Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
When the team behind Lucian Books & Wine opens Sargent in Old Fourth Ward, the restaurant will not be a larger-format copy of its Buckhead sibling. Yes, the DNA is familiar: art as a starting point, books and wine as part of the experience, executive chef Jason Paolini in the kitchen, Jordan Smelt overseeing beverages, and Katie Barringer shaping retail and design. But Sargent is meant to move differently—less hushed destination, more everyday neighborhood brasserie; less hyper-seasonal tasting-style rhythm, more recognizable American classics executed with French technique.
Located along the Eastside Beltline, near 3 Parks Wine Shop and Forth hotel, Sargent opens August 18. Like Lucian, which takes its name from British painter Lucian Freud, Sargent is named for an artist: John Singer Sargent, the American portraitist known for his technical precision and expressive hand.
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
This plays to the level of technique and fastidiousness in the food. Paolini describes the restaurant as an American brasserie centered on iconic American and French dishes.
“I want the menu to be recognizable and distinct,” he says, noting that the emphasis is less on novelty than sourcing, technique, and execution.
Whereas Lucian’s food is concise and highly rotational, Sargent’s menu will be roughly twice the size, with more seafood and a steadier set of staples. Meals will be structured more traditionally with starters and mains, instead of four or five courses. Expect bread service with chicken liver pate, a caviar sandwich, raw oysters, shrimp salad with toast, crab cake, and steak tartare to begin. There’s also roasted corn soup, chilled cucumber gazpacho, classic Caesar salad, and tomato and peach salad.
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
Lunch offerings will include a burger, chicken paillard, and duck confit. Paolini is especially focused on the club sandwich, a dish he says, “sounds pretty basic but is one of the best sandwiches on the planet.” His version will include poached chicken breast, carefully sourced bacon and tomatoes, and lemon aioli. The goal, he says, is to make it iconic.
Dinner will bring pasta carbonara, roasted halibut, duck breast, roasted chicken, and prime rib. Dessert will include crème caramel, made in house.
“The menu is designed with the coziness in mind, not comfort food in a Southern sense, but food that feels familiar, satisfying, and carefully made,” Barringer says.
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
The beverage program follows the same logic: expansive yet disciplined. At Lucian, wine is the star, with more than 400 bottles. At Sargent, wine will remain central, but the list will contain half as many bottles, with 12 to 14 wines by the glass. Smelt says the structure will remain familiar to Lucian guests, organized by grape variety and then region or country, with a heavy emphasis on Europe and the United States, alongside select options from Greece, South Africa, and Australia. Smelt is making a concerted effort to keep about half the wine list at $85 or less. A concise “Lunchtime Bottles” list will offer curated selections priced from $45 to $75.
The biggest beverage evolution is the spirits. Smelt calls Sargent a “fuller bar,” with rum, mezcal, tequila, cordials, and single malts joining the mix. Cocktails will be classic and direct: the martini from Lucian, a Manhattan, Tom Collins, and aperitif-style drinks.
“We don’t need to reinvent everything,” Smelt says. “They’re classics for a reason.”
That same balance—familiar but elevated, polished but approachable—carries into the look and feel of the space. Barringer says the team kept texture and layering top of mind, including two custom murals by local artist Tommy Taylor. The goal, she says, was to make the restaurant feel established from day one, “like the space has been here,” even though it’s in a new building.
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
Where Lucian occupies one intimate rectangular room, Sargent is longer, larger, and divided into distinct zones: an 18-seat bar, main dining room, private dining room for 18, outdoor seating, and retail area. In total, Sargent will seat about 165 guests. Floor-to-ceiling windows, a dog-friendly patio, and the steady movement of BeltLine foot traffic give off an energetic vibe.
“At Lucian, you’re coming in as an escape from the chaos outside,” Barringer says. “Here, we are playing into the vibrancy of the neighborhood.”
Books will also have a larger presence at Sargent. Barringer, who previously had a bookstore, is expanding Lucian’s retail model with nonfiction titles focused on art and design, food and wine, film and photography, biographies, music, and more. For her, the book component is not decorative; it is part of how the restaurant invites discovery.
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
Music will help distinguish the two restaurants, too. Lucian’s soundtrack tends toward instrumental selections; at Sargent, Smelt is looking to jazz and international music to match the restaurant’s livelier setting.
For all the differences, Sargent is not a rejection of Lucian’s ethos. It is an expansion of it—more seats, more menu items, more cocktails, more books, more neighborhood rhythm. The throughline is care. Barringer says she hopes guests leave “inspired, energized, satisfied,” with a renewed appreciation for what technique can do to classic dishes.
“It’s the same approach to service,” she says. “Always doing the best version of what we can do. Not cutting any corners.”
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
