El Alma South

Review summary

1. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Austin

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined today

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Different but just as good as Barton Springs without the hard to get in factor. GO!
   

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2. C

   Cindy

   Las Vegas

   7 reviews

   4.0

   7 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great waitress! Hostess was very nice . Only negative was ordered pozole to go and it had none of the toppings- no cabbage, no lime, no radish-just two tortilla chips. 👎
   

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3. S

   Scott

   VIP

   Austin

   14 reviews

   5.0

   14 reviews

   Dined on January 17, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Stopped in for lunch and it was excellent. Choose your own taco combo was great.
   

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4. J

   Josh

   London

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 17, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   The shrimp plate was great. Spacious seating but felt full in a good way in the restaurant. Parking lot is massive and easy to park and dine. They have sound deadening in the ceiling which helps to keep the noise down even when full. We were seated immediately with our reservation. There was an odd item in the bill called something like staff wellness charge for only $2 which I was fine with paying but I just wanted to know what it was. The waitress kindly explained it was set up to provide healthcare for the kitchen staff but that the company had a policy change and that the charge was not actually needed now to provide healthcare…. Not a big deal but just confusing how it was presented especially if the charge does not actually go towards providing healthcare. I ordered a beer and it came with a nicely chilled glass which was great. My wife had a margarita which was great. The queso has large slices of onion and green peppers which kind of get in the way of the queso but that’s just my personal preference. Queso tasted good but it was only served with about 10 chips which was odd. They brought more chips but just odd to only serve 10 chips. My wife ordered a shrimp taco and a pork taco. Pork taco had extremely spicy carrots. Personal preference here but the carrots were one of the spiciest things either of us have had a restaurant before. I’m talking more spicy than the hottest chicken sandwich from Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville. Again personal preference but maybe add a label on the menu indicating it’s exceptionally hot. All in all we enjoyed the experience and would probably visit again.
   

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5. J

   Jacob

   Austin

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 14, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Perfect lunch date. Incredible food and drinks, great service, wonderful staff, incredible atmosphere. New fave!
   

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6. C

   Christopher and Everett

   VIP

   Austin

   53 reviews

   4.0

   53 reviews

   Dined on January 12, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Not what we expected. Beautiful vibrant space (the old Hyde park grill). Lovely cocktails, good food. élote was a little bland but that might be due to corn being out of season. Tacos good size and yummy. the highlife for us was the queso fundido w/chorizo and the lamb!!! Lamb cooked perfectly. Our server Wes definitely added an additional native touch. Good fun and very professional.
   

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7. L

   Lauren

   VIP

   Austin

   5 reviews

   5.0

   5 reviews

   Dined on January 12, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   Delicious food, great service, and lots of parking
   

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8. M

   M

   VIP

   Austin

   3 reviews

   4.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on January 10, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   They charge more for a la carte items at El Alma South than they do at the Barton Springs location.
   

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9. T

   TIM

   Austin

   12 reviews

   4.0

   12 reviews

   Dined on January 3, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Our waitress told us about all the specials and mentioned a couple of recommendations. The pisole was delicious. The cherry flan for dessert was exceptional. Don't go looking for traditional Tex-Mex, this is a notch above.
   

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10. S

    Saundra

    VIP

    Austin

    24 reviews

    4.0

    24 reviews

    Dined on January 2, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3

    We love the original El Alma so tried the south location. A big positive is plenty of parking. Our wait person was great and really sweet. The food was good. My biggest suggestion is to put some dimmers on the lights! I felt like I was in a cafeteria. The other location is so cozy and pretty. Just sayin’😊
    

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