Atlanta's Finest Dining



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Michael Tuohy:
On Fire with Woodfire Grill

Chef Michael Tuohy has been a star on Atlanta's dining scene since he arrived here in 1986, a 24-year old chef lured by partners who would back his first restaurant. His partners realized that Atlanta’s growing population had little in the way of exciting restaurants. Tuohy didn’t disappoint them. A San Francisco native, he brought a passion for California cuisine and is recognized for introducing these ingredient-focused, simply-prepared dishes to Atlanta with the opening of Chefs' Café that same year. From its inception to his second restaurant, Chefs’ Grill, and later Ocean Club, Tuohy’s restaurants were consistently named among Atlanta's best by the media and diners alike. Ten years after the opening of Chefs’ Café, Tuohy would close all three restaurants and embark on stints at eateries around the Southeast, before opening Woodfire Grill in 2002.

Tuohy began his career in San Francisco at age 15 as a dishwasher, graduating to bus boy, and later a line cook. He attended the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Operations and Culinary Arts at City College of San Francisco while working at the Olympic Country Club under Chef Jean-Pierre Mercanton. He later extended an internship with the Five-Star Four Season Clift Hotel into a two-year job. He went on to join Chef Joyce Goldstein, of Square One Restaurant, and launched a casual Italian café concept called Caffe Quadro. This would prove pivotal to Tuohy’s career as it was his first experience with daily changing menus and seasonal, locally-grown ingredients. Square One Restaurant and Caffe Quadro were known for their authentic Mediterranean, North African and South American flavors and Tuohy would incorporate this into his own personal style. He also had the opportunity to work with Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein, son of Chef Joyce, who was the architect of the restaurant’s award-winning wine list.

With a bright career as a chef ahead of him, he set out for Atlanta to begin his career as a restaurateur incorporating his vast experience of California cuisine with a strong knowledge of wine and front-of-the-house expertise. In Atlanta he would serve on the board of the local chapter of the American Institute of Wine & Food, as well as the boards of Atlanta’s Table, the Organic Growers Association and the High Museum Wine Auction. He chaired the Olympic Task Force for the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association and was co-founder of the Downtown Restaurant Association. He also supported the local Red Cross, AID Atlanta and numerous other organizations.

In 1996, he launched a restaurant consulting service, which included work for Murphy’s, Indigo, and the development and successful launch of the Fishmonger Seafood Grill. He later consulted for Sunset Grill in Nashville where he helped redesign the kitchen and acquire the space next door, enabling the restaurant to add a 70-seat private room. He assisted with the revision of the Coyote Café Cookbook with his cousin, famed Chef/Restaurateur Mark Miller and helped Chef Miller with menu development for the La Cantera resort fine dining restaurant Francesca’s in San Antonio, a Starwood Hotel property.

In 2000 he joined Murphy’s full time and helped modernize the menu. But his desire to open his dream restaurant was strong. In early 2002 he signed a lease on the space formerly occupied by Marra’s Seafood Grill for Woodfire Grill. Tuohy's cooking has always had a flair for seasonality, freshness and creativity matched by a depth of knowledge and experience in paring wines with foods. Woodfire Grill will prove to be a culmination of fabulous food and great wines in a comfortable neighborhood restaurant.

Opened in August, Woodfire Grill is a smoke-free environment that serves dinner Monday through Thursday from 5:30- 10:30 p.m., and dinner on Friday and Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to midnight. The restaurant is closed on Sundays. For reservations call 404-347-9055 or visit www.woodfiregrill.com.

Pictured above:
Chef/restaurateur, Michael Tuohy.