Visit Midtown’s suave, sexy Celestia before it sets social media on fire

In the restaurant business, a great location is one of the only competitive advantages that can’t be imitated.

From its perch atop Midtown Atlanta’s Spring Quarter development, Celestia, the lounge-y new restaurant from chef couple Fuyuhiko and Lisa Ito, already has a literal leg up in the restaurant scene. The unique views alone are enough to ensure a steady stream of business from happy hours and private events, but the atmosphere and cuisine elevate the experience even further.

The chef has clearly brought some of that Umi DNA to Celestia, cultivating a sexy, intimate ambiance. There’s also a palpable air of exclusivity, with a strict dress code, reservation-only policy and an entry protocol that might be intimidating to some. Celestia intentionally projects an image that it’s not a restaurant for everyone.

Stepping into the space from the bright elevator lobby is an instant tone shift, especially at night. Deep house music pulses from a centrally located DJ stand, and the large area is dim but warmly lit. Dark walls and plush, low-lying furniture seem to absorb any light that doesn’t spill out of the expansive windows facing south and west. Lights from the surrounding Midtown towers twinkle just beyond the large, lushly landscaped patio.

The space works perfectly as a sophisticated lounge, but the layout has some drawbacks in the restaurant’s current, full-service format. Most of the seating is low-slung and arranged around low-lying coffee tables, great for socializing but less wonderful for eating a full meal. The music isn’t overpowering, but it’s insistent, sometimes interfering with conversation. And the large space, with its diverse seating arrangements, creates an environment that seems to challenge the service staff at times. Some tables are tucked away, out of the eye line of the service stations, and servers have a lot of ground to cover between multiple tables and the kitchen.

Some of these bugs will become features once the full constellation of Spring Quarter restaurants is up and running, Ito and his partners told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They plan to open Sozou, a sushi restaurant on the development’s ground floor, later this spring. Sozou will be the property’s primary full-service restaurant, while Celestia will serve as a complementary bar and lounge. The group’s third restaurant, an omakase counter called Ishin by Ito, is already open in its own space nested within Celestia.

Celestia’s temporary starring role helps explain the menu, an unusual mixture of French and Japanese influences based on seasonality and chef Ito’s whims. The menu will change regularly based on seasonality and customer demand, and it will likely be pared back once Sozou opens, Ito told the AJC.

In its current form, Celestia’s menu is a bit of a jumble, running the gamut from fried cheese curds to hamachi crudo to a $250 caveman tomahawk steak. But the lack of focus is easy to forgive thanks to the food’s high level of execution, a hallmark of Ito’s kitchens.

Those cheese curds, labeled on the menu as fromage en grains frit, feel surprisingly sophisticated thanks to an incredibly light, airy, tempuralike batter. Both crudos (hamachi and akami, a type of tuna) show off Ito’s precision as a sushi master. The satisfying shrimp cocktail features large, vividly striped Ecuadorian tiger shrimp.

In such fashionable surroundings, it was a pleasant surprise to see that many of Celestia’s dishes are served in generous portions. The classic hummus is light and creamy, served in a large bowl on a platter overflowing with pita points and crudité. A garnish of crispy chickpeas and garlic chips added extra texture and flavor.

The Celestia salad deserves the same praise, a simple but elegant mixture of tender greens, radicchio, pomegranate and grapefruit supremes in a portion an ample enough to serve two people. Similarly, the miso salmon entree, beautifully cooked and richly laden with umami, is a meal unto itself with wilted spinach and tomatoes.

Those hearty, workhorse dishes are complemented by several showier items befitting Celestia’s stylish atmosphere. Lobster toban yaki, one of the restaurant’s more expensive dishes at $48, involves some tabletop pyrotechnics. Using a special serving vessel, several ounces of lobster are grilled in savory soy brown butter over a leaping blue flame. The visual effect is impressive, but it can’t match the sensuous smell of the sizzling shellfish.

Not to be outdone, pastry chef Lisa Ito’s desserts display some dramatic flair, as well. A matcha affogato with vanilla ice cream made in-house is poured tableside, creating a high-contrast visual that is clear Instagram bait. The momo, which means “peach” in Japanese, is more technically impressive; a hyperrealistic white peach pastry is served in a martini glass over white peach sorbet, blueberries and crunchy streusel.