Porsche’s Restaurant 356: A Delicious Immersion Into The Porsche Life

The Porsche Experience Center is known for thrilling drives, but its Restaurant 356 showcases the brand's DNA through innovative food and wine

If there's one thing you expect from a day at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, it's to leave exhilarated, your senses opened to the thrills of performance driving. What you might not expect is to finish your visit with a chef-curated meal that reflects in equal parts the values of German culinary tradition and innovative modern cooking. But food is often what connects us with each other and our experiences, what allows us to relax and unwind while digesting the day's events.

For Restaurant 356 this is the mission, designed to extend Porsche's DNA to yet another incredible experience. To ensure that, Restaurant 356, named for the first Porsche model, was built as the thread that pulls together a complete day at the Porsche Experience Center. Fine Food And Wine Complete

The Porsche Experience With a view of the Porsche Experience Center's track and sitting just at the end of the north runway at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the culinary experience of Restaurant 356 is supercharged with powerful engines zooming by above and below. At the heart of it all is executive chef Kristol Bryant's thoughtful seasonal dishes and technique-driven menus, all designed to deliver "exhilaration from the food coming to the table," she said. The effect is to complement the excitement created on the track, in the simulator lab or simply, from being surrounded by classic performance cars, with a meal that guests will remember long afterward.

But the restaurant is more than simply a place to have a nice meal. The intent, Bryant says, is that it "keeps your energy going but brings you down nice and slow so you can enjoy what you just experienced here." It's also a way to bring people in and cultivate their Porsche journey as they satisfy cravings for an expertly seared burger or a chilled seafood tower and a glass of champagne.

It can be both the starting point or the complement to the full Porsche experience. "Experience" Is At The Heart Of The Center Recognizing that giving potential buyers the chance to test drive a Porsche in its natural habitat was key to converting curiosity into action, Porsche designed the Experience Center with a test track as its focus. But the heart of Porsche's DNA is more just cars.

It's the relentless pursuit of perfection, as the Porsche mantra goes. It's not just the engineering and mastery of Porsche's models, but pursuing the best in everything. Much of this is seen from Porsche Design, the company's product design arm that applies the mantra to a broad array of categories, from car accessories to athletic wear, sunglasses, time pieces, luggage and more.

The relentless pursuit of perfection is also seen in multiple track experiences offered at the Porsche Experience Center, the deep expertise of the Center's pro drivers, the collection of the company's vintage Porsche models and others on loan from owners, and in the art and rotating displays in the lobby. And of course in the cafe and Restaurant 356. A True Porsche Immersion The Porsche Experience Center Atlanta, which is one of 10 globally, opened in 2015 as a way to deliver performance driving experiences for Porsche drivers and prospective owners.

The idea has proven quite effective; the company says that about half of non-owners who spend time on the track eventually buy a Porsche. Wanting to create an immersive experience that invites guests to explore the DNA of Porsche through driving, history, merchandise, events and food, the company has continually expanded its offerings. The Atlanta Center also allows new buyers to take delivery of their cars and it's where regional dealers, service technicians and pro drivers come to hone their skills.

The Center also houses Porsche's executive officers on the upper floors of the building and heritage collections on its lower floors. From Fine Dining To High School Prom, This Is The Ultimate Destination The expansive open-air lobby of the building, which is open to the public, houses a Porsche merchandise shop, a cafe and a few rotating exhibits; the day we visited Sallie Carrera from the movie Cars was among the special vehicles on display.

Guests are invited to explore the heritage center on the lower floors, and can purchase a simulator lab experiences to test their skills on the Experience Center's virtual track. The lobby area, as well as the restaurant and outdoor terrace, which sit on the second floor overlooking the track and airport runway, pose an ideal spot for special events such as weddings, fund-raising events or corporate gatherings, even high school proms—and they've hosted more than a few. The Center also hosts casual experiences throughout the year, such as the current Summer Nights series, an evening of food, drinks and a DJ while demonstration laps run on the track.

For many of these events the talents of the team at Restaurant 356 are the centerpiece—and also, a bit of a surprise. "Porsche is something that is synonymous with craftsmanship. And we're artists as chefs," said Bryant, creating "something that people wouldn't even think to put together.

Cars and food." And, they're the thread that pulls it all together. This article was originally published on Forbes.com