Picante's South West Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Salisbury

This place reminded us of what a Mexican restaurant would be like if it was created by white people. From the kitschy decor (hang some sombreros on the wall!), to the multicolored tortilla chips, very little about this place made me think it was an authentic Mexican or even Tex-Mex restaurant beyond the names of the dishes on the menu.

Menu prices varied wildly, in some cases just for a different choice of protein there was a price difference of more than 10 dollars on a dish that starts at $16. In general, menu prices ranged from reasonable to pricey, which kept us away from some choices.

Perhaps most disappointing was the picante sauce served both with the complementary chips and with the nachos we ordered. It looked and tasted like cold Campbell’s tomato soup with some herbs tossed in. Not a good look when the name of your restaurant is “Picante’s”.

I’ve eaten in a lot of Mexican, Tex-Mex, and other southwestern restaurants, ranging from low to high end. This one might win the award for most lackluster. The only thing that would drive me to come back here is being in need of a late evening meal when pretty much everything else in the surrounding area...

So for starters, it was an 84 degree day. We had a reservation for a large party (9 people) that we made a week in advance. We were sat in the side of the restaurant that had no working A/C when there was a working unit on the other side of the building where others were sat. The waiter was kind enough to let us turn on the ceiling fan, that rained dust onto our table. Our party was so uncomfortable in the heat, it was difficult to enjoy the meal. Many of us commented about nearly passing out.

On top of this, we were charged for two extra baskets of chips without being told about the charge, and the serving of complimentary chips and salsa had approximately 10 chips per basket, being generous. The food was sub par, and most of us left still hungry, and I would be very surprised if there was any alcohol in any...

Horrible to the point of being downright comical.

Went last week with a group of (4) for dinner. They had ice tea on the menu, but not available. I ordered a Budweiser….waited, waited, and went to the bar where they told me they were out.

Wife ordered margarita, and it was so watered down it was almost clear, and not the same as pictured in the menu. I ordered a burrito, and it was really a bean & rice wrap with a few pieces of steak….and it was purple with some brown lettuce inside.

The first order of (6) stale chips & salsa was free, but the next (2) will cost you. The service was poor as there was (1) server for (3) tables, and thank god it wasn’t busy as service still took forever. Was $50 for my wife and I and I foolishly left a $10 tip. That was for the years of laughter we’ll have...