Bocado Is Back. Just Not in Atlanta.

It’s official: Bocado is back, but not in Atlanta.

A rebrand of Bocado Burger to Bocado in Alpharetta sees not only the restaurant’s signature burgers remain menu staples, but sees the return of popular dishes from the former west side Atlanta location.

Restaurateur Brian Lewis originally closed Bocado at the corner of Howell Mill Road and 8th Street (currently home to Bastone) in 2021, with hopes of reopening the restaurant elsewhere in the city. After failing to find a new location in Atlanta, Lewis chose instead to rebrand his burger bar at Avalon into Bocado. But Lewis says he’s not giving up on the possibility of reopening Bocado again in Atlanta.

“We made some attempts to go in-town, but weren’t able to find the perfect spot,” Lewis tells Eater. “The most natural transition for us was to rebrand the Avalon location first, and we will remain open to the idea of another in-town location in the future.”

While the restaurant did undergo some minor renovations, the rebranding of Bocado Burger is mostly a retooling of the menu. Burgers are still featured prominently in Alpharetta, but will eventually live alongside dishes likely familiar to regulars to the Atlanta restaurant, including the crab fritters, tuna crudo, steak tartare, and watermelon salad. Other dishes were added to the revamped menu, like 18-month-aged serrano ham, parmesan croquetas, barbecue smoked chicken wings, and Texas cheese fries.

“The menu is still evolving. We really wanted to expand our dining experience for guests,” says Lewis. “We added more shareable options and reintroduced old favorites from the Westside location for diners to enjoy.”

Weekly specials and half-off bottles of wine are also offered in Alpharetta, as well as happy hour drinks and new cocktails from the bar.

Bocado originally opened on Howell Mill Road in 2009 and became known for its double-stack cheeseburger, first created by former chef Todd Ginsberg (The General Muir, Wood’s Chapel BBQ). Lewis went on to open Bocado Burger at Avalon in 2015, centering the menu around the restaurant’s famed burger.

The former Bocado property in Atlanta is now part of the emerging 8West development taking shape along 8th Street and Howell Mill. Earlier this spring, chef Pat Pascarella transformed the Bocado space into Italian restaurant and mozzarella bar Bastone.

Check out the new Bocado menu below:

Courtesy of Bocado

Bocado at Avalon: open Sunday - Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.