This page is for archiving old comments for 2007 and before from Salena's Mexican Restaurant.
"200?-??-?? ??:??:??" The food's good too, but I don't remember too much after handing my keys to a fellow researcher.
"200?-??-?? ??:??:??" The food was decent, but there are definitely better Mexican places in Rochester.
2006-08-25 15:48:02 Good food. The margaritas were good too, but not as good or as pure as mentioned above. —AdamDewitz
2006-08-31 12:33:31 This place is rather confusing to me - they serve both the worst Mexican I've ever had and the best margarita I've ever had. —EllenKelsey
2006-09-18 07:39:31 I’ve tried so many times that I finally gave up trying. The food was always fresh, but always flavorless. —ZedOmega
2006-09-18 08:47:41 I like Salena's but notice many people consider the food flavorless, they are correct, but are missing out on a good meal. I often order the chicken burrito, and as served from the menu, it's dull and boring. The trick is to order it like a burrito should be made, which means you ask for refried beans and rice, otherwise you only get a burrito filled with somewhat bland chicken. I also highly recommend you get the burrito "wet style". If you order the food as is off the menu, I'd give Salena's a 2 out of 5, but if you customize your order, I give it a solid 4 out of 5. —TravisOwens
2006-09-18 08:50:27 The tequila selection is phenomenal, if you like a good tequila (which means you don't shoot it!) then I highly recommend their bar. —TravisOwens
2006-12-15 16:52:44 Good prices on the a la carte items make Salena's a great place to pick up lunch if you work in the neighborhood. —MarcCharbonneau
2007-02-20 09:52:18 Salena's is temporarily and relocating to a larger space within Village Gate. Much larger space, more seating, and will have the widest selection of tequila in the city! —DanDangler
2007-04-05 13:28:25 The new Salena's is OPEN :) —DanDangler
2007-04-07 13:44:29 I love their enchiladas. Get the it w/ mole or enchilada sauce. Also the chorizo and chili-filled items are excellent. If you don't care about beans and rice, you can order 3 items a-la-carte and get more burrito/enchilada/whatever for the same price as the menu entrees. —TomNichols
2007-04-09 13:26:15 I like the new space! The margarita was good, the food, saddly was terrible. We really wanted it to be good, or even OK. Even the complimentary salsa (tasted like canned tomatoes) and the chips (were these pita bread chips?) lacked any authenticity. —ScotFear
2007-04-27 14:51:01 The new location is more spacious and has a (very large) nice bar area. I found the new salsa to be an improvement - it was thicker and spicier. Food is still so-so, but there are some new menu items to try out. The stuffed avocados (previously a rotating special) are now a permanent addition to the menu. Give the margatini a try. —EllenKelsey
2007-04-28 15:06:29 I travel throughout N. America & C. A. on business (3 wk's per mo.) and have a fondness for Mexican food. My background is in the restaurant industry. This venue by most standards would be considered slightly below average for both service and food quality. —JimmXxxxxx
2007-06-21 01:52:49 My boyfriend and I went for lunch last week. I have only been there once before (years ago) and I remembered it being really tasty. The new location was really cool and we enjoyed our lunch on the patio. The staff was friendly, the service, was great, and the food was fresh. We were given a big basket of tortilla chips and a bowl of VERY garlicy and cilantro-rich salsa to chomp on while we waited for our enchiladas and tacos. I like really spicy and saucy Mexican food, however, so it the food didn't precisely hit the spot. I was impressed that they had 6 different hot sauce varities, but I like the actual food to be spicy. —MichelleWoznick
2007-07-14 08:14:13 Not bad margaritas, awful food. Stick with chips and salsa and appetizers, because everything after that is a bland mix of disappointment. Probably
the worst wait staff I've experienced in Rochester as well. —CharlieBeltram
2007-07-14 23:21:51 Salena's is THE finest Mexican restaurant in Rochester. The new Village Gate location (on the other side of the courtyard from the original spot) has a great atmosphere. Their chips are the best anywhere!!!! The Margarita’s are great. The food is always fresh, delicious and plentiful. I’ve brought several friends there and they always love it as well. Today I even brought my parents (who are always hesitant about Mexican food) and they raved! Ignore anything negative you read above and check it out. You will become “a regular” like me. PS: Yes if you like it your food "spicy" you have to add your own hot sauces but it's great with or without the hot stuff. —RalphMeranto
2007-08-29 17:44:37 I agree with Ralph that you're probably not going to find better Mexican food in Rochester than in Salena's. I'm a big fan of hot sauces and appreciate the 6-pack holster of a variety of bottles with varying degrees of hotness. We tend to go for the Mexican Flag combo, enchiladas of chicken, shredded beef, and shredded pork. Yum! But the m-i-l's stuffed avocado a couple weeks ago was to die for, as were the fajitas.... Worth patronizing, for sure. —KatieSchmitz
2007-09-07 19:23:19 One of the first mexican places I went to in Rochester. And, in my opinion, one of the worst. All I remember about my visit was Velveeta and/or processed cheese food product. I don't plan on finding out if it got any better. —MarcVera
2007-11-17 18:04:18 I was very impressed with my visit last Thursday. The new location is fun and upbeat. The food was delicious, and it blew away my past impressions of the restaurant from previous years. I had the special, which was chicken breasts stuffed with pulled pork all wrapped in bacon, topped with poblano cream sauce. I call it the Atkins diet special. On the side were some imaginative black beans, which had a special ingredient that I don't remember (perhaps some other sort of meat?). My friend had an enjoyable meal also. The service was a bit spotty, but I don't care about that. Drinks came right away, including a really good margarita. The free parking in the Village Gate was a plus, too. —BenMargolis
2007-11-25 01:23:54 This used to be my favorite place - I still love the salsa, but the service is terrible. I haven't been to the new location, but the last time we went, we waited for over 20 minutes without a server coming to the table or even acknowledging us! Blacklisted until further notice. —QuincyCat
2008-01-09 14:25:03 I don't understand what all the hype is about with Salena's. It is only 2nd worst to Maria's in my opinion. The food was terrible and the margaritas are more like big shots of tequila with an ice cube. Not comparable to the margaritas I've had in Mexico... —RochesterMom
2008-01-31 22:49:48 You are all out of your minds
Salena's has GREAT mexican food.. trying new and often times very expensive restaurants for fun and we were very impressed with Salena's food, service and drinks. You are used to tex-mex and their authentic mexican fair is probably quite different. Our favorite place was in NJ where they only spoke spanish and the menu also contained no English. If you want REAL mexican, Salena's is by fair the best bet in the area. —ParkAveGirl
2008-02-25 09:55:46 We went to Salena's Saturday night, and oh my God, the food was incredibly delicious. I don't know who was working in the kitchen that night, but the entire meal was perfection. The homemade salsa was perfectly balanced with tomatoes, garlic, and jalapeno, and the chips were fresh and tasty. Our standby Mexican Flag plates were superlative: the refried beans were fresh and rich in flavor, the rice was moist and perfect, and all three enchiladas were divine, perfectly seasoned and cooked. The entire meal was complex and flavorful, not flat and bland like most other Mexican restaurant food. We love this place and have never been disappointed. —KatieSchmitz
2008-05-19 11:37:40 The new location is really nice and much better than the old. I didnt enjoy my meal there 5 years ago, but I recently returned and had an excellent dish. Id go back, ranks up there for Tex-Mex food. The chips and salsa are awesome. —MrRochester
2008-05-22 01:22:58 The service has always been the least favorite part of my experience. However the Hole Mole almost makes it worth it. The new location is fantastic, and I love the new outside seating for the warmer weather. The last time I went the margarita that I ordered was terrible, however did enjoy a shot of Herradura. They have a pretty good selection of tequilas. —SillyGirl49
2008-06-23 15:00:01 Had dinner here Sunday night. $18 for Fajitas? You do get a lot of food but come on. The food was pretty good, but not great. The service was okay, but I saw lots of hurried interaction between the servers and the guy behind the bar. (Work related, not social.) Seems more like management needs to get more staff on or a better system. And what is with the busser who literally runs in and out of the kitchen? Nice decor, decent food but not worth it for the price in my opinion. —BadFish
2008-07-27 09:05:00 We've tried a lot of Mexican food in Rochester, and this is one of our favorite restaurants. Part of that is the setting; we are very partial to Village Gate in general. We like Salena's for food and atmosphere; one of our servers had the best sleeve tattoos I've ever seen. Last time we went, though, we chose to sit outside in the covered patio which would have been great except that they allow smoking at the bar, and the smoke drifted over to our table. I asked about it, and they said that NYS law allows smoking outside and all they could do was to move us inside. I was disappointed. Fortunately, the smokers left before our food arrived. And the food was, as usual, excellent. The avocado salad with cilantro-lime vinaigrette was out of this world! —VickiRobinson
2008-08-06 19:48:10 We went to have drinks with some friends and ended up staying to eat- the server we had was pleasant and efficient. Sadly, the food was terrible- flavorless even though we added sauce to everything to try and spice it up. The kicker was when the busperson and bartender swore at us as we left (we were the last people there but had asked repeatedly if we should leave and were told no) and basically ran us out the door. We'll never go back, which is unfortunate, because the location is great and sitting outside is a lot of fun on a nice evening. —ShawnaLusk
2008-08-20 10:41:35 I've been going to Salena's on and off since it was in the old location. I don't personally remember having bad service, and I would agree that years ago in the old location, some of the food was hit and miss, and I swore the the tortillas had some off taste (read: mold-esq) on more than one occasion. That being said, I've been there several times since they have moved to the new location, including last night, and I have not been dissapointed. Our server last night (yah, the guy with the sleeve tatoo) had a good personality, was attentive but not bothersome, and made sure we got everything correctly and on time. Both dishes we ordered tasted great, and it looks like the funky old tortillas have been gone since the move, maybe longer. My only complaint was that it was a little cold (sitting inside), with the windows open, and the air on full-bore, and it being 65 tops outside, but that's the first time I've noticed any problem. For anyone that was turned off years ago, go back, give it another try, and look for the cool waiter (sadly I don't think I got his name). —WillMullaney
2008-09-10 15:20:24 I've been trying to find a decent Mexican restaurant in Rochester, and I've wanted to try out Salenas for a long time. So for my birthday, I convinced my husband to take me here. The atmosphere was nice, very classy. The service was very good, quick and friendly. The waitress made a few suggestions and although the restaurant quickly filled to full capacity, never ignored us. I ordered a drink that was delicious. I highly recommend getting one of their mixed drinks or a nice big glass of sangria. The food was pretty decent. I don't know why everyone has been saying that the food is so tasteless, when Mexican food in general is pretty basic. We paid about $50 with tip, which I didn't think was bad for what we got, although there is better food for cheaper, the atmosphere made the difference. The Village Gate is also one of the neatest little nooks in Rochester and my husband and I explored after our meal. We will definitely go back if my Mexican food cravings return. —CatMagro
2008-09-21 18:45:14 Really interesting menu, loved the enchilada combo - eclectic tequila selection. Their seating tactics are pretty underhanded though, essentially they make EVERYONE wait 20 minutes (even if there's tons of tables free) to force you to go to the bar for a drink. —MarcusKroll
2008-09-22 11:58:50 Marcus, have you considered that perhaps they didnt have enough servers at that moment to give you good service? Thats why you had to wait? —MrRochester
2008-10-04 16:51:38 The atmosphere was ok, but the food was sub-par. —JaredStrohl
2008-10-11 20:08:22 The food at Salena's represents the worst insult to Mexican food there is: it's absolutely flavorless. This was even more evident after a trip to Mexico and eating the real thing. —CheriCrist
2008-11-07 11:48:09 I'd hate to sound repetitive, but it really is bland and flavorless —SeanToTheFuture
2008-11-21 22:40:47 I have to agree with the masses on this one. The restaurant itself is nice, but the food is definitely not worth an hour wait. Excellent service, just no real flavor to the food, and rather pricey considering that. I hope that this place doesn't insult the Mexicans who surely come from a land with much better food! —LincolnComet
2008-12-06 10:10:48 This restaurant was originally Maria's but one side (I don't know which) splintered off. That's why the food tastes similar at both places. I prefer Maria's over Salena's but if you want Maria's flavor and you don't want to drive to Irondequoit, Salena's will suffice. Salena's margaritas pale in comparison to Maria's, as well. Many years ago, the margaritas were comparable. I swear they're using Banker's Club Tequila in them now. —BatGuano
