El Alma

I was looking for a swanky spot and came across El Alma. It's an authentic Mexican food restaurant with a fun vibe and ambiance and green plants alongside rocks as an interior decor with a rooftop.

We happened to get a parking spot right in front of the restaurant. Upon entry my wife and I were greeted and seated immediately. This was Mother's Day around evening time. We choose to sit inside to avoid a 30 minutes wait for the rooftop seating. Our server quickly introduced himself and got us started with a couple of cocktails. I had the Cara Tropical, Cara Tropical (carabuena blanco, passionfruit, ginger liqueur, lime, agave, sugar rim ) on the rocks. My wife had the Flaquita (watermelon-serrano infused El Jimador tequila, watermelon, lime, agave, chile rim) on the rocks. Both of these drink were very good.

We ordered the Jalapeño crab queso dip (Ancho butter, crab, grilled jalapeños, cilantro, white queso). This was very tasty, the has a pleasant taste and the crab isn't overpowering. The chips were very good too. I ordered the Pastor (Adobo pork, pineapple, raw onions, cilantro, lime) and the Pato (Roasted duck, almonds, pepitas and escabeche onions). The Pastor, I had on corn and it was a quality pastor taco. if you're a pastor afficianando definitely give this taco a try. It's very flavorful and moist. The Pato was good too and the ingredients blended well. The duck was moist, this is definitely a uniquely flavored taco. Definitely try both of these. I had a bite of the two tacos my wife ordered. She ordered the Shrimp al pastor (Adobo shrimp, pineapple, slaw, avocado, lime) and the Lamb barbacoa (Habanero pickled carrots and onions, cilantro). The shrimp was good but the taco had too much slaw which pulled away the flavors from the shrimp. It was better when I removed some and took another bite. The lamb barbacoa was a little dry, but if it has great potential to taste awesome if it wasn't on the dry side.

For dessert we ate the habernero empanadas served with a side of vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately we didn't like it. The crust was very doughy and had a spice which I thought was nutmeg that was very overpowering. The ice cream was good but as whole dessert this wasn't for me and perhaps not for you either, however i would recommend everything else I mentioned in this review!

Guacamole was great. Sweet potato relleno (yes, sweet potato) was the most enjoyable Mexican food dish I have eaten in a very long time - bravo for the originality. My nephew reported that his chicken enchiladas with mole Verde sauce was equally good. Our two bartenders were helpful with helping us select the entrees and were very friendly.

During our trip to Austin we went for Brunch and Margaritas to El Alma. Strawberry and “Mangorita” frozen Margaritas were so tasty, “La diabla” frozen Margarita was amazing! mango-habanero infused, tequila and Chile rim, the “chicken smokey tomatillo enchiladas” had a different flavor than what I’m used to but they were so good!! The patio was really nice on the roof, great atmosphere and close to downtown, easy parking out front.

Great service and nice people. Food was pretty good, had to send some items back a few times for being undercooked but other than that they utilize excellent and traditional flavour profiles.

I recommend getting the relleno shrimp and crab, that was fantastic and the whole dish just made perfect sense.

Great service, good food, nice venue and wait times weren't super long. My family and I got the brunch drinks, and those were excellent. I do wish the drink sizes were a bit larger for the price (we paid $6 per mimosa), but overall this was a decent value.

I love Terry Black’s as much as the next person, but I would choose El Alma next door 9/10 times. The rooftop is amazing. The drinks are fun and delicious. The food…. Oh my gosh the food….. 🤤🍲

This place is the best for happy hour! But it fills up fast, esp if you want to sit on the back deck. Love the margaritas, tacos and other appetizers

The Duck Relleno and Old Fashioned were DELISH! And my toddler loved the Horchata and quesadilla Gringa with carne asada added (avoid the fixings for little ones, they're spicy! So mama ate them 🤤😁). On the pricier side for an everyday meal with your toddler, but this was a special mama + daughter date, and it was absolutely lovely and totally worth it. I'll be back with my hubs, for date night, and I'll absolutely bring the whole family for a special dinner outing. Great service, great management, and talented chef 🌹❣️💃🏽 10/10 recommend.

Amazing ambience, one of Austin's favourite. Be prepared to wait for about an hour for your table on weekends, heard not very different on weekdays as well. Loved the food. Definitely recommend.

It's gotta be tough being right next to Black's BBQ, but y'all totally pull it off. The staff are all really friendly, and seem to truly enjoy working here. The ambiance is just right. Not too loud, and lot's of fun chatting going on at the bar. The food was delicious and just the right temperature. I finished it all off with an expert level Margarita. This place will be on my repeat list for my weekend visits. Cheers!