Three Stars for Spring; Two Stars for Nexto

In her first full review for Atlanta Magazine, Jennifer Zyman takes on Spring. Zyman awards the Marietta restaurant an “excellent” rating of three out of four stars:

Like the restaurant, the menu at Spring is compact, which means a party of four can eat through most of it in one visit. Major menu changes happen seasonally, but dishes get tweaked depending on farm deliveries. The menu is a mix of four starters, five entrees, and four desserts. Offering so few options may seem like a gamble for a restaurateur, but keeping it good by keeping it small is part of a trend. It also cuts down on food waste. ... While [chef Brian So] considers Spring a neighborhood restaurant, he told me he is “humbled” by the number of intown diners that have made the drive. He may have left the big city behind to simplify his life, but his cooking is bringing the city to him.

Over at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Wyatt Williams reviews Nexto, the new Poncey-Highland ramen venture from Mihoko Obunai and Concentrics Restaurants. Williams gives a “very good” rating of two out of four stars and says it isn’t traditional, but is a good time:

Ramen purists may be dismayed. This is not a ramen “shop.” There is nothing small or funky or traditional about Nexto. It is a polished Beltline-adjacent restaurant with a hip, loud soundtrack (White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem, When in Rome) and a smart drink program. If your primary concerns about ramen include the broth’s alkalinity reading on a refractometer and the staff’s proper pronunciation of irasshaimase, you probably already know this isn’t the place for you.

On the other hand, if you’re someone who has longed to pair a flawless, stirred scotch cocktail with a pretty good bowl of noodles and broth while in one of the city’s most fashionable neighborhoods, Nexto promises to be fun.

THE ELSEWHERE AND THE BLOGS: Creative Loafing’s Hilary Cadigan takes a first look at Cast Iron in Old Fourth Ward and finds a restaurant that takes inspiration from simpler times. Roamilicious enjoys lobster, scallops, and steak at Indigo in Milton. Hot Dish Review loves the flatbread with burrata, wild mushrooms, garlic chips, and black truffles at 5Church. Fried Chicken Lips likes the cocktails, but says the food could use some improvement at Scout in Oakhurst. Friday Date Night is disappointed in the Cajun seafood platter at Adele’s in Roswell.

• All Week in Reviews [EATL]