I am new to the Salem area and in an effort to find my "go to" Mexican restaurant here I stopped in at LA FONDITA 2 last week. What a mistake! It was the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. I briefly glanced at the menu and figured I would order something simple that nobody could mess up. WRONG! Like a lamb to the slaughter, I ordered 2 crispy beef tacos and a burrito to go. After a long wait, the waitress finally rang me up and it came to a whopping $30! I am 69 yrs old, of hispanic heritage and certainly not a novice to ordering mexican food! The average price for this meal is $10-12 bucks max. In shock, I drove home trying to figure out what had gone wrong. When I opened the container, the food didn't even vaguely resemble what I had ordered. Since I am on a strict budget, I called LA FONDITA to see if a mistake had been made. Before I knew it I was talking to the manager who was defensive from the get-go. He was rude, hostile and offensive, telling me that a Chicana wasn't a true mexican who could properly access the value of his "authentic Mexican cuisine." All this from a junky little hole-the-wall dive. I do NOT recommend this place, unless you want to be permanently separated from lots of your money and then be insulted when you dare to question it.
absolutely amazing and authentican Mexican food. No chips and salsa before the meal is your first clue that this restaurant doesn't cater to the typical American version of Mexican food.The pollo empanizado was just like we had back home in Mexico, the azada was delicious and the Tamarindo dring was excellent. The rice was also so good.
Food was hot, fresh, quick to serve with a smile; red sauce was hot, and green mild but flavorful. Chicken was very flavorable, along with carne asada. Ordered the guac and coud tell freshly made. Each dish had a discernable taste! Will be back every time in Salem-corner of Hawthorne and center street.
A little hard to find (at least at night!) this little restaurant is pleasant with good prices. I’ve had better but not in Salem - and I’ve tried several. I had the chicken enchiladas verdes which was tasty and the perfect proportion.
This is homestyle authentic like Grandma makes. Good prices. Great food. Delicioso for real!!
Food is amazing, atmosphere is like you’re at a friend’s house. Great and friendly service. My new favorite place to eat when I’m in Salem, hands down! Do not pass this place over!
We will definitely come back to this place again. We had pozole. It was very flavorful and plenty of it. We also had carne asada sopes and they were flavorful the meat was soft and evenly seasoned. The green salsa was a bit spicy but delicious too. They have homemade tortillas so that makes a huge difference for us. They have champurrado. I am a huge fan of it but this one was a little watery but still had a good taste. Customer service was so over the top. The lady that took our order and served us was super nice she even gave me a free refill of champurrado. Clean place and clean bathrooms. Would go back!
Having travelled to Mexico numerous times it is easy to recognize authentic Mexican cuisine. This place is great! My wife and I enjoyed a delicious meal just last evening. I ordered Camorones Monterey and my wife ordered Taquitos Dorado. The portions were substantial, and outstandingly delicious. The service was attentive. Salsa served on the side was scrumptious and authentic...not the usual red pasty stuff. The beer was cold and served in frosted mugs rimmed with Chile, lime and salt. Nice Mexican music too. An experience which takes one to Mexico.
Huge burrito. Had the shredded chicken and it was very good. Friendly staff, fast service. Clean and tidy. I'd go back for sure. Red sauce was good, pretty hot. Green sauce was very good, lots of flavor. Both looked hand made and fresh.
Truly authentic Mexican food. Hole in the wall style. I don't know if there is any hype about the food in this place, but in case there is - it lives up to it. I have eaten a lot of great Mexican food - might be in top 10 of all time. I most likely will come back when I'm back in town. Also if you are a fan of Jarita sodas, they have a full selection of those in addition to your traditional Coke products.