EM - Employee Meal — Restaurant in Birmingham

I’m just giving it 3 stars because my first visit was last Friday for lunch and it was amazing! waitress was very nice and knowledgeable, she even spoke Spanish too. I got the ceviche and it was a good size for the price, I got the mezcalita which was AMAZING, (I ended up having three of them) very fruity you could feel the smashed strawberry and the freshness of the cucumber. Me and my friend shared the delicious corn pancakes. On Sunday, (same week) I came back super excited to show this place to my sister and there were a different staff, the waitress had poor knowledge about the menu, the mezcalita wasn’t the same, it’s supposed to have strawberries in it and it had no flavor other than alcohol (bartender was different). My sister ordered the ceviche because I told her it was very good, she didn’t even get half of the bowl, chips that come with it were just made but super oily, not even fully cooked and with no salt at all. There were different cookers too.

Last thing: if you order the octopus just be aware that you are going to pay 18 bucks just for two small pieces. (I ate half of a piece before I took the picture).

I may come back if I make sure the staff is the same as...

We enjoyed an excellent dinner at EM and I would give it a full five stars if the music hadn't been so loud and we had to ask for napkins and silverware. I have had a lot of "meh" guacamole that people told me was really good. EM's guacamole is EXCELLENT. I would go out of my way to eat it. And the chips it is served with are not the same old, same old. They were delivered to our table fresh and hot and weren't the slightest bit greasy. I had a delicious grilled shrimp dish as my main course. I probably should have ordered something else to go with it but will chalk that up as a lesson learned to be applied next time. There were a couple of glitches with my dining companions' orders (perhaps exacerbated by the loud music), and the issue was addressed to our satisfaction. I worry about new places maintaining their impressive start. I selfishly hope EM keeps it going for many years because it fills a niche that really needed to be filled. And we'll ask for a table away from the speakers next time. The music was good. We just needed a little less of it. I look forward to posting this review on Tripadvisor when EM...

Hidden gem—almost impossible to see the name of this little restaurant, so it’s easy to miss! But what a fun surprise when you do find it. Great drinks—I tried the Hibiscus Margarita, my hubby had the classic. Very tasty! The food had great authentic flavor and was very reasonably priced for Birmingham. I had the shrimp taco and didn’t love how thick the soft shell was, but the flavor was delicious and the sauce with the shrimp was yummy. My hubby and daughter loved their dishes. He got a steak special and she got the Biria dish. The coconut cake and churro cheese cake dessert were fabulous and worth the calories! Service was great, friendly and helpful! We will definitely be back! And next time I will...