La Hacienda Real — Restaurant in Salem

This was our first time eating here, and overall I’d call it a mixed experience. We came in for a late dinner around 8 p.m. with a group of nine.

The atmosphere immediately stood out — the décor felt warm and authentic, and right at the entrance there was a lady making fresh tortillas by hand, which was really cool to watch. They also have a wall full of awards they’ve won over the years, which set the bar high for us before we even sat down.

Our waiter was friendly but a bit hard to understand. He mumbled a lot and it made it hard to understand his Spanish, and when we asked questions he often gave playful or unclear answers, which made ordering a little frustrating.

The menu itself was huge — pages and pages of options. Normally I love variety, but here it felt overwhelming. I always try a combo plate on my first visit to a Mexican restaurant so I can sample a few things, so I went with the Grande Combination Plate with a chimichanga, burrito, and enchilada (shredded beef and chicken). I also ordered an horchata.

To their credit, the food came out surprisingly fast for a table of nine. My parents were big fans of their meals — though they don’t have many good Mexican options where they live, so they were especially happy. A few of us thought the shredded beef lacked flavor, which was disappointing because it looked great. The chicken filling, however, was seasoned well and really tasty.

The fresh tortillas, which I was most excited for, ended up being a let-down. They were thin and flat, not the soft and...

This is the default Mexican restaurant for us. The food quality is great, and they have some of the best tortillas I've had anywhere in the world. You can peek in the kitchen where the ladies make them as you enter the building if you don't believe they're fresh...

The wait staff is friendly and efficient and does a great job at accommodating picky eaters. The menu is big, and has a ton of great stuff, including a few standard American dishes like hamburgers and french fries.

We eat here at least every other month on average, with most of those times being for birthdays or other special occasions, and we've never had a bad experience.

There's usually freshly made tortilla chips, salsa, and refried beans at the table within a few seconds of sitting down, and they keep it coming until the entrees arrive.

I know fajitas are really simple to make, and are kind of the same everywhere, but I do end up getting them more often than not. That or some sort of carnitas burrito. Anything that comes with tortillas is great.

Portions are big, and the food always comes out super hot - especially fajitas.

I'm not super well versed on the styles of Mexican cuisine, and I know there's a lot of interplay between American and Mexican food culture, so I can't tell you how authentic this place is, but it's really similar to other places I've eaten at in Oregon, and California, but those tortillas......

Not the best. The chips were cold and stale when I got them and the beans were cold too. I waited 12 minutes before anyone came to my table besides the chip lady who wouldn't take my drink order. The waiter was decent but only came to my table 3 times, take order, bring food, bring check. I had to get another waitress to get me a second drink. Only reason I went here was because the better place that I like to go Los A*cos mysteriously lost their power. The margaritas were decent enough but nothing special. I won't be going here...probably ever again knowing that there are much better restaurants for cheaper prices.

I got the Tampiquena which is a thin fried skirt steak. It $20 and not really that great. I can go to La Mgarita Eress downtown and get the bistec salvadorina and it is 10 times better, has a nice milk free cream sauce, AND IS $5 CHEAPER. Plus margaritas are much much much better and they have choices in flavor, tequila, mixers, and not just small, large, or jumbo. oh and the waiter had NO IDEA how many ounces were in each drink size. Sorry the real house.... it wasnt good and I wish I could have my $45 back (yees $45 for 1 person with 2 drinks...