Mexican chef Santiago Gomez will open his planned supper club-style restaurant and rooftop Palo Santo later this summer, the restaurant this week announced.
Targeting an early August 2022 opening, Gomez — alongside partners Eduardo Rivera and Felipe Rivera — “prepares to make his debut in the Atlanta restaurant scene after years shaking up Miami’s with his signature posh & polished, modern Mexican cuisine,” according to a press release. Palo Santo will be the flagship restaurant of Botanico Hospitality Group, planting its roots, at 955 West Marietta Street, adjacent to the King Plow Arts Center.
Meant to feel like the streets of Mexico City, the restaurant’s wood-fire kitchen will serve “soulful takes” on modern Mexican creations, while celebrating local-to-Georgia ingredients — think mushroom tetela (corn masa, peach mole, wood-fire pink oyster mushrooms & flor de calabaza), cured hamachi tostada (charred serrano-citric mayo, burnt avocado, dry miso, uni & heirloom corn tostada) & wood-fire ora king salmon al pastor (adobo, pineapple-vanilla sauce, pickled kohlrabi), complemented by an agave mixology bar, serving spirits centered around tequila and mezcal and a wine list curated with natural and skin-contact wines.
Four kitchen counter spots will serve an omakase-style version of the menu (on select evenings), while a 10-seat chef’s table will share family style offerings for special occasions.
Other elements include custom plaster design walls from Super Delicious, paintings by Truett Diestz, and a grand staircase to the rooftop which offers unobstructed city views and floor-to-ceiling, retractable glass windows, alongside open-air and canopy terrace seating — a bar serves a separate, Japanese-Mexican fusion-style menu focused on snackable selections like nori tacos, tostadas, crudos & oysters, plus sake, craft cocktails and hand-selected wines, a complete experience on its own.
“Passionate about honoring Mexican heritage and supporting family-owned farms,” the restaurant’s corn, beans, chiles and cacao — among other ingredients — will be sourced exclusively from Mexican farmers and producers who work directly with heirloom corn supplier Tamoa.
Palo Santo will be open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, with extended rooftop hours on Friday and Saturday.
