Elise, a new restaurant from Lyla Lila chef Craig Richards, will open Tuesday at the Woodruff Arts Center, taking over the space formerly occupied by Table 1280.
The partnership between Richards and the Woodruff Arts Center, which houses the Alliance Theater, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and High Museum of Art, was announced nearly a year ago. Since then, the Renzo Piano-designed restaurant space was updated by Smith Hanes Studio, adding lighter wood floors and warmer neutrals that allow a few large splashes of color and central artworks to stand out, according to a news release.
Table 1280 shut down in 2022 after 17 years on the Woodruff Arts Center campus.
Richards will open Elise with a seafood-forward, European-inspired menu that will also feature pastas made in-house.
Much of Elise was informed by the architecture of the building, which Richards has admired since he first visited 20 years ago, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
When Richards and the arts center team began discussing plans for him to open a restaurant in the space, they decided they wanted the culinary arts to be represented on the campus as well, so he set out to create what he called a “world class” restaurant.
The minimalistic architecture informed everything, he said, down to the furniture, the artwork and the concept itself.
“The space doesn’t feel like a steakhouse,” he said. “It’s light and airy, and so the food kind of followed suit with that.”
Richards said he’s always been drawn to cooking and working with seafood, referencing his time as executive chef of St. Cecilia. Richards helped open the Buckhead restaurant in 2014 with chef and restaurateur Ford Fry and, a few years later, was promoted to vice president of culinary operations for Fry’s hospitality group, Rocket Farm Restaurants. Richards then partnered with restaurateur Billy Streck to open Lyla Lila in Midtown in December 2019.
“This has kind of become a combination of my experience at St. Cecilia, my experience at Lyla Lila, and just the next progression of that,” he said.
Richards wanted the menu to appeal to the broad audience that visits the Woodruff Arts Center, “elevated yet approachable,” he said.
Elise will open with à la carte dinner service with plans to add a five-course, $95 tasting menu in the coming weeks, according to the announcement. Optional wine pairings will be available for an additional $45, creating a relative bargain compared to many of Atlanta’s other tasting menus, which often start at more than $200 without beverage pairings.
A tasting menu will allow Richards and his sous chefs to experiment a little more with the menu, and the competitive price point was an intentional decision to make sure it was a “value.”
“(People are) willing to take a chance on it if they’re not spending a ton of money,” Richards said.
Once it becomes available, the tasting menu will require separate reservations. Richards isn’t sure yet if tasting menu reservation times will accommodate guests who plan to attend performances at the center.
Menu highlights include scallop crudo with melon and bronze fennel; halibut with ginger beurre blanc and caviar; smoked lamb shank with polenta verde and poached apricots; and Richards’ signature cacio e pepe risotto.
The largely Old World wine list will focus on French producers, with a range of well-known appellations and smaller producers across the 100 selections, the announcement said. Eric Potrikus, the restaurant’s beverage manager, has created a cocktail menu focused on classics with seasonal and creative twists. The bar will also offer a selection of interesting vermouths.
Lyla Lila’s general manager Chris Blackburn has taken on a new role as director of hospitality for both restaurants and will lead the service experience at Elise, according to the news release.
Elise will initially open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday beginning at 5 p.m., with weekday lunch service to be added later.
Reservations are now available on Resy.
1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 404-540-7572, elise-atl.com
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from Craig Richards during an Aug. 19 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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