So. Fox in Virginia-Highland: A Guide to Getting a Table

"We want people to stop in and have a glass of wine and a snack, or grab dinner without a reservation," Rachael Pack told Rough Draft Atlanta in January, months before So. Fox opened. At the time, the restaurant was a plan for the old Farm Burger space next to Kinship Butcher & Sundry. Pack and chef Myles Moody were calling it a neighborhood spot that should fit how Virginia-Highland works, where people move from one bar or restaurant to the next.

The quote reads differently now. So. Fox opened on July 2. By September 16, WSB-TV was reporting that the New York Times had named it one of its 50 favorite restaurants in the country in the paper's "America's Best Restaurants 2026" guide. National attention usually turns a 50-seat room into a reservations race. At So. Fox, the walk-in commitment from that January interview is still in the house rules. For anyone within a short walk of 1017 N. Highland Ave., that's the easiest way in.

The policy came before the crowd

Some of the restaurant's plans changed between announcement and opening. Rough Draft's January preview gave an early-May target and described reservations taken earlier in the evening for only half the dining room. The doors actually opened in July. Atlanta Magazine's preview the week before opening said the restaurant would take reservations on Resy and keep part of the room for neighborhood walk-ins.

The current version on So. Fox's Resy page goes further. It welcomes walk-ins at the bar, the standing bar, and the dining room, and says several dining-room tables are held each night on a first-come, first-served basis. So the walk-in option has expanded since the preview, and it has survived the New York Times list, the AJC review, and a summer of buzz.

That buzz was real. Henri Hollis opened his September 3 AJC review by calling So. Fox "the wildly hyped new restaurant in Atlanta's Virginia-Highland neighborhood." He said he couldn't avoid the praise from friends and colleagues, online or in person. His verdict was quieter than the hype: "I expected to board a rocket ship; instead, the experience was more like a hot-air balloon ride." He meant it as praise and called the restaurant fun, relaxing, and light.

Two ways in

As of early October 2026, the restaurant's site lists dinner service Thursday through Monday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., so it's closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Within those hours, the two ways in work very differently.

The reservation side comes from Resy's August guide, which says tables are released 30 days in advance. The venue page says outright that So. Fox can't take reservations over Instagram or the phone, and that staff may not be able to answer during service. Questions go to [email protected], or you can leave a voicemail and ask for a call back.

The walk-in column is short because there isn't much to it. You walk to the corner, ask for a seat, and take the bar or the standing bar if the held tables are already gone. If you live a few blocks away, getting turned down costs you a short walk home. If you're driving in from across town, the reservation is the safer bet.

What a walk-in seat gets you

The bar is a good seat because the menu is built for ordering a few things at a time. Atlanta Magazine described about 16 à la carte dishes at opening, with desserts mixed into the main menu instead of saved for the end. "I want people to choose their own adventure through our menu," Moody told the magazine. "Our desserts lean savory and can be a starter or even mid-meal." A glass of wine and a savory cheesecake at the standing bar counts as a full visit here.

The dish count may not still be accurate. The menu changes with what local farms, the couple's own Under Acre Farm, and nearby waters can supply. One dish built around preserved muscadine leaves was dropped before opening after a hard growing season and turned into a savory Basque-style cheesecake made with cheeses from local creameries. By late August, Resy was describing a summer menu with sweet-corn dumplings and peach granita. Kim Severson singled out those sweet corn dumplings in the New York Times writeup. She described the room as "a former neighborhood burger haunt transformed with a soft Scandi sensibility" and said the restaurant is "coining a new Southern food lexicon." No fall menu has been announced, so expect October's dishes to differ from August's.

At So. Fox, the drinks get as much attention as the food. Pack is a certified sommelier, and the restaurant is named for the muscadine, the native grape also called the Southern Fox. Atlanta Magazine laid out the program before opening:

• Wine: heavy on low-intervention producers, mostly Old World with France out front, and several bottles from the same producer so you can get to know one winemaker. Names at opening included Arnot-Roberts from California, Lightwell Survey from Virginia, and a sparkling wine from Italian grower Alessandra Divella.
• Pairings: no formal flights. Servers are trained to suggest combinations as you order.
• Beer: food-friendly drafts such as Allagash White, a Halfway Crooks pilsner, and an English bitter from Sceptre Brewing, plus large-format bottles meant for sharing.
• Cocktails: five seasonal drinks listed by number, plus three nonalcoholic wines and three zero-proof cocktails.

The wine list is expected to change regularly too, so treat those bottles as a sample of the style rather than a promise. The room itself is plain on purpose, with matte tables and minimal decor. "We want guests to be the design," Moody said.

The rest of the block, and what's still to come

Kinship Butcher & Sundry next door is the daytime half of the same operation. Its FAQ lists hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. Kinship is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when So. Fox is closed, and it closes about when the dinner rush next door starts.

The couple is also expanding. Pack Hospitality's site says a second Kinship, "KINSHIP + Academy 2.0," is coming to Grant Park in fall 2026, with no exact date yet. Their k|n tasting menu, the 12-course counter dinner they ran at Kinship, is on pause while the team opens So. Fox and the new Kinship. In January, Atlanta Magazine reported Moody's hope to bring it back, possibly on So. Fox's closed days. No dates have been announced.

Across the street, the old original Taco Mac at 1006 N. Highland Ave. is set to become Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint, the brand's first Atlanta location. The official location page still says "Coming Soon." Its contractor had projected a third-quarter opening when demolition started in late June. That window has now passed without an opening announcement.

Farther south, toward Ponce, Third & Urban announced in March more than $3 million in building and streetscape upgrades to what it calls the Atkins Park Collection. The work covers properties along three blocks of North Highland. The biggest change is planned for the mostly vacant 780 N. Highland Ave. The renderings show an indoor-outdoor courtyard with new retail, and leasing partner Bridger Properties is looking for "community-focused food and beverage tenants." As of a July 13 permit roundup from the VaHi / Morningside Busybody newsletter, the permit for that building's mixed-use conversion was still under review. No tenants have been named. Some of the work is already done at 842 N. Highland, which has new signage, railings, and lighting, plus a mural by local artist Janice Rago on the Intown Hardware side of the building. Third & Urban cofounder Hank Farmer, who lives in the neighborhood, said the goal is to fill vacant space and support businesses that are "homegrown with roots planted deep in the community."

For now, So. Fox's Resy page still holds several dining-room tables for walk-ins every night it's open, and the bar and standing bar take walk-ins too.

If you're weighing a move within walking distance of North Highland, or wondering how places like So. Fox and the Atkins Park Collection plans affect your street, Michael Kriethe knows these blocks and is happy to talk it through. Let's Connect.