Mexican restaurant El Gordo, which comes from the family that also owns Birria El Gordo in Marietta, is now open in the Uptown Atlanta development.
Located at 546 Main St., El Gordo “is a modern taqueria with specialty tacos,” said Nestor Pineda, who operates the restaurant with his parents and brother. “We’re trying to keep it casual, but with a higher-end twist.”
The menu, developed with chef Jose Toledo, who recently moved to Atlanta from Mexico City, features tacos including quesabirria (which can be made vegetarian with jackfruit); picapiedra (Spanish for ‘The Flintstones’) with a hunk of pork belly chicharron, guacamole, salsa, radish and microgreens; and la sirena with fried shrimp, potato, avocado and salsa.
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
Street tacos, burritos and quesadillas are filled with a choice of al pastor, asada, pollo asado or mushroom carnitas, while tostada options include salmon ceviche, chicken tinga, and the betabel with beets, cabbage, carrots and avocado.
A handful of sides include sopa fideo (a noodle soup with potatoes), frijoles puercos (bean dip with pork and cheese) and esquite (corn with chipotle mayo and cotija cheese).
“We’re not doing any fancy plating or big plates,” said Pineda, who’s especially excited about El Gordo’s vegetarian options. “You usually don’t see a lot of vegetarian options at taquerias, but we wanted to be more inclusive,” he said.
Another highlight is the al pastor, sliced straight off of a rotating vertical spit, or “trompo” in Spanish.
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
During lunch and dinner service, guests order from their tables via a QR code, with food delivered by servers. At 10 p.m., the restaurant shifts to counter service and offers a late-night menu of street tacos, burritos and quesadillas.
The full bar features a selection of margaritas and spiked versions of Mexican Coke, Topo Chico and Corona. The cocktail list, with most drinks named after Mexican movies, include the Selena with rose wine, rose cordial, strawberry rose gin, strawberry, lemon and orange; the Bound by Honor with whiskey, lemon, simple syrup and bitters; and the Desperado with tequila, lime, grapefruit, cinnamon, cordoval dix, bitter liqueur and saline.
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
The space, which features seating for about 70 guests total with a bar and an outdoor patio seating for 30, “has an industrial vibe with a lot of bright colors,” Pineda said. Several large neon signs hang from the walls, including a 5-foot Aztec design and a fuscia snake. Mexican artists also created custom tile and three large murals of a bull, cactus and an Aztec god seen throughout the space.
Opening hours are 11 a.m.-10 pm. Sundays-Wednesdays and 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Thursdays-Saturdays.
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
El Gordo joins several other food and beverage concepts in the Uptown Atlanta development, including J’ouvert Caribbean Kitchen, a Caribbean street food and brunch restaurant; Uptown Test Kitchen, which is managed by Chow A La Carte; and Bene Korean Steakhouse. Set to open in the coming weeks are bakery White Windmill and Latin coastal restaurant Madre Selva. Uptown Atlanta tenant 26 Thai Kitchen & Bar, which has been open in the development formerly known as Lindbergh City Center since 2016, has renewed its lease.
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
Credit: Courtesy of El Gordo
Eventually, Uptown will have nearly 1 million square feet of office space and 120,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, along with community gathering spaces. The project will be accessible to pedestrian trails including the Beltline and the South Fork Trail.
Additionally, MARTA has signed a 130,000-square-foot lease at Uptown and will relocate up to 540 employees to the new space at Uptown.
546 Main St., Atlanta. elgordoatl.com
Scroll down to see the full menu for El Gordo:
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
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