The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tacos are tasty at Moreland Ave. spot
All-pink Pretty Little Tacos in Reynoldstown is lively, upbeat fun.
You could say that Pretty Little Tacos’ caterpillar stage was as a food truck, before moving into its cocoon stage as a stall at Colony Square’s Politan Row food hall.
Now the restaurant has emerged as a beautiful pink butterfly on Moreland Avenue in Atlanta’s Reynoldstown neighborhood.
The pinkness of the restaurant cannot be overstated; almost everything inside it is pink, including the walls, the tables, the food baskets and even the takeout bags. In contrast to Politan Row’s natural wood tones, restaurateur Michaela Merrick now presents a highly saturated, Barbiecore vision.
Certainly, Pretty Little Tacos does not deal in subtlety. The restaurant is meant to be fun, a philosophy reflected in everything from the decor to the loud music to the ebullient service.
If the food weren’t good, it all might feel like a gimmick. But the cooking matches the energy of the space. The portions are big, the flavors are intense and the prices are reasonable.
One of the more impressive dishes on the menu is the fried avocado appetizer. The delightfully crunchy, savory breading was beautifully fried each time I tried this dish, but that would mean nothing if the large slices of avocado weren’t exactly the right buttery flavor and creamy texture. Someone in that kitchen is a master at picking out a perfectly ripe avocado.
The guacamole also was excellent, but Pretty Little Tacos sometimes runs out, since it’s made fresh each day. In fact, quite a few dishes were not available on each of my visits; they apparently have a few logistical kinks to work out.
The main dishes mostly were available, and the tacos plainly were the star of the show. Pretty Little Tacos specializes in birria-style tacos, which are based on the traditional red Mexican beef stew. Tortillas are stuffed with beef and cheese and then fried hard, so the filling melts together and the exterior becomes crispy. They are served with a dipping sauce, or consommé, usually made from the stew’s broth.
The brilliantly executed tacos can be ordered individually and with or without consommé. If you order a trio, the consommé is thrown in for free.
The restaurant also specializes in oxtail birria, melding Mexican, Southern and Caribbean influences. Oxtail seems apropos, since traditional Mexican birria often was made with inexpensive, widely available goat meat.
The quesabirria options, available only at the stand-alone Moreland Avenue location, are similar but use a larger tortilla and more cheese to make a wonderfully crunchy quesadilla. Any of the birria choices — which include oxtail, steak, chicken, shrimp and vegan — also can be ordered in the form of ramen. The huge helpings of stew and noodles allow diners to luxuriate in the rich birria flavors.
The stand-alone Pretty Little Tacos also has a full bar, which is not offered at the Politan Row location. Many of the drinks lean toward the sweeter side, but the bartenders use real fruit juice in the house-made syrups to keep the sugar from being overwhelming.
While the cocktails tend to be riffs on such classics as margaritas and whiskey sours, creative names and serving vessels add to the fun. The pretty little margarita, for example, is a passionfruit version served in a perfumelike bottle, while a pink rum punch, known as a pretty mess, is served in a miniature replica of a rollaway trash can.
The vivacious spirit of Pretty Little Tacos already has earned the restaurant a following, and the Moreland Avenue location will allow it to spread its wings.
Most importantly, the tacos are good, even if tasty is a better description than pretty. It’s also a restaurant that exudes positive vibes and creates a partylike atmosphere without costing an arm and a leg.
Pretty Little Tacos takes all the right things seriously and has fun with the rest, a philosophy that has proved successful so far and hopefully will inspire imitators.