Memorial Day has come and gone, which means summertime is unofficially here. With the weather heating up, Atlanta's restaurant scene is sure to catch fire in the coming months. A few big openings have already come online in the first half of 2017, and more are sure to arrive before the temperatures drop this fall. With the future in mind, it's time to take a look at the summer tracking guide, running through the most anticipated restaurants set to open this season. These are listed in alphabetical order, and statuses will be updated as they debut. If you have a favorite not listed, leave it in the comments below.
A Mano
First announced way back in September 2014, this Italian restaurant is closing in on its Old Fourth Ward debut. Owner George DeMeglio has taken over the old Lantern House on Ralph McGill Boulevard, and Chandler Cottingham, a veteran of Muss & Turner’s, Venkman’s, and Hampton + Hudson, will run the kitchen as executive chef. Cottingham has staged at Inman Park pasta powerhouse BoccaLupo, and he’ll serve a menu of fresh pastas and simple Italian dishes. Tiffany Howell is in as beverage director and will curate a list of four house wines, one Prosecco, cocktails, Italian bottled wines, and nine beers on tap with a local focus.
Location: Old Fourth Ward; 589 Ralph McGill Boulevard NE.
Projected opening: June 27.
Allora
Concentrics Restaurants is replacing Lobby with this Italian restaurant at the Twelve Hotel in Atlantic Station. Christopher Maher, formerly of Concentrics’s One Midtown Kitchen, is on board as executive chef. The menu, still being finalized, will include pizzas, fresh pastas, insalatas, and small plates. Design is meant to be industrial yet inviting, and there will be plenty of al fresco dining space on a covered patio.
Location: Atlantic Station; 361 17th Street NW.
Projected opening: July.
Bar Americano and Bar Crema
The team behind The Pinewood in Decatur and The Mercury in Ponce City Market has a couple of Italian projects in the works for the former Prohibition space. Bar Americano will serve lunch and dinner, and the adjoining Bar Crema will offer take-away items, desserts, gelato, and coffees. The beverage program will be inspired by classic cocktails and Italian aperitivos, and like those found at The Pinewood and The Mercury, it will focus on premium spirits and housemade ingredients.
Location: Buckhead; 56 East Andrews Drive NW.
Projected opening: Late summer.
Bar Mercado
With The Cockentrice out at Krog Street Market, Castellucci Hospitality Group, the company behind The Iberian Pig, Cooks & Soldiers, and others, is in. Similar to other Castellucci restaurants, Bar Mercado will serve classic tapas dishes, meats, cheeses, and “traditional bar bites.” Look for small plates with alcachofas (artichokes), idiazabal cheese-stuffed piquillo peppers, estafodo (Spanish beef stew), croquetas, and pimientos de Padron.
Location: Inman Park; 99 Krog Street NE, Suite V.
Projected opening: July.
C. Ellet’s
Linton Hopkins, the chef-restaurateur behind Restaurant Eugene, Holeman & Finch, H&F Burger, and Hop’s Chicken, is opening a steakhouse at the Battery development adjacent to the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park. Hopkins says C. Ellet’s will offer traditional beef cuts, and it will take significant inspiration from New Orleans and the rest of the South.
Location: Cobb County; 2605 Circle Parkway.
Projected opening: July.
The Canteen
The team behind The General Muir, West Egg Cafe, Yalla, and Fred’s Meat & Bread are about to open a “micro-food hall” in Midtown. Taking over the 75 Fifth Street space that previously housed The Spence, The Canteen will include new outposts for Yalla and Fred’s along with a couple of new brands: TGM Bagel and Square Bar. TGM Bagel will offer The General Muir's bagel selection, baked on-site, plus a menu of "quick and healthy breakfast items" and Batdorf & Bronson coffee. Square Bar will serve juices, energy shots, and smoothies during morning hours, and later in the day it will transform into a full bar with beer, frozen drinks, and "a focused selection of classic cocktails and wine."
Location: Midtown; 75 Fifth Street NW.
Projected opening: Imminent.
Donetto
Indigo Road, the restaurant group behind Oak Steakhouse, Colletta, and O-Ku Sushi is planning a Tuscan restaurant for Westside. Donetto is moving into the forthcoming Stockyards Atlanta development, right across the street from Miller Union. Mike Perez, who also runs the kitchen at Colletta will serve as executive chef, and he plans to use the menu to “talk about the history of the pasta dishes and the folklore behind them.”
Location: Westside; 976 Brady Avenue NW.
Projected opening: August.
Greens & Gravy
Chef-owner Darius Williams, a cookbook author, YouTube chef, and host of a traveling supper club, will soon open his first restaurant in Westview. Greens & Gravy will serve modern soul food such as crab cake deviled eggs, chicken and biscuits on a stick, collard green lasagna, and smoked gouda grits.
Location: Westview; 1540 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
Projected opening: June 17.
Golden Eagle and Muchacho
Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall owner Michael Lennox is planning two new BeltLine-adjacent ventures, and these will set up shop in the former H. Harper Station. Golden Eagle will be a full-service “workingman’s tavern in the spirit of mid-century lobby bars and American Legion halls.” Muchacho will be more casual and inspired by the West Coast, offering breakfast and lunch tacos, toasts, grain bowls, and poke bowls. Canned beer, wine, cocktails, and housemade agua fresca will be available to drink.
Location: Reynoldstown; 904 Memorial Drive SE.
Projected opening: August.
Mary Hoopa’s House of Fried Chicken & Oysters
One Eared Stag chef Robert Phalen’s new restaurant will take up residence at East Lake’s Hosea + 2nd development. The menu is still being finalized, but it will include a fried chicken sandwich with honey, pickles, cabbage, and yogurt; oysters with benne crackers; fried chicken; heritage minute chop with celery root, celery, curd, and fried eggs; and Sapelo Island clams with pork belly, tofu, kimchi, green onion, greenwave mustard greens, and broth.
Location: East Lake; 2371 Hosea L. Williams Drive NE.
Projected opening: Late June/early July.
Monkey 68
Monkey 68 the latest project from the folks behind The One Sushi + and Katana Teppanyaki & Sushi. The restaurant offers sushi, Asian small plates, and a cocktail program. Anticipated to be open late June.
Location: Roswell; 1073 Green Street.
Projected opening: Late June.
Stats Brewpub
The Downtown sports bar staple is evolving and will serve house-brewed beer. A brewery is being installed in Stats’s lower-level events space, and once it’s up and running, it will host tastings, private parties, and beer dinners. Stats Brewpub will offer six taps for in-house brews, but it will continue to an expansive list of outside options.
Location: Downtown; 300 Marietta Street NW.
Projected opening: Early August.
Upbeet
From the creators of Yeah! Burger, Upbeet will serve West Cost-inspired health foods in the Westside Ironworks development. Diners will choose from salad, grain bowl, or “protein plate” options, and the restaurant’s staff will customize dishes in an assembly line format. The menu will feature vegetarian, vegan, paleo, and gluten-free fare. Beverages will include draft beers, organic wines, cold-pressed organic juices, kombucha, housemade lemonades, organic iced teas, natural sodas, seltzer waters, and organic coffees. In addition to the dine-in options, Upbeet will offer a takeaway counter with smoothies, “superfood” bowls, and juices.
Location: Westside; 1071 Howell Mill Road, Suite A,.
Projected opening: June 10.
War Horse
The long-vacant Joël Brasserie space will house a new restaurant by Unsukay Concepts (Muss & Turner’s, Local Three). War Horse is described as “a small, intimate speakeasy serving high-end steaks and high-end cocktails.” Full details have not been released, but it appears the restaurant will offer private memberships in some capacity. “I can tell you that this is a project unlike anything the group has worked on before and a fresh concept for Atlanta,” a representative says.
Location: Buckhead; 3290 Northside Parkway NW.
Projected opening: July.
• All Eater Tracking [EATL]