Cafe Salsa — Restaurant in Lyons Township

Was really quite disappointed in the recent service and in the food this past week- Wed. 1/1-NewYears Day... not sure if it was due to being understaffed & being a holiday-day??? but in the past this was one of my Mom's and my favorite restaurants to go to for Mexican lunch or dinner. Also my Girlfriends & I frequently went/would go there when they are in the area/in town. This past Wednesday- I took my husband to enjoy it for his first time (raving to him that this was one of the best Mexican restaurants local to our home)- But... our recent experience was such a sad disappointment... #1) the service was almost non-existent (waiting for or looking for the wait-staff- for any questions or assistance) also #2) the food was cold... the fajita's when I had gone in the past with my mom or my girlfriends- we always got the fajitas and they came on the standard serving sizzling skillet(Weekday or Weekend - lunch time or dinner) and this time when eating there this wed. 1/1/20 the fajita fillings(steak/shrimp) was only served on the plate- and the plate was cold- and the fajita filling was luke warm at best- not hot(as it would be if served on the sizzling skillet)- and when asking the staff(male waiter we had) they said that they do not serve the on the skillet during lunch time anymore... but yet you still charging customers the same dinner prices for the same service??? - if it had come on the skillet - then we would not have had to send it back due to being cold.... was disappointed by the lack of effort & attitude from management/server gave me/us - like we were some bothersome customer (no apology or concerned customer care I had experienced in the past at this establishment). It was a total disappointment bringing someone new to enjoy what I had remembered the place to be with bringing my mom(who is since passed away) and my girlfriends in the past with always enjoying the food and service. Was quite hurt and upset with the lack of care and concern - also had ordered an extra dish to go and it was packaged in some very soft cardboard to-go box - unlike the styrofoam take home box I got when packaging up my leftovers- the extra enchilada dinner we had ordered to go - when we opened it to re-heat for eating the next day- was totally melted and stuck to the inside cardboard container- loosing 1/2 of the meal/dish without pulling on the containers paper- and eating cardboard with the food we tried to extract to reheat on a separate microwave plate... the box was soggy and falling apart and when trying to open it to take out - it nearly ended up on the floor due to the weakness of the to-go container it was placed in.... not sure why our dish was not place in the same styrofoam container my left-overs I was given at the table to place in? Is sad that when you have a favorite place with fond/favorite past memories of enjoying that it gets spoiled by an unpleasant experience like this... Certainly made for an unpleasant 1st impression on my husband who had been in business of waitering and was quite take aback with the lack of customer focus and care shown to us. ...this recent bad experience certainly makes for not wanting to come back and re-visit again...which is quite sad because it was one of my favorite places to remember good times I had with...

A few weeks ago we were dinning at Cocula Mexican restaurant down the street from Cafe salsa. We noticed the sign for Cafe salsa and decided to Google it and see what it was. After looking we decided to give it a try. We tried it today, we walk into a pungent smell and dark rooms, we decided to continue and still gove it a try . We sat down, hostess was very cheerful and polite. Our server took his time getting to our table and was as stale as the chips they served us. Not only stale but oily and the sauce was way over seasoned. I ordered a michelada and it was a terrible disappointment. We didn't let that discourage us because we really wanted to find another spot to frequent. Even though our server was not as friendly as we would have liked, considering they work on tips. We ordered carnita dinner and carne asada dinner. Our food came and it was not great. They slap a big spoonful of tomato sauce on top of the rice, the charro beans were bland, the Asada dinner didn't even have a salad or some radish or something to compliment the dish. The steak was small and bland. Same for the carnita dinner. The sauces they sent with the asada dinner were bland and when asked if they had something hotter, the busboy decided to make a joke at my expense. I asked, do you have anything that's hotter than this, his response was, we only have ketchup. Walked away laughing and decided to share that joke with the rest of the staff. Loud and clear, far from the kitchen we heard him tell the joke and a big burst of laughter arose. The sauces were hot but way over seasoned. We got our over priced check for what we got, paid and left. To be honest, this is a tiny step up from the restaurant across the street(Pepes). In this case, I think pipes would be a better place to go. BUT if you really want authentic Mexican food in that area, go to to Coculas restaurant two steps away. Friendlier and way better food. No, I am not affiliated with them or know anyone personally. I'm just being honest. Cafe salsa was a waste of our money, a waste for our taste buds and a big disappointment when it came to customer service. If I could, I would give it a zero. If you don't believe me, go ahead and pay this place a visit. Prove me wrong. If the owner decides to respond negatively to my post, I would suggest you take my comment and others that feel the same way and listen. I wouldn't go back even if...

Amazing and tentative waitress. Soon as you sit down, they bring you warm tortilla chips that were the perfect texture not to thick nor not o thin with a delightful salsa to dip them in. We ate 1 1/2 baskets between the 2 of us before I meal came.My granddaughter ordered enchiladas which were delicious with rice and beans..I ordered Carne asada which was cooked to perfection,with rice and Charro beans. Everything was deserved 5 stars.If you never had charro beans ,you must try them. They are stewed with bacon and other ingredients very tasty. I could have eaten a big bowl of them alone and been satisfied.Nothing was too spicy if anything, it was seasoned to perfection. The busboy was very tentative, keeping an eye on everyone to appear with water when glasses we getting low,asking if we needed more chips. I gave it 4 stars because we sat under a ceiling fan that they said couldn't be shut off that was making our food and us cold.Next time we will ask to sit elsewhere unless they have an electrician come fix that problem.Other than that pure...