Sol Azteca

Service is just fine – clean — but I like Mexican and so does my son and wife and after 3 spread out visit all had same results — -food is not good —in town, many, many other better choices

Friday night, not crowded. No bartender. Service is so far beyond sub-​par I can’t even see it. Do not waste your time or monies here.

Service was friendly. That’s the only good thing. Food was awful. Top shelf margaritas are pitiful, salsa not good. The chicken and steak was basically rubber. Go to Pablo’s in Hoover.

I’ve heard a lot about Sol Azteca and finally went for my first visit last week with a longtime regular. Her family has a tradition of going almost every Friday evening. I thought the food was ‘good standard Mexican restaurant fare’ but they do a TRULY SUPERB job with service and making you feel welcome. And I do not remember the last time I was at a restaurant where the people working there were CLEARLY having as much fun while working as they were. That factor showed and it carried over to the tables they were serving– everyone was all smiles. All the wait staff members were friendly, nice, attentive, and pro-​active. Multiple people checked on us throughout the meal. Some (I believe the owners among them) were also walking around with string instruments singing Feliz Navidad and birthday songs. I know this may sound odd, but the ‘fun’ atmosphere they create is like something you’d expect inside a restaurant in a Disney park or during a big festival. They could definitely teach a lot of other businesses a thing or five about how to make customers feel welcome, happy, and special. I look forward to returning.

The dining scene in Birmingham has changed since Sol Azteca showed up a few decades ago. There are some great places around town which have introduced more authentic dishes and flavors. Sol Azteca is a holdover from that earlier time when gringo mex was the norm. Everything is a little on the bland side to make it approachable for kids and those with a more sensitive palette. It’s a formula that’s made Sol Azteca a family favorite for a very long time.
The people are nice, the service is good and the food is absolutely fine.
Those looking for a more authentic menu should definitely head a few more miles to Taqueria Mexico on Lorna Road.

The service is excellent, the margaritas are great and the food is pretty good. The tacos with Carne Asada Mexican style (wrapped in foil with onions and cilantro on the side) are very very good and my go-​to at Sol Aztecs. The rest of the menu is somewhat hit or miss but never bad.

I’ve visited Sol Azteca a few times since my previous review and I don’t know if my tastebuds have changed, or if my expectations have permanently been lowered for finding good Mexican food in Alabama, but this place is a lot better than most strip mall Mexican food joints. It’s no superior grill or anything, but have a pitcher of margaritas and you won’t care how the food tastes. Even though I have to say, for strip center Mexican, it’s not so bad. And the service is great most of the time!

My wife loves Sol. I think she would eat here everyday. I think their food is above average across the board but they have a few dishes that stand out to me. The Bizteca, a somewhat spicy steak dish; enchilada poblano chicken, a mole covered delight, and asada tacos all stand out. I love the chips and salsa here too… have bought that to take home several times. Tonight I got these new tacos that I thought were great. I had chorizo and steak, mojo, and al pastor. Great meat flavors and the sauce that came with it went very well on the mojo and the chorizo. The service its over the top awesome. Everyone that works in the front of the house is very nice and attentive. I love the teamwork the servers have. I have been here many times before and will be here many times more. Feliz Navidad!

This is your normal Mexican restaurant with some g

Sol Azteca was A-​OK. Yes, I’m aware that would normally give them three stars. The food was just fine. Definitely nothing special. The Margarita was good as well. Not amazing and it was that bright green color, but it totally did the job.
Why four stars, you ask?
The service. We had multiple people check on us throughout the time we were there. Each of them were courteous and very helpful. It was our server, Chris, that really took the cake. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what he did that made him so good, he was just over the top friendly, I guess.
Sometimes the rating is not just about the food, which was totally fine.