Vida

I have been here twice and both experiences have been fantastic.
First, the service: Our servers were incredible both times we went. Incredibly amicable, very polite and attentive, I almost wanted to invite them to join our table, I liked them so much. When I had leftovers, they wrapped them for us (a huge plus for me), as well as included an additional order of chips and salsa in our to-​go bag.
Second, the food: We have had a spattering of the entrees, including the tortilla pie (highly recommended), as well as the chicken and queso enchilada and vida burrito. The serving sizes are quite big, leaving me full with leftovers both times I came. I was not dissatisfied with the quality of the food, though the vida burrito is similar to the burrito at Cheesecake factory. We also had the garlic shrimp appetizer, which is phenomenal.
Lastly, the booze: The margaritas are good, though the ones we had were relatively strong (not complaining). Their beer selection is pretty standard. Frankly, I always regret being the driver when i go, because I find myself wanting to explore their drink menu more, including their tequila menu.
This has become my new go-​to restaurant recommendation for friends.

These corporate Mexican restaurants are all the same. They overload you on tons of starches and hope you won’t notice the small portion of what you actually want. Their hope is that you won’t notice since you left stuffed full of chips, beans & rice.
Vida’s atmosphere reminds me of a corporate conference room. Every hanging light in order, booths with stretched fabric all in a row. There’s no warmth a

The office went for a celebration lunch. Our vegetarian dining partner was unable to attend, so we ordered her lunch to-​go. Timing worked out perfectly.
Chips and salsa were really good. Chips were warm and salty. Salsa had some chipotle smoke, which was nice. Not too much onion or any other overwhelming ingredient. A good blend.
We ordered the Queso Chipotle Dip ($ 6.99) — Blended cheeses with chipotle en adobo. You could add chorizo for an additional $ 1.99. We didn’t do that.
It was a nice-​sized portion for the three of us. Came with a spoon, the only spoon on the table — which was helpful, ’cause it was a bit runny for chip-​dipping. But it had a good flavor. We ended mixing the queso with the salsa, and got a good combo for the chips.
Entrees ordered were:
Tuna Tacos ($ 14.99) — Spice-​crusted ahi, blended cheeses, pineapple slaw and mango habanero salsa. He chose flour rather than corn tortillas. Came with a bed of red chile rice topped with black beans that had a splash of queso fresco. He said the sweetness was nice, and he ate everything on his plate.
Chicken and Roasted Corn Enchiladas ($ 11.49) — Red chile chicken, roasted corn, onions, blended cheeses topped with sliced avocado, pico de gallo and sitting in blackened tomatillo salsa. This came with the same rice/​black bean side. Something here was a bit too spicy for her, making her nose run, and she didn’t like it. We figured it was the blackened tomatillo salsa.
I got Shrimp Tacos ($ 9.99) — Marinated grilled shrimp with jalapeño bacon, blended cheeses, cilantro and mango habanero salsa. Flour, rather than corn, tortillas. Same rice/​black bean side.
The rice/​black bean combo was bland and boring. A rather small portion. In fact, all portions were rather small for the prices. Two of us added salsa to the rice/​black bean combo, and that helped.
The shrimp tacos were OK. I guess it was the mango habanero salsa that gave them a full overall sweet flavor. I do not like that in an entrée. I ate one. Took everything else home. Don’t know that I’ll revisit that.
In my to-​go bag — everything rcyclable — and in that for our vegetarian dining partner, they included a bag of chips and a container of salsa. Nice touch.
Service was good. Beverages were replenished regularly.

We are in love with this place! Great customer service, lots of choices, tasty food, and decent prices.
The place is large and spacious with big glass windows up front and a modern décor but casual feel. There is a variety of seating options and sections throughout the restaurant — looks like you could section off different size groups in their own areas if needed. What a great idea!
We sit down. Service is friendly, and if they have a flaw, it’s that they can be a tinge over-​friendly sometimes. If that’s the worse it gets, I’m sold. There’s a few minutes left in happy hour, so someone checks on us to see if we want a $ 5 margarita before our regular server gets to us and happy hour is over. Margaritas are good.
The menu has a great variety. The chipotle queso for an appetizer is a little pricier for a cheese dip but you get plenty for everyone to share, and it’s very tasty. For dinner, I’m loving the combos and the taco platters. Combo #1 might be my hands-​down favorite right now with a chicken taco, a carne asada taco, and an enchilada (don’t remember the kind). All the food was well above average on taste. My combo came with beans and rice.
Check-​out was prompt, bathrooms were clean. They just opened, and I’ve already had 4 great meals and experiences here.

In all fairness, I thought I needed to give Vida a second chance. I have a friend who is leaving STL for a new job in Rochester, NY and we wanted to meet for a final lunch. With The Galleria being the midpoint for both of us, I thought I’d give them a second chance. So glad that I did, now I get to raise their score to two stars. Our waitress was so cute and perky, I just couldn’t help myself from going out on a limb and giving the extra star.
Being a Margarita lover, I know they are high in calories so I was excited when I saw that they offered a «skinny» Margarita. I would like nothing more then a good Margarita with a reduced amount of calories and my search will continue. The one Vida offers basically tasted like a watered down regular margarita. There truly was nothing special about it and it cost $ 2 more then a regular Margarita.
Vida does offer a lunch special offered between 11 AM and 3 PM for $ 8.99. You get to choose two from: salads, soups, tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, taquitos and tostadas. We both took advantage of this savings and our «twos» were served with rice topped with black beans. The rice was extremely dry, but I did enjoy the black beans. They defiantly had better flavor then a can of Bush’s.
My friend is a chicken man, so for his two he ordered a taco and quesadilla. He enjoyed the taco, but left the majority of the quesadilla on his plate. I had a Fish Taco and Spinach & Mushroom Enchilada. The fish was hand battered, but a little greasy on the inside. My enchilada was a disappointment, both the mushrooms and tortilla were chewy and rubbery.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive. I liked how she presented the chips and salsa. When she brought them to the table she said, «Here are your complimentary chips and salsa.» We’ve all eaten at enough Mexican Restaurants to know, the chips and salsa are usually «free», but the verbal delivery made us feel special.
The manager doing table touches around us kept looking at our table, but not once did he approach us. I guess we did not meet his demographics.
I’ll continue to satisfy my Mexican cravings at Milagro. Vida is pretending to be a high end Casa Gallardo.