Overall rating:

A restaurant has a life span.

There is birth, infancy, middle age and even death once the doors finally close.

Becky Stein/special (ENLARGE)
The lobster and papaya ceviche.
Becky Stein/special (ENLARGE)
Forbidden rice tastes nutty and rests on arugula pesto with African squash.
Becky Stein/special (ENLARGE)
The most Brazilian thing about Beleza is the bar. An acerola mojito, employing a tropical cherry loaded with vitamin C.
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RELATED LINK: Video: First Look: Beleza

Beleza, a new concept from owner Riccardo Ullio (of Sotto Sotto and Fritti), is in the throes of a torrid adolescence. It doesn't quite know what it wants to be when it grows up. Even Ullio admits that at times he's not sure what Beleza is, either.

Yet passion is a large element of the unpredictable, and in that sense Beleza delivers on all accounts -- the offerings are beautiful, unexpected and -- here's the kicker -- good for you. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone.

Inspired by trips to Brazil, Ullio (who is Italian) has brought to Juniper Street a small space with a very big personality. It offers some of the best -- if not the best -- culinary cocktails from mixologist Lindy Colburn doubled with a menu inspired by Brazil, but certainly not beholden to it. Dishes with imprudent names such as "forbidden rice" are easy to poke fun at until you taste it: Made with Chinese forbidden black rice, it has a deeply nutty flavor, gorgeous dark purple color and rests on arugula pesto with bits of African squash and cashews. Like everything else on the menu, it's not just another pretty face. This type of rice carries with it phytonutrients and iron and is touted as a blood tonifier. And, dang, it tastes good.

OK, so Beleza is a health food restaurant with a macrobiotic twist. Right. Try to get your friends to go to dinner with you on that description. We're so conditioned to our big-is-better badness that anything that resembles healthy is reserved for a day out at the mall, shopping with the girls. And it better look leafy. Eating out is supposed to be decadent, hedonistic. Things that taste this good aren't supposed to be good for you.

OK, so Beleza isn't a health food restaurant. It's a groovy Brazilian joint with mod zebrawood tables, drop lighting and a 150-square-foot wall with hydroponic tropical plants sprouting from it that in addition to looking like something out of a Roger Vadim film also oxygenates the air. If you listen closely, you might hear strains of Stan Getz in the background, crooning out some samba on the saxophone.

The dishes come in waves of "bites," "crudo," "heirloom grains" and "natural sweets" (the latter uses no dairy, eggs, soy or sugar cane derivatives). Instead, natural goodies like agave nectar and almond milk help make the desserts, which are surprisingly good, considering how hard it is to bake without flour and sugar (or an oven). The Carolina rice pudding is infused with vanilla bean and is served like a bowl of oatmeal with a sweet quince compote, comforting to the very last bite.

Nothing comes in a portion bigger than your fist, and since my first visit, the menu has changed dramatically -- apparently I'm not the only one who thinks the species of American gastronomy called "health food" is a hard sell. The original chef, Michelle McKenzie (who had a nutritionist background), has been replaced by sous-chef Ken Bouche. There is no kitchen -- just the space behind the counter that also serves as the bar, where immersion calculators and two induction burners provide enough heat to cook small plates of mustard greens braised with coconut milk, peppers and diced tomato that will knock the pants off your taste buds; sliced duck with a bright, tart, full-flavored pomegranate reduction; and the absolute best, a Bahiana moqueca (think stew) with fat prawns in coconut milk, organic red palm extract, spicy malaqueta peppers, a hit of cilantro for cooling and bits of cashews.

Ullio was wise to get rid of the sous vide fish -- from wild salmon to scallops, this is no way to cook a fish; the result on my plate was a mushy, tasteless mess. Even wiser was the expansion of the crudo menu, which already offered treats of ultrafresh tuna and yellowtail, but now sports an offering of beausoleil oysters topped with a shaved ice of basil, pineapple and black pepper and a lobster ceviche with papaya, basil and a puree of soursop (think guanabana) and amarillo aji peppers. Fat slices of yellowtail with Meyer lemon, an inkling of vanilla oil and a dusting of bits of hazelnuts will make converts of us all.

OK, so Beleza (which means 'beauty' in Portuguese) is a Brazilian restaurant. If that's true (and it's debatable), then the most Brazilian thing about it is the bar. The drinks here are fresh, full-flavored masterpieces: an acerola (a tart, tropical tree cherry with a bijillion doses of vitamin C in one serving) mojito sweetened with agave nectar and the usual lime and mint is the best I've had in Atlanta. A Key lime-and-coconut caipirinha made with coconut-infused cachaca needs to be listed with the government as a controlled substance. Batidas (think Latin smoothies) and fresh sodas like passion fruit and pomegranate are alcohol alternatives.

OK, so Beleza is a restaurant with exquisite culinary cocktails, flavorful natural foods and a Brazilian accent. With it, Ullio has a prepubescent beauty on his hands.

Food: Natural foods with a Brazilian accent
Service: Servers here are young and fun, with a good working knowledge of the menu — which is harder than it sounds
Address, telephone: 905 Juniper Street, Atlanta, 678-904-4582
Price range: $$ - $$$
Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express
Hours of operation: Open for dinner Tuesday-Thursday 5:30-11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5:30-midnight; Sunday 5:30-10 p.m. Lounge open until 3 a.m. Monday-Saturday, Sunday until midnight.
Best dishes: Crudo offerings, lobster ceviche, forbidden rice, mustard greens, prawn moqueca
Vegetarian selections: Half of the menu — grains and harvest salad, as well as greens and coconut rice are best
Children: Early evening only; the place starts rockin' late at night with a DJ and Brazilian music
Parking: $3 validated in the Wachovia lot across the street
Reservations: Yes
Wheelchair access: Yes
Smoking: Outside area only
Noise level: Medium to high
Patio: Yes, but no tables
Takeout: Yes
Web site: www.belezarestaurant.com

KEY TO RATINGS
Outstanding: Sets the standard for fine dining in the region.
Excellent: One of the best in the Atlanta area.
Very good: Merits a drive if you're looking for this kind of dining.
Good: A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit or miss.
Fair: The food is more miss than hit.
Restaurants that do not meet these criteria may be rated Poor.

Pricing code: $$$$$ means more than $75; $$$$ means $75 and less; $$$ means $50 and less; $$ means $25 and less; $ means $15 and less. (The price code represents a meal for one that includes appetizer, entree and dessert without including tax, tip and cocktails.)