I was excited to have some Mexican food while visiting Santa Maria because much like the town I grew up in, there's a significant Mexican population so I had high expectations for the tacos. My partner, who is a Santa Maria native, said they have some really good al pastor tacos and he was right. They were very good. But in my opinion what made these tacos as good as they are, was the green avocado salsa. It had the perfect amount of spice and gave the tacos so much flavor. Service and ambiance are exactly what you would expect from a quicky taco spot. I will definitely be stopping by again during my next visit. read more

Taqueria Salsa Brava - Al Pastor - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Massive food poisoning. I can barely walk and I'm sweating bullets. Al Pastor. Never again

Just getting over food poisoning. I'm so traumatized. Please be careful eating here. Everything looks and seemed fine but this place caused me severe food poisoning I have never experienced before and never want to experience again. I ordered an asada burrito with red and green sauce but also ate from the salsa bar. They need a deep cleaning. read more

This place has bomb tacos the meats are tender and juicy I got pastor asada and chorizo and they were so flavorful. They also have a snack bar so u can load up on salsa, cilantro onion, and lemons read more

Good food with good spicy salsa. Food was made to order. Crunchy tacos with everything were delicious.

Food was delicious. Everything is authentic and homemade. Best Mexican Food great customer service and its very clean

Been here a couple of times now at the suggestion of co-workers for lunch. Prompt service, fresh salsa bar and Al Pastor style tacos are on the menu. Got in and out without any issues, a happily satisfied appetite and very reasonable bill. They include a spicy salsa with tortilla chips right after you're seated. read more

Taqueria Salsa Brava - Tacos Al Pastor! I went a little bonkers with the fresh salsa bar, but outstanding nonetheless. :) - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Decided to eat brunch & popped in. Most excellent pork enchiladas! Recommend this Restaurant read more

Taqueria Salsa Brava - the inside of a restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Los tacos de tripas, cabeza, alambre, buche, deliciosos - raro porque usual mente hay lugares que no los saben preparar. Pero en salsa brava los mejores. Los del pastor les doy un cero !!!!! A mi gusto nada que ver - al pastor - La noche como a las 8 que fui la salsa verde y roja - he hadas a perder - La Roja tenía burbujas !!!! Prueben las salsas antes de ponerlas a sus tacos ..,.. ahi les soy un 3. Por favor chequen continuamente su mesa de salsas y minuria para los tacos. Les doy un cero porque la pina para los tacos al pastor la ponen salida de la lata !!!!! Se supone que la piña va junto guisada con la carne al pastor !!!!! Sus tacos al pastor cero !!!!!!! Sino fuera por si detalles, les daría un 10!!! read more

Delicious! Will definitely be coming back. We got pastor and asada tacos. Perfect and tasted great. They have a salsa bar to top it yourself. Spicy to mild, avocado salsa, pico, cilantro and onions. Lots of options. Service was great and friendly. Had some TVs with football on. Great spot for lunch! read more

Really good food, and a generous quantity. If the service were better, I'd be giving a higher rating. But the server didn't come by even once to check on whether things were o.k. (The place wasn't that busy.) That's part of that job! Want a more generous tip? Earn it! read more

The food and service were good but the place can really use a deep cleaning and maybe some work on their seats.

You know how when you find something you really love you stop looking anywhere else? I've found the only chicken taco salad for me right here. The beef taco salad is good too but I've come here multiple days in a row just for their delicious chicken taco salad. The serving is generous and so is the salsa bar. The owner is always friendly to me and I've only experienced bright, smiling and attentive waitresses. The atmosphere is as authentic as the flavorful food with live mariachi entertainment on weekends. I've read other reviews and I feel sorry for some of them but in short I've probably been here more often than all of them combined and every visit has been something I look forward to and is always very satisfying. I highly recommend that you give them a visit too. read more

Well, me and my husband were looking for good tacos, so we got there.. the waitress, nice girl, brought chips and salsa and took the order, we didnt see her after like 20 min waiting, she came to our table with the tab, asking to pay whenever we were ready and we had never got our food!!!!! By then we were so hungry we couldn't go somewhere else.. so we stayed another 10 min waiting for our food. Food was ok but the place is not presentable and the service was horrible. I would never go again. read more

Back again and found a spot to park. Great place. I ordered the Alambre which is a popular dish when I asked the waitress. It is a plate of meat( bacon ham and meat) cheese and peppers that is hearty and tastes great. Add the salsa or hot sauce to suit your needs. With a side order of the bacon wrapped shrimp I had to try. I love bacon. The shrimp were juicy but the bacon was a tad too crispy. Maybe cooked too long or old oil but I ate them all. I was happy to see and order the legit Coke from Mexico! So good and you know it. Check this place out if you are nearby. read more

See all

I order tacos from this restaurant, and I got food poisoning I was very sick, I called the restaurant to get my money reimbursed they never care on contacting me I don't recommend this restaurant I give 0 stars read more

Delicious tacos, great service, fare prices, food prepared in a timely manner, and just overall a great experience.

Prices are very high. Quality of food is poor. We complained and asked for the item to be removed off our bill since it hadn't been eaten. IT WAS COLD. We asked to see her manager. Her boss refused to come speak to us. HE was sitting 3 booths down from us and instead of resolving the situation he walked to the back office, she said that he would not come out and speak to us. read more

The food was cold and when I asked for a hot plate the women said they couldn't do that. I asked our waitress to get the owner, who was sitting 5 booths away, and he refused to talk to us and hid in his office. The workers started laughing about our complaint and stared at us from the kitchen. I've never been at any business that refused to address a complaint, and the owner/manager tell the employee they will not talk to us. read more

This little mom and pop place is such a warm environment. The servers and manager are very helpful and nice. Even during this scamdemic they are serving outside with tables set apart. They kindly made me a special keto plate and had the very best Pinot I've tasted. I would surely go there again if I'm ever in Santa Maria again! read more

Not what I expected. Too bad. Sope was okay, carne asada hard shell taco... Not it was adobada and salty. The chile relleno was really good. Warm coffee.. nothing brava about their salsas. Not good but not bad I guess. read more

My husband was in the mood for tacos al pastor but not the regular kind, he wanted the spit-roasted meat. He says the meat is much better when it's cooked rotisserie style line that. We looked for a place that had that and we finally remembered that they had them here. We hadn't been here in a while. It was busy but were seated right away. We were greeted by the manager who we had met before he is a very friendly person. He brought us some drinks and some chips and salsa. My husband ordered his tacos right away , I decided to try the shrimp ceviche tostadas. Something I love about this place is the salsa bar. It's very good!! It has a guacamole salsa that I always get , it's spicy. We got our food pretty quickly. My husband devoured his tacos. My tostadas were perfect, I ordered two and they had plenty of shrimped. They were perfectly marinated. I added the spicy guacamole salsa which made them extra delicious. We will be back! read more

Taqueria Salsa Brava - Tacos al pastor - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

See all

Non existent service. Poor waitress is super overworked. Understaffed so just left since she never came to take my order.

AWEFUL waited 20-25 minutes for my food... And bland rice and beans.. Over priced... Drowned enchiladas to mask the taste that isn't there.. Never again read more

Taqueria Salsa Brava - Overpriced.. BLAND... Slow service. Why come back? - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Service is horrible. Waited 20 minutes before we were offered drinks. Waited another 10 minutes for them to take our order and food took forever to come. Food is really good but the service is very unfriendly and very slow read more

YUMM YUMM YUMM! Open late for the west coast kustoms car show and they had a mariachi band! PERFECT way to end a Friday night! The chicken tacos were so good and classic, the SALSA BAR IS AWESOME!!!!!!! Staff was super cool and will definitely keep it in mind for the best time I'm in Santa maria!!! read more

When I looked at the building I wasn't sure if I wanted to eat there. Once in it wasn't that bad. The cashier/waitress was very friendly and helpful. She was kind enough to recommend food since it was my first time there. Taco de pastor and cheese enchiladas and chili relleno. Add carne, papa's and queso to the chili rellenos it would be amazing. But the tacos de pastor meat was great. read more

Taqueria Salsa Brava - Taco de pastor, 2 cheese enchiladas and chili relleno - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Good tacos for not very much. We always seem to get their Carne Asada Tacos & the Tacos Al Pastor with a margarita or Corona - can't go wrong with that combo. Love the salsa bar and different variety of salsas available to add onto your taco. Service is decent. Very affordable! Next time we may try something new, but it will be hard to get away from the tacos! read more

Taqueria Salsa Brava - Salsa & Chips, 3 different salsas from the salsa bar and a Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Santa Maria, California

See all

So apparently they got rid of chinese food and just went head-on with their mexican food Tacos are still delicious as ever. Still have the same flavorful array of salsas too. YUM P.S. Beware, though that their salsas, though tasty are not for the faint of heart. Even the inviting-looking guacamole sauce has quite a bit of kick in it. My advice? adjust your food accodingly. read more

We were there after a friend recommended us this place, the food was authentic and delicious and the place was clean with friendly staff. We want to go back as soon as possible. read more

Delicious! Al pastor sopes is where it is at! Don't forget to order fried rice. Best taco restaurant in SM!

I Took my wife to try out a new spot! LOL the glass had white film, and hair! the her food was over cooked like shoe leather . My food looked so good but wasn't LOL ! Eggs soooo overcooked , and the salsa from the salsa bar was rancid . Like really bad! won't be back! read more

Very disappointed with this place You would think you would get everything that you pay for a lot of the food was missing I went this TuesdayThe guy didn't take my order right they don't give your food did you pay for so I will not go ever again they lost a customer with me and made me pay almost $70 for my food which was not even worth it especially when they don't take your order right Fui a este lugar el martes estás si pagué $70 para la comida lo que me dieron la orden que no tomaron bien perdieron un cliente para mí si tú vas a ordenar algo y van a dar buen servicio que lo de bien no lo recomiendo si la comida está buena pero no cuando pagar y no te dan todo tu comida y tienes que manejarte un lugar a otro a tu casa y llegas y no tienes la comida que pagaste read more

All these short reviews here just don't do enough justice. Taqueria Salsa Brava is a stupendous restaurant with the best Mexican food around Santa Maria. No, the whole central coast. La comida aquí es deliciosa y saludable! Take it from me. I'm a health inspector. All my teenage life I've dedicated myself to find that perfect taco, that savory torta, and here at Taqueria Salsa Brava that's exactly what I've found. I've even gone to other states but NOPE, you can't find anything better than this restaurant. I've done my research people. And guess what? My mom works here. She cooks and she's a waitress. 40 years of hard work and she loves her job probably more than me. Mama knows best. Every night when my mum comes back from the work she loves and holds dear to her heart, all I hope for her to bring back is their special, crunchy, pinto bean and gooie cheese filled chimichanga. Or their exclusive, can't find anywhere else meals ranging from fried shrimp and greasy but still healthy bacon salad topped with melted mozzarella. Listen boys and girls, this place will give you a special place in your heart. Feelings no other restaurant can give you. When you get in and sit down, you can just smell that hot, steaming carne asada that's perfectly balanced with being not too tender or not undercooked, cooking in that kitchen. You see all the friendly waitresses around and how they greet you and treat you with respect. You think about all the other times where waitresses have been slow and disrespectful with you, but not here. The friendly atmosphere, the smell of the food, the free chips, all this and you can't help but spread a smile across your face. When you're old and withering away, and you take a trip down memory lane, you think of this restaurant. With your last dying breaths you just wish you can have that one last taco, that last perfectly made enchiladas, because for you, that's when life really started. That is what this place will give you. Oh and they sell Chinese food too! This right here folks is the true, authentic Latino experience. Only from Guadalajara. If you'd like to see what the Mexican culture is like, Taqueria Salsa Brava has it all. Everything from imported Mexican beer, corridos, telenovelas, and people all over from South America. You know that saying? "Mi casa es tu casa." The waitresses here will you treat you like their child, giving you warm love and the recognition that you need in your life. When you're feeling like life just isn't worth it anymore, and your own mama neglects you and you can't help but feel useless and unimportant , the atmosphere, good food, and employees here will make you feel the opposite. Make life worth living again. Taqueria salsa Brava is in the top 3 percentile of Mexican restaurants that just make you say "Mm,Mmm,Mmmmm!", as you stuff that last piece of burrito de asada down your hungry , growling stomach. Taqueria Salsa Brava ladies and gentlemen. read more

Horrible service.. They were out of everything horchata menudo and queso fresco I had a sope de lengua they put Parmesan pizza cheese on it...gross I was the only one at the table that asked for no beans and I was the only one to get beans...never again read more

This was the second time we went there. We had already noticed the funky smell, but the tacos and the salsas were good. This time, the treatment of the waitress was very rude. She received us as if we didn't belong her, and that she was unhappy to have us there. The worse was that they didn't bring us fresh salsa and chip. They just grabbed the leftovers from another table, refilled the chips basket, and served it to us! When we told her to cancel our order, she nearly kicked us out and told us to pay for the drinks. We do not recommend this place due to the poor service and unsanitary procedures, and we are never coming back. read more

Went with my family and everyone got served before I did and when I asked where's my food they had completely forgotten about my order. My father in law ordered tacos and never received them.Then when talking to the waitress I was given attitude for no apparent reason. Then they wanted more tacos and asked the waitress if it would take long to get them said no and we waited more then 15 minutes and we just decided to pay and leave but when paying they wanted to charge us the tacos we didn't even eat .I would never go back read more

Good food and great services. Had a young girl serve us and she was very helpful. Delicious al pastor tacos and great asada burrito. Will definitely be coming back! Keep up the great work you guys! read more

Pretty good. Not the "best" I've ever had but the price is reasonable and the portions are good. The service was outstanding! Would def recommend to friends and family. read more

Fresh and delicious. Had the enchiladas. They were perfect. Great service, great rice and beans. Not heavy. Love it.