First Look: The New Cakes & Ale

Cakes & Ale, one of Decatur's top restaurants, prepares to reopen Tuesday in clean, well-lighted rooms off the Decatur Court Square.

The restaurant has moved into the space formerly occupied by a Chinese buffet near the Church Street entrance to the MARTA station. Cakes & Ale will have several new features, such as a bakery, a wood-burning oven, and a patio that should open in about a month.

Most notably, the restaurant will have a bright, airy feel and much more space. The new place at 151 Sycamore St. will seat about 25 in the bakery and about 80 in the dining rooms, said Kristen Allin, who owns and runs the restaurant with her husband, Billy. The old Cakes & Ale 254 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. seated only 56.

Cakes & Ale was an immediate success when it opened a couple of years ago. Atlanta magazine recently ranked it No. 3 in a list of the top restaurants in town. The restaurant features a changing, seasonal menu, with many of the vegetables coming straight from the Allin's home garden. But space was tight at the Ponce location and it was hard to get a table on weekends. Many of those tables and booths, by the way, have been moved to the new place. Nothing like a little continuity.

The bakery will have a soft opening at 9 a.m. Tuesday, with a limited selection of pastries baked on the premises. The bakery will start serving lunches next week. Dinner will be served starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the two dining rooms.