Girl Diver, an Asian-seafood concept that’s been in the works for more than a year, is now open in Reynoldstown.
Located at 905 Memorial Drive in the Madison Yards development, Girl Diver comes from Richard Tang, who opened Char Korean Bar & Grill in 2016.
Named as an homage to the ama and haenyeo, female Japanese and Korean divers who dive without equipment, Girl Diver’s seafood preparation is “a play off of the traditional Viet-Houston style,” Tang told the AJC in 2019.
The menu features dishes including charred shishito peppers, prawn crackers, Vietnamese-seasoned rare beef “carpaccio”, fried beef dumplings, slow braised pork, lobster mac and cheese and green curry mussels.
The “main attraction” section of the menu offers seafood by the pound using one of four preparations that are nods to Houston Viet-Cajun cuisine including Old Bay, green curry, garlic butter and the Girl Diver special.
Also included are a series of sharable party platters, from the smaller Novice to the larger Master, which comes with shrimp, snow crabs, crawfish, lobster tail, Alaskan king, sausages, corn and potatoes.
The menu also features a cheeky reference to a fantasy item, the $9,999 PhD platter that includes mermaid’s eggs, Poseidon’s trident, Aquaman’s beard hair, one Nemo and one Siren.
Beverages include sakes, beers, wines, bubbles and craft cocktails including the Ferris Bueller, made with Bulliet Bourbon, Foro Amoro and bitters and the Maverick, with Ketel One, hibiscus ginger syrup and lemon.
Helping Tang execute his vision is executive chef Karl Gorline, most recently of the now-shuttered Watershed on Peachtree.
“It was great to find somebody who has the creativity to elevate the food, but not bastardize it and change everything,” Tang said.
The space -- which Tang designed with Abri Design Studio -- draws inspiration from the work of well-known Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. Hokusai is best known for his work “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” and was an early influence on manga through pieces like “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife.”
“I wanted to create a different environment that was not Char, but when you walk in, you understand it’s the same environment and the same company,” Tang said.
The restaurant seats about 99 guests and has an outdoor patio. Tang said he’s paid special attention to the patio due to the increased number of customers wanting to eat outside, installing heaters and making plans to cover it in the coming weeks.
He said that while COVID-19 delayed Girl Diver’s opening, the overall plan for the restaurant remained intact, with the exception of pivoting to offer fewer family-style and more composed dishes. The restaurant has also perfected its takeout program, Tang said.
This month, Girl Diver will offer dine-in service, delivery and takeout for dinner only, with plans to start offering lunch and weekend brunch starting Jan. 10.
Girl Diver’s opening hours are 5-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 5 p.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays.
Masks are required for staff and highly recommended for patrons.
Girl Diver joins several other food and beverage concepts in the Madison Yards development, including Salata, Curry Up Now, Hoot’s Righteous Wings and First Watch.
In addition to Char and Girl Diver, Tang also has video game-inspired bar and restaurant Press Start in the works in Summerhill, which he hopes to have open by summer 2021.
955 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. 404-525-2424, girldiveratlanta.com/
Scroll down to see the opening menu for Girl Diver:
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