Summer restaurant openings
Tuesday, May 26 — Happy Tuesday! Welcome to the table and to the unofficial start of summer – albeit one of the rainiest Memorial Day weekends in a good, long while.
Today’s “Family Meal” features my picks for the most anticipated Atlanta restaurant openings of the summer.
This week’s industry news roundup includes what to order at the Under Pressure wine pop-up at Brush and details on the 50 Best North American Restaurants announcement this Thursday. Could an Atlanta restaurant make the list this year?
Finally, as the World Cup approaches, we’re sharing recipes from local restaurants representing some of the countries playing at The Benz in Atlanta. We’re kicking off our World Cup recipe series with Spain and chicken Basquaise from Cooks & Soldiers.
Cheers!
🍸 Beth
MOST ANTICIPATED SUMMER OPENINGS
It’s hard to believe we’re nearly halfway through 2026. And while it’s been an unusually slow year for restaurant openings, there’s still a lot to look forward to over the coming months. Check out the hotly anticipated restaurant openings of the summer.
🧺 Upper West Market
Underwood Hills
Anticipated June 2026
The new indoor farmers market anchored by Hop City Beer & Wine and Chef Anne Quatrano’s new cafe, Summerland, is just a few short weeks away from opening. The market will sell seasonal produce and meats from local farms, include locally owned restaurants and food stalls, and host cooking classes. Take a look at the lineup.
- Summerland (restaurant from Anne Quatrano)
- White Oak Pastures (beef, pork, chicken)
- Garnish & Gather (meal prep)
- Hop City Beer & Wine
- Prana Kitchens (South Asian)
- Noble Honey Company
- Honeysuckle Gelato
- Island Seafood Market & Oyster Bar
- Dips Kitchen (artisan dips)
- Pantry by Mikel (artisan cooking utensils, dishes, pantry goods)
- Xocolatl Chocolate
- Bellwood Coffee
- Georgia Peach Truck
- Blended Together (Caribbean cold-pressed juices, tonics)
- Pickles
- Pet Wants (fresh pet food)
- La Kiosque by Le Jardin Français (flowers, edible herbs)
- Woodland Wellness (natural wellness products, spices, cleanse products)
- 68th & Monroe (natural personal care, beauty, body and skin care)
- Novare Events
🎨 Sargent
Old Fourth Ward
Anticipated June/early July 2026
Lucian Books & Wine owners Jordan Smelt and Katie Barringer are putting the finishing touches on Sargent, which should open by early July. Located beside 3 Parks Wine Shop on the Eastside Beltline, Sargent takes its name from American portrait artist John Singer Sargent. Smelt and Barringer see Sargent as a more casual, everyday kind of restaurant serving wood-fired dishes, small plates, and cocktails. Unlike the European-leaning wine list at Lucian, Smelt’s wine list at Sargent will favor domestic producers, along with New World vintages from countries like New Zealand and Australia. Sargent will also include an expanded retail section, where Barringer will continue to sell books and magazines on art, music, architecture, food, and fashion.
💃🏾 Last Dance
Avondale Estates
Anticipated June 2026
Last Dance, a restaurant co-owned by Kathryn Fitzgerald, Josh Fryer, Chris Marconi, and Patrick Daugherty, will open next month in the former Rising Son space in Avondale Estates. Last Dance is “a blissful entanglement of four chefs,” according to an Instagram post. “Think warm eccentric cottage nights filled with beautiful natural wines, martinis, fresh bread services, whole fish, lamb porterhouse, and gorgeous desserts.” Read more about Last Dance from our friends over at Atlanta magazine.
🦊 So. Fox
Virginia-Highland
Anticipated early summer 2026
Kinship Butcher & Sundry owners Chef Myles Moody and sommelier Rachael Pack will open wine-focused So. Fox this summer. Taking over the former Farm Burger space in Virginia-Highland, the restaurant is named for an indigenous Southeastern grape varietal – the Muscadine or Scuppernong, also known as the “Southern Fox.” The menu will feature bar snacks like oysters, pickled vegetables fermented in-house, and warm Georgia-grown olives seasoned in beef fat. Starters might include drop dumplings made with nettle, confit rabbit, and fermented young alliums. With the whole of Kinship’s butcher shop to source from next door, Moody will create entrees using various cuts of lamb, pork, and beef. The menu will also feature a section dedicated to grains, along with seafood sourced from the Gulf and Atlantic. In addition to wine, the bar will offer a small selection of cocktails and a handful of beers on tap.
🇹🇭 Some Luck
Poncey-Highland
Anticipated summer 2026
After delays pushed out its opening earlier this year, Some Luck appears just weeks away from debuting. Chefs Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter, owners of Summerhill Thai restaurant Talat Market, will open Some Luck in the former Highland Ballroom Lounge adjacent to Madeira Park. Expect a Thai-focused menu of bar snacks, noodle soups, wings, and late-night bites inspired by dishes found at street stalls throughout Thailand. Look for quick-fire, stirred cocktails mixed with Thai ingredients and base spirits like rum, as well as pitchers of Singha beer and local beers on draft at the basement-level bar.
🍽️ South Downtown/Centennial Yards
Anticipated Summer 2026
There are so many restaurants to look forward to opening at the burgeoning South Downtown development, with a handful opening this summer. Those include El Tesoro, Broad Street BBQ, Mule Train, and Brewhouse Cafe. Bottle Rocket just opened, and it appears Delilah’s Everyday Soul and Estrellita are on track to open by year’s end. Over at Centennial Yards, the owners behind NYC’s Dead Rabbit will open The Irish Exit, serving Irish and local beers, whiskey, cocktails, and Irish pub food.
🍹 Omma
Westside Paper
Anticipated summer 2026
The details on this new cocktail bar from the team behind MidCity have been scarce – and that’s likely by design. But we do know that this bar will feature a cosmopolitan vibe, equally sophisticated cocktails, and an intercontinental food menu. Omma will join Pancake Social, El Santo Gallo, and Dumpling Factory at Westside Paper, which will eventually include access to the Beltline’s Westside Spur Trail.
🌍 Heritage
Summerhill
Anticipated summer 2026
After operating Heritage Supper Club as a dinner series for the past five years, founder and chef Demetrius Brown will evolve it into a restaurant in Summerhill. Brown, along with his Bread & Butterfly partner, Brandon Blanchard, will open Heritage on Georgia Avenue this summer. From the music to the food, Brown wants to tell a story here, and one that centers on the global roots of the African diaspora. An evening at Heritage will start with drinks in the cocktail lounge, before moving to the dining room for a 10-course tasting menu exploring the cuisines of Black cultures from around the world. The night concludes with dessert in an intimate area of the restaurant. You’re meant to enjoy more than just a meal at Heritage, according to Brown, who calls his new Summerhill restaurant a “full-body experience.”
Sip, savor, and celebrate!
SPONSORED BY FOOD THAT ROCKS
🥂 Food That Rocks 2026 returns to City Springs on June 4 as Sandy Springs’ all-inclusive tasting event, presented by Taste of Atlanta.
From 6–10 p.m. for VIP entry and starting at 7 p.m. for general admission, guests sample bites from more than 25 neighborhood restaurants alongside craft cocktails, beer, and wine tastings. The under-the-stars evening features live music from Band X, chef meet-and-greets, and interactive sponsor activations.
Celebrating Sandy Springs’ growing culinary scene, the event brings together local favorites and new spots for one high-energy night of food, drinks, and community.
À LA CARTE
🏅 On Thursday, we’ll see if any Atlanta restaurants land a spot on 50 Best’s top 100 North American restaurants. The ceremony, which will award coveted red scarves to the top 50 restaurants for 2026, takes place in New Orleans on May 28. I’m hearing that at least one Atlanta restaurant is headed to the ceremony. Fingers crossed! In April, Ticonderoga Club landed at number 85 on 50 Best’s top North American bars for 2026.
🧑🎤🍷 You only have two more Thursday evenings to get a preview of Under Pressure Wine Bar at Brush in Buckhead. The wine bar opens this fall at the Fountain Oaks complex in Sandy Springs, just north of Chastain Park. But owners Juan Fernando Cortés and Adam Berlin are currently popping up for dinner at Brush on Thursdays, complete with a vinyl DJ spinning 1980s pop and synth-pop tunes. While Brush chef Jason Liang created some excellent food pairings for the Under Pressure wine pop-up, I highly recommend ordering the umi masu clay pot rice from the regular dinner menu. The dish comprises sushi-grade, garlic-teriyaki ocean trout, ikura (salmon roe), mushrooms, enoki tempura, and zucchini prepared table side. It’s an umami bomb that paired beautifully with a glass of Polyphonia (red field blend) from Georgian winery Pheasant’s Tears.
🚲🚶 Streets Alive will shut down a 3.4-mile stretch of Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard to Georgia Avenue, from West End to Grant Park, on May 31, starting at 2 p.m. Take it as an opportunity to walk or cycle through one of Atlanta’s main drags (sans cars) on a Sunday afternoon, while eating and drinking at the restaurants and bars along the route.
WORLD CUP RECIPE: SPAIN
🇪🇸 In honor of the World Cup matches taking place in Atlanta, we’re sharing recipes representing some of the teams playing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in June and July. We’re starting with Spain, sharing the recipe for chicken Basquaise from Atlanta restaurant Cooks & Soldiers.
“Chicken Basquaise is essentially chicken cooked with, or served over, that piperade base, making it one of the classic dishes prepared à la basquaise,” said John Castellucci, Culinary Director for Castellucci Hospitality Group.
The dish is popular on both the Spanish and French sides of the region.
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