Beef tartare with black truffle and piquillo pepper
THE SOUTH
From Dairy Queen to White Tablecloths: Chef Joseph Harrison Takes the Helm at Atlanta’s Aria
Written by Eric Barton | Photos by Brandon Amato | June 13, 2025
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
Chef Joseph Harrison has a habit of turning up in my life in the best possible way. He ran the kitchen at my favorite spot in Savannah—quietly one of the best restaurants in the South—and now he’s taken over Aria, The Adventurist’s top restaurant in Atlanta.
Aria has been a white-tablecloth stalwart in Buckhead for 24 years. It’s the kind of place with dramatic floral arrangements and a menu that hasn’t ever bowed to trends. When longtime executive chef and co-founder Gerry Klaskala announced his departure earlier this year, I braced for something radical. Instead, the restaurant brought in Harrison, a chef who understands how to evolve without losing the plot.
Chef Joseph Harrison
We spoke yesterday morning while Harrison was headed to the restaurant and, in true Buckhead fashion, struggling to find a parking spot. Harrison told me he got his start at the Dairy Queen in his hometown of Covington, Georgia, when he was 16 or 16.
“Working there, a certain sense of urgency was instilled in me from the get-go,” he said. “I’ve always had that level of hustle. For me that is important.” He’s since cooked his way through Charleston and then back home to Georgia, where he took over the kitchen at Common Thread, our No. 1 rated restaurant in Savannah.
Carrots with preserved lemon and jalapeno
He’d heard rumblings that Klaskala might be stepping away from Aria. At first he didn’t believe it. But after a few phone calls confirmed the rumor, he realized what was at stake. “It was a bigger stage,” he told me. “A bigger city. And an institution of a restaurant.”
Duck confit, sauce a l'orange and roasted turnip
That institution, he made clear, isn’t going anywhere. Harrison is planning a menu refresh—maybe some dining room updates too—but the essence of Aria will remain. “Hopefully regulars will appreciate the vegetable-forward dishes we are going to bring,” he said. But don’t worry: the beloved short ribs are safe. “They’re a favorite,” he said, “and for good reason.”
Duck breast with blackberry jus and cabbage
During our call, Harrison doesn’t drop chef-y jargon or wax poetic about emulsions. He sounds more like a guy who eats banh mi in his car, which he does. “Like most chefs, I eat a lot of junk food,” he admitted. “I’ll polish off a pizza by myself. I’m always down for Korean BBQ.”
That balance—refined plates at work, casual cravings off the clock—is what makes him such a compelling fit for Aria. If the menu ends up anything like his resume and what Harrison did in Savannah, Aria is in very good hands.
