Big Restaurant Opening Week on Howell Mill and in Brookhaven and Buckhead
Oct. 23 — For today’s Side Dish, we’re offering two recipes, including one for butternut squash taquitos using seasonal produce from your local farmers market.
Read stories on the opening of a new Asian fusion restaurant in Brookhaven and on Taste of Tucker’s record-breaking event earlier this month. We also provide you with a roundup of local restaurants open for dine-in service on Thanksgiving Day, along with establishments offering holiday feasts for takeout.
🍽️ As always, get the latest Atlanta dining news, like details on the opening of James Beard award-winning chef John Currence’s Big Bad Breakfast in Buckhead, along with the openings of Ghee Indian Kitchen and Lo Kee along Howell Mill Road on the Westside. Plus, some dining events to add to your calendar, including the first Sober Supper Club at The Select in Sandy Springs and Polish American Heritage Week in Oakhurst, and more dining news to know.
➕ In case you missed it in your inbox on Tuesday evening, here’s a link to the latest edition of “Family Meal”. Beth introduced the first-ever Readers’ Choice Awards for Best New Restaurants, which gives readers the chance to vote on the new spots they think deserve top marks in 2025. She also explained why Zen Tea is one of her go-tos in Chamblee, while Sarra shared a recipe for the French onion soup from McKendrick’s Steak House in Dunwoody.
Cheers from the Rough Draft dining team!
🍸 Beth and 🍰 Sarra
Have You Heard?
🥂 Restaurant Openings
Miami-based restaurant Ghee Indian Kitchen opens today as part of the Star Metals complex within the Howell Mill Road dining district. The restaurant takes over the former Wagamama space at the Sentral apartment building next door to Northside Tavern. Read more about Ghee Indian Kitchen here.
Across the street from Ghee at the Interlock, an Atlanta location of Asian fusion restaurant Lo Kee will open tomorrow. Founded by Ivi Shano and Dara Mirjahangiry, the New York-based restaurant has become a celebrity-frequented haunt in recent years, along with the duo’s other New York City restaurant, Sei Less.
Gather’d Market, a new food concept meant to help take the guesswork out of weekly meal preparation, will open on Oct. 25 in Buckhead. The meal prep store takes over the space next door to Superica on Roswell Road.
A location of Eddie V’s Prime Seafood will open on Oct. 26 in Alpharetta. Located on Haynes Bridge, the sprawling 10,000-square-foot restaurant features three private dining rooms and more than 300 wines on its bottle list.
A third location of local Thai restaurant Tyde Tate Thai Kitchen opened at Krog Street Market, taking over the original Recess space. Please note that the current location of Recess is NOT closed at the food hall. Tyde Tate includes locations in South Downtown and at Chattahoochee Food Works.
🥳 Coming Attractions
James Beard award–winning chef John Currence will open a location of his wildly popular restaurant Big Bad Breakfast on Nov. 4 in the former Cultivate Food & Coffee space on Howell Mill Road in Buckhead. Look for a story from Rough Draft Atlanta soon.
A coffee shop will open in the Williams Payne House in Sandy Springs next summer. Summit Coffee plans to operate daily, starting at 6 a.m., serving coffee, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with alcoholic beverages. Look for ice cream from Summit Creamery, an outdoor ice cream shop.
😞 Restaurant Closing
Matthew “Phew” Foster announced on Instagram this week that he will close Phew’s Pies on Oct. 31 after just five months at Sweet Auburn Curb Market. Foster plans to continue his catering gigs and pop-up events through at least the end of 2025. Phew’s Pies is known for its lemon pepper wet and oxtails pizzas.
🍾 Happy Anniversary
Inman Quarter wine shop VinoTeca is celebrating 10 years on North Highland Avenue in Inman Park. The shop regularly offers wine producer events, along with daily wine flights in the shop and on its street-side patio space.
📆 Add to Your Calendar
Celebrate Polish American Heritage Week at Sceptre Brewing Arts in Oakhurst through Oct. 26. The week includes a pierogi eating contest and a pająki craft class, along with Polish music and food from Beksa Lala.
Epicurean Atlanta in Midtown is teaming up with leather goods maker P. Sherrod & Co. and wine industry podcaster and consultant Kelly Cornett of “A Cork in the Road” to host an afternoon of wine, food, and fashion. The Sip & Style: A Fall Fashion & Wine Showcase takes place on Oct. 25, from 1-3 p.m. Tickets are $65 per person.
The Select in Sandy Springs will host its inaugural Sober Supper Club dinner on Oct. 28. The dinner, led by The Select chef Remi Granger, pairs four courses with non-alcoholic drinks from Mehrnush Saadat of Soberish Bottle Shop. Tickets are $85 per person. Dinner begins at 7 p.m.
London chef Kate Austen will join chefs at Michelin-starred Atlanta restaurants Atlas in Buckhead and Lazy Betty in Midtown for two collaborative dinners this month. Austen will be at Atlas on Oct. 27 and at Lazy Betty on Oct. 31. Dinners are $275 per person.
Fashion meets art at the High Museum
SPONSORED BY THE HIGH MUSEUM
Experience Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Statements – a bold, breathtaking exhibition celebrating avant-garde fashion visionaries who blurred the line between haute couture and art. Only at the High, the exhibition’s sole U.S. stop.
➞ On view through Feb. 8, 2026.
Top Stories From the Week
Asian-fusion restaurant Mirae opens tomorrow in Brookhaven
🍜 A new Asian fusion restaurant opens tomorrow in the heart of Brookhaven.
Mirae, which means “future” in Korean, takes up residence at Parkside on Dresden. The restaurant comes from local restaurateurs John and Grace Lee, who also own Fúdo Japanese cafe and sushi bar in Chamblee.
⏩ Read more about what to expect on the menu at Mirae here.
Where to eat on Thanksgiving Day and order holiday family feasts for takeout
🦃 Looking to dine out on Thanksgiving Day next month? Several restaurants around Metro Atlanta plan to serve special holiday menus or offer bountiful buffets with carving stations and seafood towers. Reservations are already filling up, too.
For people gathering at home, let a local restaurant do the cooking, from just the turkey, sides, and desserts to a whole Thanksgiving feast with wine pairings.
⏩ Read our Thanksgiving Day restaurant roundup here.
This year’s Taste of Tucker was a record-breaker
📈 Taste of Tucker raised more than $50,000 for NETWorks Cooperative Ministry and Camp Kudzu, which supports children with Type 1 diabetes, during its event earlier this month. And the crowd rivaled 2024 attendance, with between 5,000 to 7,000 people attending.
⏩ Read more from Tucker reporter Stephanie Toone here.
🥕 Come on out to the Fresh Harvest Fall Artisan Market on Sat., Oct. 25 at Refuge Coffee Co. in Clarkston! Browse 25+ artisan vendors, enjoy global cuisine, live music, and fun for the whole family. RSVP for a free coffee!. SPONSOR MESSAGE
At the Market + Two Recipes
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS
🎃 Each week, Rough Draft Atlanta and Community Farmers Markets are coming together to bring you two recipes you can make using ingredients from your local farmers market. This week, it’s gourd season! We’ve got a cheesy pumpkin risotto and butternut squash taquitos for the tasting. Check out the recipes here.
🖋️ Today’s Side Dish was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
