Good Eats Pave the Way into 2016 -- Across Atlanta and the Southeast

2015 is (almost) in the rearview mirror, and 2016 spreads out before us, crisscrossing Atlanta and the Southeast to welcome newcomers and share good news from favorite friends. Peer into our crystal Champagne flutes for the latest info on these new arrivals. 

Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar opens February 2016 at The Avenue East Cobb in Marietta. Chef/restaurateur Doug Turbush of Seed Kitchen & Bar and Stem Wine Bar in Marietta envisions a lively atmosphere, casual and welcoming, where groups can gather around the raw bar over big platters of oysters or settle in for a bounteous showcase of expertly prepared fresh Atlantic and Gulf Coast seafood. 

A spring 2016 opening for 5Church Atlanta connects the dots between three Southern culinary queens -- Charlotte, the restaurant’s hometown; Charleston, home to the second location in the family tree; and Atlanta, where a third 5Church will put down roots at Colony Square. Restaurateurs Patrick Whalen, Ayman Kamel, Alejandro Torio and Jamie Lynch credit the name to their original restaurant’s address at the corner of 5th and Church in Uptown Charlotte. Atlantans can anticipate casual-yet-refined lunch, dinner and weekend brunch experiences touting 5Church favorites from executive chef Lynch such as the “60 second” NY strip steak and 5Church lamb burger with red onion marmalade and Gorgonzola fondue. A 200-bottle wine list, specialty cocktails and craft beers complement the menu. A good neighbor from the get-go, the Midtown restaurant will feature new, locally sourced dishes original to the Atlanta restaurant as well as artwork created by local artists. Follow 5Church on Facebook.

The Katharine Brasserie & Bar opens this winter on the ground floor of the renovated R.J. Reynolds building at 4th and Main in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Executive chef Ed Witt, previously of The Partisan in Washington, D.C., forecasts a traditional brasserie menu combining French techniques and classic Southern cooking with modern polish and seasonal ingredients. Namesake Katharine Smith Reynolds would be proud, and Winston-Salem residents as well as guests at The Kimpton Cardinal Hotel will be delighted, whether sitting down to breakfast, lunch or dinner or to a selection from the bar’s extensive wine list and menu of craft beers and creative cocktails. Follow The Katharine on Facebook and Instagram.