Sal y Limon: Cheap Mexican eats in Surrey and Vancouver
Sal y Limon is a casual Mexican restaurant with locations in Vancouver and Surrey. We came here for a quick lunch with 2 other friends looking for something affordable and fast. This review is based off of an in-dining experience at their Surrey location and I also like to round all my prices up to a dollar amount in CAD.
Interior
I was actually really surprised at how large the restaurant is (at least their Surrey location). There was a lot of space and a lot of tables that can fit large groups. The interior is actually really cute and trendy and I like the patterned tiles on their counters and the hipster black lawn-looking chairs (not that comfy but looks trendy).
I also found it funny they have this giant play area here in the middle of their restaurant. Looks like an easy spot to bring children or have big family gatherings.
Food and drinks
You order at the counter and seat yourself with a number sign, then they will bring you your food.
Pineapple jarrito ($4)
They actually have a few alcoholic beverage options from Mexican beer to pina coladas on their menu. We opted for a jarrito, which is like a “Mexican coca-cola”. They come in many different flavours.
Nachos ($14)
To share between 4 people, we got the large nachos. These are loaded with cheese, guacamole, pico de gallio, beans, pickled onions, sour cream, chipotle mayo and jalapenos.
The large is not actually that large to me but it was still a decent size. I thought some of the very vibrantly coloured chips were cool, but it wasn’t the best tasting plate of nachos I’ve ever had. I am not a big fan of the beans in it either.
Tacos ($4 each)
Ordering off of Sal y Limon’s menu is pretty easy. You can basically choose between different types of “mains” – tacos, burritos and burrito bowls, tortas, or quesadillas. There are also add-ons like chimichanga if you want to deep fry your burrito with cheese.
After you choose your main and how many you want, you choose a “recipe”. So I chose 4 tacos and for my recipes, I chose shrimp, fish, al pastor and carnitas. All the tacos are on 4″ corn tortillas and the prices differ depending on the recipe you choose, but they area all under $4 each.
Out of the 4, I liked the fish taco the most but that’s because I always love fish tacos lol. The shrimp was also good but very similar to the fish as they are both battered and deep fried with similar toppings.
The al pastor taco was probably the more popular option – they use marinated pork with pineapple. Love how the pineapple gave it a refreshing little twist. The carnita (pulled pork) taco was decent but wasn’t as good as the al pastor taco.
Flan napolitano ($5)
My fiancé is a sucker for flan so he had to order this dessert. The appearance/presentation is pretty unassuming but it’s just flan and we are in Sal y Limon so what did we expect haha. The flan was actually denser than we expected it to be (note: we’ve never tried Mexican flan before), but it was decently sweet and a tasty little dessert. For $5 it might be a little pricey though, compared to the $4 tacos I just had.
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sal y Limon delivers what it promises – a fast, tasty and cheap meal. Portion sizes are fine and the prices are very reasonable – I was very full after 4 tacos! They also have so many different recipes so it’s fun to choose and try different things. And you don’t have to worry about what to order as everyone orders for themselves and they will be able to find something on their extensive menu. I believe their menu was designed in a very optimized and smart way.
We are not always in the Surrey area and if we are in Vancouver, we find ourselves having a long list of options but if we are ever craving some easy and cheap tacos, Sal y Limon will be on our radars.
Sincerely, Loewe