Not sure where to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year? I’ve put together a list of some of the top Mexican restaurants around Atlanta. There’s probably one in this list nearby for your Cinco de Mayo Celebration.

Buckhead, Midtown and Grant Park- Tin Lizzy’s
Party at the Buckhead location with DJs or live music at the Midtown and Grant Park locations. They’ll have multiple bars and lots of festive music. And of course they have one of the best patios for margarita sipping!
3639 Piedmont Road
Atlanta, GA 30305

Downtown
No Mas!
Located in the heart of historic Castleberry Hill in downtown Atlanta, No Mas! is an award winning 350 seat Mexican Restaurant.
180 Walker St. SW
Atlanta GA 30313
404-574-5678

Virginia Highlands
Pozole
Pozole is sponsoring the Annual Virginia Highlands Cinco de Mayo Celebration & Block Party. Party is 5 pm to 11 pm. There is a $5 cover, $10 after 5pm. There will be beer and margarita specials and live music. For more information, click the link below.
1044 Greenwood Ave (at N Highland Avenue)
Atlanta, GA 30306
678-973-4779
Pozole Website

The Original El Taco<
Wonderful chips and salsa and margaritas in a beautiful atmosphere. Great place to party for Cinco de Mayo!

Westside
Nuevo Laredo
I have to mention Nuevo Laredo as it is a staple as far as Atlanta Mexican restaurants go, but I can’t imagine how crazy busy this place is going to be on Cinco de Mayo when it was packed on a random Tuesday when I visited.
1495 Chattahoochee Ave
Atlanta, GA 30318

Taqueria del Sol
Lots of delicious menu items like salsa trio starter (verde, asada and fresca), the shrimp corn chowder, the Memphis taco (smoked pork, jalapeño cole slaw, tequila BBQ sauce), the fish taco (poblano tartar sauce and pickled jalapeños).
1200-B Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, GA

Northeast
Pure Taqueria
103 Roswell St
Alpharetta, GA 30004

Decatur
Raging Burrito
Raging Burrito has a great patio. So, seems to be perfect if you’ll be in Decatur for Cinco de Mayo.
141 Sycamore St
Decatur, GA 30030

Sandy Springs
Teela Taqueria
City Walk at Sandy Springs
227 Sandy Springs Place
Suite 506
Sandy Springs, GA 30328

Perimeter
LaBotana
Cheap, cheap cheap. Kind of a hole in the wall, but with decent food and drinks. Maybe it won’t be totally packed on Cinco de Mayo.
2071 Savoy Dr
Atlanta, GA 30341

Not so Mexican
These three restaurants may not be Mexican, but they sure do have intriguing menus. And they are perfect for those of us that don’t want to be smack dab in all the Cinco de Mayo hoopla.
TAP
Live music and Dos XX or a handcrafted sangria. Crispy Fish, Yucatan BBQ Pork, Buttermilk Fried Chicken or Shrimp a la Diabla tacos. There will also be a taco eating contest. The winner will receive a grand prize of $150. 2nd place wins $50.

HD1
Grilled Wings with Adobo Sauce, Lime Crema and Pickled Red Onion paired with a traditional Mexican Coca-Cola or a Modela Especial cerveza for $7.00. S
664 N. Highland Ave NE, Atlanta, GA, 30306

FLIP
Carnitas Burger with a Spiced Pork Patty, Cilantro-Lime Mayo, Chipotle & Beer Braised Pork Cheek, Shredded Cabbage and Salsa Verde for $8. Thirsty? We got your Mole Churro Shake, a refreshing chocolate shake spiced with Chiles, Sesame Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Nuts and Raisins for $5.00.

Spring and traditional Passover ingredients meet Mexican flavors and influences in offerings like Matzoh-Breaded Chicken Breast and a tropical twist on Haroset made with tangerine, pomegranate and coconut. Part of Rosa Mexicano’s annual Flavors of Mexico series, the Mexican Passover menu will be available at all Rosa Mexicano restaurants. The complete menu features:

Appetizers:
Huachinango “Gefilte Fish” / Red Snapper Gefilte Fish
Traditional fish dumplings of red snapper (Gefilte Fish) with a habanero-tomato sauce and pickled vegetables

Sopa de Pato con Remolachas / Duck and Beet Borscht
Roasted beet soup with pulled duck, spring vegetables and chile de árbol crema

Entrees:
Milanesa de Pollo / Matzoh-Breaded Chicken Breast
Crispy chicken breast breaded with matzoh and eggs, served with a salad of apricots, peaches, cherries and a tamarind vinaigrette

Cordero Guisado / Braised Lamb Shank
Braised lamb shank flavored with cumin, turmeric and cilantro served with dates, baby onions, whole garlic, tangerines and Passover rice with saffron & red chilies

Tacos de Tinga de Res / Pulled Beef Brisket Tacos
Beef brisket studded with jícama and carrots, cooked in Tecate beer, habanero, charred red torpedo onions, pomegranate and served with pimento, toasted almonds and grilled baby leeks

Dessert:
Pastel de Dátil, Limón y Piñón / Date, Lemon and Piñon Cake
Date, lemon and piñon cake with honey topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of lemon syrup. Served with fresh fruit

Drinks:
Lágrima / The Tear Drop

El Jimador Silver Tequila, fresh lime juice, muddled parsley, topped with “salt air” and garnished with celery

Sangría de Passover / Passover Sangría
Herradura silver tequila (Kosher) combined with apple and lemon juices, topped with Manischewitz reduction

We tried both appetizers on the special menu: Veal Tongue Tacos and Sweetbreads. I quite enjoyed the veal tongue tacos. Be aware if you haven’t had them, they are served with a consistency similar to jerky, although not quite as tough, but oh so flavorful, especially with the molcajete salsa. I’m a Sweetbread lover and recently had some at Abattoir that were insanely delicious. These were served in the form of a fritter, but I’d have preferred them to be served “loose” as I think they would have been more tasty that way.

For entrees, we chose the Pork Cheek Tamales and Tri-tip steak. The lamb neck enchiladas sounded scrumpious, but there’s only so much I can eat. Lately, I’ve fallen more in love with appetizers at most restaurants vs. entrees, but Rosa is an exception. The pork cheeks were divine and the side of grits was creamy and heavenly!

The barbecued tri-tip steak with its Tamarind sauce was delicious, but the sides were nothing to sneeze at either. Instead of boring mash potatoes, Rosa makes a mash out of root vegetables and serves this alongside crispy kale. Definitely not to be missed!

The menu was created by Jonathan Waxman, Rosa’s Culinary Advisor, a former contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters and chef and cookbook author. Waxman incorporates the regional cuisines of Mexico to create a seasonal menu of both modern and traditional techniques and market-fresh ingredients.

Eclectic Cuts Menu
Appetizers
Veal Tongue Tacos ($8)
Seared veal tongue hand tacos with a winter fruit glaze and molcajete salsa

Crispy Sweetbreads ($10)
Crispy fried sweetbreads with fresh Burns Farms huitlacoche and poblano sauté, cabbage escabeche and salsa verde

Entrees
Braised Pork Cheeks and Soft Corn Tamale ($19)
Ancho chile braised pork cheeks with a soft tamale of organic grits, red wine and roasted tomatoes

Tamarind Barbecued Tri-Tip Steak ($24)
Tamarind barbecued tri-tip steak with roasted root vegetable mash, crispy kale and salsa tamarindo

Braised Lamb Neck Tinga Enchilada ($17)
Two soft corn tortillas filled with spicy braised lamb topped with creamy roasted tomato chipotle salsa

Dessert
Meyer Lemon Souffle ($7)
Creamy, frozen meyer lemon souffle with warm raspberry-pomegranate compote, toasted meringue and a crispy Mexican sopapilla

Want to cook with some of these meats at home? Rosa’s got you covered. During the event, you can purchase the meats at market price in the 1/4 lb, 1/2 lb and 1 lb sizes. Call the restaurant to purchase. Hurry as this Eclectic Cuts event only lasts through March 11.

Skip the guacamole in favor of the special house made cheese dip (pictured at the top). Called, Queso Compuesto, it comes with seasoned ground sirloin and pico de gallo. Chicken dominates most of the menu, and the house special dish is the Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom. What makes these chicken enchiladas special is the Boom Boom sauce that covers it. Beware – it isn’t for those that don’t like hot and spicy.

If you like seafood, go for the Baja tacos. With your choice of fish or shrimp, these are very flavorful, although they were a bit on the salty side. We chose the fried shrimp and these jumbo shrimp were delicious. We also sampled a steak burrito that was bursting with flavor too. While all in our group agreed it was tasty we had had the same sentiment – it’s no Uncle Julio’s.

Smashburger already has several other locations in Atlanta (Buckhead, Alpharetta and Johns Creek) and opened its latest in Kennesaw off of Barrett Parkway. The chain is a quick service or fast casual restaurant. Patrons order at the counter and the food is brought to their table.

Smashburger offers fresh ground beef burgers or chicken burgers. Guests can choose from Smashburger combos or create their own. Prices start at around $4.99 for a small burger and go up to $6.99 for the large. Sides range from $2-3.

I got the large smash, which is a large burger. I would have preferred them to make it a double patty vs. one large patty which hangs over the bun. I also thought the burger was rather dry. The ingredients – lettuce, tomato, and jalapenos all tasted very fresh. For sides, the veggie fries (beans and asparagus) were quite tasty, albeit very salty. And although I usually favor sweet potato fries over regular fries, I liked the regular better because I thought it went well with the rosemary and olive oil drizzle on top. They also offer a special burger that compliments each city. For Atlanta they offer a peach topped burger, of course!

Disclosure: The meals provided for these reviews were complimentary.

With the slogan “We Know Tacos,” Perla Taqueria opened up their taqueria, the beginning of the year, in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood. Taking over a former Mrs. Winners establishment, the new diggs are still very reminiscent of a the fast food joint, down to the unchanged red roof. Stepping inside Perla, there’s bright colors splashed on the walls and the soup can lighting fixtures are a cute touch.

Nothing on the menu is over five dollars. In fact, most tacos, are around two. Customers order and pay at the counter. Then find a seat and place your table number so it is visible to staff and you’ll get your food shortly. Mine came out lightning fast, but I did choose to visit at an off time of day.

The menu is like that of a taqueria in that they offer the Al Pastor (pork), Chorizo (Mexican sausage) and Lenguna (Beef tongue). There are burritos, quesadillas and a smattering of other Mexican sides available. I’d like to return to give the house made Talmale and the Chicken and Corn Pozole a try. On this visit, I stuck to tacos, ordering the shrimp, fried chicken and Barbacoa tacos.

I loved that the corn tortillas are house made and while I don’t usually care for corn tortillas, I thought these were rather tasty. While I enjoyed the tacos, I did think the sauces added to them were quite overpowering. See the fried chicken one above right? Way too much sauce. I do like the fact that they are open late nights and have a drive through. It is a nice addition to the neighborhood – hope they make it.

1958 Piedmont rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30324
Perla Taqueria Website