Owner Jamshad “Jaamy” Zarnegar standing outside his Cascade Heights restaurant Natalie Bianca. (Provided by Natalie Bianca)

A new restaurant just opened in the Cascade Heights neighborhood. 

Natalie Bianca takes over the space once home to Chef Deborah VanTrece’s restaurants Serenidad and La Panarda and serves a mashup of Southern and Mexican dishes. Like his Inman Park restaurant, Kitty Dare, owner Jamshad “Jaamy” Zarnegar wanted to honor a late friend by naming the Southwest Atlanta restaurant after her. A portrait of Natalie Bianca is given pride of place in the dining room. 

Expect starters like griddled fried green tomatoes garnished with sweet onion and bacon sauce, polenta cakes, and a smoked salmon quesadilla, as well as entrees of salmon and grits, shrimp pasta, and slow-cooked boneless beef short rib. The menu also features honey walnut chicken, three burgers, including a vegan option, soups and salads, and desserts like peach pound cake, churros, and ice cream from neighboring Aiskrimu Ice Cream Bar.  

Look for cocktails named for women in Zarnegar’s life, beer, nonalcoholic drinks, and wines by the glass from the bar.

Jamshad “Jaamy” Zarnegar named his Cascade Heights restaurant Natalie Bianca for his late friend. (Provided by Natalie Bianca)
Honey walnut chicken served over grits. (Provided by Natalie Bianca)

Zarnegar opened Mediterranean restaurant Kitty Dare three years ago in the former One Eared Stag space in Inman Park. The restaurant is named for another late friend and industry colleague, Kitty Dare, whom Zarnegar first met while they were attending college in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

Related Link: La Panarda restaurant to close as Chef Deborah VanTrece focuses on brand expansion

Natalie Bianca joins Aiskrimu Ice Cream Bar and Orethea’s at the Point, owned by VanTrece, at The Point on Cascade Road. The neighborhood has seen several new businesses and restaurants open over the last two years. 

Mexican-soul food restaurant Barrio ATL opened nearby last year serving tacos and birria ramen. Coffee house and wine bar Cafe Bartique opened earlier this summer, taking over the former BUZZ Coffee and Winehouse space just down the block from The Point on Cascade Road. The neighborhood is also home to Southern and soul food restaurant institution The Beautiful.

2317 Cascade Road, Cascade Heights. Open daily at 4 p.m. for bar service and 5 p.m. for dinner service. Weekend brunch coming soon.

Beth McKibben serves as both Editor in Chief and Dining Editor for Rough Draft Atlanta. She was previously the editor of Eater Atlanta and has been covering food and drinks locally and nationally for over 14 years.