Photo by Matthew Williams
Aside from the Clermont and the Wylie, there aren’t many hotels with personality near the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail. Recently opened, Forth offers a luxurious place to stay near both Historic Fourth Ward Park and the BeltLine. With 16 floors, 196 rooms, and 39 extended-stay apartments, it’s sure to attract business and leisure travelers alike.
Created by Method Co. and New City Properties, Forth boasts plenty of reasons for locals to visit as well, from the private social club to four restaurants and bars, each with its own look, feel, and flavors. Here’s what to expect:
Photo by Emily Dorio
Il Premio
Touted as a “high-end Italian steakhouse,” Il Premio is set to open mid-September. Located on the first floor, the 120-seat restaurant boasts a menu of USDA Prime beef and Japanese Wagyu steaks, as well as seafood crudo and decadent pastas. While the steaks will be served a la carte, an extensive selection of sides will be available—from polenta and rapini to roasted mushrooms and olive oil potatoes. Seafood options include branzino, grilled and stuffed lobster, and king crab pasta with uni.
“There may be some overlap with the Bar Premio menu, but we want to keep them fairly unique,” says executive chef John Adamson. (Read more about Bar Premio in this story’s next section.)
Cocktails will be “serious and heavy,” says Jeremy Oertel, creative beverage director for Method Co., the company behind Forth’s restaurants. They’ll be based on classic Italian drinks with a twist. For example, the Old Fashioned features fig-infused bourbon and walnut liqueur. The negroni includes coffee liqueur, giving it an espresso negroni vibe. Martinis will be fat-washed, prebatched, and frozen, then garnished tableside. Il Premio will have six taps, two of which will pour Italian beers—the rest local to Georgia.
The space is divided into three sections: the bar and lounge, dining room, and semi-private dining area. Though the full dinner menu will be served at the bar, the lounge is just for drinking and socializing. There’s a fireplace, piano, plush couches, and gold touches on the light fixtures. Repurposed hardwoods cover the dining room floor, with leather booths and banquettes offering a view of the open kitchen and wood-fired grill.
Photo by Emily Dorio
Open since July, Bar Premio is an all-day cafe and wine bar. It serves La Colombe coffee drinks and pastries by chef Carelys Vasquez for breakfast, Italian-inspired sandwiches and salads for lunch, and soon, Roman pastas and crudo for dinner. Croissants come in a variety of flavors including pistachio, chocolate, and taleggio-prosciutto. Blueberry muffins are a bestseller, along with maritozzi, an iconic Roman brioche stuffed with fruit and cream. Sandwiches are served on house-baked focaccia with imported cuts of meat from Italy (soppressata, mortadella, prosciutto). The Caesar salad features grilled romaine, 36-month parmesan, and focaccia breadcrumbs.
Lunch is all order-at-the-counter, but when dinner service starts in two weeks, it will have waitstaff touting salumi and formaggio, carbonara, bucatini, and more. The wine list is shared with Il Premio and will boast 300 labels, about 60 percent of which will be Italian. Oertel promises an “substantial” by-the-glass list, plus plenty of amaro and some wine cocktails. The drinks here are intentionally lighter and brighter than those offered at Il Premio, still with an Italian spin. There’s a low-ABV paloma with bianca amaretto and tequila, an espresso martini with limoncello and rum instead of vodka, and a suze and elderflower spritz.
The 15-seat bar is backed with red tiles and gold leaf flecks. Floor-to-ceiling windows welcome natural light inside, where table and lounge seating is available. There’s a patio as well.
Photo by Emily Dorio
A Mediterranean restaurant just off the pool deck, Elektra is led by executive chef Jonathan McDowell, formerly of Delbar and Nine Mile Station. Airy and spacious with a long, covered patio, it evokes the feel of the Mediterranean coast. McDowell, who embraced Lebanese and Egyptian food from a young age, says the space reminds him of Cypress. “The room is bright and light. I’m trying to complement it with the food. I’m cooking with heart,” he says.
Look for a large mezze platter with baba ghanoush, hummus, and local, seasonal produce like figs and melons. Other menu options include mussels with merguez, octopus with fingerling potato salad, and a whole branzino with roasted carrot zhoug, za’atar, and tahini. Breakfast is served daily, featuring shakshuka, an olive oil pancake with orange labneh, local peaches, and burnt honey, and more. Weekend brunch is in the works.
Beverages are intended for easy drinking with ingredients like aloe, cucumber, apricot, and black lemon bitters. The margarita is made with saffron syrup, ginger, and lime, and spritzes run aplenty.
Photo by Matthew Williams
Moonlight
A warm and welcoming bar and lounge, Moonlight serves “quirky and playful” cocktails, according to Oertel. Look for “fun glassware and esoteric ingredients,” he says. One magenta-hued drink features pistachio-infused gin with butterfly pea flower syrup, rose liqueur, and lemon. Dried rose flowers complete the look. Another combines tequila with coconut liqueur and green chile vodka in a pearl diver glass for a tiki-style drink. Oertel anticipates Moonlight guests will also enjoy plenty of champagne.
Food-wise, Moonlight is the place for small, fanciful bites. Think caviar service, miniature lobster rolls, tuna cannoli, devilled eggs with trout row, and a bite-sized truffle grilled cheese sandwich.
Photo by Emily Dorio
The Forth Club
More reserved than Moonlight, the members-only club will lean into classics like martinis and Old Fashioneds. “This is quieter and more serious. I envision people slowly sipping,” Oertel says.
The food menu is still in the works.
