Casa Balam is loud, and there’s no getting around it.
The restaurant’s beautiful design is both an asset and a problem. The walls and central columns of the dining room are coated in an earth-toned traditional Mexican form of stucco. The bar’s backsplash uses colorful tiles. Casual but modern wood tables are grouped closely together.
Nearly every design choice involves hard, sound-reflecting materials, and when the restaurant fills up, the din is loud enough to create communication problems.
Credit: Casa Balam
Credit: Casa Balam
And Casa Balam, the newest restaurant from chef Luis Damian’s Mi Casa Tu Casa Hospitality Group, does fill up, because it’s vibrant, fun and has good food.
It’s a modern Mexican take on a steakhouse, though the broad menu also offers seafood, tacos and larger, family-style dishes.
Damian continues to champion Mexican wines, and the Tres Raices rosé from Mexico’s central plateau was particularly good — smooth and refreshing.
Both steaks I tried were beautifully cooked to medium rare, and the high-quality meat came from Chicago’s Meats by Linz. Every steak was elevated by a fun accompaniment called a pastelito, made with queso fresco sandwiched between tender, poached strips of cactus and topped with avocado mousse.
Each steak also came with a ramekin of special butter for dipping, in one of four flavors: bone marrow, salsa matcha, herb and chimichurri. Leaner pieces of steak benefited from the extra fat, and the added shot of flavor kept the bigger steaks from becoming monotonous.
The rest of the menu is extensive, but the kitchen executed nearly everything well. The upscale versions of guacamole and queso dip both lived up to their $15 price tags. A few other favorites included the Caesar salad, which was surprisingly traditional, and the ensalada risada, made with kale, beets and goat cheese fritters.
There are eight taco plates on the menu; the tacos de pulpo, featuring very tender octopus, were tasty, even if the cook was a little heavy-handed with the aioli. There also are three empanada plates, and each featured an excellent crust, both crispy and pliant.
Credit: Casa Balam
Credit: Casa Balam
Besides steak, the entrees include three family-style options that can be ordered in half-size or whole portions for two or four. The duck carnitas were fabulous — the duck deeply flavored with chiles and falling off the bone.
The roasted chicken was nearly as impressive.
The whole-roasted branzino was one of the better whole-fish dishes I’ve been served in recent memory. The kitchen took the time to prepare the fish properly to be eaten whole, so it was not filled with bones. The guajillo salsa marinade infused the delicate fish with sweet, rich flavors.
The menu offers 11 side dishes, ranging from traditional rice and beans to more adventurous sides, such as grilled cactus salad and seasonal mushrooms. The only side dish I questioned: the tempura-fried whole bulb onions; while I enjoyed one, I wonder how many people want to eat multiple racquetball-sized onions in a single meal.
The dessert menu included a show-stopping tres leches cake and a wonderfully spicy Mexican chocolate Basque cheesecake.
The cocktail program was interesting but inconsistent. Several times, the same cocktail was served with varying levels of sweetness, and the drinks’ changing nature made them difficult to judge.
Everything about Casa Balam, from the atmosphere to the flavors, is big, loud and boisterous in an inviting, convivial way. Some people might find it too much, but there are plenty of others eager to join the party.
CASA BALAM
2 out of 4 stars (very good)
Food: Mexican
Service: excellent
Noise level: cacophonous
Recommended dishes: guacamole, queso horneado, Caesar salad, ensalata risada, cabbage al pastor, empanadas de pollo, crudo de callo de acha (scallop crudo), carnitas de pato, pollo rostizado a la pibil, pescado rostizado, 10-ounce wagyu flat iron steak, 14-ounce New York strip steak, corn tres leches cake, chocolate Basque cheesecake
Vegetarian dishes: guacamole, sopa fria de sandia (chilled gazpacho soup), ensalada risada, ensalada de burrata, coliflor al horno, cabbage al pastor, ensalada de nopales, frijoles vegetarianos, asparagus, broccolini, hongos de temporada, cebollines ala tempura, pastelitos de queso, bruselos
Alcohol: full bar
Price range: $50-$100 or less per person, excluding drinks
Hours: 5-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 5 p.m.-1 a.m., Fridays, 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m.-midnight Sundays
Accessibility: fully ADA-compliant and easily accessible on street level
Parking: paid deck and street; street sometimes is free, depending on the time
Nearest MARTA station: Decatur
Reservations: recommended
Outdoor dining: street-side patio
Takeout: no
Address, phone: 201 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-549-8271
Website: casabalamatl.com
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critics conduct reviews anonymously. Reservations are not made in their name, nor do they provide restaurants with advance notice about their visits. Our critics always make multiple visits, sample the full range of the menu and pay for all of their meals. AJC dining critics wait at least one month after a new restaurant has opened before visiting.
Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on X and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
