Alma Cocina Review

Normally the further you travel south on Peachtree towards downtown the worse the restaurants get, but Alma Cocina is a complete exception. Alma Cocina is located adjacent to the Ritz Carlton and shares the tower's lobby.

We had dinner to celebrate a friends birthday, I am glad she chose this restaurant otherwise I may never have ventured here on my own. I am usually not a fan of Mexican and try to avoid downtown whenever possible.

This upscale eatery is completely unique with its wonderful Latin American creations. The inside was tastefully decorated with accent mood lighting and a cozy Southwestern theme. It was beautiful, but the food even better.

We decided to start off with the salsa and guac sampler and were so glad we did. The disappointing thing about the sampler was not having more of each dip. They were all fantastic and unique, great to try side by side to really taste the differences. They provided plantain and tortilla chips for dipping. The plantains were awesome, plus nice to get an extra dose of potassium. 

We were intrigued by the butternut squash guac and decided to try it too, besides we were eating a superfood after all. This was delicious too, the butternut squash gave a nice sweet twist to the quacamole beneath. 

Luke had the Georges Bank Scallops with huitlacoche rice, charred green onions, pickled ancho chiles, grape tomatoes, on a Amarillo Mole. Translation - excellent!! The scallops were perfectly cooked and the combination of ingredients were superb. 

My friend Kevin order the carnitas tacos and the plantains as a side. The Sweet Fried Plantains had a red chile agave nectar and queso fresco on top. The red chile gave a nice contrast to the sweet agave nectar and the queso fresco was an added bonus. 

I ordered the Crispy Cod Tacos with cabbage slaw, pickled jalapenos, and passion fruit vinegar on corn tortillas. Yes, I cheated on Paleo and had corn but it was worth every bit.

I love the creativity of Chef Chad Clevinger. He was the guest chef at my dinner club this month, and was so glad to try to his actual restaurant. He is very talented and I can't wait to go back! Whether in town for business or you live in the metro Atlanta area, I highly recommend visiting this establishment. Finally a restaurant downtown that cares whether people come back.

Tip - If you park at the 191 Peachtree deck, Alma will validate your parking ticket not for the full amount but you get a discount. Plus, there are two EV charging stations in that deck if you need some juice.