As the winter of the pandemic has dragged on, restaurateurs are pinning hopes on the hypothesis that diners are itching to suck the marrow out of a bone; dip into cured wild salmon in spirulina, farm yogurt and yuzu kosho; pop trout roe and yeasted hollandaise on their tongues and cascade through a thousand layers of a creamsicle-flavored mille feuille.
That’s the implied hope of these new restaurants we’re dying to try, buoyed by good news like vaccines, sunshine and spring breezes after an especially chilly winter.
Restaurateurs are highly cognizant that diners want to feel safe while exploring and feasting, of course. The emphasis is on safety protocols, options for private dining, outdoor dining, visible cleaning efforts and overall customer comfort levels.
For example, The Betty, a new Atlanta supper club with breakfast, outlines its “Approach to Clean” for high levels of cleanliness and safety, including signage indicating safety measures (including employees using three-ply medical masks), spaced-out reservations ensuring there’s never a large number of guests; table sets with single-use menus, flatware rollups, hand sanitizer and laminated QR codes.
Here’s a look at the season’s new restaurants open or coming soon.
