La Vida Catrina — Restaurant in Salem

We've been meaning to try out La Vida Catrina, so we stopped by for margaritas and appetizers after enjoying the sunset among the cherry blossoms at the Capitol . I am SO glad we did.

This place is simply spectacular. Ridiculously authentic, unpretentious and a gracious staff, everything was among the best we've had -- and we never moved past the appetizers. They had us right from the start, with the Ultimate Cadillac margarita -- 1800 Cuervo Reposado, house made agave and a healthy Grand Marnier floater you pour at the table -- just so very good.

For our appetizer sampler, we started with guacamole, a generous serving made as fresh and flavorful as any we've had growing up in Texas, visiting Mexico, ... anywhere. Next up, bacon wrapped cream cheese and crab stuffed jalapeños. Need I say more? Finally, we shared the queso fundido, very well done with chilis, sausage and mushrooms.

This was honestly a unique and impressive experience. We can't wait to sample the rest of the menu. As soon as possible. Maybe tomorrow 😁

Update... We did return to further sample the menu, and really enjoyed the Chile Verde and Short Rib Enchiladas. The star of the evening was again from the Starters menu -- the Shrimp Taquitos. Wow. Simple, fresh and delicious.

Our latest visit was an 8 pm HH and yes, appetizers and Ultimate Cadillacs. Of course. We did try the quite good beef nachos and a few excellent (and huge) asada street tacos.

Summer 2025... Returned on our way through Salem for a lovely late afternoon "linner", and really enjoyed the shrimp fajitas. Very well spiced. And yes, say it with me... Ultimate Cadillac Margaritas. You must...

We ordered delivery through Ubereats.... the food was HANDS DOWN THE BEST Mexican food in Salem! I ordered the skirt steak, which was a perfect medium-rare.... just the way I like my steak, and oh so tender that I took clean bites off the taco I made with it. My husband had the Carmarones con Carne Asada (shrimp and steak), the shrimps were huge and clearly fresh, everything was scrumptious. The guacamole and pico de gallo were fresh (we ordered after 7:30pm), both of our meals were cooked to order and both of our meals were perfectly cooked, nothing was overcooked! The seasonings were perfect and well balanced and you could taste each ingredient... for over 20 years I had no idea that I was missing fresh roasted tomatoes in my fajitas... but the roasted tomatoes add a layer of complex flavor and natural sweetness that you never knew you wanted or needed in such a dish! My husband's shrimp were perfectly cooked, even though our food was delivered, they arrived perfectly cooked which is a difficult feat to accomplish.

My husband was stationed in Southern California for years and said this was the second best AUTHENTIC Mexican food he has ever had.... the top of the list was experienced in Southern California 20+ years ago, he agreed that our food was well worth the cost and that we have a new go to Mexican restaurant in Salem. Both of us regret not trying them sooner!

I'm so excited by their menu that I'm taking my mother lunch tomorrow and I look forward to trying a different item from their menu.

Please, please don't pass this restaurant up, I promise you will not be...

Was so excited to try this place and it was one of my worst dining experiences ever! Waitress very unfriendly waited a long time for service. We had to continuously ask for things like more salsa a to go box, to even just place our order etc., and we were never checked back in with throughout our whole meal! Ordered drinks off the happy hour menu that was provided by the hostess. Food arrived 45 minutes later and was subpar with a black hair. When check was received luckily we looked and they had not given us the happy hour $5 margaritas which by the way were not blended but chunks of small ice. We asked about it and the owner totally gaslit me and said we don’t even have a happy hour when we literally ordered directly from it !!Then, finally upon further prodding, we found the menu and pointed out the price difference and then she made another excuse saying that we got a specific type of margarita. No, we were very specific when ordering and asked for the happy hour margarita and pointed to it. She very reluctantly agreed to remove the extra charges. Very deceptive business practices. I also told her about the hair in our food, and she said that it was probably mine. Lol I am a long blonde haired girl, and this is a dark short hair. The place was dirty, and I’m just honestly surprised that they have any good reviews. The lack of customer service was the nail in the coffin. If the owner would have chosen to address this matter with kindness and had a customer oriented approach, we would have been easy-going about the whole situation. Customers beware! Do...