🌞 Summer dining guide

July 11, 2025 Waseem Abbas

Summer Dining Guide + Beyoncé Events + Tucker Restaurant News

July 10 — For today’s Side Dish, we’re offering two recipes, including one for Sungold tomato galettes. We’ve compiled a summer guide to dining, drinking, and entertaining, including recipes, a Beltline food tour to take, and where to grab soft serve ice cream and frozen custard around Metro Atlanta.

Read stories on what to look for when shopping for wine this summer, and take a look at new restaurants opening at Underground Atlanta soon.

As always, get the latest Atlanta dining news, including information on the burglaries that took place this week at a handful of restaurants along Main Street in Tucker. We have details on where to find breakfast burritos in the Old Fourth Ward and oxtail smash burgers in Decatur. There’s also a quick roundup of Beyoncé-themed dining events and food and drink specials ahead of the “Cowboy Carter” shows this weekend at the Benz. Plus, other Atlanta dining news to know.

In case you missed it in your inbox on Tuesday evening, here’s a link to the latest edition of “Family Meal.” It features a recipe for ratatouille-stuffed tomatoes and where to find vegan versions of shrimp and grits and tres leches that might make you do a double-take.

Cheers from the Rough Draft dining team!

Beth and Sarra

MLB All-Star Week kicks off Friday with the HBCU Swingman Classic at Truist Park! Watch 50 Division-I HBCU stars selected by Ken Griffey Jr. and scouts compete. Presented by T-Mobile and MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation. Get tickets here! SPONSOR MESSAGE

Have You Heard?

Tucker Restaurant News

Some restaurants on Tucker’s Main Street endured another round of burglaries this week. Rough Draft’s Cathy Cobbs reported that the suspects targeted a handful of Main Street businesses in smash-and-grab attempts on July 7 and July 8, including Ford’s BBQ, Village Burger, and Nicky’s Undefeated. To gain entry into the businesses, thieves destroyed storefronts.

Several break-ins were reported over the last year in and around downtown Tucker. In July 2024, Village Burger, Monster Cravings, Las Colinas, and The Corner Cup were burglarized. Then, in January, Nicky’s Undefeated and The Corner Cup were hit. In June, a man stole a cash drawer containing around $600 from Matthews Cafeteria in Tucker. No one was injured in this week’s burglaries, and nothing of value was stolen, but these restaurants will have to add repair costs to already tight bottom lines.

Breakfast Burrito Time

Communidad Taqueria, owned by Poco Loco chef Nick Melvin and his family, just launched breakfast hours. Communidad now serves breakfast starting at 8 a.m. and will begin opening seven days a week on July 21. That means the corner of Sampson and North Highland in the Old Fourth Ward will once again be home to a neighborhood spot serving breakfast, following the departure of Bomb Biscuit and the closure of Highland Bakery. Communidad took over the Highland Bakery space earlier this spring. People can order breakfast tacos and burritos, along with coffee. Communidad recently received its liquor license, which means margaritas and frozen drinks are flowing in the afternoon.

The Return of Panda Fest

It appears the country’s largest outdoor Asian food festival, Panda Fest, will return to Atlantic Station in September. The debut event took place in early April and sold out within days of its announcement. Panda Fest round two takes place Sept. 5-7. Tickets go on sale July 11. Read more about what to expect at the September event from our previous story on Panda Fest.

Oxtail Smash Burgers

Decatur burger joint Smileys Burger Club and Jimmie’s Jerk BBQ are teaming up in July, offering an oxtail smash burger all month long. The jerk-seasoned patty consists of pulled oxtails topped with grilled onions, Pepper Jack cheese, and jerk barbecue sauce on a toasted bun.

Ponce City Market Scoop Shop Debut

National ice cream chain Van Leeuwen opens its first Atlanta location tomorrow at Ponce City Market in the new four-story timber-frame building on the property. To celebrate the opening, the scoop shop will offer a limited run sundae in collaboration with Atlanta’s Bomb Biscuit, featuring honeycomb ice cream, a Bomb Biscuit chocolate chip biscuit, salted caramel, and whipped cream.

Beyoncé is Back in the A

The following dining events and food and drink specials are for members of the Beyhive preparing for Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” shows taking place July 10-11 and July 13-14 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Next door to the Benz in downtown Atlanta, Signia by Hilton plans to offer a lobby lemonade stand all weekend long with cocktails inspired by Beyoncé’s album “Lemonade.” It’s open to the public.

Also open to the public, the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead will feature a Cowboy Carter-themed cocktail bar on the rooftop of the hotel, starting July 10, complete with a DJ spinning nothing but Beyoncé tunes.

Check out Club Cowboy Carter at the Underground on July 11. The dance party begins at 10 p.m. on Upper Alabama. Tickets start at around $36 per person.

Consider attending a Beyoncé-themed drag brunch this weekend at EAV Pub in East Atlanta Village, July 12-13, starting at 1 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person. 18+.

Over at the Waldorf Astoria in Buckhead, Beyoncé fans can get cowboy fancy with a “Denim and Diamonds” afternoon tea. The special, two-hour afternoon tea service is $145+ per person and is offered July 12-13. Reservations required.

In Midtown at Colony Square, Virtue Rooftop Bar, located above 5Church, plans to kick off Cowboy Carter weekend with a party on July 12 that includes small plates and desserts, themed cocktails, and a DJ spinning Beyoncé tunes. 21+. No cover.

Add to Your Calendar

Atlanta’s first halal food festival takes place at Atlantic Station on July 19, from 12-7 p.m. In addition to food and drink vendors, the festival will also feature live entertainment, a petting zoo, a dedicated children’s zone, and an artisan market. Tickets start at $25 per person.

Atlanta Chinatown will host its next monthly night market on July 19, from 6-10 p.m. in Chamblee. The night market will feature art, music, and plenty of food from the mall’s food court vendors. Free to attend.

Indulge in Buckhead Restaurant Week

SPONSORED BY LIVABLE BUCKHEAD

From July 21-26, explore Buckhead’s vibrant dining scene with curated menus and chef specials. Enjoy upscale meals or casual favorites at nearly 40 top restaurants!

Savor tasting flights, shareable platters, and sweet samplers. Discover new flavors and make unforgettable memories. Don’t miss out, reserve your table today!

Head to our website for the full Buckhead Restaurant Week lineup and follow us on social for updates.

Four Atlanta sommeliers talk summer wine

This story is part of a partnership between “City Lights Collective” / WABE” and Rough Draft Atlanta called “The Beverage Beat with Beth McKibben.” As a regular “City Lights Collective” contributor, Beth joins the program monthly to highlight her most recent Rough Draft story on Atlanta’s cocktail, wine, coffee, and nonalcoholic beverage scene.

Summer is unofficially rosé season in the wine world – a time when the super crushable pink wine dominates shelves at wine shops and takes a place of pride on by-the-glass menus at restaurants. But rosé hasn’t always enjoyed this much popularity, especially in the United States. Our love for rosé in this country is a rather recent phenomenon that began around 15 years ago.

Beth talked to four Atlanta sommeliers about why we love rosé so much and what to look for when shopping for other “summer wines.”

Read the story here.
Listen to the “Beverage Beat” on WABE here, starting at Act 5.

New restaurants headed to Underground Atlanta

Atlanta-based real estate firm Lalani Ventures announced a wave of new retail and dining additions coming to Underground Atlanta’s Upper Alabama Street.

Coming to the shopping and dining district is Dolo’s Pizza, a former food cart that transitioned into a permanent space on Lower Alabama last year, and an all-day restaurant called Underground Diner.

At the Market + Two Recipes

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS

Tomatoes are king … but cucumbers are pretty great too. Each week, Rough Draft Atlanta and Community Farmers Markets are partnering to give you two great recipes that you can make using ingredients from your local farmers market. This time around, we’ve got Sungold tomato galettes and a fresh cucumber salad. Check the recipes out here.

Today’s Side Dish was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.

The post 🌞 Summer dining guide appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

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