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Take an old Rio Bravo site in Roswell, spend almost a year revamping the space and developing a menu, and the result is a new restaurant and dance club named for its suite number in the Holcomb Woods shopping center. VIII Fifty is the latest entry in the Northside's continuing quest to keep adults from fleeing inside the Perimeter to find a bit of entertainment with their food.

Start out at the indoor or outdoor bar, settle into a table in the dining room or on the patio, or reserve one of the eight semi-private cabanas, outfitted with cushioned furniture. "We're going for the South Beach, L.A. look," said Geoff Kokoszka, a former Stoney River exec who is VIII Fifty's managing partner. Kokoszka shares a résumé slot with chef and former Stoney colleague Daniel Massie.

PHIL SKINNER/ajc staff (ENLARGE)
Small plates boasting big flavor: Cioppino fettuccini with shrimp, mussels and grouper in a white wine tomato broth.
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• Signature dishes: pistachio-crusted scallops; lobster corn salad • Entree prices: $15-$29 • Small plates: $5-$14 • Hours: 5-11 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays; 5 p.m.-midnight Thursdays-Saturdays; 3-11 p.m. Sundays; lounge open until 2:30 a.m., Tuesdays-Saturdays, till midnight Sundays • Reservations: priority seating • Credit cards: yes • Web site: www.850atlanta.com

There's also a dance floor overseen by DJs where diners can get a workout in between bites from the small plates or entree selections.

Big and small

Small plates predominate. Among the more than 20 selections: roasted figs with blue cheese, crab fritters, roasted quail, shrimp spring rolls, squash blossoms with ricotta cheese, and marinated olives. The runaway favorites have been the lobster corn salad with vanilla bean aioli, pistachio-crusted scallops and green curry mussels. Chowder, soup and salads (including a blue cheese-stuffed poached pear in raspberry sauce) are other light options.

Those looking for meaty plates won't be disappointed with the filet mignon, hanger steak, rack of lamb, bone-in veal chop and roasted chicken. There are two pasta dishes, a cioppini fettuccini, homemade papardelle with beef oxtail, and triple tail, a mild, grouper-like fish served over leeks.

Sweets lovers will head directly for the flourless chocolate cake, bourbon pecan tart, pomegranate panna cotta or the three chocolate chunk cookies with vanilla ice cream.

From the bar

There's a full martini menu with the standard apple and cosmo versions, but the signature drinks are the chocolate martini and the VIII Fifty, a twist on the dirty tini with a blue cheese-stuffed olive. More than 40 wines are available by the glass, and there are six beers on tap with more available by the bottle.

Optical effects

The two-sided, eco-friendly "fire aquarium" runs off alcohol and emits no fumes. Between the bar and lounge area, check out the 15-foot-tall wine cabinet, where the bottles seem to float in mid-air.

Good to know

VIII Fifty is aimed at a grown-up clientele. "We are not kid-friendly," Kokoszka said. "We don't have high chairs or crayons."