Salsa 17 — Restaurant in Wheeling Township

We came here for my mother in law's birthday, her 70th. A huge milestone. I called ahead to make sure they'd be able to serve her cake and was assured they'd also get the wait staff to sing to her.

When we got there, the ambiance was nice, the food was decent. The waitress, Sylwia, was terrible. She started with a smile but could only maintain it for a minute. She was angry the entire time, and barely checked on us. When she did, she was clearly in a bad mood. I told her it was my MIL's birthday, and she mustered a bored "oh, happy birthday".

I went up to her when we were done eating and asked her to bring the cake. This was supposed to happen automatically, but based on the service we had received, I wanted to check in with her to make sure it would happen. She brought the cake and left--no "happy birthday" and no singing. A minute later, another table had the singing for the birthday, so it's definitely something they did.

I didn't want to bring attention to how frustrated I was with the service because I didn't want my MIL to feel like she missed out on anything. My husband and I sang to her and she had her slice of cake, and we just appreciated each other's company. I called to let the manager know what happened, and he listened and was kind and offered us a guacamole when we came in next.

However, I won't be coming back. I'm Mexican and this is not what we consider customer service. When you come into our restaurant, we treat you like you're a friend in our home. This was such a huge disappointment and the opposite of customer service, and I'm sad that it was the experience we had for such a huge milestone in life. (For reference, we went to another Mexican restaurant in town and my MIL's friend was there, the daughter of the owner, and she said that she wasn't technically working but she would serve us because she was expecting my MIL. Amazing.)

I only added a 2nd star because the manager I spoke to, Alejandro, was very understanding and professional, and listened to my concerns. Otherwise I would give it 0 stars. I truly would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. The food was okay, nothing special but not bad, but the service was so terrible that I'd rather go to a place with bad food and good people than waste my time and money...

If you're feeling like some great Mexican food as well as just a couple of drinks on a Friday night after a hard 9-5 week, this place is right for you. So felt I, and absolutely no regrets. Although the place has been packed with people, a minor dripping rain that was about to end kept outside tables available, while inside wait list was about 45 min. We took a risk, and got lucky, as the rain ended up just as we got complimentary water served. By the way, I definitely recommend alley seating, its very cozy and isn't that loud. The food gets 5 out of 5. It was cooked to perfection, literally melting in the mouth at each bite. Burrito Mexiquense was just right, although served for dine-in it looks more like chimichanga. Shrimp Quesadilla tasted absolutely outstanding, as tortillas were crispy and not a bit soggy. Chips and salsa are served complimentary, as in the most of Mexican places, however here, both are homemade and absolutely authentic. Look at the picture of the chips and their nice light brown color! Now, no surprise that salsa in the place that's called after it is just perfect, but still worth mentioning that there is a bazillion of well-mixed and crushed ingredients that make it taste so good! You'll see it even at the picture! Aside of that, this place has an incedible selection of Margaritas, there are like 20 of them! Only in order to rate it, you should definitely start with a classic one and it did its job! One more nice little touch, is that if you get Guacamole, its made-to-order tableside. Yes, the lady comes out with a cart, goes right next to you, and you watch and enjoy the entire process yourself. You may also ask for more of a certain ingredient, if you like something as much as I like tomatoes😊 Service was great too, we haven't been waiting too long for anything, and our server was right here at the time for a refill. She also told us, why there is 17 in the name of the place. I won't tell that to you, visit it and...

First time here. Would come back again to enjoy the food - which was excellent -but maybe when it is less packed with loud people making it difficult to enjoy the company at your table. I would say that was the part that made this experience the least enjoyable. Other thank that, beautifully designed interiors and bar. Great music. Great menu. Good drinks. Every inch of space appeared thoughtfully decorated and curated, even the outside of the restaurant fit the theme. I think this is a chain restaurant but I'm not too sure(?). Our server was kind, warm, and very attentive the whole time. She met everyone's needs or inquiries and was constantly checking in on us. Very sweet! As the dinner hour rolled about, every table filled up fast, and it got extremely and noticeably loud. Due to the tall height and materials of the interiors (cement floors, lots of glass windows, etc) the noise was magnified considerably and every voice echoed. It was hard to hear people at my table for a moment of time, but it ended up being time to leave for my group anyways. As we left, I noticed what appeared to be a very... homogeneous group of diners that had taken up every table making it difficult to exit smoothly. What if you were in a wheelchair? It would be difficult to freely move fast past those tables with ease. Also, what really surprised me was to see so many families with their small, young children making messes-- especially with it being such predominantly noisy, boisterous adult crowd with lots of drinks being served. Seemed strange to me to take your small children here especially if they are going to throw food around... Salsa17 is more of the after-work & dinner-and-drinks crowd, not families with babies.... I would give this restaurant another chance though...I think?! I still don't know. If I did, I would prefer outdoor seating so as not to get stuck amongst the loud and annoying hoard of...