Santa Fe Mexican Grill & Cantina — Restaurant in Shoreline

Note what JamesHouse posted a few posts down about the Health Department warnings on this place. In the past this restaurant was ok, but today REALLY was a FAIL. I went in with my bf and our kids. We ordered 2 orders of carne asada, quesadilla with black beans, chicken strips and fries and a grilled cheese and fries. When the waitress brought my bf's carne asada a good portion of it was black. I showed her the black portions and she offered to have it remade. Some of my carne asada was burnt also but not enough for me to make a fuss. I was starving and started eating. I noticed after a bit that the meat tasted funny. My bf got his remade carne asada and started eating it. I ate a little bit of his carne asada as well. I noticed he stopped eating and didn't eat the whole thing, like he would normally do. He was offering the rest to me and I didn't want anymore because of the flavor. Our bill came to $145. We weren't offered a discount or free drink or anything for the inconvenience of burnt carne asada. We paid the bill and then when we got out to the car my bf said "That meat was TERRIBLE. It tasted like gasoline." I was nodding my head and saying "Yeah, it had a chemical, dirty flavor that tasted bitter" Like the grill hadn't been cleaned in a LONG time and they cooked our meat on it. When my daughter, who ate the grilled cheese sandwich, overheard us complaining she said "yeah they didn't cook my grilled cheese enough and the cheese was still hard inside." So there was food overcooked, undercooked and contaminated. Also, the portion sizes of meat weren't very large (for $30 carne asada I expect a little more) and the sides of guacamole and sour cream were skimpy as well. The drinks are probably ok here, but don't think we'll be back for the food. My bf later said he threw up from the meat. And last time we ordered I had found a hair in my chips, but decided to let it go. With this experience, on the top of that, I can't go back here unless word around was that the food really improved. A previous poster was right when he said that there are no (or not a lot of) Hispanic people eating here and a sign of good Mexican food is when lots of Hispanics are eating at the restaurant. My bf was the only Hispanic customer there. And the times were ate there previously I hadn't seen any Hispanic customers. I even made a joke to my bf today about the American football (instead of soccer) game being on for the customers at a...

The food is better than the previous establishment that was at this location. The chips and salsa were good though upon asking for a hotter salsa all it was was heat and no good flavor. I had the enchiladas suizas (tomatillo sauce) with chicken. It was a solid 7/10 on flavor. The chicken was tough and not that flavorfull. The rice and beans were ok too. My partner had the Al Pastor burrito. She ordered pork but couldn’t quite tell if she got pork or beef. She didn’t finish it. The kids got burritos plate. One of the burritos was filled with shredded beef that was also hard (like the chicken). The flavor was good with a bit more intricate sauce but the toughness of the meat was overwhelming. What I really wanted to try was the carne asada tacos, but at $18 it was hard to order and take the risk. Probably few self-respecting Mexicans would order those at that price. The service was great and staff was friendly. We both felt that for the flavor and cost we would not be going back any tome soon. We’ll instead keep making the treck over to Edmonds where there is a great little restaurant by the round about (not sharing the name to not be rude to Santa Fe) that we’ve been going to where the flavors really burst...

Update 2024: Another review I'm sad to share. Switched over to the polo asado since the carne asada has gone down hill. The last couple times I've been here the chicken is so burnt it's just gross. I've mentioned it each time. Today or table ordered 2 of the polo asado and both were burnt. The salsa isn't as good as it used to be. The cook just is slamming it out and not preparing it as they would for themselves. Not recommending at this time. We live close so we keep trying to come back but I'm about at the end of my rope. Update 2023: Sad to say this but some things have gone downhill. The carne asada is not as good as it used to be. The salsa has also been prepared different. I think the main chef went to another restaurant that opened elsewhere. Still love the staff just less happy with the food than before. We don't go as often anymore. B+ now So glad this place has new ownership. Much better food, salsa, and drinks. Very nice staff. Will be back. She had tortilla soup, and I had two enchiladas platter. Very pleased! Update: we've been back many more times and still think this is the best Mexican food in the area. Staff is great and so is the food...