Salt & Lime Modern Taqueria

this place has been on my list of taco places to try for a while now due to their unique flavors, such as the slow braised short rub, apple braised pork belly, and more taco creations i haven't heard of! and they have happy hour EVERY DAY along with taco tuesday deals! the prices are a bit on the steep end, but i will tell you IT IS WORTH IT LOL THESE TACOS ARE HUGE. the diameter of the tortillas were probably as long as my hand and the homemade blue corn tortillas are a game changer!!! they turned out MUCH BIGGER than i could even expect. i normally eat 2 tijuana style or 3 street tacos but at this place i could've easily just eaten 1 and been full.we came here around 5pm on a saturday night and there were already people inside eating but no one in line so we took our order right away. this place is pretty casual, as you order at the counter and they bring out your food to you. we ordered the small batch guacamole, a citrus marinaded chicken taco, a crispy chicken tender taco, a peppered ribeye steak taco, and a citrus chipotle shrimp taco. all of our food came out pretty fast too!the chips with guac came out first and they are PHENOMENAL! you can't go wrong with chips and guac and this place executes it well. they handmake/handfry their tortilla chips using blue corn tortilla and the chips were sooo thin and crispy and light. the guac was also very well made, good seasoning and fresh avocado! they also give a LOT of chips for how much it costs and we had a lot of leftovers when shared among 2 people.next, the tacos. i got the crispy chicken tender taco and the citrus chipotle shrimp tacos, which were both sooo big and tasty. i got both of them with the blue corn tortilla (you can also get white flour tortilla if you want) the crispy chicken tender taco was surprisingly really good. it's your perfect taco if you love chicken tenders, hot honey, and tacos (which i do LOL). it only comes with one chicken tender but it's a big boy that takes up the entire taco; very juicy and freshly fried! the hot honey always elevates chicken tenders and the kaleslaw was a nice refreshing bite to the warm, hearty taco. the citrus chipotle shrimp taco was also really good! it came with a lot of shrimp that was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. it also came with a generous glob of guacamole and some charred pineapple that went well with the shrimp.my boyfriend got the citrus marinaded chicken taco and peppered ribeye steak taco and also liked both!! i tried a bit of the ribeye steak taco and it was soo good, definitely worth the $9. they give a lot of steak and its cooked perfectly medium rare. he said this one was definitely his favorite. the citrus marinaded chicken taco was also really tasty and well seasoned..if im ever in the mood for some modern taqueria style tacos with interesting creations this would be the place to go! next time i would definitely order only tacos or 1 taco and an app to share, as the servings here are massive and definitely shareable. we saw someone else order the poke nachos which looked really good and plentiful so might have to come back to get that!

Got to try Salt & Lime Modern Taqueria as part of OC Restaurant week.Food: 4/5+ $35 Dinn special (guac/chips starter, Citrus Chipotle Shrimp & Slow Braised Short Rib entree, churro sundae)+ Happy hour tacos: Crispy Chicken Tender, Charred Sweet Potato+ Peppered Ribeye SteakWe opted to try the $35 dinner special with several happy hour tacos to share. Starting off, the chips and dip appetizer set up the meal, with freshly made guac and crunchy blue corn tortilla chips that perfectly paired. The chips were so good that I ended up asking the server where they were from, only to find out they were baked in house. When I ordered the tacos I was initially first skeptical about the price but quickly found out why the prices were set when our entree came out. I totally didn't expect the tacos to be THAT big, filled to the brim with condiments, garnishes, and meat. My personal favorites were the Crunchy Chicken Tender and Slow Braised Short Rib - both of them which had a modern unique twist to what you would traditionally consider for a taco. For example, the Crunchy Chicken tender had your standard lettuce garnishes but had a sweet syrup sauce that made biting into the fried chicken piece so divine. Definitely these tacos are an experience to have! (Although personally, I would want a small taco and see if maybe they can provide a sampler meal for those who maybe are unsure about committing to a giant taco.)Service: 4/5Service is quick, efficient, and friendly! It was my first time visiting and my server kindly recommended me his personal favorites not only regarding specific tacos but also which tortillas to pair them with. Seating is ample and clean with plenty of booths on the first floor, outside on the front patio, and additional seating on another level. Ambience is also terrific for a date/hang out spot with modern, fun music to boot. Although Salt & Lime shares company with other busy restaurants/bar, I didn't have any trouble with parking in the back lot. Overall, I can definitely see Salt & Lime as a great happy hour spot to catch up over drinks and music and would love to come back and try more!

1. This place does not have beans. weird. 2. The service is slow to none if you sit upstairs. plan on getting your steps in to go up and down the stairs each time if you need or want anything before, during or after you've been served. 3. chips and salsa are not gratis. In my opinion, in order to be considered in the Mexican food category / industry while not having beans is absurd, let alone charging for a plate or chips and salsa in a plastic to-go container is just asinine.

First time here, we tried the restaurant week menu. The service was amazing, the food came out quickly and it's great for families since there's plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The short rib burrito was my favorite, the tortilla was soft and the meat was tender and flavorful. I'd highly recommend trying the restaurant week deal, it was enough food for a couple and a toddler (he also loved the food), we'll be back soon!

The smell got me from the parking lot to choose the spot! Super neat layout and sweet staff. I got the queso chips which sounded and was rly good. There's a rly cool loft with good amount of seating! There's also a first responder discount which was also a neat plus! Would def recommend and come again. Also- THEYRE CHURROS ICE CREAM COMBO IS TOOOOO GOOD

Thursday at 12pm was not busy. Quick service. I ordered the citrus marinated chicken taco and the roasted sweet potato taco-absolutely delicious. We shared an apple cider non alcoholic drink and it was great-not too sweet. Menu has gluten free clearly marked. They were able to take off dairy items easily for me. My husband had a burrito-it was a bit small for the price and he said it had a bit too much rice but it was ok. He said he would get the tacos next time. The margarita options and happy hour menu look good so we will have to come back for that (I think it said M-F 4-6pm). Music was a little loud outside and the traffic on 17th is loud. I loved the large picnic tables outside.

short rib burrito and steak burritos were great!! Lots of space with comfortable seating

I wanted to like this place SO BAD!! My wife and I couldn't wait to try this place, we both ordered tacos, different tacos and between the two of us I think we tried 4 different types. The only one we both liked was some type of peppered ribeye spicy something or other. We also ordered the queso appetizer and it too was just not good, we were so disappointed. The place is decorated amazing, the environment was rad and the service was absolutely amazing. The girl working the counter was so helpful but unfortunately the food for us was just not good enough for a FIVE STAR review and that's what always try and post!

Visited here on New Year's Day for the first time and everything was so good! We got tacos and guacamole - ingredients were fresh and it was all delicious. The staff is incredibly friendly and the drinks are great. We will absolutely be back!

Salt & Lime has a really nice ambiance! I love the indoor/outdoor feel of the restaurant and the menu was really unique. The cashiers were friendly but the service overall was very slow. I love how the food is fresh (which I know takes time) but it took over 25 mins to bring out 4 tacos and then another 20 mins to bring out 1 additional taco that we ended up finally cancelling because we didn't want to wait any longer. Our favorite items were the small batch gaucamole and my husband said he really enjoyed the ribeye taco. I tried the citrus chipotle shrimp and grilled salmon tacos. Both of these were kind of bland so I asked for some salsa or hot sauce and was surprised to find that they charge extra for a side of salsa. They should at least have some hot sauce available. We also tried the paloma and the charred jalapeno margarita, and the pomegranate mint margaritas. These were all really sweet and didn't taste freshly made, even though the cashier had assured us that they were not sweet cocktails. So overall I had mixed feelings about this place. I wanted to love it but was kind of disappointed in the food and drinks.