Welcome to DiningOut’s Plate Full of News, your weekly serving of Atlanta’s restaurant, bar, and culinary happenings. From buzzy openings and chef moves to can’t-miss events, menu debuts, and industry news, here’s everything you need to know about the city’s dining scene this week.
Travelers passing through Hartsfield-Jackson’s Concourse E have a new chef behind one of the airport’s most celebrated meals. Gary Caldwell, a Louisiana native who learned Creole and Cajun cooking in his grandmother’s kitchen and later won Chopped in 2024, is now executive chef at One Flew South. It’s a homecoming of sorts. Caldwell spent years with Jackmont Hospitality, including running the kitchen at Chicken + Beer elsewhere in the airport. Now he’ll bring what he calls his “Modern Bayou” style to a menu that already pairs Southern cooking with sushi.
Cuevacía, the Oaxacan-inspired restaurant from Spur Hospitality, is expanding to North Decatur with a second location at Lulah Hills, the open-air development replacing the former North DeKalb Mall. The 2,600-square-foot, two-story space will keep the cave-like design of the Colony Square original. New additions include an indoor water feature with a cactus garden, cave-style booths on the second floor, a covered patio, and a walk-up to-go window. An opening date has not yet been announced.
Throughout October, Le Colonial is marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month by donating $2 from every featured drink sold. The lineup includes the Le Vie en Rose, made with Lillet Rosé, lemongrass, and sparkling rosé. There’s also the Violet Moon, a mocktail of fresh coconut purée, house-made ube syrup, lime, and soda. Glasses of Whispering Angel Rosé count toward the donation, too.
Fresh off a renovation, Table & Main hosts its first wine dinner in the updated space on Tuesday, October 20, at 6 p.m. Working with Deep Roots Wine Market, sommelier Daniel Pernice pairs Eleven Eleven Napa Valley wines with six courses from executive chef Woolery “Woody” Back. Roasted sunchoke and fennel soup meets the Calesa Chardonnay. Slow-roasted lamb shoulder comes with the 2022 Vivio Vineyard Syrah, and wood-grilled Bear Creek picanha with the 2022 XI Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. A pear walnut tart closes the night. Tickets are $149 per person, plus tax and gratuity, via OpenTable.
Catch the last Ceviche Session of the year at Tio Lucho’s on Wednesday, October 21, at 6 p.m. chef Manny Lusa opens the evening by breaking down a whole fish in front of guests. Then comes ceviche, tiradito, and a seafood tasting of grilled, fried, or braised dishes chosen by the day’s catch, with seasonal sides and a glass of wine. Tickets are $100 per person, plus tax, available via OpenTable. The series returns in 2027.
The Chai Box celebrates the Festival of Lights with its fifth annual Diwali Mela on Saturday, October 24, from 4 to 8 p.m. at its Marietta production facility, located at 811 Livingston Court, Suite C. The free afternoon brings together food, gifts, henna, music, and live entertainment from local vendors. Guests who RSVP online are entered into a raffle for prizes.
Afternoon tea gets a spooky makeover at Michelin-recommended Southern Belle in Poncey-Highland on Sunday, October 25. Chef Joey Ward and his team are serving a Halloween tea built around a tiered tower of Southern-inspired tea sandwiches, biscuits, scones, pastries, and petit fours, with specialty drinks and a full tea service alongside. Reservations are available online.
Bratwurst gets its own holiday at Buckhead Butcher Shop, which hosts its first annual Oktober Wurst-Fest on Sunday, October 25. During 90-minute demonstrations at 1 and 3 p.m., the shop’s chefs walk guests through cooking bratwurst and making sauerkraut at home. Afterward, everyone tastes the results with a flight of German-style beers. Seating is communal and limited to 40 guests, with standing room available. Tickets are $125 per person, available online.
Candy is fair game at Lucky Star, where the Halloween Cocktail Omakase is back through Saturday, October 31, with an all-new lineup. Cotton candy and clarified banana sweeten the rum-and-yuzu Banana Zombie. The Candy Corn gives the most divisive treat in the trick-or-treat bag a grown-up twist with chai gin, tamarind, black sesame, and black salt. The darkest drink of the menu, the Black Matcha, gets its midnight color from squid ink. A few surprises are promised along the way. Reservations are available via OpenTable.
Botánico Cocina & Social Club has added Sunday brunch served from 10 a.m., and the entire menu is gluten-free. Colombian chorizo goes into the biscuits and gravy, and the pancakes come topped with mixed berry coulis, caramel whipped cream, and a morita glaze. On the savory side, there’s a Spanish tortilla with arugula salad and spicy hollandaise, plus carne asada y huevos divorciados: eggs over a corn tostada with cheese, split between cilantro and guajillo salsas.
