Bellwoods Social House needs work

Service: pleasant and helpful

Best dishes: Animal Style burger, Stuffed Hog Toes

Vegetarian selections: very few

Price range: $$

Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-midnight Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays

Children: better leave them at home

Parking: sufficient

Reservations: yes

Wheelchair access: yes

Smoking: no

Noise level: moderate

Patio: yes

Takeout: yes

Address, phone: 1000 Marietta St. NW, Suite #202, Atlanta, 678-974-8748

Website: bellwoodsatl.com

SAME CUISINE, MORE OPTIONS

The Pinewood Tippling Room

Decatur’s newest craft cocktail lover’s watering hole pours some impressive drinks while serving Southern-inspired small plates. Don’t leave without having a few of their craft cocktails, like the rye-based Day That I Die, including house-made roasted Georgia pecan tincture. Memorable snacks like the fried bologna sandwich with fried green tomato and egg salad go down well with the drinks.

11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-midnight Fridays, 6 p.m.-midnight Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sundays. 254 W. Ponce De Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-373-5507, pinewoodtr.com. $$

Holeman and Finch Public House

While most widely known for the infamous “10 o’clock” burger, Holeman and Finch offers some of the best late-night dining in Atlanta. The kitchen, renowned for making nearly everything in-house, serves fantastic small plates like farm egg carbonara or hand-chopped steak tartare.

5 p.m.-midnight Mondays-Wednesdays, 5 p.m.-2 a.m.Thursdays-Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays. 2277 Peachtree Road, Suite B, Atlanta. 404-948-1175, holeman-finch.com. $$-$$$.

Ormsby’s

One of west Midtown’s most popular watering holes, this playground for grown-ups sports an impressive beer and liquor selection and serves a solid menu of pub-friendly fare. Come for dinner and stick around to enjoy the basement bar games, like shuffleboard, pool and, if you are lucky enough to get a spot, a round of bocce ball on one of their two indoor courts.

11 a.m.-3 a.m. Mondays-Fridays, noon-3 a.m. Saturdays, noon-midnight Sundays. 1170 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta. 404-968-2033, ormsbysatlanta.com. $-$$

Bellwoods Social House

1000 Marietta St., Suite #202, Atlanta

1 of 4 stars

Let’s role-play for a moment.

Imagine you are a prospective restaurant investor, and I am a hopeful chef selling you on my newest concept.

Here is the pitch — upscale bar food and small plates in a comfortable yet hip urban space, anchored by craft cocktails.

Sound familiar? If it doesn’t, you might need to eat out a little more often.

The gussied-up gastropub/craft cocktail formula is not a new one in Atlanta. But that’s not to say that it doesn’t work. Nor am I saying I wouldn’t throw some of my own hard-earned dollars behind the idea. Original or not, we love places like this and flock to them when they are done correctly. But competition is stiff, and the bar has been set pretty high.

That is the challenge faced by Leif Johnson, chef-owner of Bite Bistro & Bar in Alpharetta and proprietor of Bellwoods Social House, the newest addition to the already crowded west Midtown scene.

Johnson tapped designer Mark Wilcox to help craft the space on Marietta Street next door to 5 Seasons Westside. The end result — one part warm and rustic, one part modern lofty industrial — juxtaposes cold, polished cement floors, high ceilings and exposed steel with the warmth of a fireplace flanked by wood-paneled walls and imposing stacks of firewood.

A friend I enlisted to join me for dinner here asked what sort of food Bellwoods serves, and I could only think to say, “upscale bar food,” as it really defies any other classification. Johnson’s menu includes the following sections: bites (small plates), wings, buns (small sandwiches), two-hands (not-as-small sandwiches), salads, bowls, tacos and pizza. That’s a lot of culinary ground for one kitchen to cover and still execute each to the standards serious Atlanta diners expect.

Johnson nails it with the Stuffed Hog Toes ($8), deep-fried pimento cheese- and bacon-stuffed Peppadews served with a smoked tomato jam that should be spread on every bite. This is a dish that fits. This feels like the food I want to eat in this space with a glass of whiskey in my hand.

Johnson also has put himself on the short list for my favorite burgers in town with the Bellwoods Animal Style ($12), his take on the In & Out classic. The stack of two short-rib and brisket patties, bacon, caramelized onions, b&b pickles, American cheese and a hearty slathering of “krussian” sauce — essentially horseradish ketchup with mayo and sriracha — is almost too busy. But the sloppy combination of richness wins out, and I’m sure I’ll be stopping by here a few more times when I have a certain kind of burger craving.

But that burger is an exception that strikes at the heart of Bellwoods’ problems. The location in west Midtown is within easy driving distance of numerous kitchens that specialize in parts of the Bellwoods menu — and execute those dishes better.

I enjoyed my fig and prosciutto pizza ($13), though the fig flavor was completely lost under the blanket of arugula and balsamic syrup. But I doubt I’ll plan to quell my pizza cravings here in the future, especially considering Antico Pizza, Atlanta’s 800-pound gorilla of pizza, is right around the corner. Granted, none of Johnson’s pies are even attempting Neapolitan style — you won’t find as much as a smear of tomato sauce on any of them — but that isn’t enough to negate the inevitable comparison.

Similarly, the Hog Leg ($10) — a trio of H&F buns stuffed with smoked pork butt, mole barbecue sauce, pickled jalapeño slaw, goat cheese and pickled onion — smothers itself. Cooked on their Big Green Egg, somehow the smoke flavor is so intense that it borders on tasting artificial and totally buries the unnecessary menagerie of fixings.

I’m sure I would enjoy the complex flavors of the Asian noodle and shrimp salad ($13) more if I wasn’t so distracted by the failed attempt at contrasting temperatures with cold noodles and hot shrimp. It left everything a tepid room temperature. Unfortunately, overcooking the shrimp wasn’t enough to convince me that it wasn’t probably frozen at some point.

All inconsistencies with the food aside, Johnson sorely needs to get his bar in order.

Arianna Fielder, the nomadic hired gun whose past stints include Article 14, Parish, Seven Lamps and Southern Art, was originally in charge of Bellwoods’ bar program. Unfortunately, Fielder left at the beginning of October and none of her creations remain on the menu. What is left looks good on paper, but falls flat, like the rye- and apple liqueur-based Falling Leaves ($10). Again, they are outclassed by neighbors like Bocado, Ormsby’s and JCT Kitchen. Thank goodness they at least have a solid and reasonably priced whiskey selection.

Bellwoods has promise, don’t get me wrong, and I plan to check in on them again soon. But some changes are in order if they plan to survive in an area with so many top-notch options. What this kitchen needs is focus. The menu needs narrowing, many overwrought dishes need editing, and the cocktail program needs a leader with a clear vision.

Otherwise, I’m afraid the current jack-of-all-trades, master-of-few approach won’t hold up against stiff and convenient competition.