The feast at Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley restaurant in suburban Atlanta actually begins when you pull up in the parking lot.
As you walk up, your eyes digest the scenery of this impressive edifice sandwiched between Maggiano’s and Shake Shack at the Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody, Ga., on the northern edge of this metropolis. Once you enter Kitchen + Kocktails, you drink in the arresting aesthetics inside the elegant eatery. The place is the quintessential definition of “Instagrammable,” with immaculate structuring, upscale decor, LED screens, intricate lighting, marble bar tops, fun signage, and floral walls that are ideal for selfies and group photos.
Kitchen + Kocktails features luscious libations
While you await your table, you can begin your experience by imbibing upscale libations. Kitchen + Kocktails features signature cocktails and premium spirits such as Louis XIII and Hennessy Paradis, featuring fan favorites like the Peach D’USSÉ Frozen, the strawberry jalapeño margarita, a toasted marshmallow espresso martini, or a frozen piña colada that comes in an actual pineapple.
After you’ve been seated, it’s time to turn your attention to the trained artists in the kitchen who curate culinary cuisines that resemble sculptures and are as tantalizing to look at as they are scrumptious.
Kitchen + Kocktails’ menu dazzles the eyes, body and soul
Kitchen + Kocktails is a leading Southern comfort dining destination that has taken America by storm. The menu boasts over 50 elevated Southern comfort dishes, including Shrimp + Grits with lobster tail, Caribbean jerk lamb chops, blackened salmon, fried catfish and Southern fried chicken with bold sauces like hot honey and Asian cognac.
Appetizers include the Appetizer Trio with lamb chops, crab cakes, and Dream Eggs topped with shrimp.
The nearly 6,500-square-foot restaurant can seat 125 guests in the main dining room, with a private dining area known as the Asset Lounge, which will accommodate 40. Upstairs and downstairs patios will seat a total of 27 patrons.
Kevin Kelley loved European life, but missed Southern cuisine
The owner of Kitchen + Kocktails, Kevin Kelley, is a Dallas-based trailblazer, law firm proprietor, restaurateur, and serial business mogul who is a paragon of the American dream. As the owner of the ultra successful Kelley Law Firm, P.C. and boasting an international clientele, Kelley chose to live in Paris. One of his sons was in soccer camp in Spain while the other was in a similar camp in Germany. He felt he was at the pinnacle of professional and personal fulfillment.
But there was just one thing missing: Good, old-fashioned Southern comfort food that his grandmother made for him throughout his childhood.
Kevin Kelley launched 1st Kitchen + Kocktails during COVID
When Kelley returned to living in America full time, he performed another audacious feat: Kelley decided to open a restaurant during the apex of the coronavirus pandemic. And his concept of Southern comfort food, coupled with visually dynamic decor and an extravagant drink menu, launched Kitchen + Kocktails into orbit while many other eateries crashed and burned in 2020.
Kitchen + Kocktails with Kevin Kelley (Photo by Terry Shropshire for rolling out)
Following successful launches in Kelley’s hometown in Dallas, then Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte — all in just five years — Kelley chose Atlanta as the ideal location.
“I choose cities that I believe in, places that I enjoy. And so when you look at a city like Atlanta, I love the diversity of Atlanta. Atlanta is a very powerful city. There’s so many Blacks that have influence, that have achieved so much professionally, and it’s got a number of sports teams as well. So Atlanta just made sense for us.”
More than 90 percent of all the menu items are personally picked by Kelley, but they are executed to perfection with his teams of chefs at each location.
“The reason they’ve gone off very well is because our chefs are stars. We have fantastic chefs who do a lot of hard work in our kitchen to ensure that every single bite is special. That’s why I believe our concept is fantastic.”
