Pasha Mediterranean Restaurant and Bar will be open to diners as early as November 20, followed by a grand opening in December.
The 5,150-square-foot space at 631 Miami Circle in the Buckhead Crossing shopping center is the latest concept by restaurateur Okan Ozyurteri, formerly of Buckhead’s Istanblue and current owner of Mandolin Mediterranean Kitchen in Sandy Springs.
“This is my seventh restaurant overall and my fifth restaurant in Atlanta, but nothing is similar among them,” Ozyurteri shared during a phone call with What Now Atlanta.
Pasha will be open from 4 p.m. “until late,” and—with 230 seats, 16 at the bar, 80 on the outdoor patio and a private room—will function more like a restaurant and lounge space serving broad Mediterranean cuisine commandeered by head chef Matt Ertus.
That means anything from Spanish tapas to Italian pizzas and pastas to Mediterranean shared plates and kebobs.
“In all the time that I’ve been opening restaurants, this is my first time building a brand new restaurant from scratch,” Ozyuteri said of the ground-up endeavor with partner and commercial and residential real estate veteran Joun Hanna, that took a little over a year to fully construct and convert.
Istanblue, for example, was converted from an Italian restaurant that had a large oven in the middle of the kitchen which posed workflow challenges, Ozyuteri revealed.
“Everything that I’ve learned in all my years of experience has been poured into Pasha. I think this will be my best work.”
