Jan. 6 — Happy Tuesday! Welcome to the table, friends. This week kicks off a brand new year of dining coverage at Rough Draft. It also sees us changing things up with our two dining newsletters.

Starting Jan. 8, Rough Draft dining reporter Sarra Sedghi will take the lead as the editor of our Thursday newsletter, “Side Dish.” Look for me to remain the editor of “Family Meal” on Tuesday evenings. 

🍽️ We want Family Meal and Side Dish to reflect our whole community, and that means providing Rough Draft readers with a broader perspective on Atlanta restaurants and food. You can still expect to read the latest dining news in Side Dish every Thursday, with Sarra also adding her unique viewpoint on the Atlanta food scene. Sarra has plans for Side Dish, and I, for one, am excited for what’s in store. 

Now, on today’s, Family Meal, which features a glimpse into the restaurant and food trends steadily emerging on the Atlanta dining scene in 2026.

Plus, get the French dip recipe from Westside Provisions District restaurant Bar Blanc. And read details on how Wendy’s trolled Chick-fil-A hard last weekend during the Falcons-Saints game at the Benz. 

Cheers!

🍸 Beth

2026 Atlanta Restaurant Trends

Photo by Sarra Sedghi

🗣️ When we talk about food trends, we’re not talking about those viral fads that come and go as quickly as they flare up on social media. (Remember “girl dinner” and Dubai chocolate everything in 2025?)

The food and restaurant trends we’re talking about have staying power and are scene-defining responses to the current economy or consumer dining and spending habits. Even climate change and life-altering events like the pandemic can cause substantial shifts in how and what we eat, as well as how restaurants regularly operate.

For 2026, the Rough Draft dining team has their eye on a handful of such food and service trends already emerging on the Atlanta restaurant scene.

🥗 Lunch is back

We told you last year that lunch was on the rise in 2025. Lunch is officially back in 2026 after a five-year hiatus from the Atlanta dining scene due to restaurants eliminating the service in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gone are the days of the power lunches, where suits populated dining rooms and the rattling thump of cold, hard plastic hitting the table meant the company was picking up the tab. 

These days, lunchtime strategy sessions are a bit more low-key. Coffee shops, neighborhood cafes, and lively counter-service spots offer low-stress, casual environments in which to catch up with friends or talk shop with colleagues. Menus meet the chill vibes at lunch, with restaurants serving protein-rich, fiber-packed salads, combo meals that come with drinks, or French bistro-inspired brunch dishes, including decadent omelets with sides of dainty salad greens. 

Friday and Saturday lunch have also become the new date nights, as people find ways to keep their budgets in check, while still indulging in the pleasures of dining out. 

For a date-night-worthy lunch, try Elise at the Woodruff Arts Center, Lucian Books & Wine in Buckhead, the bar and lounge at any Rumi’s Kitchen location, or Madeira Park in Poncey-Highland. To rock it old school at lunch, it’s hard to go wrong with Joey D’s Oak Room in Dunwoody or the Highland Tap in Virginia-Highland. This spring, Chef Hudson Rouse will open Babygirl in East Lake, an all-day cafe serving breakfast and lunch. Kinship plans to do the same in Grant Park. 

🦉 Late-night dining returns

Just as lunch is enjoying a renaissance, late-night dining also appears to be returning. (The pandemic all but wiped out Atlanta’s thriving late-night scene.) There’s hope on the horizon, however, with new restaurants and bars kickstarting a late-night dining resurgence in Atlanta. 

Bar Ana brought sexy vibes, good lighting, and stellar desserts and cocktails to the old El Bar space on Ponce at the end of 2025, complete with music from local DJs. Some Luck will open later this year in the former Highland Ballroom, serving dive bar cocktails, beer, and Thai bar food. Thankfully, Octopus Bar endures in East Atlanta Village for chef-driven dinners and cocktails, starting at 10 p.m. The last call for food and drinks here is 2:15 a.m. And long live late nights at Euclid Avenue Yacht Club in Little Five Points. 

💰 Budget-friendly dining

Expect the budget-friendly food trends of 2025 to continue in 2026. Although, it’s not just meal deals on the rise at restaurants around Atlanta, but entire restaurants aimed at affordable dining. This includes for finer dining and omakase.

If you enjoy an omakase experience, but not the hefty price tag, check out 1678 Omakase in Brookhaven. A 12-course lunch costs $58. At dinner, 16 courses rings in at $78. The aforementioned Elise also features a five-course tasting menu at dinner for $95 per person. The team behind Michelin-starred Moju will open an intimate Japanese restaurant called Koshu Club in Buckhead this year, serving yoshoku dishes (think omurice, karaage, and tonkatsu), along with grilled Japanese seafood, meat, and vegetables. For us, Bovino After Dark in West End still rules the budget-friendly chefs counter experience. A five-course tasting with optional wine pairings is just $125 per person.  

👉 More trends we’re monitoring

  1. The resurgence of South Downtown and its restaurant scene before and after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
  2. Maximalist, or less spartan, restaurant design. Let’s finally say goodbye to cavernous dining rooms with exposed ceilings and no sound absorption. 
  3. Small restaurants and markets like Season in Marietta, Communidad in the Old Fourth Ward, and From the Well in Roswell taking hold in metro Atlanta neighborhoods. Will 2026 see neighborhood restaurants like these becoming the darlings of the dining scene?
  4. Rebrands and pivots to refresh old brands. Piastra Italian Restaurant in Marietta will transform into a market and cafe called Asher & Rose Modern Grocers this winter. In Dunwoody, Vino Venue will sunset its restaurant to focus on its daily wine flights, culinary education and wine events, and retail sales. 

Ready, Set, AGLOW!

SPONSORED BY FERNBANK MUSEUM

🌟 When the sun sets, the woods come alive at WildWoods: AGLOW.

This after-hours experience combines art, nature and music at Fernbank Museum, featuring scenic trails aglow with light outdoors and nighttime access to museum exhibits inside.

🌙 Select nights through Feb. 28, 2026.

Recipe: Bar Blanc’s French Dip

Photo by Bar Blanc

🇫🇷 This week, we’re sharing a recipe for the French dip from Bar Blanc at Westside Provisions District.

The French dip originated in Los Angeles (although it’s unclear which chef created the recipe) more than 100 years ago. Over time, an “East Coast” variant emerged, featuring melted cheese and caramelized onions. Meanwhile, the “West Coast” version relies on au jus and horseradish mayo.

You’re welcome to source beef for the sandwich from a preferred butcher. Bar Blanc chef Bob Ryan sources beef for the restaurant’s French dip at Whole Foods.

“If they don’t have a rib roast, they can order it for you if you give them a few days,” he said. Ryan doesn’t recommend using grass-fed beef in this recipe, because it will yield a dry roast. If you’re feeding a smaller crowd, purchase a three-bone rib roast, which will serve six people. A whole ribeye will serve 18.

“For the baguette, go to Lee’s Bakery on Buford Highway,” Ryan said. “They sell baguettes by the piece on a daily basis.”

📋 Ingredients

  • Baguettes, as needed
  • 2 Tbsp butter

Beef

  • 1 beef ribeye or ribeye roast
  • 1 cup highly reduced veal jus, veal stock concentrate, or beef stock concentrate
  • 1 cup roasted garlic puree or paste
  • 3/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
  • 3 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, without the stem

Jus

  • 1 pint veal or beef stock
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 oz dry-aged beef fat (optional)

Aioli

  • 3 Tbsp prepared horseradish
  • 2 cups Duke’s mayonnaise
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

“East Coast” additions

  • Sliced Gruyere or aged Swiss cheese
  • Thinly sliced and caramelized yellow onions, as needed

🥣 Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit.
  2. Bring the veal (or beef) stock to a boil. Season with the salt. Add the garlic clove, sprig of thyme, and beef fat (if using) and set aside. Keep warm. (This should be aggressively seasoned.)
  3. Mix the mustard, reduced veal jus, and roasted garlic together to make a paste.
  4. Liberally rub the beef down on all sides. Season with salt and pepper on all sides. Finish by seasoning with thyme leaves.
  5. Lay beef on a roasting rack with the fat facing up. Roast until the beef reaches an internal temperature of 145° Fahrenheit. (Timing depends on the size of the roast, a full ribeye may take up to 2 hours.)
  6. When finished, let beef rest in a warm space (above the oven) for 20 minutes.
  7. Mix the mayo, horseradish, and garlic together to make the aioli.
  8. Cut the baguettes in half, spread the butter all over the inside and outside and toast in the oven until crispy. (You want crisp all over to help absorb the juices later.)
  9. Spread some aioli on the inside of the top baguette.
  10. Using a sharp knife slice the meat as thinly as possible. Stack the meat on the bottom baguette, and spoon a few spoonfuls of jus over the top. Top with the other half of the baguette and enjoy the “West Coast-style.”
  11. Optional: For East Coast-style French dip, add caramelized onions and a few slices of cheese after spooning the jus over the meat. Put back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Once the cheese is melted, top with the other half of the baguette.

Wendy’s Wages Chicken War

Photo by Wendy’s/TikTok

🍗 Who had Wendy’s trolling Chick-fil-A at the Benz on their 2026 bingo card? Not me. What a way to kick off a brand new year but by throwing some good old-fashioned shade at hometown favorite Chick-fil-A, which famously closes on Sundays, including inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. 

It all went down outside the Benz on Sunday afternoon during the last regular season Atlanta Falcons game against the New Orleans Saints. Not only did Wendy’s fly a “Chikin available any given Sunday” banner ad behind a plane above the stadium, the fast-food chain also had a billboard with the same slogan that added the tagline,”Unlike the chikin spot in there.” An arrow on the billboard pointed to the Benz, home to two Chick-fil-A food stalls. 

🤣 But the pièce de résistance of shade came when the Wendy’s food truck pulled up and blocked people’s view of the stadium, a la the interrupting MARTA bus of Georgia Dome implosion fame. 

➡️ Get double the Atlanta food and dining coverage with “Family Meal,” edited by Beth McKibben, on Tuesdays at 5 p.m., and “Side Dish,” edited by Sarra Sedghi, on Thursdays at noon. Subscribe to both here. ⬅️

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.