babalu tapas & tacos

banality was awesome. the tacos and quest dip are absolutely delicious, and the drinks are great. the wait staff, especially joseph, was very friendly and informative. i would recommend this establishment to anyone looking for tasty bites andgreatdrinks.

if you’re looking for agreatplace to celebrate cinco de mayo in jackson, ms, head over to babalu tapas & tacos!  brunch, lunch or dinner, babalu’s is a fun atmosphere.  bottomless mimosas, made at the table guacamole,  and nostalgic movies playing on the wall are sure to get your celebration started.

perfect evening. i've reviewed babalu's food in the past and tonight ,as in the past, the food was wonderful. local ingredients, innovative preparation and some of the best drinks in the area. i wanted to comment tonight on our exceptional server. servers can often make or break the experience of your meal no matter howgreatthe food. chelsea was our server tonight and her excitement and respect for her restaurant was infectious. she wanted to be there and wanted to make our experience joyful and thats exactly what she did. this is my first review on a server but she was that good.


-----04 feb, 2011-----

went here for lunch with a girlfriend and we were immediately impressed with the atmosphere but that was just the beginning. between us we ordered the pork-belly tacos, empanadas, queso blanco and chips, and a side of the roasted peanut slaw. all excellent, fresh, interesting. we each had a cocktail as well and spent $20 each and were stuffed to the gills. so unless your used to eating fast-food i can't imagine how some posters could think this is overpriced. and as for small portions - what??? the idea is to order two , three or four small plates and share. of course the servings are small their tapas! and the price of each plate is small as well. i agree the menu could be expanded but they've only been open for a couple of months, what they do they do well.

not very business saavy. they have a group with 32 (big fans of the babarita) that want to return to their favorite restaurant for their 'once a year' jackson trip and they no longer take reservations. why would you turn down 32 people? last year we pre-ordered, so the kitchen and staff had no delays - and would know exactly what we wanted and when - all broken down by family. we were in and out. guaranteed big money. willing to do all the work and come early, but that's not valuable. very poor thinking. we'll find a new favorite place.

ps - my bill for 3 in my family was $144 last year. could they really turn out 11 'parties' of +-$144 in under and hour for more money?


-----14 may, 2013-----

very welcoming!. made a reservation for 40. they were ready and so happy to have us. the baba-rita is agreatdrink. all food, by all 40 of us, was liked very much! they had a potato dish that was to die for. the waitress said they might franchise, so i'm going to push for one in my town!

it's about being more social with your food. something you need to realize - babalu's is more for social calls than dining. this doesn't mean the food is good, but it does mean that if you want to go to sit at a nice, filling meal and head home, you're in the wrong place. babalu is about sitting outside, with a cocktail, and a variety of appetizers/tapas to share with the people you're spending time with. the food is pretty good and definitely fresh. there are several specials throughout the day. cocktails are also on point and the atmosphere is top notch. it's a fun and very social restaurant, a good place for taking a date!

recently ordered the pico, guacamole, short rib, enchilada of the day, and crab cakes. there's practically no cake in that crab cake. i also ordered a few of their pepe' cocktails.greatpresentation,greattaste.

excellent concept,greatservice. big, bold, clean flavors.

date at babalu!

being vegetarians (periodic pescatarians) it’s kind of tough to find out an eating place that caters to our ways in memphis specially since it is known as “the barbecued pork capital of the world!” and hence, we are always coursing around, looking for a joint that suits our taste.

overall, it was an amazing experience with everything from the “made at table side” guacamole to tacos and tapas – tasting awesome! appetizing, delightful and delish – the food undeniably was scrumptious! located on madison avenue in the very scenic overton square – it is a perfect place to relish good food and have agreattime. our server, devin was courteous and pretty knowledgeable about the menu options and attended us adequately. also, we were lucky enough to be seated within 5 minutes of our arrival time! (imagine, on mother’s day!) the music too was upbeat and the ambiance was appealingly amiable and lively!

at a price of $100 (including tip), we were a well-fed couple, appeased with the service, the quality of food and of course the environs! only wish – if the mojitos could be a little more potent!

awesome service! adam!! had agreatmeal!

perfection. what i love about babalu is that you can make it into any experience you want. it can be queso and a burger with beer, salad with fresh fish, or a large group taste test dinner. with that said, i think it is one of those places that you have to keep trying until you find something you like; because not all dishes are equal. my first few times, i stuck to the cheese dip, street corn, and tamales. then, i ventured out to the mushrooms, which for me was terrible. however, after sampling every taco on the menu, i have found some of my favorite food in jackson. anothergreatthing is the fact that you can make anything into a group sample. taco's can be ordered in 3s, (so one mahi, one pollo, and one carnita.) basically, you get to try 3 and if you hate one, you aren't stuck with a bunch of them. the dessert trio is also great; because you get to have 3 desserts, but you don't get tiered of them!

my recommendations are the appetizer trio (get the blacked eye pea hummus,) the chopped salad (a small is large,) the mahi tuna taco, veggie taco, and pollo taco, bread pudding, and chocolate truffle.

nine of us went on march 6, 2011 to celebrate a birthday. we all felt like we got wonderful food that was reasonably priced withgreatservice.

babalu is agreatplace for a large group of people. the drinks are delicious and the atmosphere is very enjoyable. the only reason i gave it four stars is because i wish there was a tad more variety on the bigger plates. overall, super fun and tasty restaurant!

ok listen, we go enough to understand that bad nights do happen. what i love about this place is the food and drinks. always on point. service is typically a+ as well. 

what i have not figured out is the absolute lack of a better flow for diners and waiting patrons. to bump that up just a notch, i always get a speech about how the kitchen is backed up but the bar is flowing. like, every time. in a world of technology and process efficiencies, why not figure something out to help this? or, maybe comp an app or something. 

overall, its agreatplace to eat... and drink. we like it... a lot. just wish the would figure out the kitchen and flow a little better. -.5 for backed kitchen on the regular. otherwise, 5 all day.

the food was great. the table side guacamole was top notch along with the tasty excellent chips.greatcrab cakes, the slaw added agreatzing. my only complaint would be the loudness and the weak margaritas. would love to return and try some additional menu items!

was only in town briefly but i had to go to babalu's. and just like the location at home in jackson, ms, the cocktails/food here aregreatand the atmosphere is fun. wonderful place to enjoy a few libations and a 'baba burger' while catching a snippet of "i love lucy." always fabulous.

i go often and usually i don't have issues. it has agreatvibe, but don't go on busy nights. it took an hour to get our food. without the long wait at the door.
i will say that the server definitely saved the night! she really went above and beyond. she constantly checked on us, offered us an appetizer and our food was covered by the house.

however, the (bald head...he didn't tell me his name) manager of the night should take a few notes from the server. the kitchen ran short of black bean burgers and only one was left. we both ordered one. he gave us two options.the manager offered to serve one and serve the other 30 minutes later. (rude) he also offered my friend and i to spilt the last black bean burger and spilt another one for the new batch later. (disrespectful)
am i a dog looking for scraps? no! did i offer you half of the payment? no! it would have been best to offer both of us fresh veggie burgers from the start. we had to ask for fresh burgers. while i understand it was busy, that no excuse to be disrespectful. i feel like he tried us because he viewed us in a "different" way. i could go on but i'll leave it at that. i'm kind of spooked out from going for a while.

*also try not to use a paper id. even if it is real, they've had trouble in the past so have the plastic version to cut confusion.

shoutout to the severs and kitchen staff y'all are awesome!