Summer Salt — Restaurant in New York

Summer Salt is truly a breath of fresh air, as it adds a new and unique approach to Mexican food, to a neighborhood filled with commonly found chain restaurants. The Baja California vibe hits you as soon as you enter, with a bright welcoming beach-like feel represented by the decor, the lighting, the music and most of all the wall of photos and mounted fish. The staff is extremely welcoming and friendly, and the menu selection offers a variety of both traditional and unique dishes. You can choose from tacos to burritos to bowls, all of which allow for tasting the different preparations of food. The tacos and burritos are made with truly traditional mexican tortillas, not the processed ones that are found way to often. I sampled a variety of different menu items, including the carnitas tacos, the Baja crispy fish taco, the carne asada taco, as well as the Baja seared adobe fish burrito. All of the tacos were amazing, and I particularly enjoyed the crispy fish. The fish is gently battered and fried in a way that makes it very light and not heavily deep fried, like so many fried foods that we commonly see. The adobe fish burrito is beyond delicious, and enormous, which makes it an incredible value as well. In fact all the of prices were extremely reasonable for the quality and amount of food presented. I went with my family, and between us we were really able to get a sense of the variety of dishes as well as the thought and care that went into the development of this menu. On top of it all, they have an amazing variety of beverages. Great tequila shots which are extremely affordable, and they also have a frozen "Paloma", which is like a frozen margarita but with a grapefruit base instead of lime, and it is hard to stop wanting more. My kids had the Horchata which was also delicious. I am so glad that Summer Salt opened in NYC and better yet, in my neighborhood, as I will be a very frequent customer, and would even have them cater a party. I added a photo of the wall below because, it too looked like whoever put this together, put tremendous thought and effort into every detail. I can't...

The person working the register needs to improve their tone with customers, especially since they speak so low. They kinda snapped at me when my payment didn’t go through and when I asked her to say whatever she asked again. I asked if I could have a small cup of water, since I saw another customer have one and they rudely said “no”. The inconsistency kills me… if you’re gonna offer one, do it but don’t flip flop. Not everyone can justify paying $2.50 for a $1 bottle of water. I’m not asking to sample your fountain drinks or alcohol.. I don’t get these policies at all for not offering a cup of water on request.

The food itself is great (except their spicy sauce, it’s mild at best), but the workers and the drink prices take away from the experience. I wanted to stay but ended up taking my food to go after that...

Oh goodness… my review is solely based on the quality and taste of food. I told my (Mexican-American) husband if I had cooked this at home, I’d be saying “oh man, I f’ed up”. Like I don’t usually leave bad reviews but this was not only the worst “Mexican” foods I’ve ever tasted, but one of the worst foods period I’ve had.

The carne asada taco was soooo overcooked that the texture was like it was canned and tasted like liquid smoke, and as my butcher husband says, definitely not short rib meat. The fish taco, better of the two we tried, barely ok, nothing to mention. Guac was so smooth it has to be store-bought or else that’s just a huge shame that a homemade turned out like that. Why does this place have 4.5 stars? It’s one thing to pay for mediocre food and a whole another thing paying for BAD food, and I’m...