Salsa 17

We have dined here several times. They have a great location in downtown Arlington Heights, within an easy walk of several parking garages and the train. There are also street spots to park in right out front, if you get lucky. There is outdoor seating down the alley, which is surprisingly charming, with plants and lights. However, the tables are pretty tiny. It can be a chore to get all the food and drinks to fit. They don’t supply a gluten-​free menu, but the servers are very knowledgable, and are always willing to run back to the kitchen and ask about a specific dish. (For example, I believe most of the moles and the chips are off-​limits, but many other sauces are ok.) They have luscious made-​at-​the-​table guacamole. This gives you a chance to get it customized. No cilantro-​no problem. Double the jalapeños-​right on! The service has been fine when we have been. It’s not always that speedy, but just take another sip of your cerveza and enjoy the ambiance. The walls have been painted with a unique combination of men and women from Mexico’s past. Caballeros, banditos, dancers, actresses, and more all leap larger than life size from the warm orange-​toned background. They’ve also covered the trim with a super-​saturated teal that I would love to use in my home. (C’mon honey, please???) This place can get very busy on weekends, and whenever downtown is doing something.

We went on a Friday night with a group of 7 — had reservations and went early so seated right away. The guacamole was one of the best I’ve ever had (and I eat it a lot!). All of the servings were large and I can only speak for what I ordered — fajita burrito w/​grilled chicken — amazing! And I’ll be eating it for several more days — it was huge! The servers were very nice, warm, friendly — even participating in some of our pranks (it was work people I had in my party). Even at the end when we were finishing up our drinks standing at the bar the bartender was so friendly. For me the only downside as a patron is there were a lot of little kids there on a Friday night so I guess it’s good for families. I don’t live near here but I would definitely go back when in the area.

Salsa 17 has a wonderful atmosphere. In the summer you can sit outside and take in downtown Arlington Heights and hear the music from the park. Make sure to get the guacamole that is made table side. You are sure to enjoy it!

Pretty good spot. Came here for lunch today with some of my coworkers, got a corn tortilla steak dish with cactus lettuce on top. I don’t recall what it’s called but that the description of it.
Service wasn’t bad. Waiters and the manager that came out were both friendly. The waiter frequently came around to refill water. Overall pleased with service.
On to my favorite part, the food! The dish I got was quite pleasant. The shredded steak was well seasoned, not dry, the cactus salad had a nice kick to it that complemented the steak well, the tortilla it was on was nice and puffy all topped by some good green sauce.
Overall, this place is worth a visit & definitely a return. I left 4 stars to allow for room for improvement. When I return, they may be worthy of earning 5 stars.

Good food!!! Liked that they used fresh spinach in there enchiladas and quesadillas. They have spicy & non-​spicy salsa. This place definitely beats Mago’s food.

The food is good but the service is TERRIBLE. I have never been mistreated by a food service employee. The blonde older hostess is terribly RUDE. I am convinced she is racist. She had the audacity to yell at us when we were upset that a 20 minute wait turned into a 45 minute wait. SHE SHOULD GET FIRED IMMEDIATELY!!! VERY UNPROFESSIONAL!!!
I suggest going to Mago or Javiers. The food is great, the drinks are amazing & the prices are cheaper. The service is 10x better at those restaurants.
My friends and family will no longer be going to Salsa 17 due to our terrible experience which is very unfortunate because my family would go there at least once a month.

Boyfriend and I love Salsa 17 well we always get their taco platter and split them. I love their veggie tacos and boyfriend loves their fish ones! Yummy

Quality of the food and drinks here are top notch! Margaritas were very well made with fresh mix and Patron Citronage… add Fortaleza tequila to that and you quite possibly have one of the best ever! Also… whatever they use to marinate their arrachera make some of the best fajitas around. The reduction of one star was for the long wait with having reservations. Great waitress! We’ll be back!

1^st time at this restaurant great foods nice atmosphere the salsa and chips to die for I had chicken fajita my friends have chicken burritos the both were delicious unbelievable I give this restaurant.4 stars

Gotta say, the décor is awesome, definitely loved the style. The table side guacamole was THE BEST, no really it was THE BEST. The black beans that come with the meal are damn tasty. Will have to try it again because the tamale dinner I had was ok, had way better tamales bought on the corner from the old ladies in the city. The person I was with their chicken dinner was also ok. Will definitely go back and try it again though

Every time I come here I really do enjoy my food.
The salsa they they bring out is different I think they char grill their tomatoes, I love it! The table side guacamole is great, they make it just the way you want it.
I always get tacos, they are a good serving size and are always juicy. I can never finish my meal and end up taking them home
I always order a different drink when I go here i think Ive tried most of the margaritas and sangria.
This and A toda Madre in Glen Ellyn are my all time favorite Mexican spots

I frequent Carlos and Carlos next door. Well we drove there one night only to find out they were Closed for the evening — so we came here since it’s RIGHT next door.
The ambiance is fun! Love the decorating and lighting. It’s great! Unfortunately i can’t say the same for the actual food. I was not a fan. Our waiter was nice — a little hard to understand, but he was nice.
I don’t think i’ll be back. The do have an ADORABLE little outdoor seating area, though! I kinda wish we’d come during summer.
Maybe you’ll like it more than i do. and if not, try Carlos and Carlos next door cuz it’s amazing.

Third time here for lunch and never disappoints. This place is has authentic Mexican food! We started with the table side guacamole and it was delicious. The steak tacos with rice and beans were incredible. Atmosphere was great and I would definitely come back on a weekend night for food and drinks.

A long story, short: we had an old Groupon for the restaurant which caused us to go. The restaurant had changed management and had no way to confirm that we weren’t cheating with our printout. So the $ 20 face value was negotiated to $ 10. So I guess the message is we think our customers are cheaters.
Now for the review: the Azul Margarita was very enjoyable. The at-​table guacamole was outstanding. The salsa and chips were upscale. The chile relleno with lamb was creative with a properly prepared pepper. My partner’s pork taco delighted. The coconut flan so good.
And then there was the matter of our Groupon.
Four stars.
Come back? No. I don’t think so. Hospitality does not seem to be the restaurant’s hallmark.

Ok, the house salsa is amazing.
Smoky black beans and roasted tomatillos… it was possibly the best salsa I have ever had.
I ordered a couple appetizers. Calamari was fresh and delicious! Ceviche was also amazing!
I cant wait to come back and experience more of their menu!

I have been thinking about this review for a few days. I decided that the only way to appropriately rate this place is based on the quality of the food. We ordered a main speciality, the seasoned salmon, as well as a more moderately priced item, an Al pastor burrito. The waiter that served us was amazing, making a 2 star review difficult, but I want them to know that their wait staff is very good all the same.
The salmon was poorly seasoned (dry rub of black pepper, paprika, and Cayenne pepper, really not fitting the fish) on a plate full of mashed potatoes and corn niblets. The plate was almost two feet long, and only 6inches wide. Making us both laugh, as we tried to angle the ridiculous thing on the table. The potatoes were the only edible food on the plate. The salmon was dry, overcooked, and flavorless. Half of the plate is occupied by oily deep fried spinach, which was very crunchy, but also flavorless and literally dripping with fryer oil.
This together would have made this restaurant a 3 star affair, as the atmosphere and staff were so good (as well as the margaritas), however the burrito was the worst I have ever had. It tasted like moldy cheese and mothballs. I love burritos. I’ll eat them from nice places, fast food joints, wherever. This was a burrito in shape only. It tasted more like wet cardboard with bland salsa and chunks of tire for meat. The rice on the plate was exactly like you’d get from a Goya box, and the refried beans were no better (actually, that’s not fair to Goya, as their food prepared correctly tastes pretty good, this was more like reheated leftovers that were left to sit out under a heat lamp for an hour). The guacamole was also flavorless, like a green mayo, with a few half inch chunks of avocado.
All together I just couldn’t believe how bad this food was, especially for the price. With two drinks and two meals, the whole thing came to nearly 80 dollars, not including tip. I don’t plan to come back.
TL;DR: bad food, high prices, you’d be happier with Taco Bell.

I have always been a fan of this place even when it was under different management years ago. I think the dishes are consistently good (sometimes, a little too salty), the chips & salsa are awesome, and the tableside guac is some of the best I’ve had. Some of my favorite dishes include the tamales and enchiladas of all varieties. I do have to say the chile relleno can use some improvement (especially when you compare it to Mago’s down the street).
The only complaints I have are 1) the drinks are not cheap (avg $ 10) and I’ve never seen specials on them. Be prepared to spend some coin if you’re planning on drinking. 2) When the restaurant is not busy, the service is painstakingly slow. We were there on a Sunday for an early dinner and there was one waitress serving 8 tables. We should have known something was up when the people next were fuming when they left and the waitress kept apologizing. I like to take my time with my meal but not for 2 hours when I have a child with me.
Otherwise, they atmosphere is great with some festive décor, waitstaff is super friendly and food is above average.

Amazing Mexican food! The chips and salsa were great and our arrachera and carne asada were delicious! I tried both the red and white sangria and they tasted amazing and definitely came with a big punch! I would recommend coming here if you’re looking for some great Mexican food in downtown Arlington heights.

If you know me, I plan my meals around dessert and in this case I planned to have Capannari’s Ice Cream for dessert that day so I was looking for a dinner spot somewhere nearby. My dining companion, K, and I Unilocaled restaurants in the Arlington Heights area and found Salsa 17. I later realized that I had walked past it many times when dining in downtown AH and just never stopped in. We were seated immediately upon arrival but waited a good 5 – 10 minutes before our waiter arrived but besides that service was very good. K and I started off with some drinks; he had a Modelo and I opted for red sangria. His Modelo was a bit watered down but I enjoyed my sangria. It could have had a little more fruit in it but had a nice balance between sweetness and dryness.
As for entrees, I ordered the tamales verdes (I think that was the name??) which was filled with pulled pork and came with sides of black beans and Mexican rice. The portions were generous and much bigger than I expected! I only was able to finish one tamale and took the other 2 home. The tamales were flavorful with tender pork and the Mexican rice colorful with diced veggies. I would definitely order the tamales again whether it be the same ones or a different filling. K cleaned off his plate of chicken enchiladas so it’s safe to assume that he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Service was quick and efficient and I had no complaints. The manager (I assume) stopped by our table later in the evening to check on us and ask how our food was. I always appreciate when management makes an appearance because it shows they care. She was very sweet and thought I didn’t like my food since I only ate one tamale. Little did she know I was saving room for the most important part of the day… DESSERT!
I recommend stopping by Salsa 17 for a GNO, date night, or basically any sort of occasion. It’s a fun, laid back atmosphere in a great location and I don’t think you could go wrong with anything you order.

Great place to enjoy Sangria and freshly prepared guacamole. A really nice addition to dining in the Arlington Heights area.
The queso blanco as an appetizer was great. Only wish would be that their mole was a bit spicier and in a few more selections
Had a bit of a wait but the wait proved to be worth it. Service was great and the décor warm and inviting.

Su salsa es sabrosa, y lo recomiendo el mole blanco con el pescado brasileno. Que ricaso, y si te gusta comida mexicana pero sientas aburrido comiendo lo mismo siempre, cualquier de sus moles seria un cambio interesante.
Sali con uno de mis pololos para almorzar y el atmosfera esta intima y amable. Nuestra mesera nos recomendaba el mole y tambien nos conociamos el jefe porque teniamos un Groupon… nos dijo que van a hacer mas Groupons, y los voy a buscar!