The kitchen runs on a free-range, scratch-made idea: chef Zac Leeper's team builds its menus around locally sourced ingredients, with much of the cooking on view in an exhibition kitchen. It sits at the north end of Main Street inside the Hyatt Regency, and a recent refresh updated both the space and the menu.
It is really three rooms at one address: a lively Dining Room built around that open kitchen, The Perch bar and lounge for cocktails, wine, and local beer, and The Terrace, a covered patio over NOMA Square and one of the better people-watching seats downtown. The place runs all day, from breakfast through business lunches to late drinks.
Reviewers keep naming the same plates: a pork shank that pulls off the bone, the rack of lamb, firecracker shrimp, and a smash burger they single out. Weekend brunch and the shrimp and grits draw their own crowd, and the bar's cocktail program runs to barrel-aged old fashioneds. In warm months the patio hosts a monthly dog-friendly Yappy Hour.
Praise is most consistent for the setting and for the individual servers guests name in their reviews; the more divided notes are about service pace when the room is full and whether the updated menu earns its prices. The real draw is the range: one of the few downtown spots where a sunrise breakfast, a midday meeting, and a late cocktail over NOMA Square all happen under one roof.