Where to Eat in January: Alici, Foundation Social Eatery, Ranger Station, and More

Starting with The White Bull in Decatur, followed next by the arrivals of Grana and Bastone, chef Pat Pascarella’s impressive rise as a restaurateur now includes this coastal Italian seafood and oysterhouse, newly opened in the longtime space of F.R.O.G.S. (and with all due respect to the always-fun Tex-Mex cantina, Midtown Promenade is better for it). Led by executive chef Davis King, an alum of Bacchanalia, The Optimist, and Biggerstaff Brewing, the Amalfi-Coast-inspired restaurant’s menu spotlights a collection of high-quality oysters, which pair fantastically with cocktails like the citrusy and herbal “The Spiteful Monk,” made with Malfy Limone gin, limoncello, Chartreuse, prosecco, and soda, or a glass of orange wine. The freshness continues with a selection of crudos, including beautifully delicate scallops with satsuma mandarins and pink peppercorns. Coursing is suggested, which means you should definitely include one of their soccas: thin, crispy, and savory pancakes topped with options like tuna tartare or wild sauteed mushrooms. You’ll want to save room for pastas like the Campannelle Neri (lobster, shrimp, tomato, and garlic crumbs), and perhaps a grand secondi fish entree of branzino, halibut, and additional options.

When chef Mel Toledo’s highly regarded restaurant first closed at the end of 2020 in Roswell, those who’d become fans felt many ways. And to be clear, that’s a group that included many discerning diners willing to make the often-slow OTP drive on Georgia 400 North — if that doesn’t tell you Foundation was exceptional, you’ve never driven in Atlanta traffic. Its new home in Alpharetta may not be much closer, but the great news is that you’re far closer to eating an unforgettable dinner. The menu now includes new dishes like smoked salmon tartare with truffled egg salad, caviar, bronze fennel, and brioche, and duck confit with turnip and ricotta ravioli and chanterelles. Popular standard items like chicken Bolognese with fettuccine also make a return. In addition to the restaurant, the new setup includes Petit FSE, a Parisian-style bistro and market to enjoy daytime coffees plus dine-in or grab-and-go bites, and a special Sunday brunch.

We’re ready to make a prediction: You will not only continue to love a great Atlanta-area brunch, but you might even brunch harder than you did in 2022. Let Just Brunch help you with that admirable goal inside the vibrant blue walls of the 100-seat space, or on the 35-seat heated patio. Here, every day except Monday, you’ll find a reimagined take on all-day brunch led by chef/owner Keith Kash, from waffles with golden-fried whole wings, to mac ‘n’ cheese with lobster tails, oxtails over grit cakes, and peach-glazed salmon with crab fried rice. They also have decadent sweets such as churro french toast, and specialty cocktails like the Harlem margarita with prickly pear and ginger liqueur.

Closing its second-floor location in September, this offshoot of Root Baking Shop reopened in Ponce City Market two weeks ago. It’s now on the first floor in an unmissable pizza-esque stand, where a yellow neon sign reflects from wood paneling and a red-and-white checkered wall. This month they return to taking phone and online orders, so taste what everyone missed for the past three months in the form of their very fine “mall slices” of classic cheese and tomato-sauced pizza, whole margheritas and other pies, and sandwiches such as the Italian hero with salume and provolone.

Call 404-343-0188 to order by phone.

Taking over the former VaHi gas station space that Diesel called home for more than a decade, Dad’s is a super-nostalgic space for drinking like a proper retro ATLien. It’s from the Little Spirit team, which means you can count on cocktails like the nitro espresso martini to be outstanding. They’ve also turned Diesel’s beer tap system into a hybrid that pours batched cocktails and wine as well as local brews, and have an increased focus, compared to Little Spirit, on food. Chef Maximilian Hines and others have contributed to a menu with White-Castle-inspired sliders by the sackful, waffle fries, and a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich available all day. Framed posters of movies like “Enter the Dragon” and assorted memorabilia from decades past make it a great place to take the old man, or the old man within.

Call 678-702-0951 for more info.

This Italian-American restaurant inside the Thompson Buckhead hotel opened a year ago, and continues to shine thanks to chef Todd Ginsberg’s kitchen genius and a balanced mix of old-school swank. Step inside from the hotel’s lobby, through the bright-red neon signage, which leads to a dining room with a grand marble-topped bar and floor-to-ceiling windows offering panoramic views of the city scene. It opens for breakfast with steel-cut oatmeal, cast-iron buttermilk pancakes, and more, with fresh-squeezed juices and Dancing Goats coffee. Lunch offers a burger stack (serious tip: always be willing to eat a burger at a Todd Ginsberg restaurant), salads, and more, and for dinner there’s hearty lasagna, lobster risotto, a 10-ounce Steak Diane, and more that you should already be eating by now.

Billed as “an intimate speakeasy cocktail bar where hardworking rangers can take a load off after a long day protecting the wilderness,” this secret sipping hideaway is now open in a former upstairs storage space inside Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall. The vibes are moody in the best way, with dim lighting, wood paneling, and ‘70s rock and soul music spinning throughout the night on vinyl. As for libations, they’re taken seriously but without forgetting the fun, with examples such as the Thunderbolt, made with rum, lime, peach, and mint, a crushable selection of lagers, pilsners, and other beers that lean away from the heavy stuff, and a focused menu of wines by the glass, from pet-nat to fruit-forward malbec.

The Unsukay crew, who’ve given Atlanta such classics as Muss & Turners, MTH Pizza, Local 3, and the secretive Warhorse Investments, have opened their all-day, all-week diner, which was created as an “homage to Atlanta with a steady diet of wit, whimsy, and irreverence.” That shows up in a funky space with a large map of Buckhead behind the bar, a wall of cassette tapes, and other signifiers that this place is serious about quality but not overly as much about itself. Breakfast includes Elvis French toast with peanut butter mousse, while lunch features a grilled four-cheese sandwich with tomato soup, a double-stack burger, and more. Dinner can start with “disco” pimento cheese tots, and can include the daily special (chicken pot pie with biscuit crumble on Tuesdays), standards like pork steak with hummus in chile broth, or a whole chicken, cut into eight pieces and served by the bucket, with optional bottles of Champagne.

Call 404-835-7373 to make reservations.

Just opened on South Lumpkin Street, this super fancy, white-tablecloth chophouse comes to Athens via Jerry and Krista Slater, who brought The Expat to town, and were also the brains and talent behind beloved now-closed bar H. Harper Station (now Muchacho — coincidentally owned by Michael Lennox, owner of Ranger Station). Start with charcuterie (duck lardo, coppa, salami), then get into their treatments of grass-fed beef, sourced from Georgia farm Hunter Cattle just west of Savannah, whether you’re the eight-ounce filet sort or plan to bring a few guests for the 32-ounce bone-in rib eye. The menu follows classic steakhouse format, so you’ll add sauces, sides, and additional toppers — such as red wine vinaigrette chimichurri, butternut squash gratin, and seared rock shrimp, respectively — to your bovine cuts, and there are additional entrees like trout amandine and duck confit in bigarade sauce. And being that Jerry Slater happens to be a cocktail wizard, you’ll certainly want to try the customizable martini service, stirred cocktails like the house vesper, or shaken bevs like their chile-rimmed jalapeño margarita.

That big, alien-esque flying saucer of an Atlanta restaurant landmark is back from the pandemic closure times, offering those one-of-a-kind rotating views of Atlanta’s skyline from high above the heart of the city. The restaurant remains committed to sourcing foods from more than 70 local farms, and while it’s long been one of Atlanta’s most iconic and unique symbols of forward-thinking progress, many people may not know it was actually the first fully integrated restaurant in the city, as reported by journalist Richard Eldridge. The Steak Oscar, smoked black-pepper-crusted seabass, and sous vide wild boar and sweet potato gnocchi are waiting for your return just as much as you awaited theirs. 

Call 404-577-1234, ext. 4425, to make reservations.