What to Order at Atlas in the St. Regis Atlanta

When I invited my friend Claude Roussel, a hospitality veteran who is presently vice president of Sky Clubs and lounge experience at Delta Air Lines, to dine with me at Atlas, the one-Michelin-starred restaurant at The St. Regis Atlanta, he expressed his approval and excitement, saying, “I was recently there and the food is amazing.” One can access Atlas through the St. Regis lobby and an elevator ride to the fourth floor, or use its own designated entrance through a courtyard next to the hotel, which is near the posh St. Regis Bar. Though Atlas has its own cozy bar, one may want to get a head start here, admiring a mural reminiscent of the one at the legendary King Cole Bar at The St. Regis New York.

Westholme Wagyu / Photo: Courtesy of Lorenzo Franco

With an impressive gallery of museum-caliber works—featuring both a rotating installation and permanent pieces by Picasso, Freud, Bacon, Soutine, Chagall and Japanese-French painter Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita—Atlas’ handsomely decorated room sets the tone for attentive and elevated service, the likes of which we’d like to encounter more often. The chef’s tasting menu, by culinary director Freddy Money, showcases his training under Alain Ducasse. Money believes in storytelling as he creates dishes emphasizing ingredients and textures.

A parade of “snacks,” or amuse-bouches, arrived in unison, the most outstanding being a take on a pizza. Miniature slices of dried meringue capped with dehydrated pizza toppings burst with flavor as the morsel melts in your mouth. Other tastes included rice with avocado and wasabi, a foie-gras Jammie Dodger cookie with a happy face made of contrasting
cherry jam, and a freshly compressed nashi pear with hibiscus and sake.

The first sizable appetizer featured Kristal caviar: A small layer of butternut puree and shellfish espuma is sealed under a ponzu gel and topped with matchstick confetti of crispy root vegetables, beets, carrots and squash and graced with a lavish scoop of Kaviari Paris’ Kristal caviar. Dungeness crab, served warm with black trumpet mushrooms, crispy kale and a bavarois of truffle and celery, was comforting, while the hen’s egg, with a veil of parsley and morels, was adorned with crispy phyllo silhouettes of branches.

A seafood course, turbot with salt-baked kohlrabi, beets and lardo in a rich red-wine matelote butter sauce, was a delight.

This decadence was followed by an impressive series of dishes prepared from a whole squab: its neck stuffed with a pigeon mortadella, its legs confit and dipped in sorghum spiced crumble, and its breast cooked sous vide and finished on a Japanese barbecue, served with pigeon jus and huckleberry puree. A side of liver parfait, a.k.a. game toast, sealed the experience, only to be enjoyed if you are a fan of game birds.

As if we hadn’t had enough, a single medallion of rare Westholme Wagyu beef ended our savory courses. A finale of strawberries, pistachio and rhubarb left us yearning to come back soon for more.