Elsa’s South

Wasn’t overly impressed, cole slaw tasted funky but the mushroom Swiss burger wasn’t bad. Didn’t get my 2^nd refill till I was done eating (my pet peeve). I will most likely try other places, had better for $ 12 bucks.

I have always chosen this location because it’s so close to home for me and a couple of friends. So in July a friend of mine was celebrating her 21^st birthday, «What better way to celebrate it by having her try the Dayton’s famous „BAD JUAN“ drink!» So we thought! As we seat ourselves the waitress Nicole asked us, «What were we having?» We did inform her that we weren’t eating however we each wanted a watermelon flavored Bad Juan. We arrived by 8:30pm she brought our first round of drinks and never checked on us after that! Granted we were chatting away about her birthday until we recognized our waitress galavanting back and forth within her section with food and drinks having a good olé time and never acknowledged us. Wow what a way to celebrate a 21^st birthday! So by this time it’s 10pm I get up to walk to the bar and ask for another bad Juan for the both of us and that’s when Nicole wanted to intercept transaction so I just told her we’d like a water. A couple days later I stumbled upon the receipt and called to speak with a manager by the name of Ed and he said he’d have his boss follow up with me! Remind you I never even received an apology for what transpired! With that being said we will never return to Elsa’s Mexican Restaurant again the customer service is horrible!

We love Mexican food but this place doesn’t «serve it». It was odd going to a Mexican restaurant and seeing German and American dishes on the menu. The salsa tasted like ketchup– not authentic at all. The «Enchiladas» were not authentic or even made the traditional way. The tacos were packed with cheese. My husband removed enough cheese to feed a whole family. We won’t be going back. Staff was not welcoming. Service was slow, lazy, and distracted.

I used to really like this place years ago, but it has really changed — and not for the better, sadly.
My husband and I stopped in last night for the first time in a few years (we were living elsewhere for a bit) and it was extremely disappointing. My burrito had a measly 3 bites worth of sauce on it, and the shredded chicken was mostly dark meat and scraps. The rice was instant rice mixed with bland tomato sauce. My husband’s queso tasted like Velveeta.
Needless to say, we won’t be returning.

Honestly some of the worst Mexican food we’ve ever eaten and the margaritas were nothing to write home about! I will not be going back anytime soon. Service was good and friendly.

No stars !
The place is kinda cute on the outside
Going inside entry way is a fail kinda scary!
Go past the bar which looks dirty .
Sat down looked over there was what they
Call a buffet $ 7.75 um okay? 8 items in the
Buffet ! Hubby and I both ordered fajitas 3 small slices
Of steak the fajita mix obviously store bought powdered
Package, the rice was disgusting! Charge $ 9.75
The server not so personable, looked over watchingthe cook refill the refried beans proceeding to add water to the beans!
Omg not one Mexican in the restaurant! Chef is a white guy ! Not real Mexican food!
Yuckkkkkkkkkkk

Not a bad place for typical run of the mill Mexican food. I stop by here if I have a craving from time to time.

This is our favorite place in Dayton! We go at least once a week or we have withdrawals! The frozen raspberry Bad Juans w/​salt sugar rim are amazing and the food is outstanding. Although Elsa’s is a Mexican restaurant, they have the best Pizza! If you are a fan of buffalo chicken you must try the buffalo chicken pizza. The great thing with Elsa’s is you can switch it up depending on what you are in the mood for. From great pizza, salads, Mexican, to a simple burger or cheese steak. Whatever you are craving is right here in one place. We have been regulars at this location for years and another thing that keeps us coming back is the amazing SERVICE!!! Poopsie A.K.A. Debbie, makes every night out for our family a truly special & memorable occasion. She goes above & beyond and we look forward to seeing her each & every week. From the moment we walk in the door, we feel like family and Poopsie already knows what we want to drink! Jim, or Mr. Kinkle is sure to greet you with a smile and he is another highlight to our visit! When we do venture to other places it is difficult because we compare to our experience at Elsa’s, no one comes close to «Our Elsa’s or Our Debbie!» SO many restaurants could learn a thing or two from Elsa’s south! Service extends well beyond the food & the drinks, it is creating a warm & friendly atmosphere that people want to come back to week after week. They have nailed it!

As soon as I saw the filthy front door, I had a bad feeling about this place. Went to the restroom to wash my hands and the men’s door hasn’t been cleaned in years either.
They told us to sit anywhere and we did. We waited and waited. It took the waitress over 10 minutes to bring menus.
We ordered a 2 item combo (for her) and a 3 item combo for me. Eventually the waitress came back to our table and said that «someone threw her order pad away» and that we needed to reorder.
We walked in the door @1:10pm and order is just now being put in @1:43. Killer service. The damage is already done, this place is a joke.
Also, the chips and salsa taste like ketchup and plain doritos.
Edit 1: Big surprise, the food we ordered didn’t come out correctly. Cheese enchilada was very low quality cheese, the chorizo tasted like it was from a can and the rice and beans were bland and not fresh.
Do not waste your time at Elsa’s.

I’ve never understood why people rave about this place. I tried it a couple of weeks ago after apparently forgetting why I stopped going. Bland food, bland service, bland environment. It’s about as non-​authentic as you can get. They make some strong margaritas ! Well BFD, you can get that anywhere.
I really spiced it up as I farted in the car on the way back to work.

I’ve driven past this restaurant multiple times and have heard good reviews from other people. The food was ok, but definitely the worst of all the Mexican food I’ve had around Dayton. Also ordered a Bad Juan margarita, which was essentially just a large glass of tequila. Food was definitely overpriced. I won’t be going here again.

I remember passing Elsa’s South as a kid all the time. It’s an iconic building in Cville! My first experience here was actually rather bad… food was cold, service was ridic slow and we got seated in some weird, dirty «party room.»
I gave it another chance (my fiancé and his family love this place). It was better, but I secretly don’t get what the fuss is about. Meat inside chimichangas, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, whatever, is always bland. Cheese is shredded from a bag. The salsa is good, and the refried beans are top notch. Rice is tasty, too.
I can’t really rate the service. We always get great service, but then again, his family knows all the servers.
Las Piramides is a way better atmosphere, with more authentic, well-​seasoned food. You could certainly do worse than Elsa’s though.

I think that the food here is slightly overpriced for the quality of it. I do enjoy going there and sitting in the bar area with a few friends having drinks and some self served chips and salsa. The service depends on whole you get they can tend to be multitasking too many tables that leaves you waiting around for them to come around again.
Overall I will end up going back because I do enjoy the drinks but the food is just «OK»

Decent Tex-​Mex, amazingly boozy margaritas, try the Bad Juan! Need I say more? Give it a go and report back to me.