An Austin Mexican restaurant is opening a new all-day location in East Austin this summer. Ma’Coco opened Recreation on August 1 in the space of the former Drop Kick restaurant and bar at 1630 East Sixth Street.
Recreation operates as a cafe during the day and a bar at night, serving food, cocktails and bar fare. Guests can enjoy casual New American fare such as buffalo chicken wings, shrimp ceviche tostadas, yellowtail crudo, Wagyu burgers, Caesar salads and fish and chips with gelato desserts. Drinks include the Recreation classic, a margarita twist, the chili watermelon mule and a barrel-aged Old Fashioned. Weekend brunch features morning fare such as berry-loaded pancakes, a breakfast BLT with fried egg and a breakfast plate, as well as Micheladas, Bloody Marys and unlimited mimosas.
Recreation’s parent company is Origen Hospitality, which operates Ma’Coco and the San Marcos Mexican restaurant Balcon Comedor y Bar, all run by owner Javier Equihua. He liked Recreation’s location and proximity to Ma’Coco: “Having Ma’Coco just around the corner at Fifth and Comal was great advertising and a front-row seat to the growth, traffic and energy of Sixth Street. It’s a very exciting opportunity to have such a visible location next to businesses I frequent.” He chose the name because it’s so fun, or as he explains, “It’s about doing something for pleasure, it embodies leisure and entertainment.” There are also DJ sets.
Ma’Coco co-founders Javier Equihua and Judith Equihua started Ma’Coco as a restaurant in Bastrop, where they focused on Mexican food from the San Diego and Baja California regions. In July 2021, they expanded to Austin—taking over former Italian sandwich shop La Matta—and closed the Bastrop location a month later. Judith left the business. And then, as sole owner, Javier opened a brand new restaurant in San Marcos, the modern Mexican restaurant Balcon, in June 2023; and then a second Ma’Coco location in Buda earlier this year.
The East Sixth address was originally home to the only Austin location of Portland burger chain Little Big Burger from 2018 to 2019. It then became the casual new American restaurant and bar Drop Kick from 2020 to early 2024.
Leisure hours are Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Thursday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to midnight.
Update, August 12: This article originally published on July 1 has been updated to include Recreation’s opening date, food and drink details, and hours of operation.
