister and me went in after having a fun night at the ROC Winter Market and were hoping to end it with some delicious food at a place I have been a few times and enjoyed. Well not this time. When we go there we sat at the bar which was not to busy compared to every other time we have gone. We sat there for awhile with no acknowledgment, and when we did get acknowledged we had chips and salsa given to us before the guy that was there before us did. Then we had a little wait to put our drinks in. My sister asked for a red sangria but got a white sangria. She said it was fine, but it wasn't because that is not what she wanted. He said he would give her a red one after she had that one. But she never got another one and we ended up paying for the white sangria, which should have been taken off the check. Then we sat there for a longer period of time waiting to order. I had to ask Frank for queso while his back was turned to us at the register. He said ok. Usually this is something that would come out almost immediately, but yet we waited, and still waited to order. I had to call out to him again to order, and said you have our queso, he then replied he did not put it in and then put it in a good 15 minutes after it was ordered. Yes I said 15 minutes. I also kept asking for more salsa, which seemed to never come. Fast forward a long wait later for our food to come out...still no queso. But wait oh there's the queso with our very long awating meal and not as an appetizer. Hey thanks for that. Then I asked again for salsa...no salsa. ½ way through my very bland meal, I asked again. He then picked up a salsa that was somewhere behind the bar and said "Here this was an extra from someone's order earlier that they didn't want" I am sorry but What??? Who ordered, where was this mystery salsa even sitting behind the bar and for how long. After that I looked at my sister and said we just need to go. I didn't even finish my meal. Wasted $60 for sure. I have never been so disgusted in my life with something like this. We are both patient people. My sister works in the industry now and I used to many moons ago. We understand when someone is busy, but I have seen my sister and the people she works with rock their sections and bars with less people than this. I was nothing but kind the entire time, but my mood kept going downhill as we sat there. This is unacceptable for a restaurant to treat their guests in this manner. I should have asked to speak to a manager, and had this bill wiped clean after that salsa incident, the queso debacle, the ignoring of customers, and my sister not getting her correct drink. The mood in the restaurant seemed like a club atmosphere, and the staff seemed like they were just hanging out talking all kinds of ways they probably shouldn't in guests ears. I only saw one employee that seemed to be working and wished we sat in his section. Besides the very nice girl that had a party she had just finished. My reviews like this are only given when I feel like I was treated in correctly, so their are few, but this one was necessary. This is sad because I like a good Mexican restaurant but this is not it. I highly suggest for you to look elsewhere. Don't waste you money to be treated like dirt unless you are a friend sitting at the bar. You might get taken care of better that way. For the management. Fix your staff and I wish I could demand my money back for this horrible experience that ruined a great night that me and my sister were enjoying before we came here. This even ruined our ride home as we were so angry about how we...

It takes A LOT for me to leave a restaurant review, and it's not to criticize, or warn. It's what I'd want if I owned a restaurant owner, something I'd thought of and have been chastened to avoid.

First, this is NOT in any way a reflection of the staff who were on duty tonight. They were all so kind and attentive. Beyond that even. They're warm, friendly, you want to put them in your pocket when you leave. That's why I never tip like a jerk if I have a weird food experience. We're all just doing our best.

I've spent some time in Latin America, more so immersed in the Mexican-American fusion cuisine. Sure, fancy places are cool, but also the rugged michoacanas, cabanas where blancos are in the minority. I didn't expect that here. Just passable Mexican food. I don't need my phone to tell me to go to Chip*tle.

Again, the service is top notch. Kind. Legend. Yet the menu I was given was wet, had opaque liquid dribbling from it. Rookie move, I let it go. I ordered Chicken Mole and got to work on the nachos. The salsa was flavorless, cold. The chips were Sysco. These were not prepared on site. No way.

Mole is a complex sauce, but in an authentic place run by an authentic family they'll have their recipe. This mole had very little oomph to it. The signature flavors one expects with mole weren't there, the cocoa, anchos. There was no kick. It was brown sauce from a can. I added hot sauce to it. The dish was served on greens, no tortillas. One scoop of rice, one scoop of black beans which were also flavorless.

This place has the best of intentions, but it feels like it's run by a committee which has chosen a path of the blandest and least titillating foods that would ruffle the feathers of donors. Now that I've gotten my sarcasm out of the way, I only want Selena's to thrive and improve.

Kick it up a notch. Don't be afraid to use a little heat or flavors which punch through the dull American palette to the Global South which needs both culinary and social representation right now. Especially now. Places like yours can be- and perhaps must be- sanctuaries not only for...

Salenas is pretty much par for the course for Mexican food in Rochester. Last time I was there I ordered the enchilada platter, and this is how it went: (1) beef enchilada with red sauce - bland; (2) chicken enchilada with white sauce - very bland; (3) pork enchilada with tomatillo sauce - one-note, could have been Chinese sweet and sour if I closed my eyes; (4) chicken enchilada with mole sauce - tasted like barbecue sauce. Good Mexican joints pop up in Rochester now and then, but almost inevitably fail within a year or two. Salenas has been around forever. I am forced to conclude that Rochesterians do not like Mexican food unless it is robbed of flavor.

It does get worse. We ordered the fried ice cream (not really Mexican, but still delicious when done right), which is a ball of vanilla ice cream rolled in cornflakes and cinnamon sugar (true to form: not enough of the latter). But it had apparently been prepared long before being dropped in the fryer, because the cornflake coating was soggy and stale, not crispy.

Basically, if you're a Rochesterian, by all means, partake. You will probably love it. If you want tasty Mexican food, you'll need to drive for a while in the other direction.

The service is good, though.

Addendum: Kudos to the owner for coming to the defense of her fine city - whether done for effect or out of genuine pride - and it certainly has come a long way in the 2+ decades I've been here. In appreciation for Mexican food, though, not really, and I know of no one who has experienced the options in, say, Arizona or southern CA who would disagree with me on this. Every place has its blind spots (try getting a decent Italian sandwich in either Arizona or southern CA, for example); this...