9 New Venues in Atlanta for Summer 2023 Meetings and Events

Considering Marcus Bar & Grille is situated in Atlanta’s historic Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, it’s only fitting that its 500-square-foot private dining room has a retro recording studio aesthetic, complete with vintage records and eye-catching art. Opened in March, the 4,500-square-foot restaurant comes from acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson and serves elevated comfort food complemented by a lively bar program. The space is available for full buyouts to host up to 125 guests seated, as well as 24 guests in its unique private dining room located at the back of the restaurant.

A newcomer to Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead Village District, Carmel is a full-service restaurant and bar serving fresh seafood and cuts of meat inspired by the shores of California and the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as founder Tal Baum’s upbringing on the Mediterranean coast. Named in honor of Baum’s daughter Carmel and her family home in Mount Carmel, Israel, the 2,300-square-foot restaurant welcomes private events of all kinds. The dining room seats 108 people, while a semiprivate area behind drapes offers 600 square feet to seat 40 guests. The bar and patio are ideal for hosting private cocktail hours, with room for 45 guests at the bar or up to 60 guests when you include the patio.

Atlanta’s growing West Midtown neighborhood was graced with Humble Pie’s opening at The Interlock earlier this year in January. The bright, 4,600-square-foot eatery serves chef-driven American dishes, including, of course, pizza. (The dough is made with locally milled flour from DaySpring Farms in Athens, Ga.) It also boasts 850 square feet of private dining space, which can be divided via curtains to create three smaller rooms—perfect for breakout sessions or more intimate events. Semiprivate and full-buyout options are also available to planners. The main-floor dining room features expansive glass doors that open to a patio (seats up to 50), while the second-floor mezzanine seats 60 or 80 for standing receptions.

Adding to Alpharetta’s rising restaurant scene, Delbar opened its doors May 10, offering Middle Eastern eats, plus a 1,800-square-foot private dining room (seats 60) and patio (seats 30) for meetings and events. The sleek space is outfitted with Iranian fine art and Moroccan tiles and ​​has its own dedicated point of entry, bar, stone fireplace, and built-in projector for presentations. Set menus for private events include classic Persian dishes with Israeli, Turkish, and Lebanese touches, many of which are drawn from owner and native Iranian Fares Kargar’s family recipes.

Out of ideas for cool team-building activities that spark creativity? Good news: Museum of Illusions permanently landed in Atlanta in May. Taking over 10,000 square feet at Atlantic Station in Midtown, the trippy and interactive 90-minute-ish experience features more than 80 exhibits, images, and installations (think: illusions, holograms, and gravity-defying spaces)—all intentionally designed to educate guests about the limits of the human mind, including the disconnect that exists between the brain and eyes. The new Atlanta location adds to the museum’s roster of 40-plus locations in 25 countries, including New York and Paris. The museum welcomes corporate groups for teams to get inspired by the collection of optical illusions.

New to Pullman Yards, the historic entertainment district located on the edges of Kirkwood and Edgewood, AlcoHall is a new and expansive food and beverage hall that opened in June. Adopting Pullman’s “go big or go home” mentality, the 17,700-square-foot hot spot can accommodate up to 1,000 guests for full buyouts, with two 700-square-foot sections that can be rented out for private events. The indoor-outdoor venue is rife with entertainment, including mechanical bulls, billiards, live music, and seven beverage stalls for brands like Wicked Weed Brewing and Desert Door Texas Sotol. Before it was transformed into AlcoHall, the space was used to film movies such as The Hunger Games and Avengers, and even housed the Stranger Things: The Experience exhibition.

Nino’s Italian Restaurant—the oldest family-owned restaurant in Atlanta—has officially launched its catering program, bringing its authentic Italian fare made with fresh, imported ingredients directly to corporate and social groups alike. Owner Antonio Noviello hails from the Amalfi Coast and filled the menu at Nino’s to the brim with recipes right out of southern Italy. For planners looking to host at the 2,100-square-foot venue off Cheshire Bridge Road, full buyouts are available to accommodate 85 seated in the dining room and 50 on the patio.
Disclaimer: This restaurant is owned by the parents of Michela Giovannotto, BizBash's director of brand experiences.

After closing its Roswell outpost, Foundation Social Eatery opened in Alpharetta in December 2022 with a fresh look and new sister concept, Petite FSE, a bistro-style market and cafe that opened this June. The redesigned 4,660-square-foot space lends itself well to private events, with two patios—one 822-square-foot covered patio with heaters, a fireplace, and fans for year-round use (holds 44 seated or 60 standing), and one 1,720-square-foot open-air patio, which accommodates 75 standing—plus a chef’s table in the dining room that overlooks the kitchen. Inside, the main dining room is available for full buyouts and can host 100 guests seated or up to 147 for standing receptions. When it comes to audiovisual capabilities, the restaurant offers groups the use of a 60-inch flat-screen TV on a stand inside, a peerless outdoor TV on the covered patio, and an outlet for an audio plug on the uncovered patio (DJ, anyone?).

Looking for a sophisticated space to impress clients or treat the team to a dinner to remember? Look no further than Mujō, a Japanese and sushi restaurant situated in West Midtown, which unveiled a new, next-level private dining experience in January. Matching the luxe aura of the intimate restaurant, the 130-square-foot private room seats six guests and is only available for one booking per evening with a minimum $3,000 spend. The experience includes omakase curated and prepared by one of Mujō’s premier sushi chefs.