Dine on Steak Diane and Eggplant Parmesan Paired with Dirty Martinis at Dirty Rascal

Italian-American restaurant Dirty Rascal opens Wednesday, January 5, on the ground floor of the new Hyatt-backed Thompson Hotel on East Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead.

Led by chef Todd Ginsberg and the team behind Rye Restaurants group (the General Muir, Fred’s Meat and Bread, Wood’s Chapel BBQ), expect to dine on everything from souped-up spaghetti and meatballs and lamb bolognese to steak Diane and eggplant parmesan paired with dirty martinis.

Chef Joshua Hopkins runs daily operations in the kitchens for the hotel and at Dirty Rascal. Hopkins comes to the Thompson Hotel after serving as culinary director for Rye Restaurants and previously working at notable Atlanta restaurants like Empire State South, Bacchanalia, and Abattoir. In 2018, Hopkins partnered with Dennis Lange to open Italian restaurant Adalina at the Post Riverside apartment complex on Northside Parkway in northwest Atlanta. The restaurant has since closed.

Dirty Rascal

Dirty Rascal

Taking cues from old-school red sauce restaurants in New York and classic Italian spots found just off the strip in Las Vegas, Dirty Rascal imbues swanky, mid-century vibes in the dining room. The design features a large marble bar, leather banquette seating, and two- and four-top tables in the dining room.

Look for hat tips on the menu to the aforementioned red sauce joints from Ginsberg and Hopkins. Ginsberg even pays tribute to his mother on the menu for the restaurant (who nicknamed him “dirty rascal” as a child) with a few homestyle Italian dishes.

“A few of the menu items inspired by my mom’s cooking are our meatballs, veal parm[esan] and the dressing on our gorgonzola salad, which is her recipe,” Ginsberg tells Eater.

Ginsberg and Hopkins lean into Italian-American comfort foods here, including eggplant parmesan, a lasagna serving three people, pork chops with peppers and onions, steak Diane, and Italian wedding soup, with some dishes finished or prepared table side, such as the Caesar salad. Expect shrimp scampi and grits, zucchini bread, and a ham and cheese cornetto at breakfast, followed by meatballs, shrimp cocktail, and hero sandwiches and paninis during lunch.

Dirty Rascal

Dirty Rascal

Dirty Rascal

Top left: eggplant parmesan; top right: lamb bolognese; bottom: Waygu ribeye.

The drinks menu offers three martinis, including a classic steakhouse take with blue cheese stuffed olives, and other classic cocktails, like the negroni, Clover Club, and New York sour.

In addition to Dirty Rascal, there is also a cafe in the lobby and a pool with cabanas and private club called Tesserae on the rooftop of the Thompson Buckhead.

Take a look at the menus for Dirty Rascal:

415 East Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta. dirtyrascal.com.

Open daily, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.; 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Lunch forthcoming.

Public transit information: Accessible via Bus #5 from Piedmont Avenue.

Disclaimer: Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission. The latest CDC guidance is here; find a COVID-19 vaccination site here. It is highly advised people wear masks indoors or when in crowded situations, regardless of vaccination status, to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

• This New Buckhead Hotel Includes a Swanky Restaurant Channeling Old-School Red Sauce Joints [EATL]