The title salt, C13H11N2O2 (+)·C6H2N3O7 (-), is the unexpected product of a domino reaction of 3-cyano-methyl-1-methyl-imidazolium chloride with salicylic aldehyde in the presence of picric acid. In the cation, the 1H-imidazole ring is twisted by 63.2 (1)° from the 2H-chromen plane. In the crystal, cations and anions are alternately stacked along the a axis through π-π stacking inter-actions between the almost parallel aromatic rings [centroid-centroid distances = 3.458 (2) and 3.678 (2) Å]. The stacks are further linked by C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds into a two-tier layer parallel to (001).