El Alma was the hot ticket just a year ago; indeed, my date had been there nine times before last night. The bloom is off the rose. But the menu is very small and very manageable. Everything was good even if nothing was great. The ceviche was ample but lacked freshness--there was an insufficient amount of lime juice. the chips, which accompanied the ceviche, and other dishes were not that same as those that came with the "complementary" salsa, and were tough and perhaps slightly stale. My paloma was too sweet and had too little ice. We were never offered dessert, perhaps they don't sell dessert. The staff is very friendly, very familiar, very casual. Their at-table electronic check payment system, which I appreciate, had a ludicrously high "suggested" tip as the default, making you scroll to get to 20 percent. But I got there.
Tacos de carne asada were AMAZING! I will definitely visit El Alma again when I come back to Austin. Keep up the good work!
Always a wonderful lace w fantastic food and wonderful service. My favorite restaurant in Austin
Our servers were awesome. So personable. And the food was fantastic. Don't sleep on the queso fundido!
I had a large party with me and my waiter was super attentive and got all of our orders right! Amazing service!
For a friends birthday. The drinks, food and ambience were all great. Just a little pricey
El Alma's provides a modern take on Mexican cuisine. I've never had anything that isn't delicious here. The sauces are sublime. The meats are cooked and spiced to perfection. Don't ignore the guacamole - I think the best in Austin. Upstairs deck is a neat spot with plenty of umbrellas and fans to keep things cool enough to enjoy your meal - even during our string of 100F days from Hades. The serving staff are young but very good at anticipating the customer's needs. They are always smiling so it must be a good place to work. If you're looking for TexMex, this isn't the place; but if you want Mexican food with a 21-century touch you're going to love el Alma's!
Food was amazing. The service on the other hand was slow! We ending up getting our apps first before drinks :( everything took really long to come out. Sat down at 9:15pm and didnât leave until 11pm.
Fantastic Chile Relleno. Loved the ghost pepper margarita. Super service. Canât wait to return.
Great lunch spot