Review: Eslava's Grille

Pork tenderloin with Cajun crawfish sauce. (Credit: Leah Starnes)

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Eslava’s Grille is a excellent new addition to the bustling Lakeland Drive restaurant scene in Flowood.

Danny Eslava Caceres, former chef at AJ’s, has brought his executive chef knowledge, creative dishes, culinary talents, and business know how to this recently opened restaurant. There has been a good bit of buzz around town of his great food, and with a few more months of the word-of-mouth chatter you might just find yourself waiting for a table every day.

The food: At lunch you can choose an appetizer or two, enjoy a salad or feast on one of the smaller portions of the dinner entrees at an affordable price. My first visit was with a group of birthday celebration ladies and we tried a bit of it all.

We shared some fresh avocado salsa served with fried plantains and yucca chips for $.5.95. We also sampled the fried green tomatoes that were lightly breaded and topped with creamy crabmeat sauce which actually had plenty of crabmeat for $7.95.

A couple of my dining buddies tried the salads like the chicken salad, which is marinated chicken over a bed of garden greens, and the seafood salad with a combination of gulf seafood. The other salad offerings are a Greek salad, house salad, or a nice soup and salad combo ($3.95-$.9.95).

The lunch entrees are served with a house salad, baked potato wedges, and seasonable vegetables with offerings of a catch of the day, grilled shrimp, grilled chicken, fried oysters, or pork tenderloin ($8.95-$11.99).

Pasta lunch offerings include shrimp, seafood, grilled chicken or Cajun crawfish pastas that will have you wanting seconds. You can choose from a lemon butter sauce or a creamy white sauce over angel hair pasta ($8.95-$12.95).

During the evening the menu expands with additional appetizers, more seafood entrees, and a nice selection of steaks. After trying the lunch, I returned with my dinner partners for a nice evening meal.

The Cathy Price special consists of two filet medallions grilled and served over a marinated grilled mushroom layered creamy crabmeat sauce for $25.95 and was cooked to perfection. Being a steak lover I was pleased with the nice flavors and with a salad, potato wedges and veggies it was an excellent meal. They also offer a New York strip and ribeye.

One of my dining guests chose the pork tenderloin and Cajun crawfish sauce dish and said it was quite good for $14.99. Another selection was the fish of the day which was a red snapper grilled in lemon butter and definitely worthy for $14.50.

The other fish offerings include grilled shrimp, fried oysters, scallops, and a surf and turf of lobster and filet that also includes scallops, shrimp and crabmeat sauce topping at market price. We didn’t go for the pasta on our second visit but we noticed that the portions were plentiful and included shrimp, seafood, chicken and crawfish ($10.95-$16.95).

The desserts are quite tempting, especially the raspberry and champagne sherbet ain a nice martini glass for $5.95. Danny has a Tres Leches (milk cake) that he says is a closely guarded family recipe and definitely was worthy.  If we had room we might also have indulged in the croissant bread pudding that looked divine.

The drink: Right now Eslava’s is BYOB with hopes of bringing in a full bar in the near future, so bag up your favorite adult beverage and the friendly wait staff will be glad to get your setups ready for you. The regular array of iced tea, soft drinks and coffee are available. They do serve beer however with offerings of Corona, Miller, Coors, Budweiser and Heineken.

The scene: The building once housed a fast food restaurant, yet they have done a good bit of interior renovations that include a nice art deco style with clothed tables. They are still facing a bit of newness, yet the staff as well as the management is eager to make you feel at home while they settle in for what looks to be a great new hot spot with their nice menu selections.

The bottom line: The top notch tastes and flavors Eslava’s will definitely be making their name known in short order. I know my group and I will be dining there again real soon. So spread the word, drop in for a great meal and try a bit of everything they have to offer.