Key points:
- Grant Park Filipino restaurant and Michelin Bib Gourmand Estrellita will relocate to South Downtown later this year.
- The South Downtown restaurant, nearly three times larger than Grant Park, will offer an expanded menu and a bar.
- Estrellita is the latest addition to a collection of restaurants planned for South Downtown, many opening ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches in Atlanta.
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Filipino restaurant and Michelin Bib Gourmand Estrellita will move to South Downtown in the second half of 2026, after six years in Grant Park.
Located on Broad Street, the South Downtown location will include a much larger footprint than Grant Park, allowing owners Hope Webb and Chef Walter Cortado the space to expand the menu and add a bar. Estrellita will share patio space with Todd Ginsberg and Josh Kim’s new restaurant, Kitchen Counter, and Glide Pizza.
Estrellita, which specializes in cuisine from the Pampanga region of the Philippines, opened on Woodward Avenue in 2020. The restaurant became a Michelin Bib Gourmand three years later – an honor it’s held onto ever since. By 2024, Webb and Cortado knew they’d eventually have to pursue a larger space. They took the plunge in 2025 after switching to a coal fire-roasted kitchen.
“We were growing out of our space rapidly because we were only operating out of 523 square feet. It was just becoming so hard [in Grant Park],” Webb said. “That [coal-fired] menu just soared. At that point, we were like, ‘Wow, we’re making good profit. So now’s probably a good time to get to the next level.'”
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Webb and Cortado reconnected with their leasing agent, who suggested South Downtown, specifically the Broad Street address. As soon as they saw the plans, they knew Estrellita had a future in the neighborhood.
“In order for Filipino food to really be widely accepted, we have to start tapping the interest of people outside of our community,” Webb said. “That has always been one of our major goals, to get the wider audience of foodies to enjoy Filipino foods. What’s a better opportunity for it to go mainstream than to be in a major city’s downtown?”
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In addition to Tyde Tate Thai Kitchen and Spiller Park Coffee, now open on Mitchell Street, the neighborhood will see a swath of restaurant openings this year, including Bottle Rocket; Broad Street BBQ from the owners of Sammy’s; Mule Train from Mike and Shyretha Sheats; and new locations of Brewhouse Cafe, Delilah’s Everyday Soul, and El Tesoro.
Weekly food festival and market Smorgasburg Atlanta will return to South Downtown this March at the intersection of Forsyth and Trinity. Construction continues around the corner at the Gulch and Centennial Yards, home to Wild Leap Brewery and Hotel Phoenix and its restaurants.
Most of the restaurant openings will take place ahead of the FIFA World Cup matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this summer.
“We’re really excited for what South Downtown is going to become,” Webb said. “It’s more where we come from – New York, New Jersey, that whole area.”
With all of that extra restaurant space, Cortado and Webb have big plans for Estrellita in South Downtown.
The menu will expand, bringing back classic Filipino dishes like pancit. They will add a full bar and feature a selection of pulutan, the Tagalog term for finger foods enjoyed with alcohol.
Estrellita will also claim a segment of the communal courtyard on Broad Street for a sunken patio area. And Webb notes that a parking lot across the street will eventually become a green space.
“Someone can go and grab Glide Pizza, but then come over to our restaurant and grab some lumpia and adobo, and then someone can go around the corner and get a breakfast sandwich,” Webb said. “Everybody can have their own [meal], and then [go sit in] that area.”
Estrellita, 115 Broad St., South Downtown. Opening fall 2026.
