South City Kitchen Buckhead by Fifth Group Restaurants opened for its first dinner and lunch services. Located at 3350 Peachtree Road in Buckhead, the restaurant is the third location of South City Kitchen. The restaurant remains true to the concept’s tradition of authentic yet sophisticated southern cuisine and genuine hospitality while offering guests a more contemporary environment within the multi-level, urban space.
Executive chef Jason Starnes, previously of The Sun Dial, will helm the kitchen boasting a curated mix of traditional and contemporary Southern cuisine – a unique blend of the South City Kitchen specialties that have made the concept so beloved as well as seasonal dishes created by chef Starnes exclusively for the Buckhead location. Signature dishes include she-crab soup, fried green tomatoes, buttermilk fried Springer Mountain Farms chicken and shrimp and Red Mule grits, among others, while Buckhead exclusives include pickled shrimp with crunchy vegetables, pickled jalapenos and watercress; local strawberry and wood sorrel salad with pickled green strawberries, Bermuda triangle goat cheese and strawberry gazpacho; smokey grilled pork chop with barbecued hazelnuts, cornbread puree, charred broccolini and sorghum vinaigrette; and spiced grilled quail with Carolina risotto, lemon-tomato jus and crispy okra.
Fifth Group’s executive pastry chef Eric Wolitzky also draws on the traditions of the South to offer an expanded selection of cakes and pies exclusively for the Buckhead location with a “southern desserts: redefined” theme. The result is a diverse dessert menu with creative, modern twists on eight classic southern desserts from puddings and cobblers to cakes and pies. Dessert dishes include banana bread brulee pudding, beet red velvet cake, sourdough beignetswith pecan pie filling and chocolate caramel angel pie.
South City Kitchen Buckhead’s wine program, developed by Fifth Group Restaurants’ operating partner and director of food and beverage standards Vajra Stratigos, offers a selection of wines from around the world. Stratigos has leveraged his deep knowledge and passion for wine to find a selection of sommelier gems and age them appropriately. There is a new special section of the Buckhead menu specifically created to honor these specialty offerings.
Staying true to Southern traditions, the cocktail program focuses heavily on bourbon and offers exclusive collections. The cornerstone of the bourbon offerings is the new South City Kitchen barrel program. This one-of-a-kind program leverages Fifth Group’s standing relationships with individual distilleries and wineries to create something exciting yet familiar. The three tapped barrels are proudly displayed above the bar and will be changed on an ongoing basis as the barrels are emptied. The initial barrels will feature a spicy rye whiskey (High West) rested in a zesty Russian river Stuhlmuller zinfandel barrel; a custom Woodford whiskey blend exclusively for Buckhead; and a summertime whiskey staple of the South, the mint julep cocktail.
The Buckhead location occupies 6,000 square feet on the first floor of the 3350 Peachtree building facing Peachtree Road, in the heart of Buckhead’s business district. Created through a collaborative vision between Fifth Group Restaurants and John Barton of Parkway Properties, the space accommodates 220 seats, and the spacious design allows for 155 guests in the dining room, including a private dining room seating up to 50 guests as well as 65 seats on the various patios. Also exclusive to the Buckhead location is an open-air second story patio overlooking Peachtree Road for guests to enjoy. Additional features include an all-season patio along Peachtree Road, a porch with a fireplace and an outdoor fire pit area.
