This week on the Atlanta food scene, get details on Mushi Ni’s new Inman Park location, World of Quercus makes the Time’s “World’s Greatest Places” list, a sports bar showcasing women’s sports fundraises for a permanent home and more.
Credit: Olivia Wakim
Credit: Olivia Wakim
Find bao and cocktails at Mushi Ni in Inman Park
After years of operating as a pop-up, then a stall in the now defunct East Atlanta We Suki Suki food hall, followed by three years at the Chattahoochee Food Works, Michael Le and Tanya Jimenez have opened their Asian American restaurant Mushi Ni in Inman Park.
The Mushi Ni location at the Food Works will remain open, Le said, but for a larger menu and a full bar, guests can head to their expansive outpost at 337 Elizabeth St. NE.
A much larger space comes with more freedom in what they can offer, including a full bar with cocktails developed by a former Little Trouble bartender, Le told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Expect drinks like the jasmine-ginger highball, a Thai tea martini and a calamansi margarita.
The food offerings include their popular bao buns filled with whatever strikes Le and Jimenez’s fancy — right now, that includes a Vietnamese-style grilled pork bao, a fried chicken bao and a crispy cauliflower bao as a plant-based option — rice and noodle bowls, and some snacks like chili pork dumplings and shrimp har gow to share.
The food they make can be succinctly described as, “Whatever we think is good and fun,” Jimenez said.
Credit: Olivia Wakim
Credit: Olivia Wakim
There are plant-based options and gluten-free menu items to accommodate all sorts of eaters.
The pair moved from New York City to metro Atlanta in 2012 when they decided to trade in years of working in Michelin-starred restaurants for the slower pace of metro Atlanta. Upon first moving, they helped their friend launch the food program for a cancer center where they focused on cooking clean, nutritious food for a range of dietary needs.
Le was also a restaurant consultant for a while, during which he worked with a restaurateur that was pondering how to generate more business for his restaurant in Senoia, Georgia. Le and Jimenez offered to operate their own pop-up in the evenings to bring in more traffic at night.
On the way to that first pop-up, they brainstormed what the name should be. They wanted to incorporate the word “braise” somehow, Jimenez said, so they decided to go with the Japanese translation, “mushi ni.”
The name stuck, even though “mushi” on its own means insect.
So the restaurant has a Japanese name, a Vietnamese-Filipino owner and it’s located in the middle of Atlanta, Le said.
Credit: Olivia Wakim
Credit: Olivia Wakim
After working in fine dining kitchens, Le and Jimenez wanted to run a restaurant that reflects who they are as people.
“We’re not like, buttoned up, you know, in suits every day. We’re just like T-shirt and jeans people,” Le said while sitting at one of the restaurant tables a few days after opening. True to his word, he was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a buttoned short-sleeve shirt.
With their Inman Park digs, they strive to create a space that’s welcoming, affordable and unpretentious, Jimenez said.
Mushi Ni is open Tuesday-Thursday and Sundays from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Fridays-Saturdays from 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
337 Elizabeth St. NE, Atlanta. 404-975-3312, mushini.com
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
World of Quercus named to Time’s ‘World’s Greatest Places’ list
A luxury resort in Gay, Georgia, is on a winning streak. Several days after receiving one of the world’s most prestigious hospitality honors, World of Quercus announced on social media it was named to Time Magazine’s "World’s Greatest Places of 2026″ list.
It is one of eight places in North America to make the “Places to Stay” category.
In a statement posted to social media, the resort said, “To see Quercus recognized in this way is a testament to the passion and care of our entire team. From pasture to garden to kitchen, every set of hands helps shape the guest experience that makes this place so special.”
World of Quercus was founded by married couple Chiara Visconti di Modrone and Angelos Pervanas in 2024. They partnered with Kara Hidinger and chef Ryan Smith, the couple behind Staplehouse in Atlanta, to operate tasting menu restaurant Uberto on the property’s grounds.
According to the Time article by Adam Erace, “With so few guests, Quercus feels less like a hotel than an ag-obsessed aristocrat’s country estate — fitting, given Visconti di Modrone’s Milanese noble lineage."
The AJC’s restaurant critic Henri Hollis journeyed to World of Quercus in 2024 to experience the intimate getaway just 60 miles south of Atlanta. Read more about his experience.
208 Caldwell St., Gay. worldofquercus.com
Other news of interest
Credit: Courtesy of Chelsea Fishman
Credit: Courtesy of Chelsea Fishman
Jolene Jolene, the sports bar pop-up that showcases women’s sports, has launched a Kickstarter to help it reach its goal of opening in a brick-and-mortar location, according to an announcement on social media. Chelsea Fishman founded the pop-up in 2024, and since then she’s brought her concept to breweries, bars and even a monthslong residency in Pullman Yards. Once it opens, it will be Atlanta’s first and only sports bar dedicated to women’s sports.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Nakato, the longtime Atlanta sushi restaurant, is launching a “New Mama’s Sushi Delivery Experience,” according to a news release. When guests gift a new mom $200 or more of Nakato sushi, the eatery will waive the delivery fee and bring it to any hospital within a 10-mile radius of the restaurant during business hours.
Owner Sachi Nakato Takahara decided to launch this offering because of all the new moms who crave sushi after giving birth. “As soon as they deliver their precious bundle, their Nakato Sushi order can’t be delivered fast enough,” Takahara said in a prepared statement.
1776 Cheshire Bridge Road NE, Atlanta. 404-873-6582, nakatorestaurant.com/new-mamas-sushi-delivery-nakato-atlanta
Restaurant announcements
Credit: Courtesy of Skol Brewing Co.
Credit: Courtesy of Skol Brewing Co.
Skol Brewing Company, a Viking-inspired brewpub in Downtown Atlanta, is expanding into the adjacent space to add an extra 30,000 square feet to the Valhalla Gaming Lounge in May. The expansion will offer guests a mix of gaming options like simulators, soccer experiences, bocce courts, billiard tables, darts and old-school arcade games.
155 Carnegie Way NW, Atlanta. 404-522-5522, skolbrew.com
Biscuit Belly, a brunch restaurant serving biscuits, cocktails and Southern comfort food, will open in Peachtree City on City Circle Street April 24. Grand opening festivities will include free drip coffee with purchase and swag giveaways.
238 City Circle, Peachtree City. biscuitbelly.com/peachtreecity
San Francisco Coffee is expanding with two new locations this year, Rough Draft Atlanta reported. The first outpost will open in Midtown in the Loria Ansley apartment complex in April. Later this year, San Francisco Coffee will also open in Druid Hills. The two new coffee shops are joining the cafe’s existing locations in Virginia-Highland and Candler Park.
Midtown. 1441 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. sanfranciscocoffeeroastingco.com
Smalls Sliders, a fast food slider restaurant, will open its second metro Atlanta location in Marietta on April 8. It offers a menu of hamburger sliders, fries and shakes.
2355 Windy Hill Road SE, Marietta. smallssliders.com
Restaurant openings
Fogo de Chão is opening its third Georgia location in the Mall of Georgia on March 30. The Brazilian steakhouse offers fire-roasted meats carved tableside by gaucho chefs, as well as salads and sides.
3206 Buford Drive, Buford. 770-609-4575, fogodechao.com/location/mall-of-georgia
Restaurant closures
Broken Egg Cafe has closed in Buckhead for the second time after it relocated down the street in 2022, Tomorrow’s News Today first reported.
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