Linton’s in the Garden, the Atlanta Botanical Garden restaurant named for chef-restaurateur Linton Hopkins, has been rebranded as Longleaf.
Executive chef Jason Paolini takes the lead in the kitchen; the James Beard Award-winning Hopkins stays on as chef adviser.
Paolini will continue to source some ingredients from the garden, and is expected to debut new dishes in the next few weeks, according to a statement. Paolini’s cuisine will stay in line with the restaurant’s “plant-to-plate” concept.
Longleaf, a two-level contemporary glass structure in the center of the Garden, seats more than 200 and provides views of the garden and the Midtown skyline. The restaurant opened as Linton’s in the Garden in April 2016. Before that, Hopkins operated The Cafe at Linton’s in the Garden.
Longleaf offers full-service dining, a grab-and-go cafe and a flexible space for educational programs, private rentals and special events. The restaurant’s new name is inspired by the longleaf pine, described by the Garden as “the resilient evergreen conifer indigenous to Georgia and the Southeast, and a focus of significant conservation efforts.”
Longleaf’s winter hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; admission to the Garden is required for nonmembers to dine there.
Hopkins, reportedly, is taking a reduced role so he can continue to work on other projects in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. He already operates Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch Public House in Buckhead and H&F Burger at Ponce City Market. He’s working on a steakhouse at SunTrust Park in Cobb County, the new home of the Atlanta Braves.
The Garden and Longleaf are at 1345 Piedmont Road NE in Midtown. Details HERE or at 404.585.2061.
