Atlanta’s acclaimed pastry chef Claudia Martinez finally has a place to call her own. The multitime James Beard semifinalist cut the ribbon late last year for Bar Ana, a lush little spot showcasing her creative, seasonal desserts.
Finding your way there may take a minute unless you remember El Bar, the dive and dance bar once located in the same spot. For those unfamiliar, the new bar is in the basement of El Ponce Mexican restaurant in Poncey-Highland. Visitors access the bar via a serpentine route that starts in the parking lot, goes across the back patio, and winds around the building’s corner to a dark-green door marked Bar Ana in stylish gold font. The intrigue builds from there.
Past the cave-like vestibule, you’ll find a chic retreat awash in warm shades of green, rose, gold, and ivory. The design features dark wood floors, stucco arches, and a dramatic ceiling trellis laced with vines. A wall of banquette seating faces a marble-topped bar ribbed with sea-colored subway tiles. A pale-pink neon light accents the backlit shelves of glimmering bottled spirits.
The Bar Ana menu covers snacks, desserts, signature cocktails, wine, beer, and nonalcoholic beverages. Among the standout drinks are the Ana daiquiri (Caribbean rum, passion fruit, vanilla, lime, cardamom) and the Guava G&T (guava gin, Granada-Vallet—a Mexican bitter pomegranate liqueur—and tonic). Mayim Williams, an alum of Kimball House, leads the beverage program.
Martinez, who takes inspiration from her Southern upbringing and Venezuelan heritage, excels at fruit-forward desserts, balanced flavors (sweet, spicy, citrusy, tropical), and beautiful, often playful plating. (A knockout example is the guava-glazed doughnuts with pink-peppercorn streusel and cream cheese ice cream, set dramatically in a wide, berry-colored bowl.) Ordering two to three desserts to share was the right strategy for me and my dining companion. To that end, we also recommend the sticky toffee pudding with pepita granola, banana, and cognac ice cream, as well as the milk chocolate ganache with brown butter mousse, vanilla bean and almond cake, and a hint of citrus. By day, the bar is sunlit and operates as Recuerdos Cafe, Ivan Solis’s haven for lovers of Mexican coffee and matcha. His selections make an appearance in Bar Ana’s evening coffee drinks—notably, the Cafe Correcto (mezcal, tequila reposado, coffee, vermouth, sambuca).
This article appears in our April 2026 issue.
