Taqueria Salsa Brava

375 Saratoga Avenue,
San Jose, CA 95129

On a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being excellent and 5 being poor:
The Food Quality/Quantity: 3
Pricing: 3
Atmosphere: 2.6
Service: 2.4

Food Quality/Quantity:

A couple of years ago, I heard that some Mexican restaurants serve cactus (without spines of course). Ever since then, I've always wanted to try the dish. Unsurprisingly, I was very excited when my Spanish teacher mentioned that one of the dishes at Salsa Brava, a tiny Mexican restaurant off Saratoga and Kiley in San Jose, included cactus. And so, when some free time popped up, a few of my friends went to try it out. My dish was called Camarones con nopalitos (shrimp with cactus) and featured a big serving of shrimp on a bed of sauteed cactus. It also came with some beans, rice, and lettuce. In my opinion, the cactus had the texture of bell pepper and a milder taste, a bit like that of cucumbers. It was good, but the seasoning was a bit spicy. As for the shrimp, I've had better- it was a bit fishy. Another feature of this restaurant worth noting was the salsa bar, which featured about 8 different options. Customers were free to help themselves to whatever they wanted from it. I found these to be all-around good.
[Karen, Camarones con nopalitos (Shrimp with Cactus)]

Pricing:

It's kind of average as far as mexican cuisine goes, except for the fact that they served cactus!
Cactus kind of tastes like pickled bell pepper.

I would say that it's nothing special, but definitely a great place to grab a meal. The enchiladas tasted very average. Pricing is pretty average as well; you can get a good meal for a little under $10.

Also, be sure to check out the salsa bar!
[Leslie, Enchiladas]

Atmosphere:

It was a really strange atmosphere...
I wouldn't necessarily recommend it but it wasn't repulsive
[Karina]

Service:

I didn't think that the chips and salsa were very good. They were decent, but I kind of expected more from a Mexican restaurant. The burrito mojado was just decent as well. However, the quesadilla was delicious. I give the quesadilla a 5/5.



I don't really remember the prices but I think that they were fairly low.

It was a fairly comfortable setting. However, the restaurant seemed a little run down.

We got our food pretty quickly and the restaurant split the bill for us. My main complaint is that when I asked for a refill of my soda, I got water instead. It got fixed in the end, but it was an inconvenience.

Go ahead and try the tongue or cactus.
[Colin, Quesadilla, Burrito Mojado]




*Other: If someone wanted to try the cactus, I’d take them there. Otherwise, other places have better Mexican food.