Where to Eat in December: Isla & Co., Feedel Bistro, So So Fed, and More

This Australian-inspired restaurant, already in New York, Connecticut, and Texas, makes its Atlanta debut December 8 on East Andrews Drive, with lunch, dinner, and brunch menus to match what it calls a “classic Ozzie all-day café culture.” Details for now mainly highlight dinner, with options like braised lamb shoulder, spicy Thai green curry and charred octopus. As for bevvies, look for wine, curated cocktails, and specialty house-blend coffee and espresso, including an espresso martini popular at existing locations.

Highly anticipated due to its celebrity status (even Jay-Z has wondered aloud how many times he can eat here), Nobu is now open for dining on the lobby level of Nobu Hotel Atlanta. A number of popular menu items have made it down to Georgia from other locations, such as black miso cod and rock shrimp tempura, all coming from the open kitchen that allows views into the culinary team’s heroic feats of high-level Japanese food preparation. They already know you’ll be taking selfies, which is why the luxury is turned up to 10, both in Nobu’s bar and lounge at the backlit, white-onyx bar with its 12-foot river rock installation, and in the 10,000-square-foot main dining room, which seats 272. They’ve given ATL its own signature cocktail — the Buckhead Cooler — and two private dining rooms accommodate groups of up to 12 or 24 guests. Yes, you are fancy.

Call 470-945-8800 to make reservations.

Just opened at Marietta Boulevard (if you remember Westside Pizzeria you know the location), this classic Southern restaurant began in College Park, pioneering the wave of Black-owned eateries and bars that’ve come to Main Street in the past three years. The new location is currently open for dinner starting at 5 p.m., and all day on Saturday. Some menu items, such as the sauteed shrimp and grits and Cajun seafood pasta, are available at both locations, though Upper Westside will have exclusive dishes, such as the bone-in, center-cut blackened pork chop in mushroom-thyme sauce, the 12-14-ounce NY strip, and brunch items like Cajun chicken chilaquiles. Don’t miss the beignets; they’re amazing. And you’ll definitely want the order of six instead of three — trust us.

What do you get when you turn a group of auto repair shops into a three-acre, indoor-outdoor destination restaurant, bar, event space, and live entertainment complex? You get exactly what you wanted: Westside Motor Lounge, which officially opened in October, turning Echo Street West, just off the BeltLine’s Westside Connector Trail, into one of the buzziest repurposed developments. Brilliant bartender Kellie Thorn consulted on the cocktail menu, which features low intervention wines, shots like the Ferrari (Fernet Branca and Campari), and more. Have those in the 1,750-square-foot West Bar cocktail lounge and listening room, then head over to the 150-seat, 2,900-square-foot restaurant for down-to-earth dining such as grilled pimento cheese and bacon sandwiches and meat-and-three platters. Hang around the half-acre courtyard where you’ll find shuffleboard courts, cabanas, a live music stage, and a soon-completed beer garden. It’s an unbelievably well-designed setup that looks like it should’ve always been there; hopefully it’ll stay that way for a long time.

Call 678-388-9536 for more info.

Look for the teal awning and lime-green flower planters that serve as frames for the outdoor seating area at Feedel, a vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian Ethiopian and Eritrean bistro, bringing spices of life to north Atlanta by way of flavorful food. Lentil-stuffed sambusa (similar to samosas) get the good vibes going, followed by salads such as raw collards and cabbage, or savory beet root, potatoes, and carrots in citrus dressing. Stay meatless with entrees like tofu fettuccine, or pescatarian with options like shrimp and mushroom tibs (Ethiopian stir-fry), or the grilled and lightly fried whole branzino with yellow split peas, available at market price. There’s also traditional Eritrean clay pot coffee for those avoiding alcohol, but those who are not will find reason to return in the New Fashion — a charred peach version of the old one you know, made with Gentleman Jack.

From pizza to pasta to regional entrees, wine, and gelato artigianale, Dunwoody’s elegant Italian dine-in, with a heated patio full of Italian cypress trees, deserves praise for fresh and locally sourced eats that mix tradition and innovation. Choose from several risottos, such as the mixed seafood with Carnaroli rice, and pastas like the deconstructed pappardelle lasagna with bechamel and beef Bolognese, all available as first courses. Keep going in with free-range lemon chicken with Yukon Gold potatoes and garlic sauteed spinach, or perhaps the rainbow trout cooked in parchment, or even the Black Angus Teres Major steak, recommended medium-rare by the chef. Pie-wise, Novo’s hammed-up Maialona with tomato sauce, spicy soppressata, cotto, and pancetta comes out of the brick oven ready to please. The daily housemade gelato can be purchased by the scoop or pint, and includes flavors like banana pudding, pistachio, hazelnut Nutella swirl, and more.

Following the success of eateries Mission + Market and Tre Vele, Chef Ian Winslade and the Akly family of restaurateurs have turned their attention to the Lebanese cuisine of Ryan and Jonathan Akly’s grandmother, their new restaurant’s namesake. Winslade’s mastery of French cooking techniques combine with Eastern Mediterranean flavors in this 6,000-square-foot building, from the open kitchen to the 150-seat dining room, spreading out to a 30-seat bar lounge, and a private upstairs dining room for parties of up to 60, all with touches of modern and classic Middle Eastern design. Super-thin-crusted Mediterranean pizza will be offered, in addition to skewered meats and veggies, babaganoush, and hummus, according to Winslade.

Call 404-433-2180 for more info.

From the ornate blue/green/white tile and half-wood-paneled white interior walls, to the neighborhood house-styled architecture and exterior layout, it’s clear that while North End’s menu skews New American, they’re just old-school enough to make Roswell feel at home. The fried green tomato stack with habanero-raspberry pepper jelly does more of the same, along with the braised short rib French dip and main course meals like chorizo meatloaf with Boursin mashed potatoes. The message seems to be that you’re supposed to feel comfortable here. But of course, just to push the point further, you can augment your evening with a Whistlepig Manhattan with Montenegro, or the honey citrus margarita with Aperol and pineapple juice. Be careful or you might find yourself house-hunting in Roswell after dinner.

This thriving pop-up, running a dinnertime residency at Full Commission and running with a creative rearrangement of music producer Jermaine Dupri’s famed Atlanta record label (no, JD is not involved), has become a culinary cult classic among fans of sticky and spicy Laotian foods. The Lao beef jerky has become a runaway hit, although the menu changes regularly. Sometimes it includes tinned sardine stir-fry with garlic, yellow tomato, Thai basil, Thai chile, and grilled toast; other times you might find caramelized chicken thighs, or the 10-ounce, butter-basted Angus rib eye with pineapple tamarind jeow and blistered shishitos — just don’t expect either to hang around long if there’s a crowd.

No reservations; see the menu here.

It may be a half-hour from Atlanta city limits, but this spirited gastropub does a fantastic job filling plates with tasteful takes on pub fare in a brick-surrounded space that gives industrial grit. For a fitting beginning, have a small skillet of jumbo spicy garlic shrimp in paprika, olive oil, and sherry with toast, or fried Springer Mountain chicken livers. They’ve got a great selection of double-stack Brasstown Beef burgers, including the fried-mozzarella-topped Celine Dijon (also topped with Dijonnaise, bacon jam, and arugula), and other meaty meals in the “Bigs” section, such as country-fried steak with mash, mushrooms, and spinach. But they also know how to give vegetables their flowers, particularly in the butternut squash entree, which comes atop grits with broccolini and crisped shallots, or the smoked portobello melt sandwich on marbled rye. Whatever you order, you’ll always regret not having an order of hand-cut fries handy once you see them come out for another table, or crafted cocktails like the refreshing T&T — reposado Tequila and tonic.