Elsa's South

When you go to Elsa's on Far Hills you see this giant ornate building and it really pulls you in. I've driven by several times and thought it looks like "the" place to get authentic Mexican cuisine. Unfortunately, my experience was nowhere near amazing. My family and I entered through the west side of the building which apparently is the bar. To the left was some girl in an Elsas shirt that blankly stared at us. In front of us was a bartender serving about 15 people and to the right were booths and tables. We just grabbed a booth because no one even acknowledged us. There were maybe 4 other booths or tables occupied. It took the waitress awhile to acknowledge us. Honestly, it seemed like everyone working there could care less that we were there. I got a really weird vibe from most of the people there. As for the food, the chips and salsa are self serve. Basically, you scoop your own chips from a community warmer. When you put up barriers for COVID but then you encourage everyone to serve themselves their own chips and salsa and/or popcorn; it really doesn't make much sense at all. We got the question Loco (pictured) for our chips. The cheese was runny and honestly lacked flavor. The loco part was that they added chorizo but it was barely noticeable. My wife got the fajita bowl. It was a pretty large portion and she stated she did like it. My daughter got chicken chunks and fries. They were basic and nothing to write about. I got the Chicken Chimichanga dinner. I get the chimichanga dinner at every Mexican restaurant that I visit so that I can compare them. Elsa's chimichanga dinner is by far the worst I've ever had. The refried beans had no flavor. It was a bean paste. The Mexican rice was white rice with crushed tomatoes and seasonings. The chimichanga was doughy. By doughy, I mean it was absolutely undercooked. As for the chicken, have you ever tried canned chicken? Canned chicken has a certain flavor and texture. The chicken in this chimichanga reminded me exactly of canned chicken. With 20% tip we spent a little north of $50 for 2 adults and a kid. In the car, my Daughter asked to never go back. Honestly, I think this place is really just a bar serving food to people who are too drunk to really care. They do say they are known for their margaritas. So, if you want a decent margarita and all you can eat tortilla chips then this is your place.

The salsa reminded me of pace picanti. The rice was like a glorified rice a roni. The chicken felt like it was a precook heated up. They didn't have corn tortillas. It was good white people mexican food. Everyone in the restaurant was white... that should say a lot for a Mexican restaurant. This place is not authentic. It was okay... very Americanized. The staff was very friendly and I liked the atmosphere.

AVOID THIS LOCATION. Ordered and was brought something completely different from what was ordered. Asked for sweet tea with lime. They brought the sweet tea with lemon. Was told that this Mexican restaurant does not have lime. What Mexican restaurant does not have lime? The salsa literally tasted like ketchup. No diced vegetables at all. The location was dingy. The floor was sticky as was the table and booth. When they brought our food which was NOT what we ordered we got up and left.

My family and I went for lunch. Took the server 20 minutes to come to our table to take our drink order and give us menus. (It was not busy at all) she took our order without writing it down which then ended up being incorrect. Did not come back to offer refills OR ask if the food was ok. After I told her my order was incorrect and i wanted that portion taken off my bill she acted annoyed. Not to mention the food was not good. The rice was the consistency of mashed potatoes and the taco meat tasted like it was microwaved. Do NOT Recommend this location. (The floors were very sticky too)

Elsa is a fun place to always be at. The atmosphere is great the service that you receive is awesome I strongly recommend this to all people want to just go out and relax sit down and have a couple drinks get you some good wings or some fajitas, whichever one you may want to do and just enjoy your day

Prices went up a lot, which is not a problem to me, but if I cam paying these high prices I expect at least average food. The food has gone down hill, the salsa tastes like tomato soup, and it is no longer like the Elsa's I remember. Unfortunately I will have to take this off of my list of places to eat in Dayton.