7 Atlanta pop-ups (and a market) you can’t miss this week
Each week, Punk Foodie highlights the Atlanta pop-ups worth catching before they disappear, helping readers find the city’s most interesting chef-driven dining concepts, food trucks, supper clubs and limited-time food events.
Why? The independent chef scene often reveals how immigrant traditions, first-generation entrepreneurship and local ingredients are merging into a new Southern food identity. Atlanta offers a unique laboratory where chefs test ideas to determine if temporary kitchens can transform into revolutionary restaurants.
Miami-style pollo asado chicken from Wyld Bird
Who: Wyld Bird (@wyldbirdatl) from Brad Syfan and Tony Seichrist.
When/Where: Wednesdays-Sundays, 5-10 p.m. Homegrown GA (@homegrownga). 968 Memorial Drive SE, Reynoldstown.
Why go: Syfan and Seichrist, who also operate the Wyld Dock Bar in Savannah, deliver the fast-casual Cuban flavors Seichrist grew up eating during summers in Miami. Their signature whole pollo asado is the result of a rigorous process: The chicken undergoes a 36-hour marinade before being dry-rubbed, seared over charcoal for a deep smokiness and finished in the oven with citrus and passion fruit.
What to get: The Miami bone-in chicken plate served with rice, beans and passion fruit mojo.
Also consider: the Miami sandi, a sandwich featuring Miami chicken breast on a toasted bun with arugula, pickled red onion, mojo, Miami dressing and plantain chips; or the dos tacos with your choice of Miami chicken or pork belly topped with red onion, cilantro, cotija, jalapeno aioli and passion fruit hot sauce.
Asian American gluten-free treats from Love It Gluten Free
Who: Love It Gluten Free (@loveitglutenfree) from Taising Chen.
When/Where:
Thursdays, 4-7 p.m. Tucker Farmers Market (@tuckerfarmersmarket). 4882 Lavista Road, Tucker.
Saturdays, 8:30 a.m.-noon. Peachtree Road Farmers Market (@ptreefarmersmkt). 2744 Peachtree Road NW, Buckhead.
Sundays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Avondale Estates Farmers Market (@aefarmersmarket). 64 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates.
Why go: Founder Taising Chen launched Love It Gluten Free after eight years of living with food allergies and missing the comfort of Asian diasporic flavors. Operating out of a dedicated gluten-free kitchen in the Chamblee/Doraville area, Chen makes everything from scratch, including savory and sweet baked baos and buns. Everything is gluten-free. Vegan options are available.
What to get: The coconut bun with coconut filling, the matcha bun with mochi filling or the almond milk bread bun with mochi filling.
Also on the menu are savory baked baos and buns, including a mushroom bun with shiitake and baby portabella, a flower bun with all-beef hot dog, pecorino and scallions and char siu bao. For a seasonal treat, try the strawberry delight pastry with lemon zest cream cheese filling.
Filipino fusion street eats from Zarate Tiki
Who: Zarate Tiki (@zaratetiki) from Marcus Fernandez.
When/Where:
Friday, May 1, 6 p.m.-2 a.m. and Sunday, May 3, 6 p.m.-midnight. Girl Diver (@girldiveratl). 955 Memorial Drive SE, Reynoldstown.
Saturday, May 2, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Uptown Market (@uptownmarketatl). 521 Market St. NE, Uptown.
Why go: Inspired by his grandmother’s neighborhood store on Zarate Street, Marcus Fernandez pairs Filipino street eats with a bar program of island-inspired cocktails and mocktails at the Zarate Tiki speakeasy located inside Girl Diver. It is one of the only places in town to experience third-culture Filipino cuisine. While his “mobile tiki” concept often travels (including to the Uptown Market on Saturday), you can experience a full menu within the speakeasy residency. To gain entry, ask the Girl Diver bartender or management on duty for the daily passcode. For reservations (highly encouraged), visit zaratekitchen.com.
What to get: At the speakeasy, get the Filipino gumbo featuring a vegetarian tamarind soup base, dark roux, mirepoix, golden rice, brioche toast and crispy okra with optional additions of spicy sausage or grilled shrimp.
Also on the extensive speakeasy menu: the Jolly-Z combo with crispy fried chicken with garlic gravy served with spaghetti and redlink red sauce; the Manila glizzy with split redlink sausages with fiesta cheese, mango atchara salsa, tajin ranch, crispies and brioche; and the tiki fried chicken with island brine, sesame ranch, pickled papaya and milkbread.
At the Uptown Market, Zarate will be serving Filipino barbecue, balikbayan meal boxes with golden rice and pancit, lumpia, adobo crisps, an island glizzy and signature mocktails: Manila lemonade and ube pina colada.
Birria from Jose’s Birria
Who: Jose’s Birria (@josesbirria) from Jose Laos.
When/Where: Saturday, May 2, 3-9 p.m. and Wednesday, May 6, 5-8:30 p.m. Slow Pour Brewing (@slowpourbrewing). 407 N. Clayton St., Lawrenceville.
Why go: After more than 20 years with heavyweights like the Capital Grille and P.F. Chang’s, Jose Laos traded corporate kitchens for a garage setup to focus on the craft of birria. Laos launched Jose’s Birria in late 2020, spending six months perfecting a recipe that applies his professional training as a saucier to a grueling three-day birria process. While traditional methods often boil all ingredients together, Laos sears the beef and sautes the vegetables individually to build deeper layers of flavor. He uses marrow, knuckles and shank bones for richness, alongside a hand-blended mix of guajillo, ancho and arbol chiles. Now prepped in a commercial kitchen and run alongside his daughters, the pop-up has built quite a following OTP.
What to get: The quesa tacos with birria, cheese, onions and cilantro on a corn tortilla. Or try the Philly “phrench” dip, a cross between a Philly cheesesteak and a French dip featuring a hoagie bun with burnt cheese, chipotle mayo, poblano peppers and onions topped with queso and served with consome for dipping.
Other menu options include tostadas, quesadillas and crunch wraps.
Globally inspired street food from Gourmet Street Foods
Who: Gourmet Street Foods (@gourmet_street_foods) from Carla Fears.
When/Where: Saturday, May 2, 4 p.m. until sold out. Variant Brewing (@variantbrewingcompany). 66 Norcross St., Roswell.
Why go: Fears’ menus represent her curiosity, not a specific category. She regularly pops up around town, and her dishes have been presented by organizations including the Michelin Guide and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Raised in Miami, Fears credits her palate to her days as a latchkey kid watching Julia Child and Martin Yan and says her menu intentionally rejects the “one-lane” expectation often placed on Black chefs, opting instead for a bold, global approach to elevated street food.
In addition to the Variant Brewery event, you can catch her doing a chef demo at the Atlanta Mushroom Festival on May 3.
What to get: The beef and cheddar patty melt, featuring cheddar cheese, onions, pickles and GSF sauce.
Some of what else will be on offer includes GSF confit chicken wings available as lemon pepper or hot, and the sidechik grilled chicken sandwich topped with pimento cheese, purple cabbage and golden barbecue sauce.
Beksa Lala kicks off a collaboration series at Breaker Breaker
Who: Beksa Lala (@beksa_atl) from Basia Piechoczek and Maximilian Hines (@chefmaxbreaux) from Breaker Breaker (@breakerbreaker_atl).
When/Where: Monday, May 4, 5-9 p.m. Breaker Breaker. 921 Wylie St. SE, Reynoldstown.
Why go: During the first three Mondays in May (and possibly longer), Basia Piechoczek of Beksa Lala is doing a series of Polish cross-cultural pop-ups at Breaker Breaker. On May 4, a collaboration with Chef Maximilian Hines, executive chef of Breaker Breaker, and one of the chefs from the Stolen Goods pop-up collective, who integrates Southern ingredients with broader global influences. The two promise a “Cuatro de Mayo” themed Polish-Afro Caribbean-Mexican menu (details not available at time of publishing). On May 11, Piechoczek will pair with Candy Hom of Soupbelly for Polish-Chinese fare and, on May 18, with Lino Yi from Minhwa Spirits for Polish-Korean.
Uptown Market Atlanta launches weekly market with nearly 20 food vendors
What: Uptown Market (@uptownmarketatl).
When/Where: Saturdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. The Lawn at Uptown. 521 Market St. NE, Uptown.
Why go: Running every Saturday from May 2 through Nov. 14, Uptown Market Atlanta near the Lindbergh MARTA station brings together nearly 20 food vendors, making it one of the larger regular food markets in the city. A full list of food vendors representing a wide range of cuisines, including Mexican, Sudanese, Indian, Japanese, American seafood, soul food and more can be found on their website.
What to get: Spicy crawfish onigiri rice ball from CheriFish (@cherifishatl), tamales from La Mixteca Tamale House (@lamixtecatamalehouse) and sorghum hot honey wings from Lavish Wings (@lavishwingsatl).
On Our Radar:
- For the month of May: Smiley’s Burger Club Frito pie burger collab with Fox Bros. and Little Rey’s special shrimp tacos dorado.
- May 3: SouthEats 2026 from Asian Americans Advancing Justice celebrating Asian Pacific American History Month with food from Kamayan and Food Terminal.
- May 3: The Final Burger Benefit with 60 famous burger chefs from all over the country to support the Giving Kitchen.
- Mondays this summer: May 4: La Hermanita returns to Tio Lucho’s serving Peruvian street food, including pollo a la brasa.
Note: By their very nature, pop-ups are fluid and subject to the whims of weather. For the latest schedule and information, consult the pop-ups’ Instagram feeds.
Know a pop-up we should check out? Punk Foodie is always looking for chefs and pop-ups shaping Atlanta’s underground food scene. If there’s a pop-up you love — or if you’re a chef running one — send us a tip. Email a.big.fan@punkfoodie.com or message @punkfoodie.atl on Instagram.
About the Author
The Punk Foodie project from Sam Flemming covers Atlanta’s independent chef scene with a focus on the city’s growing world of pop-ups, residencies, and chef-driven dining events. He covers the entrepreneurs and immigrant foodways helping redefine Southern food today. Email sam@punkfoodie.com.
