Azara brings ‘blue zone’ cuisine to the Atlanta Beltline
Azara, a new restaurant on Atlanta’s Eastside Beltline Trail that draws inspiration from across the globe, might be the answer to one of today’s most persistent and irritating questions: Where can we go out to dinner and get something healthy?
Azara is a clear step up from the typical health-conscious bowl-sellers like Sweetgreen, Chopt and Cava. It’s a full-service restaurant with a bar, a wine list and real table settings.
In fact, it’s more than a single restaurant — it’s also home to a cafe and rooftop bar. Azara took over the enormous space once occupied by Bazati, a French-Mediterranean restaurant, and its rooftop sister, Estrella. The three spaces each have their own menu and hours, though we’ll only focus on the main dining room here.
Azara was founded by medical doctor Raj Pandya, and the food is “inspired by longevity and global flavor.” Though the restaurant’s marketing materials don’t use the term “blue zones,” a label of questionable scientific origin referring to places where the local populations have statistically longer life expectancy, the menu is peppered with mentions of regions like Okinawa, Japan and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica.
The longevity theme results in a tapas-style menu of otherwise unrelated dishes, and consistency seems to one of the restaurant’s primary challenges. Dishes can vary quite a bit in size and quality, and the same cocktail can taste completely different from night to the next.
The wide-ranging menu has several star dishes, and the strength of your order will have a major effect on your enjoyment of the restaurant. The standout dish, which was consistently prepared on two nights, was the baked sea bass with a miso-butter glaze over cauliflower rice.
The fish was beautifully cooked, so tender the large flakes nearly fell apart at the touch of a fork. And the reliable combination of sweetness and umami complemented the mild seafood flavor without overpowering it. At $32, this entree was a bargain compared to similar dishes I’ve recently tried.
The mezze spreads were another hit, especially the richly hued purple sweet potato hummus and savory-sweet muhammara, a Middle Eastern red pepper and walnut dip. The $14 trio of spreads also felt like a reasonable price, especially considering each dip was served with its own accoutrements, like tortilla chips for the guacamole and crudite for the hummus.
From the mezze portion of the menu, Azara’s version of fried spring rolls, called earth rolls, were crispy and satisfying; the olive tapenade had a pleasantly spicy edge, and the goat cheese puffs could easily become addictive, even if the term “puffs” is misleading. Bundled in something like a wonton wrapper, a more apt description might be crispy goat cheese dumplings.
Some dishes were less successful, like the one-dimensional saffron rice pilaf and gummy mac and cheese, which did not benefit from swapping macaroni elbows with orecchiette, a pasta shape that tends to clump together in cheesy sauces.
Saganaki, a fun Greek dish of flambeed cheese, was flavorful but quickly began to stick the skillet in which it was served. And a server unwittingly revealed a gap in Azara’s training when he enthusiastically, but erroneously, told our table the dish originated in Japan.
The entrees, outside of the sea bass, provided varying levels of satisfaction. A gigantic stir-fry of Okinawan sweet potatoes made for a hearty meal, especially with chicken added. It could easily serve as a meal for two, though it was heavily dressed in a miso-sesame butter that edged toward oversalted territory.
In contrast, the pollo ancho, a spice-rubbed chicken breast served with polenta and black-eyed pea stew, seemed small, especially when priced at $26. Ditto for the pistachio-crusted salmon, a seafood dish that was cooked with the same expertise as the sea bass but didn’t quite achieve the same harmony of flavor.
Even with its inconsistencies, Azara’s menu has a lot to offer, and its health-conscious, nutrient-focused value proposition will be compelling to many. Its biggest challenge might be the size of the space.
The dining room, with all its airiness and naturalistic decor, tends to swallow the energy in the restaurant. If the restaurant is at anything less than full capacity, it feels empty.
Pandya, who stopped by my table (but didn’t appear to recognize me) during a Friday night visit, said he plans to host live music on more nights, which should improve the vibe. He also acknowledged that the menu would be tweaked based on customer feedback.
Azara might not be a great restaurant yet, but it has a popular location, some genuinely appealing food and an interesting niche. With more time, and if the right levers are pulled, it’s easy to imagine Azara finding success on the Beltline.
Azara
1 out of 4 stars (good)
Food: global and health-conscious
Service: attentive
Noise level: low to moderate
Recommended dishes: purple sweet potato hummus, muhammara, Azara guacamole, earth rolls, olive tapenade, goat cheese puffs, saganaki, beet carpaccio, Okinawan purple sweet potato stir-fry, baked sea bass, pistachio-crusted salmon, pollo ancho
Vegetarian dishes: purple sweet potato hummus, muhammara, Azara guacamole, eggplant Mediterraneo, earth rolls, olive tapenade, goat cheese puffs, lentil fritters, sweet corn ribs, batata empanadas, saffron pilaf, chimichurri cauliflower, mac & cheese, artisan cheese board, mixed olives, saganaki, roasted butternut squash bisque, hearty bean chili, modern Grecian salad, quinoa salad, tamari golden tofu salad, beet carpaccio, margherita flatbread, Mediterranean veggie flatbread, bianca flatbread, pasta primavera, lentil Bolognese, Okinawan purple sweet potato stir-fry,
Alcohol: full bar with a solid wine selection
Price range: less than $25-$75 per person, excluding drinks
Hours: 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 4-10 p.m. Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 4-9 p.m. Sunday
Accessibility: fully ADA accessible thanks to ramp access from Beltline and parking lot
Parking: valet and paid lot
Nearest MARTA station: none
Reservations: yes, listed on OpenTable
Outdoor dining: yes, rooftop patio
Takeout: yes
Address, phone: 550 Somerset Terrace NE, Atlanta. 470-312-2112
Website: azaraatl.com
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critics conduct reviews anonymously. Reservations are not made in their name, nor do they provide restaurants with advance notice about their visits. Our critics always make multiple visits, sample the full range of the menu and pay for all of their meals. AJC dining critics wait at least one month after a new restaurant has opened before visiting.
About the Author
Henri Hollis is a reporter and restaurant critic for the Food & Dining team. Formerly a freelance writer and photographer with a focus on food and restaurants, he joined the AJC full-time in January 2021, first covering breaking news. He is a lifelong Atlantan and a graduate of Georgia Tech.
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