Karlie Redd wants downtown to be somewhere Atlantans choose to hang out. Red Room Bistro, her restaurant and lounge at 255 Trinity Avenue, is the argument: Caribbean flavors folded into American plates, served in a deliberately sultry room, from brunch through late night.
"I'm trying to bring back some liveliness to Atlanta," said Redd, who starred on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta and owns Johnny's Chicken & Waffles.
It is a partnership with her brother Ace, whose resume runs through the Spice House, Johnny's and Crescent City Kitchen. Both point to their Trinidadian roots and to parents who put them in hospitality in the first place.
The menu
Teriyaki lamb chops, a hot honey crispy chicken sandwich, buttery lobster rolls, steak frites and smoky salmon bites, with wings, waffle fries and tenders as bar food. Brunch runs Tuesday through Saturday — French toast with cookie crumbles and strawberries, jerk salmon, fried chicken wings — and Redd expects bottomless mimosas to do heavy lifting.
Themed nights are part of the plan, including a Bubbles and Bunnies brunch with servers in rabbit ears, a nod to Redd's own history. "I'm on the Hugh Hefner wall and everything," she said.
Reported by Atlanta Magazine.