Midtown Manhattan's Blue Willow is heading to Inman Quarter, marking the first location outside New York for the Chinese restaurant. The 3,600-square-foot space on the edge of Inman Park is slated to open later this year and will be the brand's first venture into the Southeast.
Founder Vincent Lin said the move is personal. He spent much of his childhood in Atlanta after immigrating from China, and opening in Inman Quarter feels like a full-circle moment. The restaurant leans on family recipes and Hunan regional cuisine, with a menu that includes hand-pulled noodles, wok-charred vegetables, dim sum, roasted Peking duck, and Chairman Mao's Red-Braised Pork (slow-simmered pork belly with spring onion, red peppers, baby bok choy, and star anise). The bar pours baiju cocktails and sake.
The interior is inspired by 1920s Old Shanghai, meaning elevated rather than casual. Blue Willow opened its Manhattan flagship in 2020 and has since become a fixture on that side of the Hudson. For Atlanta, it adds another higher-end Chinese option to a scene that has been gaining steam, and it adds to Inman Quarter's run of destination dining.
