With the city in full preparation mode for the FIFA World Cup just around the corner in June, there are several new restaurants expected to open in South Downtown, including Sammy’s new barbecue joint, Broad Street BBQ, and bar Irish Exit from NYC’s award-winning team behind Dead Rabbit. As visitors flock to the city, here are the hottest new restaurants we have on our radar right now.
The Best New Restaurants Around Atlanta, May 2026
The hot ticket at Koshu Club, bejeweled Indian restaurant Ikara, and Brookhaven’s Mirae
Henna Bakshi is the former Regional and Audience Editor at Eater and an award-winning food and wine journalist with a WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) Level 3 degree. She oversees coverage in Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Nashville, and the Carolinas.
New to the map: Mūjo’s new Japanese restaurant, Koshu Club in Buckhead, Atlantic Station’s flashiest new Indian restaurant, Ikara, an Italian hot spot in West Midtown with a killer wine list and a rooftop bar coming soon, Füm, an Indian coffee shop with a gulab jamun latte, Raani, and an Asian-fusion joint in Brookhaven from the team behind Fūdo, Mirae.
While the Eater 38 highlights Atlanta restaurant institutions, old standbys, and neighborhood essentials, this map spotlights the new places people are flocking to right now.
The Best New Restaurants Around Atlanta, May 2026
The hot ticket at Koshu Club, bejeweled Indian restaurant Ikara, and Brookhaven’s Mirae
Henna Bakshi is the former Regional and Audience Editor at Eater and an award-winning food and wine journalist with a WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) Level 3 degree. She oversees coverage in Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Nashville, and the Carolinas.
With the city in full preparation mode for the FIFA World Cup just around the corner in June, there are several new restaurants expected to open in South Downtown, including Sammy’s new barbecue joint, Broad Street BBQ, and bar Irish Exit from NYC’s award-winning team behind Dead Rabbit. As visitors flock to the city, here are the hottest new restaurants we have on our radar right now.
New to the map: Mūjo’s new Japanese restaurant, Koshu Club in Buckhead, Atlantic Station’s flashiest new Indian restaurant, Ikara, an Italian hot spot in West Midtown with a killer wine list and a rooftop bar coming soon, Füm, an Indian coffee shop with a gulab jamun latte, Raani, and an Asian-fusion joint in Brookhaven from the team behind Fūdo, Mirae.
While the Eater 38 highlights Atlanta restaurant institutions, old standbys, and neighborhood essentials, this map spotlights the new places people are flocking to right now.
Koshu Club
Chef J. Trent Harris, the James Beard Award finalist behind Michelin-starred Mujō, expands beyond omakase at new Buckhead restaurant Koshu Club, where binchotan-grilled wagyu, thoughtful sake pairings, and rich vegetable dishes drive the menu. The moody restaurant is already a hot ticket in town. Look for an excellent beverage menu, which includes creative cocktails, fine wine, and a sake library. Read our full review on exactly what to order.
- 99 West Paces Ferry Road Northwest, STE A, Atlanta, Georgia 30305, United States
- (404) 806-1404
- Visit Website
Andrew Thomas Lee
Ikara
The dal Ikara (stewed lentils) and the mango cocktail are must-orders at Atlantic Station’s newest Indian restaurant, Ikara, in the 12 Midtown building. The stunning interior, with gold-toned lamps and intricate domes, will make you think you’re crashing a Bollywood-style Indian wedding. The team comes from Pippal in Emeryville, California, and executive chef Yugal Sharma was formerly at the renowned ITC Grand Bharat resort in New Delhi. Read our full review on what else to order, including a whole-fried pomfret and a refreshing paan-flavored cocktail.
- 361 17th Street Northwest, #twelve, Atlanta, Georgia 30363, United States
- (678) 904-0313
- Visit Website
Ikara/Chromed Design Studio
Füm
Füm, framed by olive trees on a breezy patio, is an airy new Italian restaurant in West Midtown. It comes from Miami’s Grassfed Culture Hospitality Group, the same team behind Michelin-starred Los Félix. Inside, the open kitchen sets the stage: a pastaio (pasta maker) pulls fresh noodles, moving to the groove of the DJ playing lo-fi records in the dining room. The wine list only packs biodynamic and organic Italian producers and grower Champagne, keeping the selection regional and intentional. Be sure to order the pappardelle with beef ragu, the crispy Atlanta fried mushrooms (AFM), and the tuna carpaccio finished with fermented caper leaves. Read our full review for an insider tip on the team’s rooftop bar opening soon.
Füm
Ishin Omakase
Inside the glitzy new Ten Twenty Spring building, Ishin sits on a rooftop, nestled beside Celestia, a cocktail lounge. Chef Fuyuhiko Ito (formerly executive chef at Umi) and his wife, pastry chef Lisa Ito, own and run both places. The flavorful omakase at Ishin is 14 to 15 courses and $275 a person. Expect breathtaking views of the Midtown skyline from the counter as you eat decadent and towering nigiri of toro and wagyu. Be sure to stop at Celestia and its rooftop deck for an after-dinner cocktail. Ito’s team is gearing up to open a Japanese grill, Sozou, on the first floor.
- 1020 Spring Street Northwest, st 801, Atlanta, Georgia 30309, United States
- (678) 272-5747
- Visit Website
Henna Bakshi
Raani Coffee Roasters
The gulab jamun lattes are all the rage at Indian coffee shop, Raani, in East Atlanta. Raani, which means queen in Hindi, is aptly woman-owned and founded by Praveena Sundarraj. She uses Indian-origin small-batch coffee, mostly from the Western Ghats of India. For food, find egg and cheese masala cheddar biscuits slathered with chutney, channa masala tarts, and cardamom coriander buns at this airy, new coffee shop.
Raani Coffee Roasters
Spring 2nd Branch
Chef Brian So, of Michelin-starred Spring, has opened his casual Korean fare spot, Spring 2nd Branch, in Marietta. Find whole grilled mackerel and massive, sizzling bowls of bibimbap with a short rib patty, and galbi jjim here. Be sure to order the locally-made Minhwa Spirits soju on draft for a cooling, low-alcohol rice wine. The space is open, airy, and casual, and is open all day for lunch and dinner. Read our full review on what else to order.
Matt Wong
Mirae
Husband-and-wife duo John and Grace Lee (behind Fūdo in Chamblee) opened Mirae, an Asian-fusion fine dining restaurant, in Brookhaven this year. The tight menu offers Korean beef tartare, tuna and caviar handroll, claypot chicken, and uni and truffle pasta. The wine list has a French and California focus, alongside a great sake selection, and local Minhwa Spirits soju. Find a gorgeous bonsai tree in the dining room, setting the tone for a relaxing atmosphere.
Mirae
Bar Ana
The highly anticipated Bar Ana, a late-night dessert and cocktail bar, opened in Poncey-Highland. James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef Claudia Martinez and co-owner Artie De Los Santos are behind the venture in the former El Bar space, below El Ponce. By day, the space is a specialty coffee called Recuerdos, by Ivan Solis. By night, Martinez’s famous desserts take the cake, alongside small savory plates like mushroom tart and charcuterie. Look for apple spice cake, guava-glazed doughnuts, and shortbread tarts with pear sorbet and caramel popcorn, with creative cocktails to match.
- 939 Ponce De Leon Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, Georgia 30306, United States
- (470) 763-9626
- Visit Website
Andrew Thomas Lee
Ghee Indian Kitchen - West Midtown
Ghee, the swanky new Indian restaurant from Miami, opened recently in West Midtown. Diners say the restaurant is still finding its sea legs to match the Michelin Bib Gourmand-level dining it offers in Miami. Well-known dishes like chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, and dal makhni are available, alongside inventive dishes like patra, made with taro leaves; Kerala lamb; turmeric-marinated fish with coconut and fennel sofrito; and smoked lamb neck with chickpeas, tomato, and cinnamon.
Felipe Cuevas
Elise
Chef Craig Richards of acclaimed Italian restaurant Lyla Lila has opened Elise at the Woodruff Arts Center. It replaces Table 1280, with a brand new, artful interior, a French and Italian-focused menu, and a large wine list. Find Richards’ famed house-made pasta on the menu, including his signature cacio e pepe risotto, linguine with clams and langoustines, tagliatelle with rabbit ragu, and gnocchetti with crab and fennel pollen butter. Be sure to try one of the many mineral waters listed on the menu.
Angie Webb
Northern China Eatery (BeltLine)
Buford Highway’s popular Northern China Eatery now has a BeltLine outpost and it’s stunning. Local muralist Andrew Blooms has covered the restaurant walls in floral and wildlife motifs that bring the place alive. Look for soup, steamed, and boiled dumplings (pork and fennel are standouts for $14), buns, plenty of noodles and fried rice, and the crowd-favorite eggplant in garlic sauce ($16). But with a table full of sweet and spicy grub, be sure to look up.
- Order delivery from Grubhub
- 665 Auburn Avenue Northeast, STE 01b, Atlanta, Georgia 30312, United States
- 229-258-8832
- Visit Website
RestauWant
Ryokou
The Adair Park neighborhood is getting a glow-up with new businesses opening in the area in recent months. Michelin-recommended Ryokou is one of them — an omakase restaurant by chef Leonard Yu of Michelin-starred Omakase Table. Ryokou has a tasting menu of eight courses, including a pasta course, for $195 a person. The small plates include dishes like Aomori gai (a sampling of the best seafood from the city of Aomori in Japan), awabi kimo (steamed, thinly sliced abalone over a rice and abalone liver mixture), nigiri, and smoked wagyu. Wine and sake pairings are also available for an additional fee and are worth getting — there are many hidden treasures on the sake list. Reservations required.
Ben Nguyen Pham
Cuddlefish
The newest spot by the team behind Brush Sushi, Michelin-recommended Lucky Star, and Momonoki, is now open in Atlanta’s Perimeter at High Street. Cuddlefish is a hand roll eatery (think open-faced sandwiches but sushi) with Japanese and Taiwanese flavors. A temaki tasting menu at the chef’s counter is also available. Be sure to ask for sake suggestions here — the Funaguchi Gold is an easy, classic single-serve can ($14), and the Ohmine Shuzou 3 Grain bottle ($130) is a rare find worth savoring. A coffee and bakery section, led by ChingYao Wang, offers pastries and coffee every day. High Street will also soon be home to a new location of Varuni Napoli pizzeria.
Cuddlefish
Madeira Park
Michelin-recommended Madeira Park in Poncey-Highland is one of the hottest places to grab a glass of wine (including rare reserve wines by the half-glass) after work. James Beard Award-winning chef Steven Satterfield of Miller Union teamed up with his business partner Neal McCarthy and sommelier Tim Willard of Dive Wine pop-up to open the wine bar and restaurant. The wine list includes rare Old World treasures by the glass and bottle, and the food menu is the perfect snacking accompaniment — get the eight-minute egg with a creamy yolk, anchovy, and potato chip with a glass of Chablis. The bar is popular, so come early to snag a seat. Ask sommelier Jade Palmer for her hidden, handwritten (in pristine handwriting, mind you) wine list with deep-cut, limited-allocation bottles. Also, try the cocktails, particularly the white rum and tonic, which made Eater Atlanta’s Best Dishes We Ate roundup.
Andrew Thomas Lee
