Classic little mexican restaurant near the Valleydale/HWY 31 intersection. Very friendly service, they seem to have a lot of tables available. My mom and I split the steak fajitas for 1 person and it was 100% enough food for both of us for lunch. Colorful decor, quick service, ice cold fountain drinks, queso, etc. read more

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Solid tex-mex food. Their service is always fast and quality is consistent. If you like spicy order a side of their spicy hot sauce. Not pictured is their soup which is always great when you aren't feeling the best. A Pelham staple and a great lunch spot! read more

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I recently experienced dinner here. This family owned restaurant has apparently been here for quite some time. The food was excellent, the salsa is really special and the wait staff very welcoming. Fun friendly environment. Well done folks!! read more

This was my first visit but my husband has been coming since he was a child and it was very good! The interior was super fun and bright and on par with your typical Mexican restaurant and the service was super friendly. All in all a very comfortable place with solid food and drinks. read more

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Hands down. Worst Mexican food I've had. The whole dish was drenched in this soupy milky cheese sauce that was gross. It didn't even say on the menu that everything would be covered in this dang milk sauce. The vibe here is cool, just wish the food was edible. read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Chile Relleno - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

This restaurant never disappoints. Margaritas are great and the food is amazing. I had the Super Burrito this time and it was so good. I added cheese dip on the top because "why not? ". Service was fast and friendly, The inside was decorated with a bright fun vibe. read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Super Burrito full of delicious Carnitas and I added cheese dip to the verde sauce on top. I was only able to eat half. - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

It was decent. The dining area is brightly lit and has wonderful decor. The servers were friendly and prompt. The food was really just OK. I didn't hate it but didn't love it either. Forgot a picture but had ground beef nachos. read more

This was my first time eating at this particular Mexican restaurant and it did not disappoint. I can always tell if it's a place I will revisit based on the grilled chicken nachos. They were delicious and also priced just right. No extra charge for the lettuce like a prior place I had visited. Also the grilled chicken was tasty by itself. The atmosphere was bright and colorful but not over the top. Very nice and friendly staff who were very attentive. I will be back to try more items. I'm glad I decided to pop in spontaneously on a Saturday afternoon. read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Grilled Chicken Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

Not the newest inside, but food is worth other, these is a must stop for us when we are in area. Got fajitas that was a lot of food, also got cheese dip, shrimp quesadillas, seafood soup and flan came to $55. Think all I get next time is seafood soup and flan. Because we walk out over full. read more

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I hadn't been here in a few years so wanted to check it out. My chicken burrito had peppers in it which I asked prior and was told there were no peppers. It came with rice and beans. I asked for double beans and after the fact was told there was no side with it even though the menu said it did. The margaritas were extremely sweet. My fellow diner got the chili releno with shrimp. However was sent back due to lack of shrimp. Don't think I'll be returning. read more

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Great prices and margaritas. Family owned, best service. Online orders are quick. Guacamole is delicious

They have a great tasting Texas Margarita and zingy salsa and chips! For a light meal I'll order a chile relleno and be full without wasting food. I'm old school and portion sizes are too big nowadays without wasting my money. Great local place and perfect tiny little bar area. read more

We have eaten here for 20 plus years and always enjoy the food! It is always very fresh and good!

Our order was brought out twice incorrectly, and even after ordering two entrées, a kids meal and alcohol, we were still charged for chips and salsa. Not worth it at all in my opinion. read more

Excellent food and service. The seafood soup is my go-to. I've been patronizing this spot for four years and they have NEVER gotten it wrong. read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Seafood Soup - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

Their Mexican chicken soup is to die for! If you haven't tried it, you have not lived.

I ordered a quesadilla from here and it was absolutely delicious. I had it delivered the food was still hot when it was delivered to my hotel. It was a lot of food for the price and I was very pleased after being disappointed in a visit to a different Mexican restaurant in the area the night before. read more

After eating at this restaurant for 20 years, they decided to change their chips. They are now thin and can barely support queso. Why? Why did you mess with what worked. I'm not sure I can go back. read more

Me and my Family go here often the food never disappoints us we love Zapata and recommend it to all.

Our family had not been here in a long time and we enjoyed it today! We were told the Carnitas were the best around and they were really good! We liked the guacamole and enjoyed all of our food! Definitely should come back.. it was great. read more

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Zapata's is a good Mexican restaurant by any standards. Friendly staff, good food, and great prices. They have a very extensive menu and you should be able to find whatever you are looking for. That same variety also applies to their alcohol selection. Also appreciated the amount of European/International Football that was being shown on its TVs- great for those who cannot usually view such events. If you are in the Hoover area, need a good lunch, and are craving Mexican you couldn't do much better than Zapata's. read more

Zapata is a modest, family-run restaurant that has been open for many years. It is popular, and appeared to have a loyal following of "regular" customers. We dined just after 5:00 on a Friday night. The dining room was moderately crowded, and our party of five was seated immediately. Service was friendly and efficient. Our orders came out shortly after they were placed. Zapata offer a variety of soups and that caught my attention. I decided to try the Seafood Soup. The soup is described as shrimp, scallops, and fish. It was a hearty soup that included rice, the seafood mentioned, and topped wtih avocado slices.The broth was tasty, and I liked the fresh advocado slices. There were small peices of meat (maybe pork) that was tough to chew. The shrimp and scallops were cut up into very small peices. I thought the soup was just okay. Overall I thought Zapata was good, but not outstanding. It was very similar to many other Mexican restaurants in town. read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Seafood Soup - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

I think I've said this before, but I'm always game to try a new restaurant, especially if it's Mexican (by new I will clarify, in this case just new to me not a new restaurant). When you first drive up the two things that jump out...looks pretty big....kinda has a dive feel about it. The inside isn't anything to write home about, it's old and dated, nothing wrong with that either. Friendly staff and quick to be seated. They have a pretty good sized menu and plenty of traditional menu items. Keeping it simple I went with the lunch special beef tacos with rice. Chips were brought out along with salsa. Chips were ok, salsa made up for it. The salsa was pretty flavorful and probably the highlight of the visit. Just like any Mexican place the food was out quickly. First the rice, I would rank this a 2 out of 5. I'm really not a fan of filling Spanish rice with what seems to be frozen veggies (carrots and peas). Tacos weren't bad, but nothing extra special about them. I would give them a rank of 3 out of 5. A little greasier than some of the other places locally. I would come back here if I was in the area and hungry. I wouldn't make a special trip to come here. read more

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Homey and delicious. The waiter had great engish even though I could tell Spanish is his first language. I recommend the chile relleno

Salsa is handmade. Best taste I've ever had. Fresh. Just right amount of cilantro. Chips, lightly baked. Tasty. Not too oily. Honestly, we would eat here just for the chips. Our favorites: the shrimp and beef fajitas. I loved quesadilla. Family was visiting and we had about 5 other entrees. Everyone raved. PS. Ordered from them about 5 times. Food fresh and hot. No delay. Only down side is I tried to order last week and they were not on DoorDash anymore. read more

Food was awesome. Good prices. Friendly staff. I fell in love with the soups. The steaks are quality meat.

Zapata was one of the last Mexican joints in town that I'd yet to try out. When I found myself craving a taste from south of the border, I was luckily blocks from from from this stop. It's located in a small strip mall on the Hoover-Pelham border. Parking is ample, so that's one less thing. We were quickly and kindly seated. Our margarita (on the rocks) order came out quickly... maybe too quickly. These definitely are the pre-made margaritas that almost glow bright green. Not terrible, but not what I hoped for. We decided to share fajitas and beef floutas. Both were good, but the fajitas were the better option. The floutas just seemed to be a bit too greasy. I was sold on them because they came with a spicy sauce. Sadly, the sauce didn't have a ton of flavor. Over all, Zapata is a totally acceptable Mexican Restaurant. While I won't make a special trip, I'd totally dine here again when I'm nearby. read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

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My ten year old son removed the lid to his drink to eat some ice at the end of our meal and discovered a DROWNED COCKROACH on the inside of the lid. To add insult to injury, the manager offered to rescind the price of the drink(!!), then grudgingly knocked about $5 off our check when I complained. They should have paid ME for this nasty, disgusting experience! God only knows what we ingested without knowing read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

The food here is great but above all, consistent with quality. I usually get the Chimichanga with rice and beans. The flavors are great and they don't overload the player with cheese. When we do Mexican food we go to Zapata's. Note: They do have the glass bottle Coca-Cola's from Mexico. Which in my opinion are the best. read more

My husband and I were both craving Mexican for dinner tonight, but our favorite Mexican restaurant was across town, and we had an event to be at within the hour. We took a chance and came to Zapata not knowing a thing about it since it was so close to where we needed to be. We were shocked -- This place was so good! We were in and out within 40 minutes. The cheese dip was fantastic and my salsa-snobby husband was pleasantly surprised with how tasty the salsa was. Highly recommend if you're in the area and need a Mexican fix like we did. read more

Food is always good there. Service is quick and not a long wait to get your order. Margaritas with the wine are great.

I love this place! My husband and I eat here almost weekly, and we spend less than $40 with alcohol included. The prices are great, there is never a wait, food is good, and the margs are delicious! I highly recommend the fajita quesadilla. read more

First time at Zapatas for lunch. I got the chicken soup, pretty good. I also got the chicken nachos. Very spicy but flavorful. The staff is nice. Def will come back read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Chicken soup - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

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Service is great here. Ate here for two people under $30 before a tip. The food is amazing, and the cheese dip is the best I've ever had. The only thing I didn't like was the vegetables in the rice, but that's a personal preference of mine. But I would most definitely recommend and would eat here again read more

I have eaten at many Mexican food restaurants in Birmingham, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Laredo, San Diego and the Los Angeles area. Well, I have tried some in Manhattan and Long Island, also. However, the NYC area is not known for great Mexican food. Zapata is mediocre at best. The food is too salty and does not stand out. Zapata is like so many of the numerous other Tex-Mex restaurants now in the area in that it relies on salt and grease instead of fresh, flavorful ingredients. The food is not terrible, but it is not worth a visit, either. There are much better selections in town. The service was efficient and friendly and the salsa was good, although too watery. Prices are moderate to inexpensive. Sales tax here is 8%. read more

I enjoy Zapata's. Every experience I have increases my enjoyment of this establishment. I go on a weekly basis as I live down the road. The steak Chimichanga, with beans and guac salad, is FANTASTIC. It has well done steak in the burrito, and it's topped with warm queso. Trust me, order the steak. Not the beef, or chicken. Itll change your life. I have never had a bad experience here. read more

I've moved out of Texas 2 years ago, and finally, I've found a decent Mexican restaurant. I love love love their rice, I'm always ordering it Togo. read more

Pretty decent little place. When we first drove up, I was skeptical...until I remembered that hole in the wall isn't necessarily a bad thing. The chips, salsa and queso were plentiful and tasty, though I like my chips warm. Service was prompt and friendly. My frozen raspberry margarita came out quickly, but boy was it strong on the raspberry flavoring. Way too sweet. Fajita serving was huge, and the meat was fine, but there wasn't any seasoning on it. Salt and pepper worked but I expected more. Sides were typical for this type of place. Overall good but not amazing. read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Chips, salsa and queso! - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

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We really enjoyed this place. Food was good. Service was good. Margaritas were good! Food is pretty typical mexican, but they serve black beans which were tasty. This place was less pricey than other local places, and less crowded. Went on a Friday evening and no wait! We will definitely make this our regular mexican place. read more

Lunch with the Wifey on Thursday. Salsa was bland, but asked if had spicy salsa. Brought a Habanero based salsa that was hot and we liked. Too hot for most, but perfect mixed with mild. I had Chile Relleno with cheesy beef mixture. It was a mound of meat with a half chile on top. Not a stuffed Poblano like I prefer. Good seasoning on meat. Black beans, rice and tossed salad. Beans were flavorful. Wifey had chicken flautas. The chicken was well seasoned and rolled in crispy fried corn tortillas. Large portions for lunch. Washed it all down with a pitcher of lime margaritas on the rocks. Neon green, but great taste with perfect amount of alcohol. Prices are cheap compared to other restaurants in the area. read more

Zapata Mexican Restaurant - Chile Relleno with Beans, Rice and tossed salad. - Mexican Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama