April restaurant openings
April 28 — Happy Tuesday! Welcome to the table.
In this edition of “Family Meal,” you’ll find a quick roundup of restaurant openings and upcoming restaurant announcements from April. I also have an update on Bottle Rocket’s new location in South Downtown and details on ways to help Georgia wildfire victims.
For my “Editor’s Pick,” I’m shouting out an exceptional spring menu in Marietta and two martinis you need to try.
Do you love the chocolate brioche bread pudding from barbecue pop-up Misfitsss BBQ? There’s a recipe for you in today’s newsletter.
Finally, as we approach the World Cup, I want to hear from locals on restaurants they would recommend to visitors headed to Atlanta this summer – outside the Downtown soccer fan bubble around the stadium. More on this below.
Cheers!
🍸 Beth
🎸 City Green Live and Concerts by the Springs brings unforgettable nights of music under the stars. Enjoy live bands, great vibes, and community fun in a beautiful outdoor setting. These events are free! Learn more and see the full schedule here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
APRIL RESTAURANT OPENINGS
🍽️ Restaurant openings ramped up again in April, with nearly three dozen restaurants opening for business around Atlanta and the metro area. Close to 20 new restaurants were also announced for the coming months.
Check out this brief roundup of recent restaurant openings and upcoming restaurant announcements you might have missed in April.
🍾 Now open
Clark’s Steakhouse (Southern steakhouse)
Buckhead
Koshu Club (Japanese supper club, sushi, yoshoku dishes)
Buckhead
Mai Thai Kitchen and Bar (Thai, lunch, dinner, cocktails)
Buckhead
Spread Bagelry (wood-oven bagels, sandwiches)
Buckhead
Ikara (Indian, fine dining)
Atlantic Station
Breakfast on Luckie Street (breakfast)
Downtown Atlanta
Sirocco – Westside Deli (sandwiches, cheesesteaks)
West End, Lee + White food hall
Pele’s Pit (Hawaiian barbecue)
La Bodega, Sylvan Hills
Mini golf at the Roof (18-hole mini golf course)
Atop Ponce City Market
Three Taverns Brew Terminal + DAS BBQ (beer, barbecue, wings)
Signal House, Eastside Beltline
Finally Wine (wine, wine tastings, wine flights)
Kirkwood
Babygirl (all-day cafe, coffee, wine, beer, cocktails)
East Lake
Cafe Chirag Ali (Irani chai, Hyderabadi fast food, shawarma)
Tucker
Stellow Coffee (coffee, espresso bar)
Chamblee
Fork & Vine Social (fusion, wine)
Decatur
The Cake Pharmacy (Saturday bakery-cafe, coffee, chai)
Decatur
The Bird Book (wine, coffee, books)
Avondale Estates
Le Faucheur Tearoom (tea service)
Dunwoody
{S}table (Southern)
Dunwoody Village
Bizarre Coffee (coffee, smoothies, toasts, bagel sandwiches)
Roswell
King’s Chicken (fried chicken plates/bowls)
Peachtree Corners
Taste of Min (Chinese)
Duluth
Pit Fire BBQ (Chinese BBQ, crawfish, skewers)
Duluth
Bite More (burgers, wings, and chicken sandwiches)
Duluth
Farooj Abo Alabed (kebabs, wraps, halal)
Lawrenceville
Stillfire Brewing (brewery)
Smyrna
Graze Craze (charcuterie boards)
Smyrna
J. Alexander’s (American/Southern, wine, cocktails)
Battery Atlanta
Zaytoon Grill (Mediterranean, halal)
Stone Mountain
Late 9 Pho & Tea (Vietnamese)
Morrow
👀Coming soon
Omma (Spring; cocktails, light bites)
Westside Paper
Ladybird (Spring; New American bar and restaurant)
Star Metals, Westside
Paris Baguette (Summer; Korean bakery/cafe)
Midtown, Alpharetta
Bottle Rocket (May; sushi, burgers, cocktails)
South Downtown
CTR Food Works (May; food hall)
The Center, Downtown Atlanta
Pollo Primo (Summer; pollo asado; beer, cocktails)
Poncey-Highland
Here Today Restaurant and Bar (2026)
Virginia-Highland
Blue Willow (Fall; Hunan)
Inman Quarter
Jolene Jolene (Spring; Women’s sports bar)
Kirkwood
Last Dance (Spring; seasonal menu, cocktails, wine)
Avondale Estates
Muchacho (Summer; tacos, burritos, cocktails)
Downtown Decatur
Saints + Council (2027; contemporary American, wine, cocktails)
Perimeter Mall, Dunwoody
Hundredfold (Fall; French-American, wine, cocktails)
Battery Atlanta
Showdown Social (May 14; social card gaming, food, drinks)
Alpharetta
Amasa Mexican Kitchen (Summer; Mexican, seafood, cocktails, wine, jazz)
Alpharetta
CT Cantina & Taqueria (Fall; Mexican, cocktails)
The Nest Cafe (Fall; breakfast, brunch)
Tabla (Fall; Indian, cocktails)
The Medley, Johns Creek
😋 More restaurant openings
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EDITOR’S PICK
🌷 The current menu at Spring in Marietta is one of the best I’ve had since the pandemic. From the ajo blanco (melon, grapes, apple, mint) to the green garlic garganelli (pictured) to the raspberry rhubarb rice pudding, Spring’s current menu exemplifies what it means to truly cook seasonally. Exceptional. Make that rez, y’all.
🍸 Rosso, the new Midtown Promenade red sauce joint that replaced Pat Pascarella’s Alici, features a have-it-your-way martini with a generous sidecar for topping off ($15). Gin or vodka; dry, wet, or dirty – put the Rosso-tini on your radar.
🫚 Over at Koshu Club in Buckhead – the new Japanese supper club from the team behind Mujō – try the Flying V. With a base of Murrell’s Row Gin Mignonette, this umami bomb martini riff comes mixed with Baldoria Dry Umami Vermouth and Le Quintinye Vermouth Royal Blanc. It’s garnished with a pickled myoga (Japanese ginger pod).
A LA CARTE
🚀 Bottle Rocket is close to reopening at its new home in South Downtown. The Castleberry Hill restaurant and bar known for its mix of sushi, burgers, and cocktails will reside on the ground floor of a renovated early 20th-century storefront on Mitchell Street. Bottle Rocket just hosted a couple of surprise pop-ups at the new location to test the waters. While not quite ready to open there, Bottle Rocket should debut very soon in South Downtown.
⚽ World Cup restaurant suggestions: With less than 50 days to go, I would love to hear from you about where soccer fans should eat while visiting Atlanta. Some visitors will definitely venture outside the confines of Downtown to explore more of Atlanta and its restaurant scene. I have my own list going, but send me an email with your local restaurant suggestions to beth@roughdraftatlanta.com. We’re working on a World Cup guide and will share restaurant recs from locals in a special section. You can also send me suggestions on retail shops and local attractions people should check out while they’re in town for the World Cup.
🆘 World Central Kitchen-Georgia wildfires: Emergency food nonprofit World Central Kitchen is in southern Georgia assisting victims impacted by the devastating wildfires. More than 55,000 acres have already burned and nearly 120 homes destroyed. Kamayan ATL owners Mia Orino and Carlo Gan and their staff are part of World Central Kitchen’s Chef Corps in Georgia. Last weekend, proceeds from every meal served at Kamayan ATL went to feed people affected by the wildfires. Keep your eyes on social media for restaurants offering specials or hosting events to help Georgia wildfire victims. You can donate directly to World Central Kitchen here.
🚚 Meals on Wheels Atlanta: MOWA CEO Charlene Crusoe-Ingram recently told WABE that the mobile meals non-profit serving seniors has a “historic-level,” 800-person waiting list and stopped accepting applications. The need for meals, she said, has been exacerbated by rising food costs and inflation. Many seniors, especially those on fixed incomes, are struggling to keep up financially. According to MOWA, 97% of its funding comes from private donations. Donate to MOWA or volunteer to deliver meals here.
🎸 City Green Live and Concerts by the Springs brings unforgettable nights of music under the stars. Enjoy live bands, great vibes, and community fun in a beautiful outdoor setting. These events are free! Learn more and see the full schedule here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
RECIPE
🍞 This week, we’re sharing the recipe for chocolate brioche bread pudding with a honey butter glaze from Misfitsss BBQ.
Bread pudding originated in England in the 11th century as a way to use up stale bread and stretch food further. Called the “poor man’s pudding” back then, milk, eggs, and butter were added in the 13th century, bringing the dish closer to the dessert we know today.
Misfitsss BBQ co-owner Bryan Hull recommends using slightly stale brioche bread for the pudding, cubing loaves the day before and leaving the bread pieces overnight on a baking sheet inside a cold oven to become staler.
➡️ 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.
