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Candler Park Chefs Bring a Vietnamese Restaurant and Bakery to Northwest Atlanta

From Lazy Betty chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips, Juniper Cafe opens December 15 at Westside Village on Marietta Boulevard

A tray of spinach turnovers, egg tarts, and Georgia egg bread from Vietnamese cafe and bakery Juniper Cafe in Atlanta.
Spinach turnovers, egg tarts, and Georgia egg bread.
Eric Sun
Beth McKibben is the editor and staff reporter for Eater Atlanta and has been covering food and cocktails locally and regionally for 12 years.

Vietnamese restaurant and bakery, Juniper Cafe, opens December 15 at Westside Village on Marietta Boulevard, also home to the Woodall, which opened earlier this summer at the complex.

Backed by Lazy Betty chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips in partnership with Lazy Betty general manager and beverage director Carl Van Tyle Gilbert, expect pho, bún, bánh mì, Vietnamese sausages, and summer rolls, alongside fresh pastries and shaved ice desserts on the menu here. In addition to coffee, tea, and fresh-made sodas, look for cocktails using Japanese whisky, soju, and Vietnamese flavors and ingredients from Gilbert as well as beer and French, American, and natural wines.

Led in the kitchen by former Lazy Betty senior line cook Timothy Rufino, Phillips now helms the kitchen at Lazy Betty and acts as corporate chef for Juniper Cafe, while Hsu takes on the role of culinary director for both restaurants.

Open for breakfast and dinner, with lunch set to begin in the coming weeks, the design for Juniper Cafe features stepped ceiling details inside reminiscent of the terraced countryside found throughout Vietnam and two patios with elements taking inspiration from historic Vietnamese homes. One patio also includes a takeout window for pastries, coffee and to-go food and drinks.

Summer rolls with Asian pork jerky and poached Georgia shrimp from Juniper Cafe in Atlanta.
Summer rolls with Asian pork jerky and poached Georgia shrimp.
Pho with oxtail broth and herbed tallow and rare beef from Juniper Cafe in Atlanta.
Pho with oxtail broth and herbed tallow and rare beef.
Sausage bánh mì with chicken pate from Juniper Cafe in Atlanta.
Sausage bánh mì with chicken pate.
Thunder Punch with Nikka Coffey vodka and St. Germaine topped with a blackberry and dragonfruit from Juniper Cafe in Atlanta.
Thunder Punch with Nikka Coffey vodka and St. Germaine.
Sandbar Nap with rum and ginseng-infused soju served in a wine goblet with the rim coated in pink peppercorn honey and garnished with fresh basil leaves.
Sandbar Nap with rum and ginseng-infused soju.

Juniper Cafe is a departure from Hsu and Phillips’ fine dining background, which includes stints at chef Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin, Jean-Georges’ the Mark Restaurant, and Le Colonial in New York City.

The pair opened Lazy Betty in 2019, paying tribute to Hsu’s late mother Betty, a longtime Atlanta restaurateur who owned five Chinese restaurants throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Hsu siblings, Howard and Anita, own Sweet Auburn BBQ in Poncey-Highland. The “lazy” in the restaurant’s name refers to a family joke poking fun at their mother’s need to stay active and busy, even after retiring. Juniper Cafe is named for Hsu’s niece and for the tree-lined street populated with historic homes and restaurants in Midtown.

Hsu, Phillips, and Gilbert plan to open pizzeria and pie restaurant Humble Pie next spring at the Interlock on Howell Mill Road, serving wood-fired pizzas, pot pies, and a variety of dessert pies. The trio tapped chef Evelyn Ling to lead the kitchen there. Ling, who is also Hsu’s cousin, was most recently the executive chef at Anne Quatrano’s Pancake Social at Ponce City Market.

Take a look at the menu for Juniper Cafe:


2260 Marietta Boulevard, Atlanta. juniper-cafe.com.

Open Wednesday - Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.; Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Public transit information: Accessible via MARTA bus 1, 14, 37, 60.

Ponce City Market

675 North Avenue Northeast, , GA 30308 (404) 900-7900 Visit Website

Atlas Restaurant

88 West Paces Ferry Road Northwest, , GA 30305 (404) 600-6471 Visit Website

Sweet Auburn BBQ

656 North Highland Avenue Northeast, , GA 30306 (678) 515-3550 Visit Website

Pancake Social

675 Ponce De Leon Avenue Northeast, , GA 30308 (678) 609-8696 Visit Website

Lazy Betty

1530 DeKalb Avenue Northeast, , GA 30307 (404) 975-3692 Visit Website

the Woodall

2260 Marietta Boulevard Northwest, , GA 30318 (404) 343-4424 Visit Website