Sunday mornings on Mitchell Street have a new anchor. El Tesoro, the Edgewood taqueria that brought its biggest location to South Downtown ahead of the World Cup, is now serving a weekly all-you-can-eat brunch, beginning Sunday, Sept. 13.
The spread plays to the kitchen's strengths: chilaquiles, enchiladas and a taco bar, with non-alcoholic drinks folded into the price. Adults pay $36, and kids under 10 pay $16. South Downtown's September Show & Tell newsletter lists brunch hours as 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. One thing to know before you go: the regular menu is off the table while brunch is running, so Sunday visitors in that window are eating from the buffet.
The move gives a big room a reason to fill up on a quiet day. When El Tesoro first announced the project, it took a vacant building at 171 Mitchell St. SW with room for a roughly 3,600-square-foot restaurant and a large patio, as we reported in El Tesoro Is Taking a Vacant Mitchell Street Building. It opened in June as part of downtown's pre-kickoff restaurant wave, and during the tournament the dining room packed in soccer crowds. With the matches gone, a flat-price weekend buffet is the kind of standing draw that keeps a neighborhood restaurant busy between big events.
It also gives South Downtown a sit-down, family-friendly Sunday meal where the bill is easy to predict before anyone orders. The kid price makes it an easy call for parents, and the buffet format suits groups that want to linger without waiting on multiple rounds of tickets from the kitchen.
For downtown residents, hotel guests and anyone coming in for a Sunday stroll through the historic blocks around Mitchell, Forsyth and Nelson streets, the restaurant sits a short walk from Garnett MARTA station and makes an easy first stop before exploring the rest of South Downtown.
Driving in? South Downtown provides the first two hours free at its South Downtown - Elm Lot (170 Mitchell St. SW), directly across the street and about a one-minute walk from the door, which comfortably covers a leisurely brunch. The details on all four lots are in our guide to South Downtown's first-two-hours-free parking.
El Tesoro South Downtown, 171 Mitchell St. SW, Atlanta. 404-239-2188, southdowntown.eltesoroatl.com.
Original reporting by Henri Hollis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, with brunch hours from South Downtown's September Show & Tell newsletter.