Reynoldstown Restaurant Girl Diver Opens for Viet-Cajun Seafood Platters and Green Curry Mussels

Girl Diver, the by-the-pound Asian seafood restaurant from Char Korean Bar and Grill owner chef Richard Tang, is now open at Madison Yards in Atlanta’s Reynoldstown neighborhood.

Led by chef Karl Gorline (Watershed), Girl Diver features Chinese-Vietnamese seafood dishes and comfort foods on the menu, like nasturtium flower shrimp spring rolls, Vietnamese hot and sour seafood soup, green curry mussels, and barbecue octopus. The “main attractions” section offers Viet-Cajun-style seafood choices by-the pound, while another section of the menu features a handful of shareable seafood party platters, including an amusing $9,999 PhD platter. However, the menu notes this platter is “usually 86’d.”

Girl Diver

Girl Diver

The name Girl Diver refers, in part, to the nearly 2,000-year-old tradition of Japanese and Korean women divers known as ama and haenyeo (sea woman) who collect pearls, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and abalone from the bottom of the ocean. Ama and haenyeo are free divers, meaning they dive without the use of scuba gear and tanks. Some begin diving as young as 12 years old, with women still diving well into their 80s.

The restaurant’s name and overall theme also pay tribute to the work “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife” by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. Hokusai, who painted during Japan’s Edo period in the latter part of the 18th century into the early 19th century, may be best known for his series of woodblock prints called “the Great Wave of Kanagawa”.

Take a look at the menu:

Open for dine-in and patio service. Sunday - Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Masks highly encouraged. Takeout available.

905 Memorial Drive, Ste 510, Atlanta. girldiveratlanta.com.

• Asian Seafood Boil Restaurant Girl Diver Opens Later This Year in Reynoldstown [EATL]
• Chef Behind Inman Park’s Char Korean to Open Seafood Restaurant [EATL]
• Atlanta’s Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings, Fall 2020 [EATL]