With over 50 stores across the country, Salsa’s is one of Australia’s largest fresh mex franchises. The emphasis is on freshness of ingredients with food made as you order (but I think most food franchises are doing that these days). There’s a decent selection of offerings with all your fast food Mexican favourites. Whether it be burritos, bowls, quesadillas, tacos or nachos, there’s something for everyone. The point of difference with this store is that they offer drive through.

For lunch, I ordered the Chicken Quinoa Salad (chicken, quinoa, broccoli, zucchini, red cabbage, salsa fresca, lime juice, coriander and ranch sauce). The salad was ready in less than 10 minutes after ordering and was below average in presentation. The meal was just a whole bunch of ingredients thrown together in a disposable paper bowl. At 1290KJ, this salad is one of their healthier menu options. The chicken was tender and succulent, and the more tasty chicken thigh was used. The vegetables used were fresh with the zucchini and cabbage providing a nice crunchy texture. I personally thought the salad was bland with the highlight being the crunchy corn chip topping. If you’re going to base how healthy a dish is on how good it tastes, this salad was pretty healthy.

The staff were friendly, however, the service was slow. When I came in there were only two people working in the store. One person was in the kitchen while another person was manning the drive through counter. It took over 5 minutes for someone to come to the front counter. The salad set me back $9.95 which was reasonable considering it’s serving size.

Verdict: If you’re going to go to a fast food store, go the full distance and get the stuff higher in calories.

WHERE: 263 Henley Beach Rd, Brooklyn Park