Hopstix — Restaurant in Chamblee

Asian Fusion Cuisine meets Brewmaster

We enjoyed several small plates: hamachi crudo, Hokkaido scallops and from the Robata grill , quails and pork belly. All were delicious. The hamachi and scallops were very fresh and tender, served with citrus (yuzu) and beautifully presented. The quail was marinaded in sweet soy sauce with plenty of umami. Pork belly was melt in your mouth yummy. In addition we had basil crab fried rice, asian chopped salad and a sunset roll. All were excellent. Fried rice was a tad salty for someone on low sodium but not overly greasy. Chunks of crab meat, edamame and basil leaves make this not-your-usual delicious fried rice The Asian chopped salad was served with sweet almonds, fried wonton strips, and wasabi dressing, and loaded with a variety of veggies including edamame, sliced large purple radish, carrots, and cucumbers. Super tasty. Sunset roll was a sublime and delicate blend of flavors, moist and oh so succulent.

All of Hopstix’s large variety of beers are brewed in house. We each sampled a flight of 4 beers of our choice; each served in 4oz glasses. There are some unusual beers, like Yasuke, a black rice larger. We enjoyed them all! Stand outs were Drunkken Meister - versatile, paired well with food, and Octoberstix was smooth and easy drinking. Crying Tiger brings back memories of pints of bitter in English pubs. The 2 seasonal limited releases are must tries if you are adventurous. The Strawberry Paradise is sweet (for a beer); reminds me of lambic but lighter. It was my dessert, refreshing, and I loved the balanced fruity and citrus flavors. The Dark Dream is a stout with smokey notes, hints of toasted bonito and complex, paired well with pork belly and quail. Hurry though, if you want to try it. Only one keg and it’s gone. Besides beers, they do have wines and interesting looking cocktails - for future exploration.

We learned they have Tuna Thursdays, a one day of the week special menu featuring everything tuna. Hopstix receives their blue fin tuna every Wednesday. They prepare the tuna into various cuts and have it ready for the specials on Thursday.

In terms of ambience, it’s a low key place with picnic benches and regular tables. Outside seating, which we prefer is quieter and the weather is perfect ATM. Inside can get loud but that may be a function of the packed house. The clientele was mostly young professionals. The vibe is vibrant yet laid back.

Service was prompt and friendly. Our waitress answered all our questions clearly with a smile. It helps to order your food before the big parties arrive. There were two on the night we were there. Unlike some other restaurants where we dined recently, Hopstix appeared to be fully staffed.

We will be regulars! Our goal is the sample everything on their menu. Tuna Thursday is already on...

This post is for everyone, and especially for my fellow foodies who live OTP. Short story, you need to drive ITP asap and enjoy a meal at Hopstix. You will NOT be disappointed!

My wife and I recently enjoyed dinner at Hopstix with some of our foodie friends from Alpharetta. The drive was well worth it.

Upon arriving, we were greeted and seated in a corner table near the window that looked out on the patio. Soon after, water arrived as did our server - AJ - who took our beverage orders. The beer selection at Hopstix is excellent and curated well. In light of wide variety of choices, I enjoyed a flight. And as Hopstix is an Asian Brewpub, it includes a number of rice-based beers.

The menu offers an abundance of choices and we explored a good bit of it. For starters, we sampled the Shishito peppers, steamed chicken dumplings, and the short rib. The Shishitos and short rib were cooked on skewers over the Robata grill. ALL of the appetizers were delicious! On to the main course...

After much debate, because everything looked SO good, we each ordered a bowl - one choice was Soto, another was the Katsu Curry, the third was Super Bowl, and the last was Basil Fried Rice (with Tofu). After sampling each other's choice, the only thing I can say is "grand slam." Each bowl was very flavorful and the portion sizes were on point.

During the course of our meal, Amy - co-owner of Hopstix with her husband - stopped by to check in on us. It was a nice touch, and she is very kind and sweet. Additionally, throughout our meal, AJ, our server, took impeccable care of us. Her beer and food recommendations were excellent, and she was attentive to any and all needs. While enjoying our meal and the positive vibe of Hopstix, we noticed a true gentle man arrive with his little dog. After situating his pooch on the patio, the man stepped inside to get a beer. He then sat on the patio and enjoyed the lingering warmth of the day and the company of his best friend. Both seemed to have not a care in the world, except each other. We later learned the man's name is Scott and his dog's name is Toto. They stop by Hopstix every day, even when it's not open.

If that's not an endorsement for a quality dining spot, I don't know what is. If you've not eaten at Hopstix, what are you...

Finally a gastropub that is so dialed into my wheelhouse its scary. Hopstix in Chamblee combines my two most absolute favorite loves: craft beer and Japanese street food. I find it so pleasing to find a beer pub that has food worthy of the trip alone. The Asian fusion concept comes from Founder/Brewmaster Andy Tan and Chef Dony Raymond and opened in 2017. Tan comes to Atlanta from Indonesia and honed his craft initially home brewing. His family has a history in the culinary and seafood scene back home and helped build a foundation for his dream and goals here. The menu has many American style sushi rolls that can be found in other Japanese restaurants but where Hopstix uniqueness comes through is in the Izakaya or informal small bites that are meant to be shared. The best example of this comes through in their Robata grill where fresh protein is grilled on skewers over binchotan, which is a type of Japanese charcoal. Think baby octopus, tuna and other fresh seafood. Alternatively on the other end of the cooking spectrum are their bowls and raw options. Here the ingredients carry the profile where quality and relationship with the fishmonger are paramount. On our visit they were showcasing a special tuna from Japan which was highlighted in many of their dishes. Not to be outdone the brewing portion of the operation is up to the same standards. I went with a New England style IPA which was juicy, creamy and bright on par with some of the brews I have traded for coming straight from Vermont and Massachusetts. It was impressive to see a list of many styles of beer here as each requires its own technique, time and equipment. This adds to the labor for a brewmaster but shows Tan's dedication to appeal to a wide variety of preferences. For those seeking non fermented libations I hear the cocktails are suburb as well and only adds to the reasons for me to visit again. Im nostalgically reminded overall of the award winning The Answer Brewpub in Virginia for those also lucky enough to visit and thankful that Im now a short Uber...