Daniel B.
Yelp
I give Mariscos El Sazón del Kora 3.5 stars rounded down to 3. We had a good time here. The food and drinks were tasty, for the most part. Service was good, for the most part. The atmosphere was enjoyable.
This is a Mexican seafood restaurant featuring cuisine of the Cora ethnic group in the Mexican state of Nayarit, located on the Pacific Coast of Central Mexico. There are other Mexican seafood restaurants in metro Atlanta that serve the same cuisine. Examples include Mariscos El Veneno (https://bit.ly/2GY3XSL), which is also located on Buford Highway, and Mariscos La Riviera Nayarit (https://bit.ly/2H04y6f) formerly on Buford Highway, now in Norcross.
Currently, El Sazon del Kora has two locations in metro Atlanta. This one opened in October 2018 in the Global Forum Shopping Center on Buford Highway OTP, downstairs from Karaoke Melody II. The other location is in Smyrna.
The restaurant is big and spacious. It's great for groups, parties, and sports viewing. They have a lot of TVs and broadcast popular soccer games and fights (some on special channels or pay-per-view). They have a large bar and a partially covered patio. Sometimes, they have live music. During our visit, all of the servers/bartenders were female and they wore black collared El Sazon del Kora shirts and had earpieces. While this restaurant caters mainly to the Mexican/Hispanic community, the two servers I interacted with spoke decent English.
This isn't your typical Mexican restaurant. If you want tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and the like, go elsewhere. This place specializes in seafood. The portions are big and the prices are higher than your run-of-the-mill Mexican joint.
I think this place is best experienced with a group or at least one other person so you can share plates and platters. They really wow you with the presentation here and part of it is because the portions are generous. Seafood served includes oysters, shrimp, lobster, crab, mussels, clams, fish (different kinds), and even snails. They have ceviche, soups, seafood cocktails, whole stuffed pineapples, and more. Expect to spend at least $15-20 per person. Many entrees each start in the $20-30 range and can be sized up for more people (or bigger appetites).
They have a full bar featuring margaritas, piña coladas, and other cocktails, beer, liqueurs, and tequila.
I tried a few items:
* Ceviche (complimentary)
* Horchata (grande size for $3.99)
* Oysters on the half shell (1 dozen for $19.99)
* Charola de Almejillones Sazon del Kora ($26.99) - mussels in special house sauce
* Almejas Manila ($22.50) - clams cooked "Ranch" style with white wine
* Orden de pan ($2.50) - side of garlic bread
In general, I thought the food was tasty. They brought out complimentary ceviche for everyone. It was delicious and one of the best things I had here. The only seafood in the ceviche was fish, so if you have a shellfish allergy like me (crustaceans), then you're fine. The ceviche tasted fresh with finely minced fish, carrots, and other ingredients plus chopped tomato, onion, and cucumber on a crunchy fried tortilla base. Along with ceviche, they brought us complimentary sides/condiments of lime, a legit spicy habanero salsa, Saladitas saltine crackers, and hard tortilla shells (much appreciated to go with the entrees).
If you like horchata (Mexican cinnamon rice drink), El Sazon del Kora's version is worth ordering. It's sweet and refreshing. A little grainy and powdery, but it's not too bad, and the flavor is good.
A couple of my tablemates ordered margaritas. One person got the strawberry margarita and another the mango margarita ($8.50 each). The margarita presentation was beautiful, but both commented independently that the margaritas tasted weak and watered down. Each margarita had a nice and thick chili-salt rim.
The oysters on the half shell were OK. The oysters we got were tiny to medium size. I wish they had given us a few more oysters to make up for the puny ones. As far as the taste, the oysters were fresh and yummy. They were served with lime. There were already assorted Mexican hot sauces on the table as well as the habanero salsa the servers brought out, so we could use those to dress our oysters.
Of the big plates, the star of the show was the mussels platter (or Charola de Almejillones Sazon del Kora). Boy, were they good. All of the mussels I ate tasted fresh. There wasn't a single bad one. The mussels were bathed in a savory red sauce which was delicious. Like mussel dishes served at other restaurants, we sopped up the juice with bread. Other ingredients included slices of tomato, cucumber, and onion. I recommend this dish.
The clams (Almejas Manila) were fine. The clam meat was chopped into little pieces and served in big clam shells. The sauce was flavorful with other ingredients including orange, cilantro, cucumber, and tomato. Not sure I recommend this dish, but it wasn't bad.
Service started fast, then slowed down as the evening progressed.