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ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS OCTOBER 2025127 DINING Scan the QR code to subscribe to our dining newsletters. Eight restaurants to explore this fall By Beth McKibben As we enter the final quarter of 2025, restaurant openings are only ramping up. It’s already been a busy year that saw new spots from two James Beard award winners, a soju distillery debut its restaurant incubator, chefs kicking counter-service menus into high gear, and the return of fine dining to the Woodruff Arts Center. The Rough Draft dining team has been tracking a growing list of upcoming restaurants, but the following eight restaurants are the ones we’re most looking forward to opening. From a trifecta of Lao, Thai, and Khmer food in Chamblee and Greek dishes and cocktails in Midtown to a dessert bar in Poncey-Highland and Neapolitan pizza in Dunwoody, put these restaurants on your opening radar this fall. Naga Bistro Lao, Thai, and Khmer (Cambodian) 2201 Savoy Dr., Chamblee Anticipated September 2025 The owners of Lao restaurant Snackboxe Bistro in Duluth will open Naga Bistro later this month in Chamblee. Taking over the Wild Ginger Thai Cuisine space on Savoy Drive, Naga Bistro will include a full bar and serve a combination of traditional and fusion Lao, Thai, and Khmer (Cambodian) dishes. While all three cuisines will be served here, Khmer fare takes pride of place at Naga Bistro. (Think prahok ktis, a savory minced pork dip, and kathiew, a Cambodian beef noodle soup with a pork bone broth.) Buddy Buddy Greek comfort food and cocktails 93! Monroe Dr., Midtown Anticipated end of September 2025 Veteran Atlanta bartender Nick Chaivarlis will open Buddy Buddy by the end of September in the former Tapa Tapa space at Midtown Promenade. Expect martinis served three ways, along with other classic and original cocktails incorporating wash techniques, infused base spirits, and house-made syrups and cordials. Food will merge Greek street food with the homestyle dishes Chaivarlis grew up eating, including avgolemono (lemon chicken soup), yemista (stuffed peppers), and a roast lamb entree spiced with garlic, aleppo, and oregano chermoula served with Greek lemon potatoes, fried couscous pearls, and a feta beet salad. Spring 2nd Branch Korean cuisine and hot pot 113 Church Street, Marietta Anticipated mid-October 2025 The long-awaited second restaurant from Chef Brian So should open in mid October, just around the corner from his Michelin-star restaurant Spring in Marietta. Located on Church Street in a newly redeveloped retail strip, also home to Contrast Artisan Ales, Spring 2nd Branch (or Bom, meaning “springtime”) will serve simmering Korean hot pot, dolsot bibimbap, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), mandu (dumplings), and other Korean dishes So grew up eating with his family. Bar Ana Desserts and cocktails 939 Ponce de Leon Ave., Poncey-Highland Anticipated October 2025 Award-winning pastry chef Claudia Martinez and El Ponce owner Rosa Thurnher will open Bar Ana in October, a dessert and cocktail bar taking over the former El Bar space beneath El Ponce. By day, Bar Ana will act as a coffee shop run by Ivan Solis of Recuerdos Cafe. At night, the space transforms into a cocktail bar serving sophisticated desserts. Look for a dessert tasting menu, too, consisting of a rotating collection of signature desserts and pastries from Martinez. Yuzu cheesecake (Provided by Bar Ana/Claudia Martinez) Varuni Napoli Neapolitan pizza High Street, Dunwoody Anticipated by the end of 2025 There’s a glut of great pizza joints in Metro Atlanta serving a variety of styles, including Neapolitan. But few pizzerias centered on Neapolitan-style pies measure up to those served at Varuni Napoli. Having grown up in Naples, owner Luca Varuni knows the right ingredients matter for proper Neapolitan pizza. Every year, he travels back to Naples for San Marzano tomato harvesting season, spending time there sourcing ingredients that meet his exacting standards to keep his two in-town pizzerias supplied for months. A third location of Varuni Napoli will open by the end of 2025 at the High Street development in Dunwoody, becoming the first location of the popular pizzeria outside the Perimeter. Sugar Loaf Ethiopian-Albanian, breakfast and lunch, pastries, coffee 780 Memorial Dr., Reynoldstown Anticipated by the end of 2025 Nebi and Lindsay Berhane describe Sugar Loaf as “Southern-inspired” and “globally influenced,” with food and flavors tapping into their Ethiopian and Albanian heritages. Later this year, the couple will transform their farmers market stall into a permanent restaurant in Reynoldstown, serving breakfast and lunch, including Sugar Loaf’s sought-after biscuits, like the tasso ham and cheese on an Ethiopian- spiced dabo biscuit. An expanded menu will also feature caramel-topped “sticky buna” infused with Ethiopian coffee, Liege waffles, Ethiopian lentil salads, Oklahoma- style fried onion smashburgers, and a zesty Albanian chicken sandwich. Some Luck Thai street food, cocktails 644 North Highland Ave., Poncey-Highland Anticipated by the end of 2025 Chefs Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter, owners of Summerhill Thai restaurant Talat Market, will open Thai bar Some Luck this fall in Poncey-Highland. Taking over the Highland Ballroom Lounge, next door to Steven Satterfield’s Madeira Park, Some Luck will serve a decidedly Thai- focused menu featuring bar snacks, noodle 3 Chefs Parnass Savang (left) and Rod Lassiter (right) (Provided by Some Luck) soups, wings, and late-night food inspired by dishes found at street stalls throughout Thailand. Expect quick-fired, stirred cocktails mixed with Thai ingredients and base spirits like rum, along with pitchers of ice-cold Singha beer and local beers on draft. Bottle Rocket Sushi, burgers, and cocktails, neighborhood bar 231 Mitchell St., South Downtown Anticipated by end of 2025 Castleberry Hill neighborhood staple and game day favorite Bottle Rocket will pull up stakes for nearby South Downtown this fall. Located between Tyde Tate Thai Kitchen and Spiller Park Coffee, Bottle Rocket will reside on the ground floor of a renovated early 20th-century storefront on Historic Hotel Row. Known for its eclectic menu of sushi, burgers, and cocktails, the move to South Downtown will increase seating capacity at Bottle Rocket, allow for a better bar layout, and see the menu expand to include lunch and weekend brunch.
