Austin’s opens at Serenbe in Chattahoochee Hills and more restaurant news

The short rib from Austin's at Serenbe comes brushed in fermented honey and served with crushed herbs, potatoes, chilis, garlic and pickled shallots. / Courtesy of Erik Meadows Photography

Credit: Courtesy of Erik Meadows Photography

Credit: Courtesy of Erik Meadows Photography

The short rib from Austin's at Serenbe comes brushed in fermented honey and served with crushed herbs, potatoes, chilis, garlic and pickled shallots. / Courtesy of Erik Meadows Photography

Austin’s Cocktailery and Kitchen is set to open tomorrow in luxury community Serenbe in Chattahoochee Hills.

Located at 9110 Selborne Lane in Serenbe’s Selborne neighborhood, Austin’s comes from Atlanta food and beverage veteran and Serenbe founder and CEO Steve Nygren. It’s named for Father Austin Ford, a friend of the Nygren family and Serenbe’s founders.

Inspired by the cocktail lounges of 1920s Paris and London Austin’s offers a menu of 10-12 sharable plates with seasonally rotating dishes, made with locally sourced ingredients from growers including on-site Serenbe Farms.

Lighter options include oysters on the half shell, caviar service, Little Gem Caesar with grilled lettuces, burnt garlic, anchovy and lemon and the a roasted wedge of cabbage in taleggio espuma with nduja and basil. Other dishes include a hamachi crudo with ponzu, herbs and serrano; chawanmushi, a traditional Japanese egg custard with poached lobster, celeriac, and sauce American; and the short rib in fermented honey and served with crushed herbs, potatoes, chilis, garlic and pickled shallots.

The full bar includes a cocktail list with drinks like the Serene Queen with tequila, lavender syrup, Angostura bitters, spirulina, grapefruit, lime, coconut milk and saline and the Southern Beauty with Nanbu Bijin Southern Beauty sake, St. Germain, Creme de Violette, peach bitters, lemon and grapefruit, as well as a selection of beer, wine and non-alcoholic options.

Designed by Atlanta-based firm Rook & Dash, Austin’s offers “a tactile and sumptuous feel with plush moss green boucle booths, a honed leather bartop for 18 guests, and dimensional plaster walls,” according to a news release. The 95-seat space “welcomes guests in through a dramatic entry marked by a black steel pivot door and continues on with lavishly appointed accents that include brass details and custom artwork.”

Austin’s, which joins other Serenbe food and beverage concepts including the Farmhouse, the Hill at Serenbe, Halsa and the Blue-Eyed Daisy, will be open from 5-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and 5-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays.

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Off Leash dog park in Alpharetta includes an indoor restaurant for humans only (pictured) as well as a dog-friendly patio. / Bites and Bevs | Madelynne Grace

Credit: Madelynne Grace Ross

icon to expand image

Credit: Madelynne Grace Ross

The first location of Off Leash outdoor and indoor dog park opened this week at 142 South Main St. in Alpharetta. The park also features a dog-friendly dining patio and an indoor restaurant and bar (for humans only).

Menu items include chicken biscuits, breakfast burritos and fruit and yogurt bowls for breakfast and burgers, chicken sandwiches, tacos, salads, chips with pimento cheese and fried pickles for lunch and dinner.

Drinks include cocktails and beer, as well as coffee and other non-alcoholic options.

Off Leash offers a variety of membership options, as well as single day passes. Hours are 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays.

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Mediterranean concept Yoffi has opened as a permanent food truck in the Village Dunwoody development at 5515 Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

Housed in an orange truck with a digital ordering screen and service window, Yoffi offers dips served with pita such as the roasted pepper and feta and hummus. Entrees include five bowls like the falafel with tahini; wood-roasted mushrooms with harissa dressing; rotisserie chicken; gyro burger; and a double cheeseburger with Simcha sauce. Brown Bags are shareables like roasted green beans or Yoffi fries with malt vinegar and salt and pepper, or oregano and lemon zest.

Once guests get their food, they can sit anywhere in the courtyard in the Village Dunwoody. The space features large screen showing televised events and movies, as well as a raised stage with live music and DJs.

Yoffi joins other Village Dunwoody concepts including Bar{n} booze {n} bites, Morty’s Meat & Supply, and Message in a Bottle. All come from David Abes and his DASH Hospitality restaurant group.

Hours are 4-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 4 p.m.-midnight Fridays, noon-midnight Saturdays and noon-9 p.m. Sundays.

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Cultivate Food and Coffee has opened its third location in the Battery Atlanta development at 455 Legends Place. It joins the original location on Howell Mill Road and another that opened earlier this years in the Citizens Market food hall at Phipps Plaza.

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Vegan ghost kitchen Planted Soul has closed its location at 800 Forrest St. NW and is looking for a new location, according to an Instagram post.

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Sistahritas, the Mexican concept that operated out of a stationary food truck in East Atlanta, has closed, according to an Instagram post.

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Miguel Villamil has been announced as the new executive chef for Chicheria Mexican Kitchen at The Works in Atlanta’s Upper Westside area.

Villamil, a native of Mexico, previously worked at Atlanta restaurants Cooks & Soldiers, Casi Cielo, Muchacho and Woodfire Grill.

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Giving Kitchen, the locally-based James Beard Foundation Award-winning nonprofit organization that provided financial assistance and resources to food service workers in times of crisis has assisted it 20,000th client.

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Le Petit Marche in Kirkwood and ABC Chicken and Waffles in Sweet Auburn are shifting from dine-in service to takeout only, Rough Draft Atlanta reports. The restaurants and both operated by the owners of the popular downtown Atlanta restaurant Atlanta Breakfast Club.

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Barry Mills, who previously co-owned FLIP Burger Boutique and HD1 and currently runs Big B’s Fish Joint in Sandy Springs, is set to open a full-service restaurant tentatively titled Steak & Grace at 1317 Dunwoody Village Parkway in the Dunwoody Village development, Tomorrow’s News Today reports.

More restaurant and drink news from the week

Two Atlanta food halls make changes, a third announces new tenants

Chamblee’s Frosty Caboose celebrates 15 years

News and notes from the metro Atlanta drink scene

Bene Korean Steakhouse opens at Uptown Atlanta

Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks won’t reopen its downtown location

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