Longtime Atlanta restaurant Chops Lobster Bar has reopened after closing in January 2022 following a fire.

The two-alarm fire that broke out in the restaurant Jan. 14, started inside a hood vent and caused extensive water damage.

The downstairs Lobster Bar will mostly retain its original design. Chops steakhouse, located upstairs and set to reopen in October, underwent a significant redesign for six months and was near completion before the fire.

Work done after the fire was for restoration of the existing space. Chops redid its dining room, renamed the Plaza Room; updated its patio overlooking Buckhead Plaza, with seating for up to 36 guests; added a bar and dining area with three high-top tables and a handful of booths and dining tables, as well as floor-to-ceiling windows; and added design elements including work curated by Atlanta art consultant Fay Gold.

The Chops Lobster Bar menu has also been revamped, with the expansion of its dry-aged meat selection and the addition of an escargot appetizer and a grilled octopus appetizer also served at Kyma.

Located at 70 West Paces Ferry Road and open since 1989, Chops Lobster Bar is part of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, which also includes eateries like Atlanta Fish Market, Bistro Niko, Kyma and Pricci. The group closed its iconic Buckhead Diner in 2021.

Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter

Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.

About the Author

Featured

The renovation of Jekyll Island's Great Dunes golf course includes nine holes designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s for the members of the Jekyll Island Club. Several holes that were part of the original layout where located along the beach and were bulldozed in the 1950s.(Photo by Austin Kaseman)

Credit: Photo by Austin Kaseman