On the town: 3 Buckhead nightlife itineraries

A parents’ escape, extended happy hour, and perfect third date
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Anis patio

Photograph by Tim Redman

An Escape for parents
No longer forced to ply the kids with chicken fingers, it’s time for sushi. At Umi (3050 Peachtree Road), find traditional rolls along with outside-the-bento-box experimenting with yellowtail and jalapeño. Camp out in the bar to spot visiting movie stars—like Jennifer Lawrence and Jim Carrey—staying at the St. Regis next door.

From there, it’s a three-minute walk to Buckhead Theatre (3110 Roswell Road). The restored 1930s movie house has endured—save for a 2008 to 2010 hiatus—as the venue for well-known musical acts (Mumford & Sons, the 1975, Bastille), as well as comedians and theatrical productions.

And before you have to spring the sitter, hail a quick Uber ride to Aria (490 East Paces Ferry Road) and slip into the cozy bar to split the miniature cheesecake made with mild goat cheese, served warm on a sugar cookie crust and topped with fresh cherry compote. Beats that McFlurry you order with your kids’ Happy Meals.

An Extended Happy Hour
At Five Paces Inn (41 Irby Avenue), happy hour starts at 3 p.m. Bankers, brokers, and business types have been coming to put out their workday in the plastic ashtrays since 1955.

To feed a gaggle of coworkers, you need pizza—and for the drinking crowd, why not fried pizza? Tucked behind the towering St. Regis, Don Antonio by Starita (102 West Paces Ferry Road) can be hard to find, but the large tables and the montanara Genovese—dough, slightly fried, topped with extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and spicy pork—are worth the search.

After dinner, those who haven’t gone home should cap the night at Prohibition (56 East Andrews Drive). Enter through a secret door in the back of a circa-1920s phone booth (tip the barkeep at Czar Ice Bar upstairs for the passcode), and sink into the leather sofas of this smoky speakeasy. Order a Scotch or a house cocktail (try the gin-and-lime Bramble), and light a cigar to celebrate a day’s work.

A Third Date
Start with a drink at Seven Lamps (3400 Around Lenox Road). Arrive before 6 p.m., which is when the crowds start to file in. Beverage manager Kevin Bragg impresses with his fruit-based cocktails like the Son of a Peach (basil-infused vodka, ginger-peach syrup, lemon, and black pepper).

For dinner, head to Anis (2974 Grandview Avenue). A Provençal French charmer with a patio lit by strings of lights, Anis has been churning out juicy thyme-roasted chicken in jus and hanger steak with pomme frites since opening in 1994.

Afterward, the night escalates with a trip to Buckhead’s newest bowling alley, the Painted Pin in Miami Circle (737 Miami Circle). You can bowl if you want, but don’t miss the gin punch or a Moscow mule slushie. A flirty game of skeeball or shuffleboard, a live DJ, a dance floor—there’s no way you won’t have enough moves to secure that fourth date.

This article originally appeared in our September 2014 issue.

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