If you’ve been following NC Eat & Play for a while, you know that Salt & Lime Cabo Grill is one of my favorite restaurants around.

Located in Raleigh, the Baja-style Mexican eatery, Salt & Lime Cabo Grill, has blown up with my followers. Every week, I get a few messages from people telling me they tried it based on my recommendation and loved it. Being known as Salt & Lime’s biggest fan is an accomplishment I hold dear to my heart, second only to my children. Okay, obviously I’m getting carried away and exaggerating now, but the point is that I LOVE this place and it thrills me that so many others do too!

I’ve been lucky enough to be partnered with Salt & Lime for a year now which has given me the opportunity to promote them while tasting and photographing their menu items. In that time, I have tried every single item on their menu. Every single one, y’all. If you’re not sure whether to feel proud or ashamed, join the club.

I’m giving you a list of my top picks from the menu. This is actually proving to be one of my more difficult blogs to write because I’m having such a hard time narrowing it down. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve tried. Everything! But for the sake of this article and to actually be helpful, I will pick my all-time favorites for you to refer to.

Drinks

Salt & Lime Cabo Grill has one of the most loved margarita menus in Raleigh! With flavors like Habanero Peach and Prickly Pear, margarita lovers will enjoy exploring their extensive beverage options. They also have a great selection of cocktails and tequila. I’ve tried virgin versions of a few and absolutely loved them.

Appetizers

Spiced Calamari

My mom and I both agree that this is the best calamari we’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. The honey-chipotle sauce it is served with is a nice change from the typical (boring) marinara.

Queso Dip

If there’s one thing I NEVER skip at Salt & Lime, it’s the queso dip. Dare I say…I think it’s my favorite menu item? As a self-proclaimed queso connoisseur, theirs is my favorite I’ve ever had. If you try it and don’t like it, your taste buds are inferior and you cannot be trusted. I mean that in the meanest way possible.

Cabo Rolls

These babies are addicting! Crispy wonton wrappers, bbq chicken, cheese, more good stuff, and dipped in spicy ranch. They are unbelievably delicious. I don’t know what else to say besides TRY THEM.

Fire-Roasted Tomato & Goat Cheese Guacamole

Salt & Lime has a lot of unique salsa and guacamole flavors, and the goat cheese guac is incredible. If you’re really smart—and I know you are because you’re on my site— you’ll order the “Baja Trio” which will give you queso, salsa, and guacamole. The best of all worlds!

Soup & Salad

Chicken & Poblano Chowder

This chowder is everything on a chilly day. Thick, creamy, loaded with chicken, bacon, corn, onions, and then topped with tortilla strips and cilantro. It even travels well for carry-out which really impresses me! Mostly because soup is absolutely best enjoyed at home next to a fireplace with your favorite show on tv.

Caramelized Mango Salad

While I love all of the salads at Salt & Lime, the caramelized mango salad is the most unique in flavor. It includes mixed greens, sweet & spicy mangos, marinated cranberries, spiced pumpkin seeds, red onions, champagne vinaigrette, and I highly recommend adding the shrimp to it. The spiced pumpkin seeds just make my taste-buds sing.

Entrees and Baja Favorites

Key Lime Mahi Mahi

I had my eye on this dish for months before finally trying it. I’m not a huge fan of fish and there’s nothing worse than branching out at your favorite restaurant, only to find that you made a mistake. Instead of tasting regret, I tasted absolute bliss in the form of a perfectly executed meal. With grilled mahi-mahi, key lime coconut rice, roasted corn, sautéed shrimp, mango glaze, Caribbean salsa, and lime cream sauce, this dish transformed my view of fish forever.

Cabo Burger

It’s big, it’s beautiful, and it’s worth unhinging your jaw to bite into. I’m not sure how Salt & Lime managed to put such a tasty Baja spin on an American classic, but it works so well. The chile-spiced brisket burger is topped with braised short ribs (yes, MORE meat), jack cheese, adobo sauce, onions, roasted tomato, and served with sweet potato fries with honey-chipotle sauce.

Shrimp & Grits

Shrimp & grits are one of my favorite dishes in the world. It’s no surprise that Salt & Lime’s blew me away. I’ve never had shrimp & grits like this and it’s always one of my top recommendations, especially when visiting for brunch. Stone mill grits, jumbo shrimp, smoked gouda, red bell sofrito, applewood bacon, cremini mushrooms, sautéed onions, chipotle cream, green onions. The smoked gouda and chipotle cream just create the most deliciously creamy sauce with a kick.

California Street Tacos are a must at Salt & Lime Cabo Grill

Look, I know I’ve already drilled it into you that everything on the menu is great but because their tacos are their big claim to fame, it’s worth mentioning again. You. Cannot. Go. Wrong. But alas, the purpose of this article is to tell you my tippy top favorites, as hard as that may be.

Braised Short Rib

These are some of my favorite tacos in the world. I’ve ordered them a bajillion times and I’m still constantly surprised by how much they load the tortillas with. The tender marinated short ribs are topped with BBQ sauce, sriracha mayo, napa mix, guacamole, pickled habanero red onion, queso fresco, and cilantro. Absolutely incredible.

Bangkok Shrimp

If you’re up for a little bit of a kick, the Bangkok Shrimp tacos are packed with flavor. Crispy fried shrimp paired with a sticky honey-chipotle sauce, Caribbean salsa, napa mix, crispy rice sticks, sriracha, lime cream sauce, and green onion. I love the combination of crunchiness and stickiness.

Island Shrimp

Sometimes I’m craving a taco that tastes like summertime–one with fruity and refreshing toppings. Enter Island Shrimp tacos. Jerk-spiced shrimp are balanced out with mango glaze, Caribbean salsa, lime cream sauce, and cilantro. Every bite makes me feel like I’m on a beach somewhere!

Carnitas

My usual taco order at restaurants and food trucks is carnitas. I love juicy, flavorful pork. Salt & Lime Cabo Grill makes some incredible carnitas tacos and I often order them when I’m in the mood for a classic. Salsa verde, pineapple jalapeño salsa, and the lime cream sauce just elevate these to another level.

Lunch

Carnitas Grilled Cheese

Most dishes on the lunch menu are also available on the all-day menu but the Carnitas Grilled Cheese is one you can only get during lunch…and definitely should. It is unbelievable! The only thing more comforting than a grilled cheese is a grilled cheese stuffed with carnitas, salsa verde, onions, and cilantro.

Don’t skip Salt & Lime Cabo Grill’s Brunch!

When you wake up on the weekend craving mimosas and scrumptious breakfast food, a Baja Mexican restaurant may not be the first one that comes to your mind….yet. Once you try Salt & Lime’s brunch, you’ll never leave it out of your brunch rotation again.

Mimosa & Bellini Pitchers

Full disclosure, I don’t drink. So the beverage options at brunch don’t typically interest me. Salt & Lime makes me virgin versions of their mimosas and bellinis and they are delicious. Many of my followers can vouch for the alcoholic versions as well! Mimosa pitchers are $20, Bellini pitchers are $25.

Sunrise Sandwich

I tried all of Salt & Lime’s brunch items in one sitting—for photography purposes of course— and the sunrise sandwich was one that I wasn’t particularly excited to try. After the first bite, though, I was hooked! The flavors shocked my system, I tell you.
Chorizo, crispy Jack cheese (crispy cheese is one of the greatest innovations of humankind), fried egg, guacamole, Napa mix, Chile aioli on a brioche bun and served with roasted potato mix and Queso.

Churro French Toast

If you’re on team sweet over savory, the churro French toast is calling your name and you’d be wise to answer. I cannot recommend this dish enough. Even if you’re into savory breakfasts, I urge you to order this as well so that you can have a little bit of both!
Brioche bread, cinnamon sugar, spiced apple syrup, whipped cream, and fruit. Heaven.

Dessert

Churros

Don’t hate me, but I tend to think most churros are overrated and taste the same. It should come as no surprise that Salt & Lime’s are superior AND they come with an incredible caramel dipping sauce that I could chug on its own.

Chocolate Lava Cake

I LOVE a good lava cake and this one is exceptional. As if the beautifully melty chocolate cake wasn’t enough, they put BLACKBERRY ice cream with it. Nothing Salt & Lime does is basic.

Now that you’ve got queso on the brain, check out my list of cheesy restaurants in Raleigh!