Chef and restaurateur Kevin Rathbun has brought his popular concept Krog Bar back to life, this time with a menu of coal-fired pizza.
Rathbun first opened Krog Bar in 2005 as a Spanish tapas and wine bar next to his flagship restaurant Rathbun’s in Inman Park. Both restaurants closed in 2020, but at the time, Rathbun teased a future for Krog Bar, according to a 2020 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
About five years later, the next iteration of Krog Bar has found a home at 349 Peachtree Hills Ave. NE in the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center in the Peachtree Hills neighborhood. It’s nestled beside KR Steakbar and Rathbun’s speakeasy, the Bureau.
“(Krog Bar) was really like a little gem, you know, I just loved to be in there. (It) just felt so comfortable and small,” Rathbun said. “These little pocket bar kind of places are fun. That’s why I brought it back.”
This time around, Krog Bar will serve a menu of coal-fired pizza, salads, sandwiches, Italian wine and cocktails.
The ideal opportunity arose for Rathbun when the tenant behind K.R. Steak Bar decided to move. The space that opened up “fit the mold,” he said.
At 950 square feet, it’s a little larger than the original bar. Instead of bringing back the Spanish tapas menu, he decided to try his hand at coal-fire pizza, something he’s been wanting to do for over two decades as an homage to a good friend from Brooklyn who took him on a tour of New York’s famous pizza joints many years ago.
Credit: Courtesy of Krog Bar
Credit: Courtesy of Krog Bar
The pizza offerings include specialties like the KROG (which stands for Kevin Rathbun Original Gangsta) with fennel sausage, onion and mozzarella; the surf clam with garlic, oregano, parsley, EVOO, pecorino and lemon; and the Isabella (named after his granddaughter) with tomato, pepperoni, mozzarella and basil.
Also on the menu are panini made with pizza bianca bread; a salad made with zucchini ribbons, Parmesan, basil and lemon oil; and snacks like coal-roasted artichoke hearts.
Credit: Courtesy of Krog Bar
Credit: Courtesy of Krog Bar
Rathbun wanted Krog Bar to fit in with the theme of KR Steak Bar, an Italian-inspired steakhouse.
“I just thought the flow of that would work really well in Peachtree Hills and become somewhat of a little Italy,” he said. And making the pizza has been “absolutely awesome.”
The intimate space includes 28 indoor seats and 20 outdoor seats on a garden patio. The design pulls in pieces Rathbun saved from the original Krog Bar, like pecky cypress wall panels, mirrors, photos that used to hang in the restaurant and even the black walnut front door.
“(When) people walk into it — especially people who have been to Krog Bar, (they) are just kind of blown away,” he said.
Credit: Courtesy of Krog Bar
Credit: Courtesy of Krog Bar
Krog Bar joins Rathbun’s existing concepts KR Steak Bar in Peachtree Hills and Kevin Rathbun Steak on the Eastside Beltline. It is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
349 Peachtree Hills Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-301-7146, krsteakbar.com/krogbarcoalfiredpizza
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