GOLDEN EAGLE NOW OPEN IN ATLANTA’S REYNOLDSTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD
Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 11/12/17
Located Next To Its Newly Opened Sister Spot, Muchacho
Both Restaurants Are From Michael Lennox, Owner of Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall
Golden Eagle is now open in Atlanta’s Reynoldstown neighborhood. The restaurant is from Michael Lennox, owner of Atlanta favorite Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall, and opens directly onto the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail. Along with its sister spot, newly opened Muchacho, Golden Eagle is housed in a former rail depot at 904 Memorial Drive. Featuring distinct menus and design, the two restaurants are separated by an interior brick wall and share an expansive brick patio.
Lennox, an Atlanta native, is developing Golden Eagle largely as an homage to his grandparents, with a buttoned-down, retro aesthetic that channels the diamond-in-the-rough watering holes, neighborhood corner taverns and hotel lobby bars they would frequent in their native Pittsburgh. The restaurant showcases a dark, moody interior with wall-to-wall red plaid carpet, glowing custom lighting, low-slung crushed velvet seating all anchored by a large U-shaped bar and antique Art Deco backbar serving an extensive cocktail menu of accessible, boozy classics.
The food menu will recall no-nonsense, throwback continental classics of yesteryear, such as garlic knots, crab Rangoon, and charbroiled oysters, as well as thoughtful, shareable vegetable plates and a few larger items such as ricotta gnocchi and a tavern steak. Tall ceilings expose the building’s existing steel trusses, and woodgrain cabinet speakers will stream music from a reel-to-reel tape player. An outdoor patio comes alive with lush, tropical plants, vintage outdoor furniture and red and white umbrellas.
Key members of Golden Eagle’s team include Taria Camerino as Culinary Director (formerly of Sugar Coated Radical, Ford Fry Restaurants, Resurgens Hospitality and Tate Modern in London); Jason Simpson as Chef de Cuisine (formerly of St. Cecilia and Chef Josiah Citrin’s two-star Michelin restaurant Melisse in L.A.); Jeff Stockton as Bar Manager (formerly of Empire State South and top bartending programs in NYC); Nicholas Bown-Crawford as General Manager (formerly of Le Fat, Ton Ton, One Rooster, Concentrics Restuarants and Murphy’s).
Golden Eagle’s sister spot, Muchacho, is a casual hangout with a nod to 70’s era Venice Beach. The restaurant features a color palette of orange, yellow, and white, and counter service offers breakfast and lunch tacos, toasts, grain bowls, poke, pastries, coffee, and drinks.
