[UPDATE] Hai Authentic Chinese NOW OPEN in Alpharetta

On Monday, local restaurateur Gary Lin soft opened a new location of his popular intown restaurant Hai Authentic Chinese in Alpharetta.  Originally slated to open in mid-November, the restaurant ended up being fully renovated, which delayed its debut.  The authentic Szechuan restaurant is on Windward Parkway, not far from Costco.  The new restaurant is physically located in suite #440, a 2,400 square foot space, formerly Swagat Indian Cuisine, between Big Peach Running Co. and Saigon Café in The Plaza at Windward, 5530 Windward Parkway.  The original Hai opened in June 2019 at Suburban Plaza near Decatur.  

Hai Alpharetta, like its intown sibling, will initially be helmed by Chef Wan Hai and will feature authentic Chinese fare in a casual setting.  Hai Alpharetta will be the second restaurant Lin will have opened during the COVID-19 pandemic.  This past June, Lin opened Wei Authentic Chinese Cuisine on South Marietta Parkway, not far from the Marietta Square.

In addition to the existing and upcoming Hai locations and Wei, Lin is also involved in several other Atlanta area Chinese restaurants including Urban Wu at the Disco Kroger shopping center in Buckhead and Hao Chinese Cuisine off Camp Creek Parkway in southwest Atlanta.    In the coming months Lin will also debut a new restaurant in Buford not far from the Mall of Georgia.  

Hai's menu is quite expansive and features plenty of meat, seafood and vegetable options including hot and numbing chicken, sea bass with ginger and scallion and Mapo tofu, among other options.  The restaurant also features several noodle and small plate dishes along with classic desserts like pumpkin red bean cake.  Most entrees are priced between $13 and $20 with the pine nut sea bass (deep-fried boneless whole sea bass with pine nut in sweet and sour sauce) being the top end of the menu at $25.  

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week with a $10 special lunch menu offered weekdays from 11AM-3PM.  

Are you excited at the idea of a more authentic Asian offering in Alpharetta?  What is your favorite Szechuan dish?  What other types of cuisines would you like to see in Alpharetta?    

Please share your thoughts below.