Situated in Atlanta’s Brookwood neighborhood, between Buckhead and Midtown, the modern Mexican restaurant Pata Negra can seem a bit dark and mysterious — even unapproachable.
However, those intrigued diners who dare to pull back the curtain at this mezcaleria are rewarded with a fun, sensual dining experience, warm service and an opportunity to explore the breadth of Mexican cuisine and agave-based spirits.
Let’s look beneath the surface of Pata Negra, beginning with the label “mezcaleria.” For those turned off by the smoky intensity of what Americans know as mezcal, it’s important to understand that all agave-based spirits once were known as mezcal. Tequila is a regional variety, the same way Champagne is a sparkling wine from a specific, highly regulated terroir.
While Pata Negra serves plenty of the smokier mezcal, the restaurant also offers a longer list of tequilas, as well as other agave spirits, such as sotol. The bar stocks quite a few highly regarded, hard-to-find bottles that will impress tequila snobs.
Credit: Courtesy of Pata Negra
Credit: Courtesy of Pata Negra
There’s also the name Pata Negra, which translates to black foot, hoof or paw. The term often refers to the black hooves of Spain’s famed Iberian pigs, but a server told me that, in this restaurant’s case, the phrase refers to the feet of the field hands who harvest the large agave hearts used to make mezcal and its offshoot spirits.
Pata Negra also honors those workers with its decor, which includes a wall of farming tools, including the long-handled hoes with sharpened, disc-shaped ends that are used for harvesting agave.
Credit: Courtesy of Pata Negra
Credit: Courtesy of Pata Negra
The restaurant’s setting is as dark and rich as velvet, with its minimal lighting golden and warm. Heavy fabric and draped textiles generally keep the noise from overwhelming the energetic space.
The cocktails show off the versatility of agave, from a smoked Tarasco 1907, which was reminiscent of an Old-Fashioned, to the easy-drinking cuna de piedra, which felt like a tiki drink.
Pata Negra’s food finds an easy balance between familiar Mexican classics and elevated modern interpretations. You won’t find queso dip, but the oro verde guacamole, or “green gold,” was straightforward and fabulous, and the salsa madre and much spicier salsa huasteca buzzed with freshness.
Credit: Courtesy of Pata Negra
Credit: Courtesy of Pata Negra
As you delve more deeply into the menu, Pata Negra’s larger plates become less restrained, showing off the complexity of Mexican cuisine. The dishes tend to be busy, but just organized enough not to devolve into chaos, and the flavors are even more developed.
In a dish called temporada de lluvias, or “rainy season,” a risotto made with mild, earthy huitlacoche, a fungus known as the truffle of Mexico, provided a firm base on which to highlight the sweetness of perfectly cooked scallops.
Fideo negro, a seafood dish that leans Italian, featured an octopus tentacle over black squid-ink pasta, tossed in a piquant salsa.
Credit: Courtesy of Pata Negra
Credit: Courtesy of Pata Negra
Simple chicken tacos, called tacos Arabes, managed to feel elevated, with warmly spiced, citrus-marinated chicken, handmade corn tortillas and beautiful plating featuring avocado mousse.
Perhaps the most impressive dish was the enmoladas, a simple plate of enchiladas enveloped in an anything-but-simple mole negro sauce. The mole, like the restaurant, was dark, deep and rich. With lingering notes of cinnamon and bitter chocolate in the rich, savory sauce, the flavor just kept on going. It’s the type of dish that, weeks later, you still recall fondly.
While the dim lighting and thumping soundtrack might lead some to think Pata Negra is as much a club as it is a restaurant, the food has real character, and the beverage program is as lovingly curated and connoisseur-focused as any.
The sum-total is a restaurant that feels honestly original.
PATA NEGRA
3 out of 4 stars (excellent)
Food: modern Mexican
Service: polished and knowledgeable
Noise level: medium to loud, depending on the time of day
Recommended dishes: oro verde guacamole, salsa madre, salsa huasteca, carne apache (featuring beef tartare), tacos Arabes, enmoladas, aguachile de carne encenizado (with beef and portobello), temporada de lluvias, fideo negro
Vegetarian dishes: oro verde guacamole, salsa madre, salsa huasteca, soup of the day, house salad, coliflor charreada (charred cauliflower), huarache camino real (mushrooms, corn and beans over a masa tortilla)
Alcohol: full bar with an excellent tequila list
Price range: $$$$ ($100 or less per person, not including tax, gratuity or beverages)
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays-Sundays
Parking: deck parking validated for up to three hours
MARTA: no
Reservations: recommended
Outdoor dining: no
Takeout: no
Address, phone: 1688 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta. 404-343-6212
Website: patanegraatl.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.
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