A busy parking lot says a lot about a restaurant, and that was what we saw when arriving at Salsa’s on a weekday evening. Word is out about this Seawall eatery. The atmosphere is lively, colorful upscale cantina, very clean and spacious. We were immediately shown to a table, but on weekends be prepared to wait awhile.

The obligatory chips arrived quickly with our friendly waitress and were crispy & light, hot and not greasy. Red salsa was tomato-tangy and flavorful with only a mild hint of chili. Green/avocado salsa was creamier and spicier. Since part of our motivation to check out Salsa’s was their claim of having “the best Margaritas in Galveston”, we ordered a couple of the house version, one frozen and one on the rocks. We do concur with their claim. We’ve not had better on the Island.

Our “Mex Mix” appetizer included nachos and taquitos, complete with excellent guacamole, sour cream and queso sauce for dipping (and of course tasty jalapenos for the courageous). Fabulous! Taquitos were fresh and crispy, as were the mixed nachos. All had just the right amount of “bite” for this faint-hearted diner, and my fire-eating companion had plenty of additions to spice it up. This combination could be a dinner in itself.

The varied menu challenged us; there is definitely something there for everyone. For an entree, I tried “Camarones (shrimp) al Chipotle” which arrived with guacamole, borracho beans, and Mexican rice. The fresh camarones were swimming in a smoky sauce with green pepper, onion, and cheese (half the cheese would have been enough). My companion went for a combination plate, the “Cabo”, which included meat and chicken enchiladas, tamale, refried beans and rice. Everything was fresh and prepared perfectly. Even the beans and rice were delicious. Only the tamale was nothing to write home about. Like most Mexican restaurants, food was on the salty side, so anyone on a low-salt diet will have to order cautiously. Servings of all dishes were generous.

Not that we needed anything to top off our great dinners, but we had to sample the tres leches cake. It was OK but a bit dry. I’d try something else next visit. But everything else was excellent.  There definitely will be a next visit.

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For more information, click to Salsas on Galveston.com.