The Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown is finally getting its long-awaited crescendo. Chef Craig Richards, of acclaimed Italian restaurant Lyla Lila, is opening Elise at the Center tomorrow, August 19. It replaces Table 1280, with a brand new, artful interior, a French and Italian-focused menu, and a large wine list.
Named after Beethoven’s Für Elise, the restaurant will represent a showcase of the culinary arts, and it’s in good company with the Woodruff Arts Center, home to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Alliance Theatre, and High Museum of Art.
Expect to find Richards’ famed house-made pasta on the menu, including his signature cacio e pepe risotto, linguine with clams and langoustines, tagliatelle with rabbit ragu, and gnocchetti with crab and fennel pollen butter. Fresh seafood will also play an important role on the menu (scallop crudo, halibut with ginger beurre blanc and caviar) — a nod to Richards’ time spent at Italian restaurant St. Cecilia in Buckhead. Smaller lunch offerings and a five-course tasting menu for dinner will soon be available for $95, with a wine pairing offered at $45.
The restaurant will carry 100 wines, with a focus on French producers. More exciting is the bar’s promise of a vermouth menu, offering five to six varieties. Beverage manager Eric Potrikus will run the bar, offering six staple cocktails.
Elise comes on the heels of Richards’ other highly anticipated art and dining project, Monospace, a DJ-driven dining experience, at the Stove Works Arts Center in Chattanooga. Richards grew up playing the piano and has taught a weekly culinary course at Auburn University, so it only makes sense that music and art have culminated to inspire the chef in his next chapters.
The space, designed by award-winning Italian architect Renzo Piano, is filled with light. Velvet green and red, plush seating lines the art-accentuated wall, with matching rugs to tie the colors together. A large abstract painting by Tommy Taylor, with pink, green, and purple hues, sets a dramatic backdrop for the restaurant. More art pieces, like a textured fabric sculpture by Sonya Yong James a the entrance, and a painting from Athens-based Chrissy Reed’s bold “Blobbies” series adorn the walls.
“There’s something meaningful about returning to a space that first inspired you,” says Richards in a statement. “When I dined here back in 2005, I was drawn to the architecture and the atmosphere. Now, to have the opportunity to contribute my own vision — one that is shaped by food, music, and design — feels both personal and creatively full circle.”
Elise will open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday, starting at 5 p.m. Reservations are now available.
Dining and Cooking