Elektra Restaurant Opens at Forth Hotel in Atlanta

You’ve probably seen the gleaming new building that looks like a metal beehive on the Eastside BeltLine. It’s the Forth, Atlanta’s newest luxury hotel, and it’s now welcoming a new resident.

Elektra, an all-day Mediterranean restaurant on the hotel’s fourth floor, is now open. Its décor and atmosphere evoke the coastal seaside. It is conveniently located near the hotel’s pool deck, helping to anchor that vision. It opened on July 12.

Executive chef Jonathan McDowell, formerly of Barcelona Wine Bar, Delbar and 9 Mile Station, drew inspiration from Levantine and Mediterranean flavors to create the menu. Expect dishes like a seasonal mezze platter served with warm pita, lamb kefta with sumac onions, salmon with dill labneh, mussels in a white wine fennel sauce and a yogurt panna cotta with lavender gel for dessert on the dinner menu.

Emilie Dorio

McDowell’s inspiration for cooking Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes began at a young age.

“I grew up in a Lebanese and Egyptian family. We’ve been friends for a very long time,” McDowell says. “I would help them roll dolmas and eat mortadella sandwiches as a kid. I learned from my grandmothers and aunts, and I’m still honing my Middle Eastern cooking.”

McDowell also spent time in Spain, where his influences are reflected in dishes of octopus, shrimp and steak. Simplicity, freshness and proximity are at the heart of the menu. He says the branzino he uses is fresh from the Mediterranean just two days ago and delivered to the restaurant. The merguez (spiced lamb) used in the mussels comes from Sausage World, a family-run artisanal sausage company in Lilburn.

Emilie Dorio

“I really like the freshness of everything,” McDowell says. “You have to understand that you don’t want to add too much to a dish.”

The freshness is reflected in the drinks menu, which includes innovative cocktails and two non-alcoholic options. Wines cover a good part of the Mediterranean region with options from Lebanon, Italy, Greece and Armenia – try the Yacoubian-Hobbs white blend with fried cauliflower or octopus. The breakfast menu includes shakshuka, olive oil pancakes, Turkish eggs and pastries.

Matthew Williams

Forth is a 16-story hotel with a private social club between the historic Fourth Ward Park and the Eastside BeltLine Trail. It has 196 hotel rooms and 39 extended-stay apartments. Jim Irwin, president of New City, developed the hotel and is the same person behind the development of the Ponce City Market and the BeltLine Kroger at 725 Ponce.

Elektra, one of the hotel’s four restaurants, is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and reservations are now available.