Enter This Tasting Menu Dining Room on Ponce Using a Roald Dahl Novel

Georgia Boy, chef Joey Ward’s tasting menu dining room, opens Wednesday, November 20, behind a bookcase inside his Poncey-Highland restaurant and cocktail lounge, Southern Belle, at Plaza on Ponce.

People enter Georgia Boy via the dining room at Southern Belle, and then through a secret passageway located behind a bookcase in a library-like waiting area between the two spaces. Unlike the vintage Southern parlor vibes found throughout Southern Belle, Georgia Boy leans minimalist with an open kitchen and seating for up to 16 at concrete and steel dining tables.

The first few courses of Ward’s elaborate tasting menu are served within this dimly lit waiting area. Located on the bookcase, a copy of Roald Dahl’s novel James and the Giant Peach acts as a lever to open the door leading to Georgia Boy’s dining room for the rest of the meal.

Georgia Boy/Facebook

Brian Manley

Georgia Boy serves two ten to 16-course tasting menus each evening (one of which is vegan.) General manager and sommelier, Cate Hatch, pairs each course with everything from sake and cider to pétillant-naturel wines and cocktails from Southern Belle’s menu. Each tasting is $125 per person.

Reservations required. Seatings Wednesday - Saturday at 6 p.m.; 7 p.m.; 8 p.m.; and 9 p.m.

1043 Ponce De Leon Avenue NE, Atlanta. southernbelleatlanta.com.

• Check Out the Menu for Southern Belle, Now Open at Plaza on Ponce [EATL]
• Poncey-Highland Restaurant and Cocktail Bar Southern Belle Includes a Secret Chefs Counter [EATL]
• Kevin Gillespie Protégé Joey Ward Is Opening His Own Restaurant [EATL]