Chips and Salsa Cantina

Tacos al hambre might be my favorite Mexican dish in town. The fresh peppers on this taco are top notch. There is a pork dish I enjoy, too. I think it’s called chile colorado or something.
Pool tables are fun; always a couple of cheap beer/​drink specials. Little bit smoky but it brings in an eclectic crowd.

Staff is rude, bathrooms are dirty and the food is lack luster. I seem to always have a bad experience when I go there which is why I haven’t been back in a while. When recommending bars in Huntsville, I make sure to tell people to steer clear of Chips and Salsa. I’ve heard rumors of bartenders urinating behind the bar and the stench as you approach the bar supports this allegation. I’ve also been told by a former employee that they don’t clean their taps out as often as they should. If you want a big bar with lots of pool tables and clean atmosphere, go to Diamonds.

First and last visit. The place wasn’t crowded, which was awesome. The pool tables were free, which was great. Mixed drinks were weak, which was sad. Bartender kept screaming at patrons declaring, «I hate having people in here on Friday nights!», which was odd. And his 1:45AM last call was something altogether indescribable, which is insane!!! Therefore, the free pool is trumped by the crappy drinks and the doofus behind the bar. Maybe that’s why the place was so empty.

The pool tables are great. Our waitress was great. The bartender served very poor drinks to everyone in our party of 5 all night and when my friend requested a specialty drink with the actual recipe on her phone he told her it was just a hurricane and not a single liquor in the recipe made it in the drink. We ended up just drinking beer. At the end of the night he was rude towards the customers and was yelling at the waitress. Very unprofessional. Made everyone feel uncomfortable. I asked his name and said it was Chad. Every customer in the bar felt very uncomfortable at the end of the night with the arguments.

I struggled between two and three stars for this place.
The first big thing is the extremely weak drinks. (This is a major strike.) I had a stoli tonic, in a short glass, and my friend had a Long Island ice tea. Mine was very very weak. I’m pretty sure it didn’t even contain the standard 1 ¼ oz. my friend said her tea was also very weak (isn’t a Long Island supposed to be all alcohol with a splash of stuff?).
Since both of our drinks we’re so weak we decided to pay our checks and move on, so I can’t comment on the food. I will say that the guy that we were sitting next to said what he had wasn’t any good, but that the fajitas were awesome.
The place felt kind of dirty. Ew. I do like dives, but clean ones.
The two bartenders were super nice and very attentive. This is why I had to keep that third star.
In short; if you are a smoker, beer drinker, and love dives, this might be your place.

They have a lot of pool tables.
Good music.
I think the beer is pretty cheap but I don’t drink so I wouldn’t know.
Good food, nice place to hang out and I am pretty sure they have bike night there!
Fun times!

One of few bars in Huntsville where one can enjoy a ballgame, smoke a cigar and enjoy a beer. The food is excellent, as is the wait staff. There are pool tables, dart boards and Buzztme Trivia if one is so inclined. They have a full bar, but most alcohol is dispensed using a computer operated system, so no room for the bartender to add some flair. Please note, there are LOTS of non-​smoking bars in Huntsville, so rather than moan about this one, why not go elsewhere and let smokers have the two or three bars they have. Wings, Buffalo Wild Wings, Fridays and Chili’s are all excellent choices for the non-​smoker…

I’m giving this place only 3 stars for two reasons:
1. The smoking. I know that outside of liberal California and tagalong Maryland, people like to smoke like chimneys. However, if an establishment is going to allow its patrons to smoke, they need to have some sort of air filtration system so you can actually see across the room after 10pm. This place is so smoky and disgusting, even your underwear stinks when you leave.
2. They have installed pouring machines. That means your shot is going to contain a bare minimum of alcohol. I know this is the deep south, but hey, didn’t Jesus convert water into wine? All you’re doing is wasting my time.
It is a bit of a culture shock, and I enjoy seeing my man visit his hometown, but they could easily make this place a lot more fun if they stopped being so uptight. Maybe Jello-​o wrestling?