After a string of accomplished Japanese restaurants, chef Jason Liang takes a sharp turn with his latest project, Lucky Star. Here, he trades in sushi for Taiwanese food, with all its bold, deeply comforting flavors. It is a homecoming of sorts as Liang, who was born in South Carolina, was raised in Taiwan. His new restaurant, which quietly opened last fall inside an office building in the Star Metals complex on Howell Mill Road, is unexpected and overdue—especially from someone with Liang’s culinary chops.
Liang is now a Michelin-starred chef, a James Beard nominee, and one of Atlanta’s most prolific restaurateurs, along with his wife, ChingYao Wang. Their restaurant group includes Cuddlefish, Momonoki, Brush Sushi, and O by Brush. But Lucky Star is their first non-Japanese concept and my hands-down favorite. Liang runs the restaurant with a tight team that includes beverage director Kirk Gibson and Wang on pastry. The result is a stylish Taiwanese bar-cafe that is fast becoming one of the more interesting places to eat and drink in the city. It’s also versatile, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Photograph by Martha Williams
With smart design pops, including the curved mirror you can’t help but take a selfie in, the restaurant’s cosmopolitan flourishes evoke Tokyo or Taipei—a testament to the stylish sophistication of Liang and Wang, both of whom are worth a follow on social media. Their sense of what makes something cool is evident in this small but mighty dining space. The room is anchored by a long bar that dominates the room, with moody lighting and a DJ-curated playlist that lends a nightclub feel to the restaurant. The place somehow seems intimate, even though it lacks a wall between the restaurant and the building’s hallway.
The food here is filtered through the lens of a chef who’s spent the better part of a decade refining his sushi skills and jumping on global culinary trends before most in the city. The balance between nostalgia for Taiwan and craftsmanship is where Lucky Star succeeds. The menu is stacked with dishes that make you want every single thing, so plan on multiple visits. Liang considers most of his dishes authentic to what you would find anywhere in Taipei. However, given the sexy setting, his masterful touch and finesse add polish, making even a dish of noodles elegant.
The Murder Point oyster omelet, made with Murder Point oysters, shrimp, Taiwanese bok choy, bean sprouts, soft-cooked eggs, and rice paper, is a standout. It’s crisp on the bottom, soft inside, and doused in a rich, chili-miso gravy that’s well-balanced and comforting. The use of rice paper in place of traditional sweet potato starch makes for a less slippery texture. Another highlight is the Beef Shank Scallion Pancake Wrap, which is made with a duck fat scallion pancake, braised beef, cucumber, cilantro, and finished with garlic soy and chili sauce, both made in-house. The dish, which is cut into sushi-style rolls, is a keeper. It kind of tastes like perfect bites of Peking duck.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Big bowls of beef noodle soup (choose from thin or thick noodles made in the kitchen) are super soothing, with a rich broth but only a wink of anise. The order comes with beef chili oil in a tincture bottle with a dropper and a dish of chili paste you can add to your soup. The Sausage in Sausage, a Taiwanese night-market staple, layers sweet pork sausage inside a chewy glutinous sticky rice sausage, cleverly wrapped in rice paper, with pickled cucumber and garlic soy. It’s a loud, fatty, deeply satisfying dish that’s messy but worth it.
Other plates, like the Lu Rou Fan (soy-braised pork belly over rice) and Fly’s Head (a garlicky stir-fry of minced pork, garlic chives, tofu, and fermented black beans), are straightforward, comforting, and perfectly seasoned. There’s an excellent shiitake mushroom version of the Fly’s Head that’s not as spicy but just as soulful. The food leans slightly sweet, reflecting Liang’s southern Taiwanese roots, but there’s enough acid and heat to keep things lively. The ume tomato salad with dried plum seasoning was the only dish I tried that didn’t work. The flavors competed too much to be a success, and the plum made the tomato taste almost like saccharin.
Wang is a talented pastry chef, and at Lucky Star you’ll find an assortment of pastries, such as a chocolate yuzu croissant heated to order and egg custard tarts. But the showstopper of the meal is her pineapple cake ice cream, a riff on a Taiwanese classic. The sour and sweet pineapple cake sits in a cardboard tub submerged in salted vanilla ice cream. Each bite had my table audibly wowed and surprised at the seemingly humble dish.
Unfortunately, service hasn’t quite caught up to the kitchen and bar’s ambition. Dishes and drinks can sometimes take too long to reach the table. The dining room staff is warm and knowledgeable, but they’re still learning how to manage the flow of the busy room.
Photograph by Martha Williams
The bar, however, is in full stride. Gibson has created one of the more compelling cocktail menus in the city. The drinks change monthly and are built with food in mind. The margarita-inspired Little Lantern is stellar. The coffee selections are also ambitious, just as they are at sister cafe, Momonoki, which leans more Japanese. Lucky Star’s beverage program includes seasonal drinks and zero-proof cocktails, such as a recent iced matcha with butterfly pea flower and marshmallow cream, which was whimsical and perfectly sweetened.
Lucky Star’s location doesn’t invite foot traffic unless you know it is there. The flow of customers has been inconsistent, especially during the week, which is a known challenge for restaurants on this stretch of Howell Mill Road. Liang says business dropped after its initial buzz, and the team has responded with a new brunch menu, including Taiwanese rice rolls that look like burritos, sweet-salty French toast, and sandos (Japanese-style sandwiches on soft white bread). More events are planned, including DJ sets, as is a possible cocktail omakase with small bites.
This article appears in our July 2025 issue.
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