“Why was I not cooking the food I eat at home, you know what I mean?” Pat Pascarella asks as he lounges on a couch in an Ernest Hemingway–themed speakeasy, part of his Italian American concept, Rosso. He speaks of his new restaurant (located near the corner of 10th Street and Virginia Avenue) with the same bullishness of Papa. “I tried doing fancy, trendy dishes for Instagram,” he says. “Now I’m back to the food I want to eat.”

When BrewDog abruptly shuttered in March, it left a sizable vacancy along the Beltline Eastside Trail. Now, a group of local hospitality pros is stepping in to temporarily fill the space with a music, sports-watching, and gaming venue complete with food and drinks. Called LikeMinds, it’s targeting a June 4 grand opening, ahead of the World Cup.

After years working at other people’s restaurants, four Atlanta hospitality veterans have banded together to go out on their own. Opening in the next month in Avondale Estates, Last Dance is the first project from co-owner Kathryn Fitzgerald, executive chef Joshua Fryer, pastry chef Chris Marconi, and partner Patrick Daugherty.

As Atlanta magazine marks its 65th anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the city’s most enduring restaurants—places shaping Atlanta’s dining before this publication even existed.

Most restaurants build menus around food. Under Pressure builds them around wine. For their upcoming wine bar, Michelin award–winning sommelier Juan Fernando Cortés (the Chastain) and Adam Berlin (Buena Vida Tapas Bar and Chicheria) will design its menu by choosing wines first, then creating dishes designed specifically to match those flavors.

A newly opened Buford Highway dessert cafe, Gula, offers the complex flavors of Indonesia in an approachable format. Co-owner Gloria Ariesandi says that Gula is the first Indonesian dessert cafe in Atlanta, and perhaps the country. However, it’s not her family’s first foray into the food business. She owns Gula with her sister, Angela Ariesandi, following in the footsteps of their parents, Ninik Sulistijani and Daniel Ariesandi, and their maternal great-grandmother.

I’ve tasted plenty of trendy “fusion” food in Atlanta—much of it contrived. (Grits sushi, anyone?) Today’s chefs, many second-generation immigrants, are modernizing their menus with respect to their roots and the influences around them.

Atlanta’s acclaimed pastry chef Claudia Martinez finally has a place to call her own. The multitime James Beard semifinalist cut the ribbon late last year for Bar Ana, a lush little spot showcasing her creative, seasonal desserts.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Atlanta games kick off on June 15, and while much of the soccer world's attention will be focused on the field at Atlanta Stadium (aka Mercedes-Benz Stadium), visitors to our fair city will also be wondering where to fuel up. We tapped some of Atlanta’s top food and beverage personalities to share where they like to eat and drink on a day off and where they’d take visiting friends and family. Take a page from their book to build out your perfect Atlanta dining itinerary—either for visiting soccer fans or for yourself.

Atlanta’s Thai scene has decisively shifted in the past two decades. Now, Pink Lotus is carrying the conversation into the Westside. It’s raising the bar. As our city’s Thai food scene grows more varied and regionally expressive, Pink Lotus’s cooking and transportive design demonstrate how far we have come.

Opening April 23 near Fellini’s on Peachtree Road in Buckhead, Clark’s Steakhouse serves Southern fare rooted in French technique, Texas-inspired fire, and Buckhead polish. But what stands out most isn’t what’s on the grill—it’s what’s in the glass. Wine, in fact, is the backbone of the experience.