The Betty Hopes to Bring Supper Club Classics Back to Life in Buckhead

Billed as a mid-century-inspired supper club, the Betty is now open at the new Kimpton Sylvan Hotel on East Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead. Executive chef Brandon Chavannes, whose previous work includes St. Cecilia and King + Duke in Atlanta, leads the kitchens at the Betty and the hotel’s outdoor bar Willow Bar and rooftop lounge St. Julep opening this spring.

Seating 175 people between the dining room and bar and outdoor patio, the menu from Chavannes features his takes on supper club classics, like beef cheek stroganoff with black pepper gnocchi, linguine and clams, and head-on shrimp cocktail with preserved lime.

General manager of Kimpton Sylvan restaurants and bars Brian McFarland says the pandemic caused he and Chavannes to rethink breakfast and dinner service at the Betty, which offers both menus for takeout. Reservations are being spaced out to limit capacity in the dining room and at the bar and tables are marked “closed” to allow for proper social distancing between seating. Weekend brunch will eventually be added.

Cris Molina

Inspired by the “golden age” of supper clubs during the 1940s and 1950s, McFarland says Chavannes “worked tirelessly” to recreate the classic steakhouse dishes found on the menu at the Betty.

“The dish you receive at your table isn’t necessarily going to look like the dish you imagine when you read it on the menu,” McFarland says. “We hope to share with our guests a classic style of elegant dining room service — the theatre and nostalgia of ‘occasion’ dining — but with culinary and beverage techniques that resonate with today’s trends.”

Andrew Thomas Lee

Andrew Thomas Lee

Andrew Thomas Lee

Top: linguine; bottom left: shrimp cocktail; bottom right: porterhouse

As for the bar, expect classic cocktails leaning into whiskey, bourbon and gin, along with a selection of old and new world wines and local and craft beers.

Meant to stand apart from the hotel itself, the Betty features its own entrance and valet service. Tables in the dining room include laminated QR codes for ordering and single-use menus. The full menu is also available on the patio, and the on-site cafe sells grab-and-go breakfast items, including pastries and breakfast sandwiches.

Check out the dinner menu:

Once open this spring, the Willow Bar on the ground floor of the hotel will feature seating in a garden-like setting with a willow oak tree, floor lanterns, a fire pit, and pathways throughout the area. The menu focuses on vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Located on the ninth floor of the hotel, St. Julep is decidedly more modern and casual than the Betty and Willow Bar with regular DJs and panoramic views of the Buckhead skyline. Expect everything from highballs and gin and tonics, to margaritas and aperitif cocktails served here, paired with boozy soft serve ice cream, corn dogs, and burgers.

Kimpton Hotels requires all guests of its hotels and on-site restaurants and bars to wear masks and follow city, county, and state mask mandates and COVID-19 safety requirements. Patio seating. Takeout available.

374 East Paces Ferry Road NE, Atlanta. thesylvanhotel.com.

• Kimpton Sylvan Hotel Brings a Restaurant, Garden Bar, and Rooftop Lounge to Buckhead [EATL]