Page by Page
A husband and wife merge artistic interests to create a Buckhead showstopper
By Angela Hansberger
The cuisine at Lucian is intended to be shared—with a glass of wine or a group of friends.
Artist Lucian Freud had a meticulously detailed and deliberate approach to his paintings, often with juxtaposition of models in the composition. He is a fitting namesake for Lucian Books and Wine, the entwined and highly curated vision of partners in life and business, Katie Barringer and Jordan Smelt.
Stepping inside Lucian from the busy clang of Peachtree Road is like a respite, and this, like everything, is intentional. “We wanted your first impression to be something that was quite beautiful,” says Barringer. The focal point is a custom bookcase, arching almost to the ceiling for added gravitas, where nonfiction tomes of art, design, food, photography, and architecture are framed by grain-exposed walnut.
“Books are a way for me to combine both my interest in wine as well as visual arts,” says Barringer, former proprietor of Cover Books. Much like the beloved shuttered bookshop, the book assortment at Lucian is high-caliber. “It’s a very intentional selection,” she says, “a lot of things that you can’t find in Atlanta.”
Curves in the room mirror the shelving; above black-and-white tiled floors are wine-colored, deep-purple walls. There is a balance of refined and relaxed. “I think the power of the space is the accumulation of details,” says Barringer. Seiber Design guided the build-out of little details she and Smelt sketched on bev naps, with every idea fully articulated. Those details extend to the wine program and menu.
Smelt, sommelier and former wine and beverage director at Cakes & Ale, curates the wine selection with as much fastidiousness as the books. Each guest receives the soft-cover notebook covering upwards of 400 wines, which changes every two months. It has a size and format like a book with 17 by-the-glass options representing 12 countries. The Champagne section (and also the duo’s favorite thing to drink) is more expansive than you see around Atlanta.
There is no pretention here. Smelt will tell you—maybe not in these words—that he is perpetually on a quest to learn more about wine. One can easily lose an hour talking about a glass of Chanterêves from Burgundy or the long mineral finish of a Mouzon-Leroux Grand Cru Extra Brut.
The space is also a showcase for Chef Jason Paolini’s remarkable cuisine, conceived with wine in mind. It’s seasonal and concise, with dishes meant to be shared. Crisp fries served with seasonal mayo—sometimes sorrel and currently roast scallion—are brilliant. The soft, folded omelette has a tender middle, exemplar of the form, and comes topped with a dollop of caviar and a quenelle of crème fraîche. Oysters are accented with blush-colored mignonette of Asian pear and pink peppercorn. “We designed it intentionally so that should a group want to enjoy everything together, the format works,” says Barringer.
The moniker Lucian Books and Wine stands for more than Barringer’s favorite artist. The Brit’s city is where the space was conceived. Fog-shrouded London seems antithetical for a wine aha-moment, but while traveling in 2018, Barringer and Smelt happened upon Maison Assouline. Past the vibrant sheen of coffee-table design books, they got a glimpse of Swans Bar, and that was it—the idea fermented. “Let’s join forces, combine interests, and turn it into Lucian.”
Photography (except wine catalogues by Jordan Smelt) by Andrew Thomas Lee, courtesy of Lucian Books & Wine; this story is featured in our Spring 2024 issue.
Lucian Books and Wine, Atlanta, GA. (404) 549-2655, lucianbooksandwine.com