Salsa Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Yarmouth

I was genuinely excited to see a new restaurant open in Yarmouth—finally, something different! I ordered takeout from Salsa: A Mexican Grill. The online ordering process was smooth, no complaints there. But when I arrived (early afternoon, weekday), I was greeted by someone who looked like they’d rather be anywhere else. No hello, no smile, no thanks for stopping by. For a new place in a small town, that’s a miss. You’ve got one shot to make people want to come back—start by acting like you want them there.

I ordered the birria bowl over lettuce and added extra protein. I’m working on perfecting my own birria at home (low and slow in the crockpot), so I was curious to see how theirs measured up. Unfortunately, it didn’t. The beef was dry—really dry. Not tender, not juicy, just overcooked and tough. Birria should practically fall apart with a glance, and this was more like beef that got stuck in the oven and forgotten. The cut used was clearly cheap, and the amount of hard fat still clinging to it was about equal to the meat itself. I genuinely wish I hadn’t paid extra for more of it.

To make matters worse (or funnier?), I have my Mexican American daughter-in-law moving to Maine next month, and I was so hopeful this might be a place that reminded her of home. It is not. I honestly wanted to go home, make a batch of my own, and bring it over just so they could taste what it’s supposed to be.

Now let’s talk about the menu. Look—I get fusion, I love creativity—but when your “Mexican Grill” is offering falafel, tikka masala tofu, and Korean BBQ chicken right alongside al pastor and carnitas, you can’t help but wonder if someone just said, “Screw it, let’s let every staff member submit one recipe and whichever gets the most votes wins.” It’s less a cohesive menu and more like a culinary group project gone off the rails.

Yes, the portion was massive. But when the dish doesn’t taste right, that much food just feels like overcompensation. If you have to drown the customer in volume to make up for lack of flavor, that’s a red flag.

I wanted to love this place. I really did. And I’m still rooting for them to get it together—but right now, it’s more of a menu identity crisis than a destination for great Mexican food. Here's hoping they figure out what kind of place they want to be before more people spend $18 on...

I really wanted to love this place. We ended up coming in on what I heard was their opening day, and it all started out great. Ordered 2 margaritas, chips and salsa, 2 burritos and a taco around 5:15 PM. We got the margaritas and they were fresh and delicious, the chips and salsa were great too (although the salsa came out hot temperature wise, but we didn't mind, the flavor was good). We were one of just a couple groups in the restaurant at that time. Eventually it started filling up, and we noticed people were getting their food and leaving. We checked in with the front, they said it's coming. By 6:45 PM we still hadn't received our food and had to put our daughter to bed. They told us 10-15 more minutes, so we decided one of us would just come back to pick it up. My husband came back, and saw someone we sat next to earlier was there also to pick up for the same reason. They arrived at the restaurant after us initially, but walked out of the restaurant with their order while my husband was still waiting. He checked in again, and this time was told they don't know what happened to our order. This was almost 3 hours later at this point. They gave us a gift card and we left hungry, having to order Pat's Pizza for a 9pm dinner instead.

We showed up a week later with some friends assuming they got any first week kinks out of the way. Ordered margaritas, but this time they tasted like they were watered down with soda water. Got chips and salsa, but the chips were "bottom of the bag" for each of our orders (3 total) so we got mostly little greasy pieces. We were told they stopped taking orders and we had to wait over an hour before they'd open up orders again. We decided to leave, again, without eating a meal. So we've been twice and still don't know what the food even tastes like.

We have hopes for this place, but we won't be coming back for at least a few months so they can hopefully...

Culinary Disappointment: An Honest Review of Salsa

From the moment I stepped through the door, my experience at Salsa was marred by glaring issues that unfortunately overshadowed any potential merits.

The service was immediately problematic. The wait staff exhibited an exceptional level of rudeness that went beyond mere inattentiveness. Their dismissive attitude and curt responses created an uncomfortable atmosphere that set a negative tone for the entire meal. We honestly couldn’t believe how rude they were for absolutely no reason.

When the food arrived, it was disappointingly cold. Dishes that should have been served hot were room temperature at best and tasteless with minimal protein and lots of filling (e.g., bowl was 80% rice). What makes this experience particularly disappointing is that not only were we excited about a new restaurant, but we also spent an exorbitant amount of money on subpar food.

In its current state, Salsa falls far short of expectations and cannot be recommended. Perhaps with serious attention to staff training and kitchen efficiency, it might eventually deliver on its potential. Until then, diners would be well-advised...