We were so excited to have stumbled across a great little Mexican place in the South Hills that we dashed in with a party of 4 on a Saturday night without a second thought. Very soon after our hopes were dashed and or appetite was answered with a heaping spoon of disappointment.  \n\nINITIAL IMPRESSIONS\n\n- When our waitress came over to take our drink orders, she had no clue what variety of margaritas they offered.  She was unsure of the difference between salt and sugar.  Both she, and the bartender, needed clarification on what a \""Captain and Diet\"" was. \n\n-Margaritas were fine once the order was corrected, but the aforementioned Captain and Diet was a watery mess. Either they aren't using top shelf as advertised (and paid for) or they are watering down their liquor.  As a Pittsburgh-dwelling, borderline alcoholic the one thing I know with absolute certainty is how my rum is supposed to taste.\n\nSERVICE AND ORDERING\n\n- One line will sum this up, NICKEL AND DIME.  With your entree its not rice AND beans, rather it's \""Rice OR Beans?\"".  God forbid you want both, like at any other Mexican restaurant in the world,  Your sin is punished with a $5 up-charge.\n\n-Similarly, you are given a choice of sour cream OR guacamole with your entree.  You guessed it, $5 more.\n\n- Overall the service was a disaster. Between the waitress, owner and bartender there was a total failure to launch.  Repeated requests for extra napkins, more chips, a glass of water, or even the rest of our order were put off for an embarrassingly long time, some never answered at all.\n\nFOOD\n\n- Don't come here looking for great salsa.  Their recipe is no more than pureed tomatoes, cilantro and a dash of vinegar.  No heat and no flavor.\n\n- The food served to us was average in terms of Mexican cuisine.  Nothing mind blowing but not quite dog food either.  Think, better than Taco Bell but falling far short of Emiliano's or even Mad Mex.\n\nReally, the bottom line to this review is that this place has so-so food at an over-market price and terrifyingly subpar service.  Honestly, this was a very disappointing experience for us, as we wanted so much to love Cocina Mendoza.\n\nMaybe we can chalk this up to growing pains. I would be willing to give them a second chance in a year or so, if they make it that long.