El ZunZún — Restaurant in Vestavia Hills

Tucked away behind the new location of Leaf & Petal (behind The Summit) you'll find a refreshing new Mexican dining option (NOT Mexican American nor TexMex). The atmosphere is light & airy taking you miles away from the traditional dark and musty Mexican restaurants around town. As well, once you're seated, they'll be no stale tortilla chips and cold salsa for you. No, instead, you'll be treated to a basket of fresh and WARM blue corn tortillas served with not one, but 2 Steaming Salsas! Mixing or alone they are a treat. Everyday they make fresh fruit infused waters. This was my 2nd visit. Today, I opted for the super cold (no ice needed) glass carafe of agua. The menu is concise yet exquisitely executed with fresh ingredients that have been expertly crafted into low key mexi-gourmet fare with a few Caribbean notes in the background. Their Mexican Sandwich, Chicken Milanesa, with avocado and smoked mole mayo and a side of low glycemic Yucca Fries was a delight for me and a home run for my diabetic mom! Noting, I rarely take home leftovers but that would have been a crime in this case. Today, I tried the Tacos Al Pastar, Adobo marinated pork with grilled pineapple, jamaican picklesd red onion & radish with just the right amount of fresh cilantro served with the tastiest black beans and green rice. My companion had the Fish Tacos with masa butter, pickled red cabbage, jalapeno mayo & lime. The skeptic offered me a bite until he tasted it....then, it was like that movie, Gone in 60 Seconds. Yeh, I guess I will have to order it for myself next time..Cause, yes, I will be back here...again (and again).

El ZunZun is...

I never write reviews, but mostly try to let my wallet and continued business be my review. However, my family and I have been coming for years and years, and it is honestly one of our favorite restaurants in town. The crew that works there has been there a long time, which is usually an indication of a good operator. Leah, the GM, and pretty much the face of the restaurant is genuinely kind to everyone from the crew, to her guests, as well as the vendors who supply the restaurant. One of the best front of the house people in this city, and a high quality human being

The salsas that get dropped (red and green) are made from scratch and have incredible deep flavors. We also love the queso fundido, guac, tortilla soup, and Mexican coctel de camerones. The entrees you really cant go wrong. I don't order Molé in many places in the south, but ZunZun I absolutely will, with happiness. do. Someone made a review that said it was "white people Mexican" which I think is pretty offensive to everyone, and also not true. There were some accommodations that had to be made to cater to the needs of the neighborhood, but the true Mexican dishes that they take a shot at, are actually pretty close approximations to what you might find in certain regions in Mexico. As someone who has travelled extensively through Mexico, I feel I am in a position to make this claim.

Don't sleep on the churros with dulce de leche, or the tres leches cake. Check out ZunZun and you won't be...

Edit: I've never worked for this establishment.

We went last night for a late company Christmas party. The space is beautifully decorated. Our server was very kind but I could tell she was overwhelmed and disorganized. I had to ask for a water 3 times before receiving one. Me and my partner split the combo fajitas. Our sides for the fajitas were dropped on the table 10 minutes before our fajitas arrived leaving the rice and beans to be cold. The fajitas were just okay. On the bottom it's melted cheese, onions and peppers and then they had placed all the meat on top. The chicken was juicy which was nice but overly seasoned with what appeared to be cinnamon? The steak was dry and under seasoned. The shrimp were juicy but very salty. My margarita had 5 pieces of ice in it and I'm not exaggerating. $15 for an overly acidic top shelf margarita with no ice. We had to ask for sides of ice for the table. We ordered a shrimp cocktail once our friend got hers because it looked so good but that never came. That was disappointing. Dessert we ordered the churros and the flan for the table. I didn't try the flan so I'm uncertain how it was. The churros were hot and tasty but there was a lingering flavor of old oil they probably need to change the oil in the fryer. Overall a very subpar experience. Its unlikely that we will dine here again...