Why Atlas matters.
Atlas is a MICHELIN-starred contemporary American restaurant where Buckhead's tradition of refined dining meets Freddy Money's European culinary training, Georgia's seasonal agriculture and a distinguished collection of twentieth-century art.
Situated along West Paces Ferry Road near its intersection with Peachtree Road, the restaurant occupies an elegant ground-floor setting within The St. Regis Atlanta, surrounded by Buckhead's established residential estates, landscaped commercial properties and prestigious retail district. Johnson Studio designed the interior around deep lacquered walls, richly upholstered seating and carefully controlled lighting that complements the displayed artworks. Paintings by Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Francis Bacon and Marc Chagall have contributed to the dining room's association with an important private art collection. The adjoining Papillon Room incorporates a sculptural installation of illuminated butterflies, creating a distinct environment for private dining. The result is a restaurant whose intimate architectural composition, museum-quality artwork and carefully arranged dining spaces establish a distinctive relationship between fine dining and visual art.
What defines Atlas.
Atlas is best known for establishing a nationally recognized fine-dining institution in Buckhead and receiving its first MICHELIN star in Atlanta's inaugural 2023 guide. The restaurant originated through a collaboration between Atlanta chef-restaurateur Gerry Klaskala and Tavistock Restaurant Collection, combining Klaskala's experience in independent restaurants with the resources of a larger hospitality organization. Klaskala had previously established Aria and Canoe, two restaurants that helped shape Atlanta's contemporary dining community. The partners selected a space formerly occupied by Paces 88, which had closed in 2012, creating an opportunity for a new culinary establishment within an established luxury property. Atlas opened on January 26, 2015, with Christopher Grossman serving as chef de cuisine and a menu centered on seasonal American ingredients and European technique. Its opening attracted attention for the integration of substantial artistic holdings into the dining environment, establishing an unusual connection between private collecting and restaurant hospitality. The restaurant's early development strengthened relationships with regional agricultural producers and introduced a wine program designed to accompany increasingly ambitious culinary preparations. Grossman subsequently departed and became executive chef at The Chastain, extending his professional development into an independent Buckhead establishment. Aaron Phillips also contributed to the restaurant's culinary leadership before becoming associated with Lazy Betty, whose subsequent MICHELIN recognition strengthened Atlanta's national culinary standing. London-born chef Freddy Money assumed culinary leadership in 2020, bringing professional experience from European kitchens associated with Alain Ducasse and The Dorchester. His training introduced a particularly detailed approach to technical preparation, combining classical French foundations with the more experimental traditions of contemporary British cooking. Money expanded the restaurant's tasting-menu program and developed a more personal culinary direction incorporating references to British childhood foods and familiar American preparations. His work also strengthened the relationship between the restaurant's agricultural sourcing and the precise presentation of individual courses. Atlas received one MICHELIN star in October 2023, establishing a major milestone during the guide's first assessment of Atlanta restaurants. Its wine program received Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence, acknowledging the depth of its cellar and the development of its beverage service. The restaurant marked its tenth anniversary in February 2025 with a series of collaborative dinners involving former culinary leaders, connecting successive generations of its kitchen through preparations developed across the preceding decade. Money subsequently published Atlas, The Cook's Book, a substantial culinary volume examining the restaurant's cooking and the technical work behind its signature dishes. Forbes Travel Guide awarded Atlas its Five-Star distinction in 2026, making it the first restaurant in Georgia to receive that recognition. The achievement extended the restaurant's standing beyond culinary awards into the broader standards of international fine-dining hospitality.
Freddy Money's cooking develops the relationship between classical European technique, seasonal American ingredients and familiar British flavors, using precise temperature control and contrasting textures to create dishes that balance technical complexity with recognizable culinary foundations. His approach begins with carefully selected ingredients, then introduces unexpected preparations that change their texture, appearance or aromatic concentration. The foie gras Jammie Dodger demonstrates this principle through a savory interpretation of the British sandwich biscuit, connecting the familiar structure of a childhood confection with the richness of duck liver. Its delicate exterior and concentrated filling establish a contrast between recognizable form and savory flavor, introducing the kitchen's attention to culinary memory through technical preparation. Green eggs and ham extends the approach through mushrooms, potatoes, egg and ham, adapting a familiar literary reference into a composition built around contrasting temperatures and textures. The preparation develops recognizable breakfast ingredients through the careful separation of their individual qualities, allowing richness, earthiness and savory concentration to emerge across successive components. Seafood introduces a more restrained expression of the same technical foundations, with sweet prawns accompanied by avocado and a carefully prepared dressing. The prawns' delicate sweetness provides a foundation for the avocado's richness, and the dressing contributes acidity that preserves balance. White asparagus accompanied by smoked butter, cured egg yolk and caviar develops that relationship through the vegetable's gentle bitterness, the butter's aromatic depth and the yolk's concentrated richness. Caviar introduces salinity, sharpening the accompanying ingredients and connecting the preparation with classical luxury dining. Turbot with sea greens and herb sauce extends the kitchen's attention to marine ingredients through precise cooking and restrained aromatic seasoning. The fish's delicate flesh gains depth through the sauce, and the sea greens contribute a mineral character that complements its natural sweetness. The menu's relationship with regional agriculture becomes more substantial through Liberty Farms lamb accompanied by pesto, artichoke and young turnips. The lamb's richness supports the vegetables' earthy sweetness, and the pesto introduces herbal concentration that connects the preparation with the freshness of seasonal produce. Australian Westholme Wagyu provides a richer conclusion to the savory courses, accompanied by assorted pickles and condiments whose acidity balances the beef's extensive marbling. Dessert continues the same attention to familiar flavors through the FM Rocher, a composition of vanilla, hazelnut and chocolate inspired by the structure and flavor relationships of a recognizable confection. The roasted character of hazelnuts deepens the chocolate's richness, and vanilla introduces a softer aromatic foundation. Yorkshire rhubarb with yogurt and iced Southern honey develops a contrasting conclusion through fruit acidity, cultured dairy and the floral sweetness of honey. The tasting menu organizes these preparations into a sustained progression from delicate seafood and vegetables through richer proteins and composed desserts, preserving the relationship between technical precision and recognizable ingredients. Wine service complements those changes through selections chosen for acidity, aromatic concentration and their relationship with the increasing richness of successive courses. Atlas's culinary character develops through this sustained connection between European training, Georgia agriculture and the transformation of familiar flavors into carefully constructed contemporary dishes.
How Atlas fits.
Atlas works as the culinary centerpiece for a Buckhead itinerary connecting Atlanta's twentieth-century residential architecture, the preservation of its agricultural and social history and the institutional development of the city's historical collections.
Begin at Swan House, the former residence of Edward and Emily Inman, completed in 1928 to designs by architect Philip Trammell Shutze. The property developed during a period when Atlanta's commercial wealth supported the construction of substantial suburban estates. Shutze organized the house around a formal classical composition, incorporating a dramatic rear staircase, carefully proportioned interiors and terraced gardens. Its architectural details connect Italian and English precedents with the expectations of wealthy Southern households. The Inman family's cotton brokerage fortune contributed to the estate's development, establishing a material relationship between Atlanta's commercial economy and its residential architecture. The preserved residence subsequently became part of the city's historical museum complex. Continue to Smith Farm, a nineteenth-century agricultural property relocated from DeKalb County to preserve a surviving example of Georgia's antebellum rural architecture. The farmhouse dates to the 1840s and belonged to Robert Hiram Smith and his family, whose agricultural operations depended upon the labor of enslaved African Americans. Its preservation incorporates domestic buildings, cultivated fields and heritage livestock, allowing the physical organization of a working farm to remain accessible. Interpretive programs examine the lives of both enslaved and free residents, connecting agricultural production with the economic and social structures of the period. The property became a public educational resource in 1972, establishing an important component of Atlanta's historical preservation work. Conclude at Atlanta History Center, the museum institution whose origins date to the founding of the Atlanta Historical Society in 1926. Its collections examine the city's development through the Civil War, industrial expansion, transportation networks and changing social institutions. The restored Battle of Atlanta cyclorama painting provides a substantial visual interpretation of the 1864 military campaign, accompanied by historical materials examining the conflict and its subsequent remembrance. The museum also preserves the locomotive Texas, associated with the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862. Its exhibition galleries connect these major artifacts with broader accounts of Atlanta's political, economic and cultural development. The progression moves from the architectural ambitions of Atlanta's early twentieth-century elite through the preservation of antebellum agricultural history and culminates in the institution that interprets the city's development across successive generations.
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