The November Hit List: Lyla Lila, Lucian, Redbird, Local Green, and More

Winter 2020 was a tough time for Atlanta restaurants, particularly those that had very recently opened, but Lyla Lila’s story of resilience is one worth recognizing. Recently hailed in the New York Times’ nationwide 2021 restaurant list as “exactly the diverse, sophisticated and comfortable restaurant Atlanta’s booming Midtown neighborhood needed,” the southern European menu features impressive pasta dishes from chef Craig Richards, such as wagyu beef and black truffle ravioli, along with a variety of grilled and roasted poultry and seafood. Not to be missed are the jazz-standard-inspired cocktails like ‘Round Midnight, a mezcal Negroni of sorts, which is a smooth, herbal-citrus sipper that’s perfect for enjoying before or after a show at the Fox Theatre directly across Peachtree Street.

Named for British portrait artist Lucian Freud, this casually sophisticated Buckhead restaurant and wine bar is also an upscale bookstore, with hardbacks from artists ranging form Kara Walker to Andy Warhol. The food menu features oysters topped with Asian pear and yuzu, an impressive roast duck leg with white beans and mustard greens, and surprisingly great fries for a place that flirts with fancy. The gold-topped corner bar is a great spot to arrive solo and sample one of many drinks in the 44-page beverage menu, which spans sparkling, still, and skin-contact whites; various cab francs and other reds; aperitifs such as the house-selected “Good vermouth on the rocks” and neat after-dinner (or whenever) pours of Cognac, brandy, amaros and whiskeys.

Affordable healthy food is the wave at Local Green, where vegan, vegetarian and pescatariam sustenance aren’t replacements for what you’d rather eat — they’re delicious reminders that good for you doesn’t mean bad for your taste buds. Start with their “Notorious” tacos layered with pan-seared salmon or sautéed shrimp, and broccoli slaw, diced tomatoes, avocado and red cabbage. They’re named for Biggie Smalls (owner Zak Wallace was a music industry executive prior to becoming a restaurateur), but if you’d rather stick to plant foods and local rap heroes there’s the “3 Stack” cauliflower tacos topped with trinity mix, carrying the nickname of OutKast legend Andre 3000. There are also Beyond burgers with vegan cheese, pulled barbecue jackfruit sliders, and a shrimp cheese steak on a baguette with vegan mozzarella, which for an extra $5 can arrive with rosemary fries.

New American brunch is what chef Virgil “Roc” Harper serves at this dinner-less dining destination near Lenox Mall. Having earned culinary fame for his popular Southern cuisine, Harper feeds good morning energy to the soul and stomach, via bright neon signage, earth-toned banquettes and faux plant decor, and indulgent dishes like sweet potato waffles glazed with pecan praline and vanilla, topped with fried lobster. Don’t forget to dial up the positive vibes with a pineapple or apricot mimosa, spiced pear cider mules and margaritas, or keep it natural via a flight of fresh juices made with leafy greens, turmeric, oranges, carrots, ginger, berries and coconut water.

Arriving in Glenwood Park just months ago, this chain of small Detroit-style pizzas has a New York City subway interior vibe and a solid menu of pies and other quite-satisfying comfort bites. They’ve got just under 20 pizza styles, split into red sauces for fans of margheritas and housemade vodka sauce with meatballs, and white sauces for those who like adventurous pizzas like Nashville hot chicken with Alabama white sauce. They’ve also got stellar sandwiches like chicken or eggplant Parm, and an impressive baby kale salad with marinated artichokes, olives and Champagne vinaigrette. Equally impressive are the cocktails, including the classic Negroni which substitutes Montenegro for Campari.

Lebanese chef Mimmo Alboumeh gave the former space of Watershed, known for elegant Southern dining, an exuberant new life as an expanded version of the good times Mexican cantina he created at Red Pepper Taqueria. The large square bar is still a central star of the Brookwood space, but the vibrant music and potent margaritas, rum old fashioneds and classic palomas add sparks of life to the dining room, keeping things upbeat as you enjoy lamb birria, beef barbacoa, pollo asado and other tacos, or entrees like wild salmon with quinoa and spinach.

Natural lighting, beautiful wood columns and tall ceilings give chef Zeb Stevenson’s lofty culinary playground an inspired feeling, along with his “free-spirited” cuisine he cooks with a simple, ingredient-driven philosophy. From the open kitchen — where you can reserve seats at the nearby eight-seat counter, and watch — Stevenson goes to work on his veg-heavy menu, which features sides of grilled broccolini in pomegranate molasses and pumpkinseed oil, spaetzle in celery root broth and more that can easily be made into a meatless meal. Still, the chance to enjoy the muscadine-glazed duck leg confit or New Orleans barbecued shrimp is one you should take. Stop by on weekend mornings for a box of Zeb’s window-service Birdy Biscuits, but arrive early as they’re served until they sell out.

Girl Diver offers a wide variety of seafood interpreted in Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese flavors in Reynoldstown’s energetic Madison Yards development. There are standalone entrees like Cantonese red chili lobster or barbecued octopus, shareables like crab fried rice, and Cajun boils by the pound, which, for an extra $15 they’ll handle shelling. Bring a crew in the mood for celebration and have a night to remember enjoying a party platter, which range from $175 to $450 for the “Master”: 15-plus pounds of crawfish, shrimp, snow crab, lobster tails, Alaskan king crab, sausages, corn and potatoes.

A sister concept to the long-popular, password-entry cigar bar Red Phone Booth, Amalfi began downtown with traditional Neapolitan pizzas baked in important wood-burning Italian brick ovens, and realized Buckhead was also interested in such action. Now, with the new northside location on Peachtree Road, the brick is less aged and lighter in tone, but the red sauce on their 12-inch pies, fired at 900 degrees and cooked in one minute, is no less robust. In addition to the brighter atmosphere, this second Amalfi’s menu also features seafood entrees, and a market selling fresh pasta, wine, Italian cheeses and olive oil — a hustle that came about due to pandemic pivoting that saw operating partners Stephen de Haan and Greg Grant (both of whom staged in Naples with pizzaiolos at the almost-200-year-old Pizzeria Mattozzi) selling goods and products customers couldn’t find elsewhere.

Call 404-228-7528 for reservations.

With a 600-square-foot market and cafe, a 3,500-square-foot dining room featuring a glistening 30-foot marble bar, and a 1,500-square-foot rooftop terrace, being hungry for handmade pasta, pizza, and other traditional Italian dishes makes for a great excuse to visit Tre Vele for a little upscale ambiance, dining and Italian wine. Chefs Ian Winslade and Giancarlo Ruiz collaborate from antipasti and salads to veal Milanese, oxtail braised in red wine and grilled branzino secondi, while pastry chef Jae Eun Park keeps baked European eats and prepared meals to-go pumping out of the café, where specialty coffees are also available.

Call 404-303-8423 for reservations.