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Summerhill Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar D Boca N Boca Finally Opens

After multiple, long delays due to construction and permitting, D Boca N Boca finally opens June 17 on Georgia Avenue

Three neatly plated al pastor tacos atop a wooden carving board from D Boca N Boca in Atlanta.
Al pasto tacos.
Fate Hospitality
Beth McKibben is the editor and staff reporter for Eater Atlanta and has been covering food and cocktails locally and regionally for 12 years.

After nearly three years of delays due to construction and permitting, Mexican restaurant and tequila bar D Boca N Boca finally opens Friday, June 17.

The opening date for the Georgia Avenue restaurant has shifted several times over the last two months, much to chef and owner Helio Bernal’s frustration. But when asked if this time the opening date in Summerhill was firm, the reply was a hard “yes.”

D Boca N Boca transforms Bernal’s longtime pop-up the Real Mexican Vittles into his dream restaurant, where he shares his family’s legacy in Veracruz on the Gulf Coast of Mexico and in the Yucatán through food. Family recipes serve as inspiration for many of the dishes at D Boca N Boca.

Herby guacamole with pomegranate seeds and blistered pepitas from D Boca N Boca in Atlanta.
Herby guacamole with pomegranate seeds and blistered pepitas.
Fate Hospitality
Ensalada de Cardoba: a salad with red peppercorns, huitlacoche, and escamoles at D Boca N Boca in Atlanta.
Ensalada de Cardoba: a salad with red peppercorns, huitlacoche, and escamoles.
Fate Hospitality

Other dishes pull from places like Mexico City, with its famed street tacos, or the pollo asado, ceviche, and aguachile from Sinaloa and Monterey. There’s also huachinango (Veracruz-style roasted red snapper) on the menu and huitlacoche (corn smut), often referred to as the Mexican truffle.

One dish even nods to an Atlanta legend, Braves baseball player Hank Aaron, who hit his 715th career home run just down the street at Fulton County Stadium, now a parking lot, which includes a historical marker listing Aaron’s record-breaking achievement in 1974. Aaron is commemorated on the menu at D Boca N Boca, too, with the Hammerin’ Hank Chop — a spice-rubbed steak described as a “legends cut of meat” served with salsa and vegetables.

Hammerin’ Hank Chop
Hammerin’ Hank Chop.
Fate Hospitality

The bar at D Boca N Boca carries both local and Mexican beers, along with tequila and mezcal for making margaritas, palomas, and original cocktails. Mezcal and tequila flights are also available.

For now, Bernal plans to keep the tight menu at D Boca N Boca centered on late-afternoon drinks and snacks and dinner in the evenings. Lunch and weekend brunch should follow in the coming weeks.

Take a look a the menu:

D Boca N Boca joins several restaurants and bars now open along Georgia Avenue in what’s become a bustling dining district in the Summerhill neighborhood, including Little Bear; fried chicken shop How Crispy Express; Halfway Crooks Beer; Big Softie ice cream shop; Hot Dog Petes; and Wood’s Chapel BBQ.

Chef Duane Nutter and restaurateur Reggie Washington will open Southern National across the street from Little Bear later this year. Chef Richard Tang (Girl Diver, Char Korean) also plans to opens game bar Press Start along Georgia Avenue in 2022.

39 Georgia Avenue, Atlanta. Temporary hours: Tuesday - Sunday, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Patio seating available with fire pits.

Across the Street

668 Highland Avenue Northeast, , GA 30312 (404) 781-0931

How Crispy Express

71 Georgia Avenue Southeast, , GA 30312 (678) 705-3531 Visit Website

Char Korean Bar & Grill

299 North Highland Avenue Northeast, , GA 30307 (404) 525-2427 Visit Website

Halfway Crooks Beer

60 Georgia Avenue Southeast, , GA 30312 (678) 705-5530 Visit Website

Wood’s Chapel BBQ

85 Georgia Avenue Southeast, , GA 30312 (404) 522-3000 Visit Website

Girl Diver Atlanta

955 Memorial Drive Southeast, , GA 30316 (404) 525-2424 Visit Website

Big Softie

68 Georgia Avenue Southeast, , GA 30312 Visit Website