Salt and Lime 44th Street — Restaurant in Phoenix

Need a negative stars button for this one. . .

The single worst restaurant experience of my life, no joke. I could get over the cigar stench from next door or the neon green or the unfriendly welcome but not the rudeness that we experienced. My family (with small kids) goes out to eat every week. I check for a posted kids menu and high chairs before we select a place.

While ordering for my kids, I order a kids meal for one kid, then the only thing my other kid can eat at the restaurant, a side of sliced avocado. (The toddler is nibbling on a purse snack at this time.) The man taking our order who seems to maybe be the manager also the host, goes on a tirade in front of my kids, that my kid needs to order a kids meal, at which point I politely say, his age (toddler). I did not go into specific food intolerances because I’m just trying to order some tacos ?!??! This employee then rudely, repeatedly disputes my child’s age telling me he should order off the kids menu. My kids are looking stressed/worried. We start to pack up and try to pay for my Diet Coke and get away from this employee and his behavior. This employee, then stands RIGHT next to me as I pack up and continues to nastily tell me that my child is not his age and “looks older” and cannot have “outside food” and should order a kids meal. We’re talking about a toddler who can’t eat dairy nibbling on a purse snack. . .

Yikes!

Truly have never been treated so poorly in a restaurant ever. My spouse even calmly said, if you don’t want kids here just put up a sign, to which he said “no, we do want kids.” Ok buddy, you just berated me and my little kid (literally frightening them) while we tried to order off the menu...

We had dinner with friends at Salt and Lime this week, and, simply put, the experience and the food were great! The vibe is really informal. The bar is in the middle of the dining area, which divides the space and helps ‘control’ the noise. And on a nice day there is a patio. The menu is pretty extensive, with all the regular Mexican dishes – tacos, enchiladas, burritos, salsas, chips, etc. But the fillings they use are really unique, combining traditional Mexican with more contemporary Mexican interpretations. Between the 4 of us, we had tacos, burritos and enchiladas, and they were all very good. We even had room for Churros for desert; the tequila lime sauce it comes with is delish! And to top off the great atmosphere and food, our server Ben made the evening even better. He was there when we needed something and gave really good advice when we were choosing what to eat. He was an authentically nice guy with a good sense of humor, which always make a meal more fun. We’ll definitely be...

Just the headline: Not kid friendly. Food is terrible. Overpriced. Stinks of cigars. Just wants to be a bar.

I was looking forward to a Mexican restaurant in the heart of Arcadia, but after a truly terrible experience with my two kids, I won’t be back. And I’ve spoken to friends who have equally said they won’t return and felt their kids weren’t welcome.

My husband and I won’t be returning at all b/c the food was bad, overpriced and the cigar stink from next door is overwhelming. (I know the last part is out of their control, but why would you ever select such a...