It was a cloudy Wednesday afternoon. A chilling wind cut through my jacket as I crossed West Peachtree along Sixth Street. After a few moments I rounded the next corner and made my way inside. Instantly I was warmed by both the heat and the soft wood of the bar, the brick walls, and the low, soft glow of the candles spread throughout. I had arrived at the new Cypress Street Pint and Plate.
Located on the corner of Cypress St. and Sixth St., a mere two blocks from the Management Building in Tech Square, the Pint and Plate is a new neighborhood pub-style restaurant. Once inside, I was greeted by the immensely friendly staff, namely Paige the bartender and Chewie the bouncer. After plopping down at the bar (the only place to eat when you’re alone), I perused through their menu of “upscale bar food.“ Several things caught my eye: the Pilgrim’s Progress, a turkey sandwich with a cranberry mayonnaise; Dad’s roast beef (name says it all); and don’t forget their varied selection of delicious burgers.
I asked Paige, the bartender, “What’s good?“ and was promptly presented with an unexpected choice: a plate of meatball “sliders“ (sliders are small sandwich-like things). I usually prefer my meatballs in some southern style jelly/ketchup sauce, but covered with a Caesar dressing and shredded cheese, these proved an unanticipated delight. They are constantly expanding their menu, according to Paige, and are working very hard to increase the variety of vegetarian options.
A great deal of their food has homemade ingredients you won’t find nearby. Take the in-house corndogs with their custom chipotle sauce, for example. It’s a great snack any restaurant in Tech Square would have a hard time competing with.
Though they’ve only been open about five weeks, the Pint and Plate has become hugely popular in midtown. Their fame has been propagated entirely by word of mouth, and in fact until just recently (up until this week), they’ve done almost no advertising.
The Cypress Street Pint and Plate was born from the vision of Billy Streck, a New York pub owner originally from Atlanta. He yearned to open a similar Neighborhood Pub in his hometown. As of the first of January this year, Billy’s vision is now a reality.
Nearly every day of the week, the Pint and Plate is open from 11 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. (12 midnight on Sunday, though) serving food until 2 a.m. in the morning. They already cater to the lunch crowd, and soon plan to serve brunch on the weekends.
“We don’t wanna be something more than we are,“ said Andrew Leonardi, the General Manager. “We don’t wanna be corporate.“
Cypress St. never has a cover, even though it can often feel like a bar in the evenings. Leonardi insists they are a “restaurant first“ and will never turn anyone away who wants to come in for a good meal.
A boon to most customers, the Pint and Plate is smoke-free indoors, with limited smoking available on the patio outside.
Also a handy resource is the ability to sit your canine friend on the edge of the patio while you eat, a highly desirable convenience for many in the area. Cypress Street is also a great place to take care of that nagging homework or e-mail, easily accessible over their free Wi-Fi. They’ll even play music off of your MP3 player if you bring it in.
They have many specials during the day as well as half-priced appetizers from 5-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Overall, Cypress Street Pint and Plate is a much needed addition to the stale Tech Square dining options. Next time you stop in and are feeling especially manly, ask them about the Irish Truck Bomb, a special treat you can’t find anywhere else around these parts.