Amasa Mexican Kitchen Opens at Alpharetta City Center

Amasa Mexican Kitchen is now open at Alpharetta City Center, bringing a seafood-forward Baja California menu, fresh blue-corn tortillas and a rooftop bar to downtown Alpharetta.

The restaurant formally opened Friday, Sept. 18 at 15 Academy Street, Space 1E, after spending the summer introducing the concept through tastings, pop-ups and community events.

Amasa’s kitchen is entirely gluten-free. Executive Chef Joey Vazquez developed a menu built around handmade organic blue-corn tortillas, seafood, grilled meats and modern interpretations of Mexican dishes.

The taco selection includes Baja fish, cauliflower al pastor, chicken tinga, coconut carnitas, crunchy coconut shrimp, chargrilled octopus, carne asada and quesabirria made with lamb shoulder. Steak-and-lobster tacos sit at the upper end of the menu.

Larger dishes include a whole crispy snapper with a roasted tomato and pumpkin-seed sauce, shrimp-and-lobster quesadilla, fajitas, enchiladas suizas and a 12-hour braised short rib with poblano mole.

Shareable choices include carne asada fries, sweet corn esquites, baked oysters, ceviche and a Baja surf roll made with coconut shrimp, avocado and chipotle crema. The full dinner menu also offers a $40 tasting option with chips and dip, an appetizer, two tacos and dessert.

The bar emphasizes tequila, mezcal and margaritas. Options range from a classic margarita to cucumber, tropical, prickly pear and peach-tamarind variations, along with a four-drink margarita flight.

Amasa is part of TQM Hospitality, the restaurant group behind Chichería Mexican Kitchen at The Works and Buena Vida Tapas Bar on the Eastside BeltLine. The Alpharetta restaurant adapts Chichería’s coastal Mexican influence for a larger downtown space with a covered patio and rooftop.

The opening will continue in stages. Lunch begins Tuesday, Sept. 22, followed by rooftop jazz on Wednesday evenings beginning Sept. 23.

A Sunday Mexican brunch buffet launches Sept. 27 with more than 20 dishes, coffee and aguas frescas. The buffet will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and cost $40 for adults and $20 for children ages 6 through 12. Children younger than 5 will eat free.

Regular programming also includes weekday happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m., family nights on Mondays and trivia on Tuesdays. From Oct. 1 through Nov. 2, the restaurant plans a monthlong Day of the Dead pop-up with themed decorations, cocktails and food specials.

Amasa adds another full-service dining destination to Alpharetta City Center while offering something still uncommon locally: an entirely gluten-free Mexican kitchen where the accommodation is built into the full menu rather than limited to a handful of modified dishes.

Reservations are available online, and the restaurant can be reached at 470-299-5596.