After closing Serenidad in Cascade Heights earlier this year, chef Deborah VanTrece (Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours, Oreatha’s at the Point) quickly replaced it with celebratory Italian restaurant La Panarda, where feasting and sharing are paramount. Here, VanTrece offers her signature Southern twists on classic Italian dishes, including oysters arancini with a pink peppercorn remoulade, marinated seafood salad with cornbread biscotti, and eggplant and fried green tomato parmesan with lemon ricotta drizzled in aged balsamic dressing. An ossobucco lamb shank sits atop polenta with a wild mushroom and spring pea compote and the Berkshire smoked pork cheek carbonara is tossed in black ink pasta. Dessert includes panettone bread pudding and Georgia peach crostata with mascarpone whip. La Panarda is a family affair, too, with VanTrece’s daughter Kursten Berry leading the bar as beverage director and wife Lorraine Lane overseeing the wine for the restaurant. Reservations encouraged.

Backed by Sweet Auburn BBQ owners Anita and Howard Hsu, Gezzo’s Cantina is an extension of the siblings’ McDonough and Locust Grove West Coast burrito joints of the same name, but with an expanded menu featuring more seafood and coastal dishes from Mexico and countries around Latin America. Taking over the former Juniper Cafe space at Westside Village, look for dishes like ceviche, a coconut curry rice bowl, Baja chicken egg rolls, tempura fish tacos, and overstuffed burritos. A partnership between the Hsus and La Michoacana sees Mexican-style ice cream, sundaes, and mangonadas served from a takeout window on the covered patio and a walk-up window on the side of the building. Among the desserts served at Gezzo’s are a four-layer coconut cake, tres leches, and churro bread pudding. The restaurant also features a breezeway tiki bar complete with swing beds and lounge areas for late-night hangouts. Expect tropical drinks such as a peach paloma and habanero margarita, an orange creamsicle mojito, and a classic Mai Tai.

The opening of TydeTate Kitchen this spring marked two big milestones: it’s the first full-service restaurant for the Chattahoochee Food Works stall and the first restaurant to open along this revitalized stretch of Mitchell Street in a block of century-old storefronts. Owners and siblings Sai Untachantr and Bank Bhamaraniyama use many family recipes to create the dishes for TydeTate Kitchen, including the basil chicken, chicken curry puffs, crispy basil tofu, ka nom jeeb, and pad Thai. Look for the menu to continue to expand, offering more soups, street foods like chicken satay and cho muang, and papaya salad. Sip on cocktails like the Red Cheeks made with vodka, lychee, elderflower, and tajin and the Passion Fizz mixed with rum and passionfruit nectar. People attending concerts or games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium nearby can easily walk to the restaurant via the Nelson Street pedestrian bridge.

Critically acclaimed restaurant Brush Sushi reopened in the former American Cut space at Buckhead Village in August, after closing last year in Decatur ahead of a planned relocation to a larger space. Unlike in Decatur, which included several izakaya-style dishes, the Buckhead location centers on a la carte sushi and prix fixe sushi options, along with grilled dishes cooked over Binchotan charcoal. The modern, elegant design in Buckhead is set off by large wooden panels featuring intricate carvings of hinoki (a Japanese cypress tree), with a private dining room offering more intimate omakase tastings led by chef and owner Jason Liang. Look for both classic and original cocktails from the bar, an expanded Japanese whisky selection, and a broader focus on sake in Buckhead. Open for lunch and dinner. Reservations encouraged.

Bar of Thailand (BOT) opened on Piedmont Avenue at Azure on the Park this spring, the same building as Triple Jay’s Pizza, and it’s bringing Midtown a Thai restaurant the neighborhood desperately needed. Backed by Adidsara Weerasin, co-owner of critically acclaimed restaurants Yao in Dunwoody and Tum Pok Pok in Chamblee, look for dishes like wagyu beef larb, dumplings stuffed with minced chicken and shrimp, pad thai and pad see-ew, and a smoked duck panang curry that’s pure comfort in a bowl served with a side of fragrant jasmine rice. Folks might also find fried rice here tossed with jumbo lump crab meat and a trio of grilled marinated chicken tacos dressed with cilantro, onions, tomatoes, and a sweet plum sauce. Refresh the palate with mango or green tea ice cream during dessert or cool down on a hot day with Thai ice tea. Expect cocktails similar to those found at Tum Pok Pok and Yao using fresh fruits and herbs and Thai ingredients.

After taking over the kitchen at Whoopsie’s on Wednesday nights for three months, the forthcoming wine bar from former 8ARM beverage director Josh Fryer landed a longterm residency in the Georgia Beer Garden space. Named for the PJ Harvey song “Long Snake Moan”, Fryer brings together his love of music, natural wine, and food in dishes like grilled quail with a muscadine-sage gastrique, smashed summer salad dressed with orange blossom vinaigrette, and whole roasted Virginia croaker served with a creamy watercress salad. Look for desserts like lavender cheese pie. With good tunes spinning on the turntable, dishes packed with flavor and fresh, local ingredients, and a solid bottle list boasting funky finds, Long Snake has already become a go-to for Atlanta wine lovers. Thursday - Saturday, 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Snack menu available in the garden. Dinner menu only available in the dining room and at the bar.

The team behind underground supper club Chow Club Atlanta recently launched a year-long chefs residency at the new Uptown Test Kitchen incubator space in Buckhead. Called Chow a la Carte, expect seven house chefs each week, along with guest chefs on the weekends, serving food from countries like Nigeria, Colombia, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. Chow a la Carte also offers traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremonies and hosts monthly Chow Club Atlanta dinners, cooking classes, and grab-and-go meals at Uptown Test Kitchen. Open for lunch and dinner, Friday - Sunday. Menus and chefs rotate every two weeks.

Located in a former Moe’s Southwest Grill, the Wurst Beer Hall is a refreshing addition to the restaurant and bar scene along Ponce. Backed by longtime Atlanta chef and owner of Bantam and Biddy, Shaun Doty, the Wurst is where people can indulge in sampler platters of Patak sausages and sauerkraut, giant Bavarian pretzels served with brown ale mustard, and entrees of currywurst, smoked Patak pork chops, and chicken schnitzel. Fans of Ayinger beers will find the brewery’s Bavarian pilsner and Brau-Weisse on draft here, along with local and other imported beers, which can come served by the pint or liter. Inside offers seating at high-top tables and the bar, with additional seating on a front deck facing Ponce and behind the building at picnic tables. The Wurst Beer Hall also resides next door to Doty’s new sandwich shop, aptly named Best Sandwich Shop. Head in for bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches and hash browns in the morning, followed by cold and hot subs in the afternoon, like the Enzo with city ham, spicy soppressata, and mortadella and the chicken parmesan dressed with San Marzano tomato meat sauce and Cappella mozzarella.

This Chamblee restaurant pays tribute to the vast variety of dishes and regional cuisines found throughout Oaxaca. And it’s doing serious justice to the foods from this southwestern Mexican state through its use of core ingredients like chiles, corn, cheese, and beans and cooking techniques incorporating smoke, moles, and fresh masas made from ground corn for the tortillas, tamals, tlayudas, and gorditas. Kick off a meal with a trio of salsas, the tetela de pato (duck confit and Oaxaca cheese), or the fresh and zesty hamachi tostada topped with black garlic aioli and salsa macha. Next, order a steak or seasonal vegetable tlayuda (Think Mexican-style pizza on a crisy tortilla to share.) The flor de calabaza (squash blossom quesadilla) stuffed with Oaxaca cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and roasted onions is not to be missed. Fish lovers should order the whole wood-fired branzino spiced with black garlic. Don’t skip dessert at Oaxaca, especially the corn husk mousse with meringue. Mezcal and other agave-based cocktails, Mexican wines, and beers are available from the bar. Grab a seat in the dining room flooded with natural light or on the lively covered patio and tuck in for a transportive meal.

Java Saga is back open, having relocated from Presidential Parkway to the former Master Bakery space on Buford Highway in Doraville. And owner Alvin Sun hasn’t skipped a beat at this new location, serving his signature Taiwanese-style hot chicken sandwiches, wings, and nuggets in four levels of heat: lifeline (mild), crypto (hot and numbing), octane (very hot), and predator. Sandwiches come topped with Java Lava Saga sauce and sweet pickles served on brown sugar milk toast. New dishes include the diggity dang bing — a Taiwanese breakfast crepe with cheese and eggs — and a croissant stuffed with sweet egg salad. Pair Sun’s hot chicken with a mango smoothie to curb the heat or one of the shop’s coffee or tea drinks.

Baker Vivian Lee describes Leftie Lee’s as “equal parts pastry shop and sandwich shop” akin to the many Asian bakeries found along the Buford Highway corridor. But regulars to this Olive and Pine stall already know Leftie Lee’s is so much more than that, showcasing Lee’s fierce love for sandwiches and flavors that pack a serious punch. Expect a tight list of sandwiches each day, including open-faced sandwiches like egg toast topped with scrambled eggs, American cheese, and kimchi during breakfast and the Italian bologna at lunch made with mortadella, provolone, and caperberries on freshly baked focaccia or the Korean braised beef garnished with shaved scallions and perilla ranch served on milk bread. The delectable chicken salad sandwich contains a mixture styled after the flavors of Moroccan tagine. In addition to sandwiches, look for fresh pastries and baked goods for which Lee is known, like croissants, yuzu and black sesame blondies, and pecan praline bars, and a weekend brunch serving French toast and an egg melt on house-made pumpernickel bread. Leftie Lee’s begins hosting evening chef pop-ups in July.