The Resy Guide to Atlanta’s Mexican Restaurants

Tucked away at the Beacon in Grant Park, Patria Cocina was opened by a family raised in Jalisco and Michoacán, who focus on showcasing a range of Mexican gastronomy without giving up generational traditions. Having grown up harvesting their own backyard chiles, fruits, vegetables, and herbs, the owners believe in using only the highest quality produce and work directly with local farmers’ markets. Snag a table on the outdoor patio or in the bright, contemporary dining room to enjoy dishes like the chicken mole negro, crispy potato-filled tacos, homemade fried corn masa sopes smothered in meat, refried beans, cabbage salad, and cotija cheese, or a generous portion of fajitas.

On the beverage side, the bar pours over 30 different mezcals (and no, celebrity-owned tequilas are not available here). Get experimental and try an agave flight – one-ounce pours are served with citrus and worm salt – or fuel up with their horchata latte, which is made with Little Waves Coffee Roasters espresso, a Latina-led company out of North Carolina. Mexican Brunch takes place every Saturday and Sunday, and the restaurant hosts Jalisco Hour Wednesday through Friday from 3 to 5 pm.

Midtown’s El Valle offers an elegant dining experience, featuring beautifully plated and presented food and drinks and a drop-dead gorgeous dining room that’s giving Soho House. Whether you’re eating with friends or on a date, this modern Mexican restaurant provides a stylish night out with its sophisticated take on dishes like halibut ceviche with prickly pear, roasted cauliflower tacos, and a Veracruz-style pan-seared fish with fideos. Their deconstructed Mexican s’more with churro puffs and housemade marshmallow is a must, and while the cocktail list is strong throughout (instead of being muddled, the alcohol and fruits are sous vide to enhance flavors), you can and should dive headfirst into the world of Mexican wines, because El Valle offers flights of Mexican red and white wines, and even has a crisp sparkling option from Valle de Guadalupe on the menu.

Conveniently located in Poncey-Highland, El Ponce is the perfect place to watch a soccer game, taking shots of mezcal every time your team (or opponent) scores a goal. Some favorites on the menu include the fried avocado, tamales, tlayudas, a chicken soup that’ll warm your soul, and the classic margarita, frozen with salt or Tajín on the rim.

Of the bar program, Rosa Thurnher, the restaurant’s co-owner, says, “I typically describe it as ethical spirits [women and indigenous owned or made] focused on agave.” For diners wanting to learn more about spirits like mezcal, tequila, raicilla, bacanora, and sotol, an intimate agave education and tasting experience called Copita Club takes place at Tiendita (below the restaurant) on Wednesdays and can also be booked.

From the same owners as Patria Cocina, Pata Negra in Atlanta’s Brookwood neighborhood is open for brunch, lunch, and dinner and boasts an extensive agave and pastry program. We recommend trying all the salsas and sharing some tostadas and larger plates like the aguachile or charred octopus, as well as summer dishes like the langostinos zarandeados, which employ a 500-year-old grilling technique that originated in Nayarit. Desserts by executive pastry chef Ricky Saucedo, like the Summer in Jalisco (a white chocolate basil mousse with tropical fruits) and the Día de Campo (which evokes a Mexican camping experience, complemented by chicatana ants) are not to be missed.

Chef Octavio Ruiz comes from a family of agave jimadores, so his knowledge of the spirit runs deep. In addition to tasting unique cocktails like the Tarasco 1907, which contains mushroom-infused añejo and piloncillo mushroom syrup, we’d urge you to try a flight of ancestral mezcal, tequila, or raicilla. Every second Saturday the restaurant hosts a Latin music experience.

When you walk through the doors of Palo Santo in West Midtown’s King Plow Arts Center area, you’ll be transported to Miami or Los Angeles or maybe even Mexico City. Dress to impress and book a special occasion dinner to try chef Santiago Gomez’s ever-evolving menu; he’s constantly coming up with new and exciting dishes inspired by his past, his travels, his family, and his friends, based on what’s in season locally. If it’s your first time, don’t miss mainstays like the mushroom rice or the carne asada tlacoyo, and the charcoal smoked panna cotta.

If you want to dance the night away, book the rooftop instead of the dining room, where sashimi-inspired small bites like nori tacos are on offer. Palo Santo hosts brunch on the rooftop monthly, and the menu includes plates like the Baja fish tacos with morita mayo, blue corn masa pancakes, and huevos rancheros. All the cocktails at Palo Santo are delicious, but the Santo Carajillo is our favorite pick-me-up at any time of day.

Chamblee has some incredible, under-the-radar restaurants, and Oaxaca is among their number. While the traditional Oaxacan-inspired all-day eatery serves dishes like chilaquiles, enmoladas, and a decadent French toast soaked in tres leches café de olla with fried banana for brunch, the dinner menu boasts plates like pork belly gorditas, birria, duck carnitas, and more. The carajillo here is a classic one with just two ingredients, and while most of the cocktails are made with mezcal or tequila, the Mexican Coke Old Fashion spotlights Abasolo Ancestral Mexican Corn whisky.

Newly opened in Decatur, Casa Balam is named for the black jaguar, a Mayan god representing status and power. Family-style dishes here include roasted chicken “a la pibil” or cooked underground, beef birria, a grilled rack of lamb with fermented cherries, and a roasted branzino marinated in guajillo salsa. While the bar carries a small selection of Mexican wines from Valle de Guadalupe and Baja California in addition to familiar Old and New World whites and reds, the cocktail menu is playful and offers creative fare like the Bee Word (Arette Blanco tequila, coconut milk, bee pollen, lime, and simple syrup) and, of course, a timeless margarita.

A rooftop kitchen and bar in Buckhead, Habitat is inspired by the flavors of the Yucatan Peninsula. Come for the food and drinks, stay for the Latin and house music, brought to you by resident DJs. Order the chicken or vegetarian flautas, the street corn, and the adobo-marinated sirloin steak costras. Chef Luis Damian, founder of Mi Casa Tu Casa Hospitality Group (Habitat, El Valle, Oaxaca, Casa Balam, Dixeebe) is partial to the Chaman cocktail at Habitat – it’s made with an ancho chile and tamarind cordial and 400 conejos mezcal, a splash of pineapple juice, and fresh lime. Note – the restaurant has a strict 21 and up policy.

In the historic downtown Lawrenceville area, just 30 miles northeast of Atlanta, Añejo offers a spirited, contemporary Mexican experience. Given that the outdoor terrace overlooks Lawrenceville’s pretty town square, it’s exactly where you’ll want to be for drinks as the sun sets on a clear day. Having just opened at the end of 2023, Añejo incorporates flavors from many parts of Mexico, like Oaxaca and Baja California. Reserve a table to try the blue corn tortilla quesadillas or the ribeye chicharron. The tortilla soup, white wine garlic mussels, and chicken breast smothered in mole negro sauce are also excellent. To drink, the Spicy Mamacita with cucumber and pineapple has a little kick to it, plus there are Mexican beers by the bottle, and a few tequila flight options –you really can’t go wrong.

La Chingada in Marietta is a lively Mexican sports bar that offers the best of both worlds with its traditional flavors and party-all-the-time atmosphere. Perfect for game nights or casual gatherings, this spot features a packed menu, with everything from carne asada fries and elote to tortas, fajitas, birria quesadillas, and a Patron Margarita Tree (yes, you read that right) for sharing. And just under 15 minutes from Braves Stadium, it’s a super convenient spot to fuel up before or after a baseball game.