Salsa Rosada in Midtown seamlessly blends Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine

Salsa Rosada features Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine, including empanadas, arepas and much more.

The team behind Mayo Ketchup – a popular fast-casual restaurant specializing in Puerto Rican, Dominican and Cuban food – recently debuted a new sibling concept: Salsa Rosada. The eatery opened in April with an emphasis on Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine, building upon the robust Latin American-centric repertoire of chef Mandy Estrella.

"Mayo ketchup is a Puerto Rican term for the condiment most other Latin Americans call salsa rosada, which just translates to pink sauce. The idea was to tie the two concepts together. I look at Salsa Rosada as a continuation of Mayo Ketchup," she says.

Mandy Estrella.

For Estrella, who co-owns both concepts with her partner, Bradley Payne, the new space enables her to meet the growing demand of an enthusiastic customer base. "I’m very happy to be doing more variety and I’m happy about the much larger kitchen," she says. Since Mayo Ketchup opened in 2019, it has catered for offices, events, visiting Major League Baseball teams and, as of this year, is as an official vendor with St. Louis City SC. With such a busy schedule and many requests for more specialty items, it was time to expand the brand.

The upscale yet casual interior was designed with events in mind.

Perro caliente, or Latin hot dogs topped with cabbage, pineapple sauce, cilantro sauce, salsa rosada, Cotija and potato sticks.

Estrella has worked diligently over the years to get to this point, with humble beginnings as Plantain Girl – a pop-up she started in 2015 that has taken many forms. She initially developed a love for Latin American fare while living in Orlando, Florida, in the years prior, learning how to cook Dominican food from her in-laws at the time. Estrella moved back to St. Louis with her two sons, and her eldest, Zander, helps out with the business today. "My younger son, Armando, also loves the kitchen and definitely wants to take over for me at some point in the future," she says.

Salsa Rosada's 4,200-square-foot space, which previously housed Hugo's Pizzeria and The Hornet's Nest Cafe, features a spacious kitchen, bar and dining area. "We’re going for more of an elevated tropical feel so people can use the space for rehearsal dinners, birthday parties and small wedding receptions," Estrella says.

Side options include crispy yuca fries served with cilantro sauce.

From the lunchtime menu, guests can expect to find Venezuelan and Colombian-inspired street food – "just the top foods anybody would be seeking out if you went to Venezuelan and Colombian restaurants in Miami. It's a street food vibe with a lot of handheld options," Estrella says. The development of the recipes has been years in the making, with plenty of help from supporters. "Regulars at Mayo Ketchup offered recipes and suggestions from both countries, and my kitchen team has learned a lot of dishes over the years to fulfill requests from visiting baseball players," Estrella says.

Pan Pa’Ti's cachitos – soft baked crescent-shaped breads filled with ham and cheese or turkey and cheese.

Patacon with twice-fried plantains and your choice of beef, chicken, pork or avocado topped with cabbage, queso blanco, Cotija, cilantro sauce and garlic mayo.

"Maria and Jose of Pan Pa’Ti have also been really helpful with recipes and research. They come in weekly and go over things with my staff to make sure everything is right," she adds. Estrella got to know the owners of St. Louis’ only Venezuelan bakery through social media, and they quickly became close friends. The Salsa Rosada menu features Pan Pa’Ti's cachitos – soft baked crescent-shaped breads filled with ham and cheese or turkey and cheese – as well as bombas, or fried donuts filled with Nutella or pastry cream. Pan Pa’Ti also bakes hot dog bread for Salsa Rosada's perro caliente, or Latin hot dogs topped with cabbage, pineapple sauce, cilantro sauce, salsa rosada, Cotija and potato sticks.

Additional highlights from the menu include patacon, a twice-fried green plantain sandwich with shredded meat – choose from beef, chicken, pork or avocado, all topped with cabbage, queso blanco, cotija, cilantro sauce and garlic mayo. Shredded jackfruit is also available as a plant-based option for many menu items.

Corn flour-based empanadas come filled with cheese, ground beef or chicken, and arepas fritas are another mainstay of the menu, featuring fried corn flour cakes with your choice of filling. "I’m a big fan of reina pepiada. It's a fun combination of grilled arepa with cold chicken salad and avocado," Estrella says. Tequeños are another one of her favorites, featuring queso blanco wrapped in fried pastry dough, available with cheese or cheese and guava. "They’re delicious – I could eat those all day long," she says.

Behind the bar, Salsa Rosada offers draft beers, wines and cocktails across 16 taps. Highlights from the beverage menu include frozen limonada de coco (coconut limeade), a barrel-aged manhattan, Ace fruit ciders and local selections from Six Mile Bridge, Earthbound and Modern breweries.

Going forward, Estrella hopes to add even more options to the set of offerings, including soups such as Colombian sancocho. "I’m looking forward to bringing new items to the city, getting new guests and bringing in old guests we’ve known for years to try new food," she says.

Salsa Rosada is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Salsa Rosada, 3135 Olive St., Midtown, St. Louis, Missouri, plantaingirl.com

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Mabel Suen is the St. Louis contributing editor for Feast.

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