HIP NEW DUNWOODY RESTAURANT IS LIKE “CHEERS” FOR THE SOUTHERN SUBURBAN SET

Behind a brick white wall printed with the words BAR{n} in Dunwoody, chef Nick Leahy is mixing together casual Southern food with some upscale twists. From pigs in a blanket to deviled farm eggs to Gulf crab and corn dip to Georgia melon and feta salad, chef Nick is putting together a supremely crowd pleasing menu at this popular new Dunwoody restaurant that isn’t even a year old.  

I was telling one friend who lives in Dunwoody I was heading to BAR{n} and she says, “It’s like Cheers. You’ll see.” And then low and behold, my husband ran into two college friends he hadn’t seen in years there and I ran into two of my college friends as well. Since the outside patio and bar window were packed on a Thursday evening, it gave boon to her Cheers comparison.

Inside, mounted on a wall paneled in barnwood, a neon orange sign reads “just horsing around.” It’s as cheeky and joyful as the weather vane on top of the building or the tin roof overhang when you walk up. It’s feels rustic farm chic to go along with the friendly country barn-in-the-burbs vibe. 

Instagram fans will love BAR{n}. From that neon sign to a colorful Funwoody painted wall in ’70s fonts to the swing set-table to the Willie Nelson quote scribed on the bathroom door to the oversized chess set out back. There are plenty of cute Insta moments to snap for budding influencers. 

The whole place feels Two-Sided Southern to me. Take the regional devotion of the ingredients coming out of this kitchen: A Southeastern cheese selection board comes with local jam and house made crackers. Meatball sliders are made with Georgia grass fed beef. The marinated Georgia tomato salad with burrata. It’s all elevated and presented beautifully, but the emphasis is on local food. It’s hard not to notice that chef Nick’s lineup celebrates the south. My fave? Seeing smoked pork belly and Georgia peach flatbread next to a house smoked lox flatbread with whipped fromage gave me extra Two-Sided Southern vibes. 

Everything at BAR{n} is sharable. There’s a section on the menu called BOARDS and another section called THE SMORGAS-BOARD. The BOARDS are like Southern hostess appetizer plates. There’s the DIPS & VEGGIES BOARD: A mix of pimento cheese, Sea Island pea hummus, olive tapenade, Vidalia onion dip, today’s veggies, house pickles and scratch crackers. If you’ve got a large party (which it seems like many regulars do), then grab one of these boards and let everyone pick off it all night while they sit around one of the fire pits. While I didn’t go all in on one myself, THE SMORGAS-BOARD is a $100 combination of all five of their boards and looks like a good time. 

Kids will cheer for the mac n cheese and the hot-from-the-oven chocolate chip or Snickerdoodle cookies. While moms and dads can sip on Rose Prosecco or a New Wave Radical Blonde Ale, they can let the little ones run around geeked up on sugar. I adored seeing that BAR{n} is a great new Dunwoody restaurant to bring kids. My son was gone for about an hour playing corn hole, oversized Connect Four and generally running amok within eyesight. He went out on a limb and tried the pigs in a blanket. They weren’t what he was expecting. Instead, it was presented as a fancy cheese-filled sausage in crispy phyllo dough—with a la-la-lovely spicy mustard spread. He ate three. A win, I think. 

BAR{n} has also got a cool-looking Back to School party on August 13, 2022, with their Funwoody Food Truck. The lineup boasts both Cafeteria Classics and Jell-O shots. Two bands will play at 6 pm and 8 pm. A portion of sales goes to Blessings in a Backpack, a non-profit. 

In truth, I met chef Nick Leahy years and years ago. He opened the delightful Saltyard in Buckhead back in 2013. It definitely put him on the map in a crowded field. He went to Marist High School in Atlanta and we have some good friends in common. At first, I hadn’t realized he was behind this new Dunwoody restaurant with another amazing Atlanta restaurant veteran, David Abes. Abes created a name for himself in Atlanta with Here to Serve Restaurants, LDV Hospitality and then was COO of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group. He is now the owner of DASH Hospitality Group and obviously up to good things. I was happy to find out both these guys are the genius on why BAR{n} is so likable and delicious. Why was I even surprised?

In the same vein of neighborhood spots with elevated appetizers and upscale twists (think Kaleidoscope in Brookhaven or Edgar’s Proof & Provision in Midtown) these guys are doing really cool things in this part of town. And locals are loving the new Dunwoody restaurant. 

Also… when did Dunwoody get so cool? I guess that’s why they call it Funwoody now. 

Y’all. I saw on the website that they also have a “Biscuit Brunch.” What is Goldarn heck is that? All I know is, I want in. I’ll have to go back to BAR{n} this weekend. Drop me a comment below if you’ve been to a Biscuit Brunch and have any scoop.