Mambo Zombi

Perched above Georgia Beer Garden along Atlanta’s lively Edgewood Avenue, Mambo Zombi is a gorgeously eerie oasis that marries vibrant global iconography with irresistible cocktails. Enter via a neon‑edged coffin and find yourself embraced by maximalist decor: skull chandeliers, mosaics, religious motifs, and Latin American cultural homages that honor life, death, and rebirth. Founded by the creative trio behind Joystick Gamebar and Georgia Beer Garden—Johnny Martinez, Brandon Ley, and bartender‑partner Kysha Cyrus—Mambo Zombi began as a pandemic pop‑up before blossoming into a permanent, soulful ritual. The space seats about 50 guests across cozy nooks, high-tops, and the copper‑topped bar, offering an immersive escape from the frenetic street energy below. Cocktails are where Cyrus really shines. Alongside tiki‑inspired drinks like the flaming Monkey Screwed (banana‑infused rum, coconut milk, banana syrup, lime, and 151 rum lit aflame), you’ll discover inventive creations such as the Elote (rum with homemade corn milk and condensed milk), Monkey See (rum, amaro, burnt orange peel), cachaça‑based Madam Gorgeous mixed with fresh sugarcane juice, and Mexican‑Andean non‑alcoholic options like tepache and chicha morada. It’s a space saturated in atmosphere—crowd-pleasing yet unconventional. Some bathrooms delve into unsettling territory (think “Island of the Dolls”), while the lighting and layout coerce lingering, conversations, and reconnection in a setting that’s neither sterile nor predictable.