La Santa Tacos & Bar opens in Midtown with Mexican street food and cocktails
La Santa Tacos & Bar is now open in Midtown featuring Mexican food and specialty cocktails.
The restaurant opened in early December at 905 Juniper St. in the former RWBY space. Mixologist Jesus Perez owns the eatery with partners Fernando Jimenez and Pablo Casas.
While this is Perez’s first restaurant, he has worked in the food and beverage industry for the past 15 years with stints at the now-shuttered Midtown eatery Escorpion as well as Red Pepper Taqueria.
Perez, a native of Mexico City, developed the recipes for the Mexican street food dishes inspired by his hometown.
Guests can expect a menu of tacos with fillings like pollo asado, barbacoa, lengua, pulpo al pastor (grilled octopus in adobo) and chuleta ahumada, a Mexico City specialty featuring smoked pork chop, grilled cacti and onions. Other offerings include elotes, ceviche with octopus, a torta, caramel flan and Perez’s grandmother’s chicken soup.
“I’m very proud that every dish that comes on the table, it’s a little piece of me,” he said.
That also includes the beverage program, which features Mexican spirits like tequila, mezcal, sotol, bacanora and raicilla. The menu includes a large selection of frozen and on-the-rocks margaritas with traditional and fruity flavors and a Mexican sangria made with tequila, red carbernet, orange and peach liqueur, brandy and seasonal fruits. Signature cocktails include the Reforma with mezcal, avocado, lime and a homemade chipotle salt and Fernanda’s, a drink named after his daughter with tequila, cucumber, lime and pineapple.
The 2,500-square-foot restaurant has indoor seating for 78 people, including a bar, and a 40-seat patio. Perez said the renovated space is designed to make customers feel like they’re in Mexico City, with darker walls and neon lighting.
La Santa Tacos & Bar is open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
905 Juniper St. NE, Atlanta. 404-963-1304, lasantaatl.com
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About the Author
Olivia Wakim is a digital content producer on the food and dining team. She joined the AJC as an intern in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia with a journalism degree. While in school, she reported for The Red & Black, Grady Newsource and the Marietta Daily Journal.
