Outdoor Dining in the City

Sashay out to a great meal at one of Atlanta's best alfresco tables.

If you love eating in the open air but hate the heat, take refuge at three of our favorite restaurants in Buckhead, Atlanta's famous tony neighborhood. Each serves up good times and excellent flavors at an umbrella-shaded table or on a delightful covered patio.

Where France Meets Atlanta

An old Citroën, with flowers growing all around and on top, greets you at the entrance to Anis, a charming bistro. It seems a fitting introduction to this eatery that spills out of an early 20th-century Buckhead bungalow onto a brick patio.

They serve full-blown dinners here, but we favor the midday meal when the shade trees and arbor create a lush setting. Don't be put off by the somewhat haughty attitude of the restaurant's waitstaff-they seem to want to make you feel as if you're dining in Provence. And it's worth it.

The salade niçoise tastes quite authentic, even though the chef stacks the fresh tuna, hard-boiled eggs, peppers, tomatoes, and greens in a nouveau style ($8.50). Luncheon entrées include Steak Frites, hanger steak with fries ($13.95); a croque monsieur sandwich with Black Forest ham, Gruyère, and béchamel on sourdough ($7.95); and daily crêpe specials.

Anis: 2974 Grandview Avenue (off East Paces Ferry Road); (404) 233-9889 orwww.anisbistro.com. Open for lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday, dinner only Sunday.

Catching the Sea Breezes

Skip the exquisite substantial dinners at Kyma, and instead select the patio and its lighter fare at the famed Greek seafood establishment. Settees cluster around tiled tables in a roofed outdoor room that feels as if breaths from the Aegean Sea will soon billow in.

Start with the signature martini, the Kylima, a crisp concoction of vanilla vodka and lime juice, or get in the spirit with a glass of ice-cold ouzo. Order from the mezedes menu-plates of appetizers for two or more people.

Try the spinach triangles ($5.50) or stuffed grape leaves ($5.50). Expand your repertoire by selecting calamari ($8), pan-fried Greek cheese ($7.50), or baked prawns ($13.50).

Kyma: 3085 Piedmont Road; (404) 262-0702 or www.buckheadrestau rants.com/kyma/. Open for dinner Monday-Saturday.

Not Your Typical Mall Food

Fashionable aluminum tables and chairs on a terrace mark one of the best additions to dining in the Phipps Plaza area in years. Twist Restaurant & Tapas Bar draws crowds to its funky 75-seat patio as well as to its striking indoor bar and dining room.

The restaurant delivers on most of its enormous menu. The chicken empanada in a tomato-and-white corn relish ($7) may be the best tapa, but the sashimi tuna pizza with wasabi mayo ($9) ranks a close second. You have to love the silliness of a place that features a Super Models Three Course Meal of smoked salmon, Saga blue cheese, and chocolate truffle ($7). It's decadently flavored while guaranteed to leave you skinny. But we urge you to try more.

Twist: Phipps Plaza, 3500 Peachtree Road NE.; (404) 869-1191 or www. heretoserverestaurants.com. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

ANNETTE THOMPSON

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Aug 2004
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