After years of working for others in the restaurant industry and running pop-ups for those in the industry, Caleb Giles is striking out on his own with new Midtown restaurant Café 1933.
Located at 1100 Peachtree St. NE in the former Joy’s Cafe space, Café 1933 (the name is a nod to the year that Prohibition ended) opened last month for lunch, dinner, late-night hours and weekend brunch.
Giles, who had his first restaurant job at 14, worked for eateries and bars in Florida and New York before settling in Atlanta. Before opening Cafe 1933, he worked at now-shuttered metro Atlanta restaurants including Brine Seafood Shack and Publico.
He also planned and managed pop-ups catered to those in the hospitality industry at spots including 11th Street Pub and even Joy’s Cafe, during which he met his executive chef, Alex Clyatt.
The pair pulled heavily from Clyatt’s background growing up in Maine while developing Cafe 1933′s menu, on which seafood features prominently, as well as Asian influences.
“I describe the food as high-brow low brow,” Giles said. “We do everything from spam to caviar, though we try to be farm to table as much as possible.”
Lunch items include the BFRD Hwy Smash Burger (two brisket and sirloin patties topped with bok choy, Korean cheese ramen, gochujang sauce and cheese) and the Beet Burger (tri-color beets and herb-infused blend topped with goat cheese on a brioche bun).
The dinner menu offers a variety of starters and caviar “bumps” guests can indulge in sharable starters and caviar bumps along with entrees including scallops with celeriac puree, pomegranate buerre-rouge, shiso leaf and red beets; lobster roll with garlic butter and cold herb mayonnaise; lamb chops; ribeye; venison; and chicken and waffles.
Credit: JOSE PEREIRO
Credit: JOSE PEREIRO
Weekend brunch options, available from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays include starters like French Toast Bites, Mini Cornbread Pancakes, Venison Benedict; sandwiches including the Salmon Ball Sub and No Dope on Sundays spicy chicken sandwich; caviar service; and classic brunch items including pancakes and shrimp and grits.
On Monday nights, Giles will feature pop-ups from local chefs he met during his industry night days (recent guests have included Lino Yi from TKO, which is set to open its own brick-and-mortar location in East Atlanta soon).
Cafe 1933′s cocktail list includes the Rambo (tequila, Carpano Botanic Bitter, pineapple and lime); the W.T. Old Fashioned (Jepson’s Bourbon, bitters and root beer reduction); and Becky’s Favorite (Ketel One Peach Vodka, orange blossom, lemon sugar and bubbles). The beverage program also offers a selection of wine, agave, whisky and craft beers.
Giles looked to his food menu when developing the cocktail list in order to “see if there’s anything going to waste or we’re not using enough of that we can cross-utilize to reduce waste,” he said. The menu’s riff on a Brandy Alexander uses fresh snap peas left over from a snap pea hollandaise sauce to create “bright, vegetal tones,” Giles said.
The Cafe 1933 space, “which invokes a sultry and moody vibe reminiscent of the enticing bar culture of the era,” according to a press release, features a mural by Atlanta artist Pash Lima, dim lighting, chandeliers, and a color palette of gray, red and black. In addition to interior seating, Café 1933 also offers a large, dog-friendly patio that overlooks Peachtree Street.
The restaurant’s opening hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Mondays-Saturdays and 11 a.m.- p.m. Sundays. Every Monday night, Café 1933 has a themed industry night showcasing a local chef.
1100 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 770-679-2129, cafe1933.com.
Scroll down to see the menu for Café 1933:
Credit: Cafe 1933
Credit: Cafe 1933
Credit: Cafe 1933
Credit: Cafe 1933
Credit: Cafe 1933
Credit: Cafe 1933
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