Santa Salsa — Restaurant in New York

Santa Salsa, Bushwick’s Late Night Love Letter to Venezuela (with a few typos in the bun)

Santa Salsa doesn’t try to be cool, it just is. The kind of place where music spills out onto Starr Street, and the neon glow feels earned, not curated. It’s Bushwick personified, gritty, joyful, and a little chaotic in the best way. Paula from Spain was my amazing server, friendly without the performative charm, knowledgeable without the ego. You get the sense she actually eats here, which is always the right kind of endorsement.

Now, the food. Let’s start with the hot dog, which is less a dish, and more a dare. The toppings, crunchy, creamy, tangy, and unapologetically maximalist, are a triumph. Whoever’s in charge of the sauce choreography deserves a raise. But the bun? A tragic miscast. It’s the kind of supermarket afterthought that dissolves on contact with joy. And the frank itself, plain, forgettable, a background actor in its own show. The result: a glorious mess that begins with a landslide of toppings, and ends with you wondering what could’ve been. Swap in a sturdy, toasted roll, and a sausage with some snap and seasoning, and you’ve got a contender for NYC’s best dog. As it stands, it’s a beautiful disaster.

The Tostones Carne, though? No notes. Thick tostones with just the right crisp / chew ratio, topped with tender steak that’s charred like it’s been kissed by a Brooklyn summer grill. Cheese, sauce, and meat all play nice, no one overpowering, everyone contributing. It’s the kind of dish that makes you pause mid-bite, and nod to no one in particular.

Santa Salsa is open until 2am, which feels spiritually correct. It’s the kind of place you stumble into after midnight, half hungry, half heartbroken, and leave with greasy fingers and a renewed sense of purpose. The vibe is dive bar meets Venezuelan street party, and the menu leans hard into comfort food with flair, burgers with ham and avocado, fries topped with steak, and sandwiches stuffed with chorizo and grilled cheese.

In short: come for the tostones, stay for the chaos, and pray they upgrade that bun before...

feel terrible about leaving a negative review for this place. I’ve known Sergio for a long time and truly admire what he’s built with Santa Salsa—from a humble cart to a Brooklyn institution. This was my neighborhood bar for many years, and I’ve met some wonderful people here, including several staff members I respect greatly. Unfortunately, today I had the worst experience I’ve ever had here, with a bartender who appeared to be from Argentina. His attitude was extremely rude and arrogant. He accused my girlfriend of being racist simply because she spoke to him in English how were we supposed to know he spoke Spanish? His behavior remained rude and sarcastic, and when we received the check (we had planned to tip in cash), he threw it in our direction and told us to get out.

I was with my service dog, who has been a regular visitor at Santa Salsa for years. Shockingly, the bartender threatened to call the police on us. I told him to go ahead, as my dog has a federal service animal ID.

I’ve always loved Santa Salsa and never imagined I’d have an experience like this here. As a business owner myself, I would never hire someone who treats customers this way. I truly hope action is taken so this type of incident doesn’t...

Unsanitary place… I saw the bartender dip cups in dirty water with her bare hands and then serve people them. The place is really small and the music is blasting unreasonably loud even on the weekdays. The woman who was working at the bar was rude and didn’t acknowledge me and my friend even though we sat at the bar. After about 15 mins of being ignored (the place was empty) she came over to take our order. I asked if all of the burgers had egg she said yes. I asked if I could have one without egg she said yes I took a few bites of my burger and felt nauseous. Open it up and has egg. She told me oh some of the burgers are premade and took my burger with egg away. Gross. I didnt want to eat after that and I told her. She then proceeded to still charge me the full price for the burger. Wont be returning. Plus she was super inattentive and rude and focused more on the tv than the ppl dining. Some people are literally allergic to eggs I feel like that needed to be...