El Malo, the new bar and restaurant in the Atlanta Dairies development in Reynoldstown, is hard to define, according to co-owner Omar Ferrer.
“It’s a lot of things,” he said. “It’s a cocktail bar, it’s a restaurant, it’s a listening bar. It’s a place for people to mingle and enjoy music, quality craft cocktails and small bites.”
Ferrer and co-owner and bar manager Gabe Bowen had a long time to mull over the details for El Malo, which means “the bad guy” in Spanish. The concept was first announced in early 2022, though Ferrer said he first looked at the 5,444-square-foot building in 2019.
Credit: Courtesy of El Malo
Credit: Courtesy of El Malo
While El Malo has a full bar, its focus is on rum and agave-based drinks, showcased on the cocktail menu developed by Bowen. Cocktails include the Pina Clara, made with rum, pineapple, crema de coco, lime and whey, and the Take a Bow, with rum, Montenegro, banana, pineapple amaro and clarified lime. A tight selection of wines is also available by the glass.
The Caribbean-inspired food menu, developed by Bradford Forsblom of Atlanta restaurant Fishmonger, features small bites like plantain chips with dips and sauces, rock shrimp ceviche, ropa vieja and king crab with drawn butter and Tajin seasoning.
On the sweet side, desserts from Miller Union pastry chef Claudia Martinez include passion fruit chocolate mousse and a Champagne float with raspberry sorbet.
The maximalist design, imagined by Ferrer, Bowen and partner Branden Collins and executed by Atlanta-based Square Feet Studio, includes hidden LED lights to “create a warm, ambient glow,” Ferrer said. “We didn’t want to create any physical light fixtures. There are no hard corners, but a lot of soft curves.”
The 14-seat backlit bar is topped with green and black epoxy meant to simulate marble, along with brass antique mirrors and acrylic shelves behind the bar.
The space also includes several varied seating options. “We didn’t want to do the conventional four-top table thing,” Ferrer said. “There’s ample seating, we just chose not to do conventional tables.”
To that end, guests will find several high-backed half-moon booths with Jacquard print, along with velvet and leather banquettes, including a green bench in the monochromatic area dubbed the Serpent Room.
Credit: Courtesy of El Malo
Credit: Courtesy of El Malo
El Malo’s opening hours are 6 p.m.-midnight Mondays-Wednesdays and 6 p.m.-2:30 a.m. Thursdays-Saturdays.
Ferrer, who was born and raised in Decatur and said the east side of Atlanta “means a lot” to him, said Reynoldstown is an ideal spot for El Malo.
“It matters to me that this area is well presented,” he said. “When I caught wind of the development, I wanted to throw my name in the ring. I was worried that if I didn’t, it would become some one-dimensional kind of corporate experience. I feel like there’s a lot of upside on that corridor. It just made sense to me.”
Despite his love for that stretch of Memorial Drive, he won’t be reopening his original restaurant there. Supremo Taco, the much-loved walk-up window eatery he co-owns, closed at 701 Memorial Drive in August 2022 with plans to move to a larger neighboring building. Structural and plumbing issues have him looking for a new spot for the restaurant’s reopening.
Credit: Courtesy of El Malo
Credit: Courtesy of El Malo
He also co-owns Pollo Primo in East Atlanta, which they plan to expand with additional locations.
Two other food and beverage concepts are slated to open at the Atlanta Dairies in the coming months: Small Fry from Skip Engelbrecht and Nhan Le of Fishmonger, and Spina Pizza from Anthony Spina Jr.
Wonderkid and Cold Brew Bar have both closed in the development, which was previously owned by Paces Property and is now part of the portfolio for Asana, the real estate group that also owns the Beacon in Grant Park and Krog Street Market, among others.
777 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. elmaloatl.com
Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
