The team behind Buckhead's Lucian Books + Wine opened their second restaurant, Sargent, in Old Fourth Ward this week, carrying the same combination of wine list and bookstore into a space nearly three times the size of the original.
Owners Jordan Smelt and Katie Barringer named it for John Singer Sargent, the American painter of portraits and landscapes who worked in Europe around the turn of the last century — a companion to Lucian, named for British painter Lucian Freud. Barringer, who previously ran Cover Books, curated a selection focused on food, wine, art, music and culture, along with international magazines.
Executive chef Jason Paolini developed a menu of American and French classics with a modern edge: a raw bar, leeks vinaigrette, chicken paillard, a prime rib dinner for two, and a club sandwich with fries. \"Food that's really approachable and simple in nature, but the things that we do technique-wise to make them really stand out and be more modern and really delicious,\" he said. Within a few weeks the restaurant will add an extended Sunday lunch drifting into early supper — a daytime option that is deliberately not brunch — with a few dinner entrees added.
Smelt, a sommelier, runs a wine program of roughly 230 bottles. It is more concise than Lucian's list, he said, but still carries more than 100 selections under $100. The liquor offering is broader here, with cocktails built around classics. \"Just across the board, Sargent is a little bit more accessible and approachable and recognizable,\" Barringer said, describing a room meant to work for someone stopping in on a lunch break or a walk as much as for a full evening.
The 6,000-square-foot restaurant at 405 North Angier Ave. NE sits in the same New City Properties development as 3 Parks Wine and the Forth Hotel, home to Elektra and Il Premio. Atlanta firm Digs Architecture and Design segmented it into zones so the scale would not read as cavernous — a bookstore space set apart from the dining room and visible to people coming off the Eastside Beltline, plus a main dining room, lounge, full bar and covered outdoor dining. The palette references Sargent's own work in greens, natural stone, plaster and warm metal. Barringer said the goal was for a brand-new space to \"feel like it was somewhat established or had been here for a while.\" Hours are Tuesday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., with Sundays and Mondays coming.
Closer to the core, Delilah's Everyday Soul held its grand opening in South Downtown on Friday at 227 Mitchell St. SW, joining the restaurant's Midtown and Upper Westside locations — another storefront filled on the block Atlanta Ventures has been rebuilding. Shake Shack opened at Centennial Yards on Thursday at 85 Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW. And in Midtown, Botanico Cocina and Social Club opened Thursday at 1106 Crescent Ave. NE from brothers Felipe and Eduardo Rivera, the team behind the now-closed Palo Santo, with executive chef Juan Guillermo Hormiga running a menu of ceviches, wood-fired meats and shareable plates. Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar will join Midtown Union later this fall, and The Juicy Crab is taking over the former Taco Mac space in Midtown.
Original reporting: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (2026-08-15)
