Sala-Sabor De Mexico

07/01/08

New Mexican

by zahnk23

Although Sala has been around for at least 5 years, they seem to be struggling with an identity. They have changed chefs and menus several times and keep going in and out of the brunch market. The margaritas have remained unchanged and are the best in the city, served martini style.

06/20/08

Terrible Food and Service

by Emmelle

We tried Sala for the first time last night and it will definitely be the last. We walked into an empty restaurant with no hostesses and the bartender just stared at us we should have taken that as a sign and just left but we trudged on. Our server came to the table and filled up one of our water glasses-there were four of us are we supposed to share? He then gave us the wrong appetizer and when we told him the wrong app had been brought out he asked if we would just eat that one instead because it was really good. It was not really good. I had the carne enchiladas and I swear they came out of a box with a bland sauce and tough and stringy beef. My friend had chicken enchiladas there was nothing identifiable as chicken in them. At this point we didn't know if the server had messed up the order again or if they just forgot the chicken and we were so over it we just wanted to leave.

The margaritas were good, not great.

We definitely will not be back for the over priced, low quality, no atmosphere experience of Sala again.

• Pros: nice patio, good margaritas
• Cons: terrible food, terrible service

06/04/08

Don't bother

by dionysus1

I cannot believe that the editorial staff voted this place the best mexican food in Atlanta. While the service was pretty good, the food was substandard in every way, and the margaritas, $40 for a small pitcher, were so tart as to be undrinkable.

My fish and shrimp tacos contained no shrimp, and there were a couple of pieces of fish that were very suspect. My friend ate the pork shoulder, dry and not very tender and covered with a gelatinous piece of some sort of cheese.

Our favorite Mexican place has closed. Does anyone know what happened to El Mexica Gourmet, which used to be in a shopping center on Highway 9, just north of Holcomb Bridge?

Following our abysmal meal, we went to Cantina La Casita in East Atlanta for some redeeming Margaritas.

04/26/08

Yuk! Horrible.

by jimandsally

While we live in Alpharetta, we like to go to midtown for dinner on weekends. We especially like the Highlands area. We had not been to Sala before but had seen it many times. We went last evening (Friday) and what a disappointment. The service is slow, the food is not very good for what is suppose to be authentic mexican and upscale. We were very disappointed and would not recommend it at all.

03/26/08

Not what it used to be

by monroe34

It is so sad to see what has happened to Sala. We had not been for a while and went for the unlimited tacos on Monday. There was hardly anyone there. There are all sorts or rules on what you can order. Then it took forever for the server to come back to order more. They raised the price to $14 and they are tiny little tacos. While their Margarittas are still pretty good, $9 seems a bit outrageous. I think we will go the way of many others and not return to Sala. I did not see any of the staff that used to be there for so long either. What happened? Why did they all leave? Something is up.

03/20/08

Great Margaritas!!

by travelbugg1980

I have to say, if planning a night w/ a significant other (or impressing a first date) Sala is a fabulous place to go! I dont go there often, because the bill can get a little high, but if I am treating myself, it's my favorite place to dine in Atlanta. Get the Margaritas by the pitcher, they're pricy but effective! My favorite is the one with orange juice and Gran Marnier, it's delicious, and although the cheese dip i'm not a fan of (my boyfriend loved it though) the Pork was to die for!!! I'd get to the restaurant early because there is not a lot of seating, and parking can be a pain--but you should already know that about this part of town.

• Pros: Great atmosphere, flavorful food, AWESOME Rita
• Cons: parking lot is very small

03/15/08

Terrible Service and Food

by jackking

Sala is a terrible excuse for a restaurant. The service is horrible, the food is not even close to what it used to be. The group that bought Sala must not know anything about running restaurants or just has money to burn. They bought Vine and ruined it and then sold it. They bought Sala and it has gone way downhill. We want to like it and keep hoping it gets better and it does not. You hardly ever see the regulars there any more and there are always open tables and before this group bought them you could never get in. Now we hear they want to buy Eclipse di Sol. Great - if they do we get to look forward to another Highland restaurant to be ruined. I wonder if this group was strated by Mid Town Restaurant association to ruin all the good restaurants in the Highlands. Oh I almost forgot and they raised prices as well. Great formula for success - reduce quality of service, do not have talented chef for good creative food, add cheap rice and canned beans to make it like low end chain Mexican, then raise the prices. Yup, that works everytime if failure is your goal. Why not go to bottle sour mix rather than fresh and raise drink prices too - oh wait they did.

03/05/08

Disappointing meal from start to finish

by beesgirl

We dined at Sala recently, despite having been disappointed once before. It was really the final straw. The duck taquitos were unbelievably dry, followed by cold seafood tacos accompanied by cold refried beans and cold, dry rice. There were only three other tables occupied, I can't imagine what excuse the kitchen had for such poor food. The service was blah, and included the increasingly popular push for dessert before the main courses have been finished.

02/22/08

Food OK, but felt like a chain restaurant

by morningside229

My wife and I decided to go to Rathbuns last night with no reservations figuring it would not be that busy, to our suprise it was jammed, even in the bar. So we left. As we passed Wisteria they looked too busy so we were heading to Food 101 as we saw the Sala sign. We had not been in some time since it changed owners so we stopped in. To our suprise at 7:30 the place was empty. While we were a bit scared that something must be wrong since no one was there, we decided to stay and the food was actually good. We tried to assess why they were empty when everyone else was so busy. We feel the place has lost the energy that it used to have. The service was fine but nothing like it used to be. No one was smiling, not even the few other guests in the restaurant. The prices were higher than they used to be and the plates looked like a chain mexican restaurant with cheap rice and beans added. The Highlands became famous as a place to go for independent chef driven and unique restaurants. It seems it is losing that luster as restaurants change owners. Seems odd since that was the success of the area. You can't find a fast food spot or any of the big national chains, so why would a place like Sala try to look and feel like a chain Mexican restaurant. You can't even find a chef's name on the menu or their web site. Hopefully the new owners will catch on and fix this and not ruin what brought people from all over Atlanta to the Highlands. Thank goodness there are still some great chef driven places left and it is clear that is successful by looking at their business.

02/15/08

Igor at the bar~

by destinationvideo

We met this guy named Steve, who is the brother of the owner and he was easily the most likable guy we've ever met in the restaurant business. For over ten years my partner and I have cruised the Atlanta Va-Hi / Mid-town scene and have never found a place with such modern easy going decor. To die for! Sine the new ownership, prices have gone down and service has gone up, our favorite thing! It's no wonder we had to wait for our table, but this gorgeous fellow, Igor, kept us rolling at the bar. Great service, what an experience .. well done!

• Pros: prices
• Cons: waiting for a table