Monday nights are for Atlanta’s supper clubs and underground restaurants

It should come as no surprise that Monday is the slowest day of the week for restaurants. It’s the day most people return to the work grind and daily routine after the weekend. Customer data and behavior patterns even back up the Monday patronage plummet, collected by restaurant point of sales (POS) systems like Toast. According to a 2023 report from Toast, restaurant reservations nose dive by 30 percent on Mondays, compared to Saturdays, which see reservations skyrocket by nearly 85 percent. The drastic drop in diners on Mondays means many restaurants close at the beginning of the week.

But for some restaurants, the “We’re Closed” sign on the front door provides an opportunity to lend out the kitchen to chefs and pop-ups, while filling tables with people seeking exclusive dining experiences. This symbiotic relationship between restaurants and chefs and pop-ups has become one of the hallmarks of Atlanta’s underground food scene, with Monday the top night to hit up restaurants within restaurants and intimate supper club dinners hosted by chefs at private homes. 

So So Fed at OK Yaki
714 Moreland Ave., East Atlanta
Open Sunday and Monday, 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.
Lao-Chinese

Operating out of Japanese restaurant OK Yaki every Sunday and Monday night, this award-winning Lao-Chinese food pop-up truly defines what it means to run a restaurant within a restaurant in Atlanta. Owned and operated by Molli Voraotsady, So So Fed has been a popular weekly fixture at OK Yaki since 2023. With a name inspired by Atlanta-based record label So So Def, Voraotsady whips up dishes like Lao papaya salad, khua mee (stir-fried caramelized noodles), crispy fried fish filets in red curry broth, and laab fried chicken based on family recipes. Dessert might include a red bean milkshake mixed with coconut milk and vanilla ice cream. Walk-ins only.

Bodega Bar at The Pub @ EAV
469 Flat Shoals Ave., East Atlanta Village
NYC-inspired cocktails, food, and hip-hop

Like So So Fed down the street on Moreland Avenue, Bodega Bar transformed from a roving restaurant into a weekly residency on Monday nights in East Atlanta Village. Taking over the kitchen at The Pub @ EAV, this New York City-inspired restaurant within a restaurant offers takes on the Big Apple’s street food and cocktails set to the gritty boom bap sounds of East Coast hip-hop sprinkled with a little crunk and trap from the Dirty South. The menu includes everything from mushroom fried rice, chopped cheese, and chicken shawarma, to hand-cut fries, tostones, and cheesecake. Look for cocktails like Spellbound to H Mart with gin, taro milk, and ginger tea. Open 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Walk-ins only.

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Neighborhood Supper Club at Sweet Auburn BBQ
656 North Highland Ave., Poncey-Highland
Various pop-ups

Keep an eye out for these Monday pop-up dinners, part of a collaboration between pop-up curator Neighborhood Supper Club and Sweet Auburn BBQ. Past collab dishes between pop-ups and Sweet Auburn BBQ have included golonka (smoked ham hocks) from Polish food pop-up Beksa Lala and brisket kimchi Reubens and pulled pork rice noodles from sandwich and burger pop-up Dank’s Deli and Southeast Asian street food pop-up Salty Smiles. Walk-ins only.

Light Metal at Little Bear
71 Georgia Ave., Summerhill
Tasting menu using in-season local ingredients

Mondays at Little Bear in Summerhill feature a multi-course tasting menu from former Talat Market chef de cuisine John Hajash and SamWitch chef and founder Mykel Burkhart. For $90 per person, Burkhart and Hajash serve courses of seasonally driven dishes like an asparagus and green garlic tart, strozzapreti (pasta) with guanciale, spring onions, and preserved peppers, leg of lamb, and a buckwheat buttercream lemon cake with kumquat marmalade and brown butter ice cream. Tickets are released on a biweekly basis. Beer, wine, and cocktails are available, along with suggested pairings. $90 per person.

Wick & Nick’s
Near Oakland Cemetery. Location disclosed upon reservation.
Multi-course menu with cocktails and wine.

I wrote about my Wick & Nick’s experience last January. Back then, the monthly Monday dinners hosted by Chef Jared Warwick (Octopus Bar) and Chef Ben Skolnick (BoccaLupo) in a loft apartment near Oakland Cemetery were a relatively new underground dining experience. Today, however, Warwick and Skolnick have quite a following but still manage to keep their Monday dinners low-key and intimate. Wick and Nick’s dinners typically include no more than 20 people seated at tables in the living room, lit by the glow of candles and neon lights, while Warwick and Skolnick prepare dishes in the kitchen beyond their guests. Look for courses such as split scallops with jalapeno pesto, wagyu picanha, and crispy duck confit atop corn tortelloni. Don’t be surprised if Waylon greets you during dinner. The friendly orange cat serves as the unofficial master of ceremonies on Monday nights at Wick and Nick’s. Reservations required. $150-$175 per person.