I was craving mole and la Vida Catrina did not disappoint. Their enchiladas had lots of chicken and flavor and the mole was so good!

We went on a weekday evening and there were only two other people in the entire restaurant. The service was great! The drinks were good. The chips and beans and salsa were also good while waiting for our food. It took about 25 minutes for our food to arrive and that is when the disappointment started. The flavors were not good. There was something off in the taste that I cannot describe. Neither one of us good eat much of the food. I had high hopes for this place after all of the other great reviews, but I did not experience any good food. I will not be eating there again. read more

Food is so fresh with great flavor! Prices are on the higher side for Mexican food but so worth it. Service was friendly.

The food and service are absolutely amazing. I have been here three times and will definitely continue to go.

Upscale Mexican food that is delicious and a great variety of cocktails. Friendly service, love this place.

This was our first time trying this place and we were thrilled with our experience. The restaurant was about half full, we were greeted, seated and brought chips, salsa and beans. All three items were delicious! We had a craft margarita made with fresh juices and house made jamaica. It was $14 but a good size and quality ingredients and liquor. We ordered the seafood trio and a 3 item combo. Both were excellent! The seafood combo had a crab and shrimp enchilada-they did not skimp on the crab! The chile relleno was stuffed with shrimp and lobster, both of these items perfectly filled and balanced with the right amount of cheese to bring it all together. The shrimp taco had bacon wrapped shrimp and a great sauce on it-we could have used a side of that sauce with it. The build your own combo had a chicken enchilada, a chicken taco and a Chile relleno. The chile relleno was the star! It was stuffed with carnitas and cheese and was cooked properly! The pepper had just the right consistency for the flavor to really come thru. No brown egg batter to detract from the harmony of flavors. The chicken taco was solid and the enchilada was good as well. We will definitely return to try more of their dishes! Their regional flare was appreciated and they offer more seafood options than a lot of places. Their ingredients are fresh and good fresh food takes time so expect that and snag another bowl of chips to tie you over. Both orders were platters of food-not plates! We could have easily shared one plate and probably still had leftovers but we wanted to try out a few things to see if we'd return. Great value and really really great food! read more

La Vida Catrina - Seafood trio - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

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Get the queso shrimp taquitos. Its a appetizer but it was very tasty. Service was great, the meal was delicious. I will definitely go back. Friendly staff read more

It was so hard to choose what to order out of so many yummy options on our first visit. The queso fundido was amazing! Both the carnitas and pork tacos were great. Good size portions as well. We also had a classic ($10) and blackberry margarita ($12). So why the 4/5 stars? It's definitely on the pricier side for Mexican food. Carnitas plate was $16 and the tacos were $14 I believe. For $10-12 a drink, I would have liked to see them be a little bigger. They came in a smaller glass and maybe 1oz of liquor in each. The service was great. Regardless, we will be back! They have a taco Tuesday special we plan to try. read more

La Vida Catrina - Queso Fundido - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

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America is mixing up the best fresh made drinks I have had in Salem. The food is amazing and staff is friendly and attentive. Strongly recommend!!! read more

La Vida Catrina - Enchiladas - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

I can not fathom the reason the service here is the worst. It is not a lack of staff. They do not do anything fast. They never check back on a frequent basis. This was Turing out to be my place to go, but I can not take the lack of caring for service. It took almost 10 minutes to get the attention of a server who was about 15 feet away for a napkin. She never looked up or around from clearing a table. To even get a second fill of water is like pulling teeth. It's almost 20 minutes for someone to come take an order. Don't get me wrong, the food is good. but if you have well over an hour to waste for service and food, it's a perfect place to go. I think we were there over hour half. Two tables to sat after us got their food before us. I personally have my doubts to return unless they up their game in service. read more

Have never been disappointed in the service, food, or cocktails. Without the A-typical menu, they still have all of the classics, and a great variety of menu items they can call their own (especially in Salem). Definitely going back again. read more

La Vida Catrina - Pork Tamale with rice and beans. - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

Finally got an opportunity to eat at the restaurant and it was nirvana. Stopped in for lunch and had Chile verde and my husband the short rib enchiladas. Flavorful, tender and making you wish you were a cow with three stomachs! The beans are silky and flavorful and their habanero hot sauce went perfectly with the Chile verde. Bonus I got to enjoy two more meals of it because the serving was generous. Best Mexican restaurant in town! Go there! read more

Fire! The bomb! Amazing! All I could do for the first 10 minutes is make my "happy" sounds while I ate the most incredible meal I've had in about a year. Just moved to Salem from P-town and have had food withdrawals ever since. But today! I have found my "go-to" Mexican restaurant. From the beans and rice to the "unique" chile relleno and Chicken enchilada with Mole sauce, not one thing disappointed. Everything tasted fresh, the carnitas were the most flavorful and tender I've ever had, and the Mole was homemade as I could taste all the complex ingredients that make this Mole autentico! Give this restaurant a try and if you don't like it, then you have been fooled by the bland mediocre Mexican fare in this town and your taste buds have done you a disservice. I will be back! For real dough!!!! read more

La Vida Catrina - Nacho says, "Save me a piece a dat carn, ok?" Crispy beef taco, chicken enchilada with green sauce, and the CORN! My God, THE CORN! - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

I cannot say enough about this place. Food was absolutely scrumptious! This was some of the best Mexican food I've had since moving to Oregon from California. This place beats Matador's in Portland hands down. The staff was welcoming, friendly and attentive. Went there before the dinner rush on a week day. Plenty of seating both inside and outside. If you haven't tried this place yet, it's definitely worth the hype! Gonna try the cocktails next time. read more

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Amazing food and service. Everything was fresh, full of flavor and delicious. Watermelon margaritas best I've had, fresh jalapeños and fruit. read more

La Vida Catrina - The street sign - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

Had the very best authentic Mexican food I felt like I was vacationing in Mexico! The service was great too! read more

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Absolutely hands down the BEST Mexican restaurant in Salem!! I ordered the shrimp and crab enchiladas. Perfecto! Very flavorful! Excellent service. Very attentive. Highly recommend! read more

Very first time to dine here! First- the chips! Crisp, fresh, and just the right amount of salt. Second - the Salsa! Cha cha cha! The best ever! The Salsa is amazing - grilled tomato and is apparent. Third - the bean dip! Amazing. Spiced just right and amazing on a chip. The meal: Chicken soft Taco & Chicken Burrito! The chicken on both is seasoned to perfection and a bit of crunch was nice too! The veggies were crisp - the flavor amazing. The habanero sauce - OMG - loved it! The avocado sauce - OMG - loved it too! Love love this place! We'll be back! read more

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I've eaten here both times I've been in Salem at meal time. I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food but my husband is and we both love this place. Really good food and lots of options whether you're looking for something on the "plain" side (me- quesadillas) or something as authentic as possible (I can't remember what my husband got!). Don't fill up on the bean dip! read more

The food is absolutely amazing!! Everything but the tortillas are made in-house, even the bloody mary! The mole is smooth, the black beans are smooth, and the tamales are absolutely the best i have ever had! The chili relleno is top notch! I've never liked them until now! This is by far my favorite Mexican restaurant in the area! Organic chicken. The service is amazing, so friendly and ready to help! I can not say enough great things about this establishment! read more

Hands down the best margaritas and Mexican food in Salem. The cocktails are unbelievable and the food was delicious! Completely worth the time and money. They hand make the margaritas and it does not taste like any artificially tasting premixed ingredients. Food was fresh and so so tasty. I live in San Diego and have to say this was the best I've had in a long time. This place is no joke. read more

La Vida Catrina - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

No outdoor seating. Outside is filthy. Came here on a hot summer evening with my pup only to be disappointed.

Stopped by for the first time based on the positive reviews. Very friendly staff (owner?), and decided to try the chile relleno and the corn on the cob. The relleno was delicious. Could really taste the natural sweetness of the chili without all that egg batter I dislike. Also has pork carnitas inside! The owner said some customers complain that its not the usual relleno with all the egg, but that is how they make it in her home. The corn on the cob was also excellent with the mayo, cheese and chili and other goodness. Only "downside" of this place is that food is on the spendier side, but I'd rather spend a few dollars more any day for fresh quality, great service, and a nice tap list. I'll be back! read more

Objectively speaking this place was a four out of five for me. I've had better Mexican food, although I grew up in California so I was spoiled on that front. But for Mexican food in Salem, Oregon this place gets an easy 5/5 for me. The ingredients are (allegedly) organic but even if they aren't the recipes are fresh and yummy. I tried the spinach enchiladas (with chicken added) and my wife tried the chicken flautas. The food had plenty of flavor, but didn't leave my wife and I with a heavy, gross feeling that lesser Mexican restaurants leave you with when you are all done. My only complaint was that my chicken was a tad dry, but that's true at 95% of restaurants I go to and I've had it a lot worse. Go here, keep them in business, and be grateful that Salem has a solid Mexican restaurant option. I'll be back. (I see the other review on here complained of bad service - I cant speak to their experience but when we were there it wasn't busy and the service was just fine). read more

La Vida Catrina - Chicken Flautas - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

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This now my favorite Mexican restaurant in Salem. Great food and staff! The only issue I had with the indoors is the music is too loud and it was too cold inside - so we ate outside. read more

This is for sure my favorite Mexican place in Oregon, I drove all the way from Portland to Salem just for the best dinner ever. They service is so nice. They have warm chips with savory salsa and refried beans. Margaritas are just incredible here. Burritos and tacos are to died for. We also have the sea food trio and Camarones con carne asado. All the food was pretty awesome. read more

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Service was great. We loved the food! And the margarita I had was amazing! It had fresh strawberries and jalapeños but wasn't too spicy! One of the tastiest I've ever had. We'll be back for sure! read more

Fresh ingredients Mexican food I had the chili Verde a wonderful dish. A small little restaurant in the neighborhood.

Top notch food! Unlike anything Salem has to offer! It's not your typical Mexican food. Always delicious!!

Have been coming here for many years. The food has a unique spin to regular Mexican food. We love the vegetarian spinach enchiladas, the flautas have a nice pickled veggie mix that it comes with, and the shrimp enchiladas in green sauce are to die for. The rice with corn has such a smooth flavor too. We finish our meal with churros. The atmosphere is calm and although it may take a bit to get the food, the service is always incredible. This is our go-to place when we want a good meal that satisfies the whole family. read more

Good food, plentiful portions, and even better drinks. A little spendy, but I will be back! read more

La Vida Catrina - Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

Food was pretty good (chicken flautas were the favorite of the table) but definitely waaayyy over priced. You can get better Mexican food for way less. It would have been cool if they had homemade tortilla chips at the beginning, since they fried the chicken floutas anyway, but instead they were store bought and pretty flavorless. Best thing was probably the bean dip though! And I hate beans! The waitress interacted with us exactly three times; to take our order (after we sat for fifteen minutes without being acknowledged), bringing our food, and giving us the check. Food took literally an hour after ordering. I have never experienced that before! It was a random Monday night and not too busy, so the wait was pretty crazy.. Overall, I might check it out again for some drinks on the patio in the summer, but there are definitely cheaper, faster, yummier places if you're looking for Mexican. Hopefully I will update with a better experience! :) read more

Great margaritas. (Best in town for sure!) Great chips and salsa. (Fresh made) Great carnitas. (Dry cooked, not saucy) Cool atmosphere. Highly recommend this place. read more

La Vida Catrina - Mexican Near Me - Salem, Oregon

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Went for brunch with the kids, it was pretty empty only saw one other party in there. We got to Choose where we can sit(which is nice) the waitress was super nice and friendly. Told us the special of the day. I was surprised that they offer elotes(corn on the cob with crema, cheese and Chile) as a side dish! My kids were very excited for that lol. I ordered the chilaquiles plate. Was very delicious. We will be coming back for sure! read more

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It was good. I had an enchilada and tamale combo. Everything was hot and you could tell it was fresh. It was just missing something. I can't put my finger on exactly what...but it just wasn't there. read more

Tried La Vida Catrina for the first time a couple weeks ago hoping to find our new favorite Mexican place. I ordered the enchilada combo plate and my wife got a couple of tacos al la carte'. Overall, both of us found the food to be just OK. We had high hopes given the number of 5 star reviews here, so maybe it was just an off day as it was a Tuesday and it was only about 4:00. read more

Read all the reviews of Mexican restaurants in Salem and so glad we chose La Vida Catrina. Ambience was perfect for a family of 4 to have a nice dinner and everyone enjoyed their meals. The crispy tacos, halibut taco and guacamole was especially good. My only concern was that the waitress served a very hot dish across the table to our daughter who instinctively reached out to take it and burned the tips of her fingers on both hands. We didn't want to make a big deal of it at the time but in hindsight it was very dangerous as she should have dropped the dish. Great food and we will go back next time in Salem. read more

The good was pretty good and the margaritas were GREAT....but the restaurant smells like it needs to deep-cleaned! I understand the challenge of building a business, but a little (or slot) elbow grease is affordable for all. This place smells musty and things that could be easily scrubbed up were ignored..it has to make you question the cleanliness of the good prep areas. The higher than average prices made it even the more concerning. read more

Came here to celebrate girlfriend's daughter's (~step daughter) engagement. Both the blackberry and Cadillac margaritas were great! Got the chili verde which was tasty! read more

Best Mexican food in the Willamette Valley. A true Chef in the kitchen. Every specialty is superbly made.