El Malo Cocktail Lounge Opens at Atlanta Dairies on Memorial Drive (photos) | Eater Atlanta
"A sexy-as-hell cocktail bar opening Saturday, November 11 at Atlanta Dairies, it merges design, cocktails, food, and music to encourage pleasure and losing all sense of time and place. Partner Omar Ferrer says they wanted a fun, sexy spot built for closeness and intimacy, and the vibe reads as a cross between listening‑bar energy, Parisian lounge glamour, and New York after‑hours grit. Guests enter through hulking double doors into a red‑neon hallway before arriving in a windowless room filled with verdant greens, royal reds and purples, bold patterns, and textures of velvet, leather, and disco balls; a monochromatic private lounge with a green velvet sofa is a direct nod to a room at Serpent A Plume. Built around a colossal sound system showcasing DJs, the music program blends disco, funk, 1990s house, Brazilian funk, old salsa and Latin tunes, and Caribbean rhythms, and opening night will see Karl Injex revive the Sound Table through his set. Beverage director Gabe Bowen centers cocktails on the original spirits of the Americas—agave and rum—delivering imaginative modern revamps of classics, milk punches, clarified cocktails, and a few draft concoctions. Food and desserts play an integral role, with contributions from Fishmonger chef Brad Forsblom and Miller Union pastry chef Claudia Martinez including king crab with butter tinged with Tajín, Murder Point oysters with guava pico, rock shrimp ceviche, a Caribbean pulled‑pork sandwich with plantain chips and dip, guava and cream‑cheese pastries, chocolate and passion‑fruit custard, and seasonal sorbets served as champagne floats. Open Mon–Wed 6 p.m.–12 a.m. (kitchen closes 10 p.m.); Thu–Sat 6 p.m.–2:30 a.m. (kitchen closes 11 p.m.)." - Beth McKibben
