75 Best Restaurants
Greetings! Are you . . . everyone? If so, you’ve come to the right place: There is something for everyone on this, Atlanta magazine’s list of the city’s best restaurants, which—presented alphabetically—begins with hearty Venezuelan arepas, ends with the vividly spiced Hyderabadi fare on the menu at Zyka, and ranges in between from reservations-required prix fixe to classic Southern barbecue to swanky date-night wine bars. We reassess and update this list every couple of years; this time around, we’ve added the option to filter the results by what you’re seeking, whether it’s outdoor seating, an unusual wine list, or a specific regional cuisine. (Note that this required a few judgment calls on our part—many of these spots serve beer and cocktails, for instance, but clicking the “Beer” or “Cocktails” buttons below will bring up restaurants with offerings we think are especially ambitious or noteworthy.) We’ll continue making minor adjustments as restaurants close or move, but in the meantime, we hope you’ll have fun digging through this list—and then dining your way across the city.
Edited by Sam Worley and Atlanta magazine staff
Contributions from Carly Cooper, Mike Jordan and Christiane Lauterbach
Photograph at Pink Lotus (above) by Martha Williams
Guarapita de Parchita cocktail features moonshine and passionfruit
Photograph courtesy of Arepa Mia
Arepa Mia
@arepamiaGrowing up, Lis Hernandez spent countless days with her mother in the kitchen making arepas—stuffed cornmeal patties, crunchy from a hot grill—that they sold on the streets in their native Venezuela. Hernandez’s arepas first appeared in Atlanta at the Municipal Market (aka Sweet Auburn Curb Market) in 2012. She’s moved on since then to her cheerful, Michelin-recognized, stand-alone spot in Avondale Estates, where she also serves specialties such as pabellón (shredded grassfed beef with black beans, fried plantains, and queso de año) and avocado and heart-of-palm salad dressed with sweet corn juice. This is the Venezuelan food that Atlanta was missing.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Aria
A lot changed at Aria in the past year. Founder and executive chef Gerry Klaskala retired, veteran pastry chef Kathryn King stepped away to consult for other restaurants, and James Beard semifinalist Joseph Harrison took the reins in the kitchen. Through it all, longtime general manager Andres Loaiza has focused on preserving the Buckhead restaurant’s gold standard of hospitality while ushering in a subtle modernization, including introducing refreshed decor and new plateware. Harrison mirrors that approach on the menu, bringing a light contemporary touch to Southern-inspired dishes like mountain trout with Sea Island red peas and berbere spice. The result is a polished dining room with service worthy of its most recent James Beard nomination.
From the Forbes Travel Guide to the Michelin Guide, Atlas has an abundance of star ratings.
Photograph courtesy of Atlas
Atlas
An evening at Atlas is a night to remember. The one-Michelin-starred restaurant in the St. Regis delivers an elevated experience from the moment you set foot in the fine-art-adorned dining room. Whether you opt for chef Freddy Money’s tasting menu (also available as vegetarian) or order a la carte, expect a celebration of seasonal American cooking. Oysters, caviar, veal, and fanciful desserts set an indulgent tone. The 45-page wine list features more than 90 by the glass, many sourced from small producers in Spain, France, Italy, and the United States. Gentlemen, don a blazer—this is a place to impress and be impressed.
Them Ribs & Grits with pickle slaw
Photograph by Martha Williams
Auburn Angel
Restaurateur Asa Fain and chef Robert Butts have transformed a defunct civil rights food mainstay (Auburn Avenue Rib Shack) into a casual gourmet restaurant for Auburn Avenue destination diners. The expanded space includes a covered patio inside a wrought iron gate. Inside, the decor is bright and modern with an L-shaped marble-top bar, circular booths upholstered in chartreuse alligator, and midcentury globe chandeliers. Menu highlights include Hoe Cakes & Potlicker; Chicken n’ Doughnuts, a tender portion of fried chicken with lemon-pepper butter and sweet tea syrup; and Mushroom Hash, a savory vegan dish featuring Ellijay mushrooms, potatoes, and kil’t greens with a piquant collard chimichurri. Chef Butts, who melds Southern traditions with global influences, shows his Atlanta pedigree with the names he’s chosen for some dishes and cocktails: Them Ribs & Grits on the brunch menu, for example, which features smoked spareribs coated in a blueberry- and sweet tea–infused barbecue sauce over Marsh Hen Mill grits—a regionally milled grain from Edisto Island, South Carolina—and topped with a house-made pickle slaw. The restaurant has a curated selection of wines, beers, ciders, and craft cocktails, such as the Cussin Granny, a margarita variant made with blanco tequila, cherry pepper, Cointreau, and yuzu. Among the many reasons to keep coming back: the buttery and fork-tender Beef Rib Bourguignon.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Avize Modern Alpine
With Avize, chef-owner Karl Gorline has created a refined yet relaxed respite that explores all the great food of the Alpine region through a Southern lens. A huge black-and-white photo of the Alps encircled by clouds helps set the scene in the dining room as does a mounted and stuffed mountain goat named Truffles. Meals begin with Gorline’s complimentary amuse-bouche, a clever twist on the famed Arpège egg of Paris. His interpretation, which arrives on a golden twig stand, features butternut squash custard, pine, and yeast. Peruse dinner options from “The Farm. The Forest. The Sea.” over a cocktail, like the Old Man of the Woods, a rye tippler with hints of maple and pine. The seasonal menu is anchored by a few core items, such as the exquisite dandelion greens salad with truffle vinaigrette and Satsuma oranges; hay-smoked duck breast; and fermented carrot Bolognese. For dessert, white pepper ice cream with fig leaf oil and oolong milk tea represents the complexity and unique flavors that make Avize remarkable.
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Bacchanalia
Opening in 1993 in a charming Buckhead cottage, the first iteration of Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison’s hugely influential Atlanta restaurant brought much joy to a city where the prevailing style left little room for fresh, local ingredients. In 1999, a move to a then semi-industrial stretch of Howell Mill Road propelled the restaurant into the world of true fine dining, where its proprietors earned a well-deserved James Beard Award. Diners en route to their tables walked first through Star Provisions—the most advanced combination of butcher, seafood counter, cheesemonger, bakery, wine store, and gift shop—already in a daze of appreciation. This was, in effect, Bacchanalia’s pantry. The married couple behind it, both chefs, often trucked in produce from their family farm in Cartersville to anchor a menu of sensible sophistication.
Then, Bacchanalia moved a third time, one mile west into a sort of luxury roadhouse on Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard—losing none of its meaning or excellence along the way. On a four-course prix-fixe menu, some dishes need never change: The famous crab fritters with Thai essence, citrus, and avocado and the unctuous steak tartare with sesame, daikon, and kimchi have earned their place in the pantheon. Extras such as caviar service, an exquisitely composed plateau de fruits de mer, and a cheese cart nonpareil enhance a restaurant whose seasonal interpretations of familiar proteins always remind me that Georgia is one of the great agricultural states. Wine pairings are advisable and suave service is a given. There remain, at Bacchanalia, no false steps. —CL
Bar managers Faielle Stocco (left) and Katie McDonald prepare a Stately Hag
Photograph by Iain Bagwell
Banshee
Your humble correspondent once witnessed the following scene on the dim-lit patio here: a diner enjoying a first-course salad (strawberries, cucumber, fennel, yogurt, and sumac, with briny little chunks of olive scattered around) so immensely that, when it came time to order the second course, she just opted for another plate of the same damn thing. In eclectic EAV, Banshee remains sui generis: warm, funky, sophisticated, and ever-changing, with chef Nolan Wynn spinning seasonal produce into culinary gold—Parisian gnocchi with lamb merguez and pea pesto, grilled pork with glazed eggplant, peach kosho, and miso vinaigrette. The quality of the food (and creativity of the cocktails) is one unchanging element; the other is a starter of pepperoni butter, served to diners with frybread but so popular that the restaurant now sells it by the pint.
Pastry chef Claudia Martinez
Photograph by Martha Williams
Bar Ana
Atlanta’s acclaimed pastry chef Claudia Martinez finally has a place to call her own with Bar Ana, a lush little spot showcasing her creative, seasonal desserts. Located in the basement of El Ponce Mexican restaurant, her chic retreat features dark wood floors, stucco arches, and a dramatic ceiling trellis laced with vines. Among the standout drinks are the Ana daiquiri (Caribbean rum, passion fruit, vanilla, lime, cardamom) and the Guava G&T (guava gin, Granada-Vallet—a Mexican bitter pomegranate liqueur—and tonic). Martinez, who takes inspiration from her Southern upbringing and Venezuelan heritage, excels at fruit-forward desserts, balanced flavors, and beautiful, often playful plating: guava-glazed doughnuts with pink-peppercorn streusel and cream cheese ice cream are set dramatically in a wide, berry-colored bowl. Other sweet highlights include sticky toffee pudding with pepita granola, banana, and cognac ice cream, as well as the milk chocolate ganache with brown butter mousse, vanilla bean and almond cake, and a hint of citrus.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Birrieria Landeros
Atlanta diners’ passion for birria has not really abated, with the spicy Mexican stewed meat available around town in forms more traditional (birria tacos, quesabirria) and less (birria ramen, birria pizza). One of the most exciting renditions to hit the scene recently is the birria de borrego at this family-run joint: dissolvingly tender lamb, served in a velvety, lightly spiced tomato broth and based on a recipe that an earlier generation of Landeroses served at a restaurant in the Mexican state of Aguascaliente. The heirloom preparation is nothing short of stunning; various other dishes, including weekends-only menudo, get high marks, too.
Black spaghetti with red shrimp
Photograph by Andrew Thomas Lee
BoccaLupo
The name comes from the Italian in bocca al lupo—literally “in the wolf’s mouth,” but its original use has to do with a wish for good luck ahead of a performance, similar to “break a leg.” Luck, though, isn’t really required when you pay a visit to this idiosyncratic little restaurant, tucked into a shady street corner, where certainties prevail: chef Bruce Logue’s peerless pastas (black spaghetti with hot Calabrese sausage, red shrimp, and scallions; a famous 20-yolk tagliatelle with mushrooms, kale kimchi, and butter) and inspired antipasti, grown-up cocktails mixed behind a funky bar, and the happy, relaxed atmosphere of a perfect neighborhood joint.
Country ham biscuit sandwich
Photograph courtesy of Bomb Biscuits
Bomb Biscuit
Erika Council, Atlanta’s biscuit queen, continues to rise to new heights, achieving Michelin Bib Gourmand status as she builds her arsenal of Bomb Squad favorites—from the fried chicken sandwich and chicken and biscuit breakfast plate to the fried catfish biscuit and brunch burger. Sweet surprises along the way include Sunday’s maple butter chicken-n-waffles and daily cinnamon sugar biscuits. After a move from her Old Fourth Ward location, she’s settled into new digs in Grant Park. This larger space offers an eight-seat bar, patio, and an inviting vibe that celebrates Black culinary heritage, Southern joy, and a sense of community. It’s all that and Friday fish frys, too.
Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore
Bon Ton
You can’t miss the building—it’s pink—and you won’t soon forget the joyful Viet-Cajun food, either. Of particular note: blackened catfish that you can get in a banh mi or over a rice bowl with pickled veg and crispy shallots, boiled seafood by the pound, spicy jicama and papaya salad, and a Nashville hot po’boy with your choice of filling (a fried-oyster option will convert even the most recalcitrant fried-oyster skeptic). A late-night stop for local industry folks, Bon Ton is as much a drinking place as it is an eating place, so don’t skip the hurricanes—or bartender Baylee Hopings’s more adventuresome flights of fancy—either.
Croissant with latte
Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore
Bread & Butterfly
Lined with green subway tile and fronted by a breezy patio, the Inman Park bistro with Parisian flare offers daytime classics: flaky croissants, a fluffy giant pancake, French omelet with greens, croque monsieur, and Burger Americain. To keep you buzzing from morning to afternoon, choose from a full menu of coffees, espressos, teas, as well as curated cocktails, wines by the glass, and beer. Come evening, owner and executive chef Demetrius Brown offers global cuisine, including flavors inspired by the African diaspora. Signature items include Djon Djon (rice, English peas, epis, local and Haitian mushrooms) and cassava frites (black garlic aioli, caviar).
Buena Gente's Cuban
Photograph courtesy of Buena Gente
Buena Gente Cuban Bakery
In a North Decatur strip mall notable for the diversity of its dining options (the estimable Community Q BBQ, the Caribbean brunch destination Ms. Icey’s Kitchen & Bar), Stacie Antich and Manny Rodriguez’s little sandwich counter still manages to stand out—largely on the strength of its fragrant, crunchy-gooey-salty Cubano, undoubtedly the best ham sandwich in town and probably one of the best sandwiches around, period. Everything else is about as good, from chicken empanadas to guava-filled pastelitos to batidos, aka milkshakes; in flavors like mango and soursop, they’re a balm on a hot day.
Chili chicken
Photograph by Daniel Peach/Chai Pani Restaurant Group
Chai Pani
To get a sense of Chai Pani’s appeal, just stop by on a weeknight, when the place is persistently packed with local folks who know what a neighborhood treasure this place really is. Chef-owner Meherwan Irani keeps ’em coming back with an eclectic menu of Indian street food like kale pakoras, Bengali fried-fish sandwiches, and corn bhel and other exuberant veg-forward fare.
Cinnamon rolls
Photograph courtesy of the Chastain
The Chastain
Try your luck at any time of day: In the morning, you’ll encounter a coffee shop with a shaded patio, beans from Brash, and some of the best croissants, danishes, and cinnamon rolls around, with many pastries incorporating flour from Georgia’s DaySpring Farms; at night, chef Christopher Grossman’s smart menu boasts approachable but impeccably prepared New American fare: turkey wing with blue cheese and Fresno chili buffalo sauce, ricotta cavatelli with lamb Italian sausage, curry-glazed black grouper, and a famously excellent cheeseburger.
Julia Kesler Imerman
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Daily Chew
A meal at Daily Chew feels about as close as you’ll come to dining on sunlight. In 2021, Julia Kesler Imerman took a humble brick-faced storefront off Cheshire Bridge Road and spun it into gold: a bright, vegetable-centric menu, a welcoming “chew crew” of servers and baristas, and an airy interior with large picture windows, all of which make it easy to linger over breakfast or lunch. Imerman, who also runs a catering business out of the same kitchen, infuses her food with inspiration from the Jewish and South African origins of her family. Here, you’ll find homey classics such as latkes, zhuzhed up with labneh and pickled onions, as well as clever reinventions, such as the schnitzel pita, made with juicy lion’s mane mushrooms instead of meat and perfectly spiced with harissa. Come holiday season, the cafe stays up late for the Chrismukkah Bar, a cultural mashup featuring gingerbread cookies and caviar-topped latkes (don’t forget the dreidel games!). It’s merry and bright—but then again, so is every day at this sunny little spot.
Coffee-dusted venison at the Deer and the Dove
Photograph by Martha Williams
Deer & the Dove
Three years after opening, Terry Koval’s casually elegant celebration of our regional foodshed is firing on all cylinders: soulful entrees from the familiar (beef burger with thyme aioli and foraged chanterelles, whole trout over farro verde) to the literal deep cuts (sweetbreads au poivre, beef-heart pastrami with beet and potato rosti); vegetables that get at least as much love in the kitchen (Koval’s ever-changing Harvest Plate doubles as a work of art); cocktails that also make thoughtful use of seasonal and foraged ingredients; gorgeous desserts; and, if that weren’t enough, a daytime auxiliary cafe, B-Side, that serves a mean wood-fired bagel.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Delbar Buckhead
The third location of Fares Kargar’s Persian hotspot, Delbar Buckhead attracts a well-heeled crowd with creative cocktails and flavorful fare. The menu moves easily from traditional labneh to more inventive combinations like kofta Tabrizi (lamb and beef meatball packed with dried fruit, pistachios, and pomegranate). Don’t miss the polo sefid (basmati rice crowned with a buttery, crispy, saffron-rich crust) or the stuffed branzino, layered with herbs. Non-drinkers will find plenty to linger over, including sharbat e zereshk soda made with barberry and lime. Get cozy at the pink Moroccan bar or request a seat on the airy, enclosed patio—the room is part of the draw.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Du Bu Gong Bang
As long as there have been Korean restaurants in Atlanta, there has been tofu. Du Bu Gong Bang in Duluth, specializing in heavenly soft tofu stews, served in scorching hot stone bowls—elevates the experience. Du Bu Gong Bang crafts its next-level bean curd every day from organic, non-GMO beans imported from South Korea—an artful process that yields luxuriously silken curds. Therefore, every visit should begin with a pot of soon dubu (soft tofu) stew, be it plain and snowy white, spiked with fiery red kimchi, or nestled among oysters. While the kitchen works its magic, nibble from the tray of complimentary banchan (side dishes); sip tea, beer, soju (a clear spirit traditionally made from rice), or makgeolli (milky rice wine). Du Bu Gong Bang also offers solid Korean barbecue, notably the sticky-sweet, L.A. kalbi–style short ribs; crispy-skinned grilled mackerel; and killer jeon (pancakes) stuffed with seafood and scallion or kimchi and squid.
Fishmonger
From 8Arm (RIP) impresarios Nhan Le and Skip Engelbrecht and chef Bradford Forsblom, this jewel box of a storefront has the potential to be many things to many people: a lunchtime destination for a bowl of chowder and one of the city’s best fish sandwiches (a blackened grouper that’ll knock your socks off); a retail market with super fresh cuts of fish you can take home and prepare yourself; and a BYOB raw bar serving immaculately prepared oysters, crudo, shrimp cocktail, and more, to be enjoyed in the open air on a few charming sidewalk tables.
Pulled pork, sliced brisket, Brunswick stew, and collard greens
Photograph by Andrew Thomas Lee
Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q
The fact that this roadhouse-style joint sits next to the absolute worst stretch of DeKalb Avenue and still attracts a stampede of diners is testament to just how good Jonathan and Justin Fox’s barbecue really is—or maybe it’s the other way around, and the endless flow in and out of the parking lot is what turned this patch of DeKalb into the equivalent of a dirt road after heavy flooding. Regardless, the pinnacle of the twin brothers’ Texas barbecue is their brisket—sliced or chopped, with just the right amount of smokiness: judicious but not overwhelming—but don’t overlook the house-made jalapeño-cheddar sausages, smoked wings, or fun Lone Star–style sides like Frito pie. This is the flagship; Fox Bros. also has locations at Chattahoochee Food Works, in Brookhaven, and a “que-osk” at Armour Yards. Their barbecue is also served at the Wild Heaven brewery in Toco Hills and at the Blue Moon Brewery and Grill at the Battery.
Fritti
Every neighborhood should have a restaurant like Fritti, but only Inman Park—those lucky ducks—enjoys the genuine article. Wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas, plus antipasti, salads and sandwiches, craft cocktails, and a well-balanced wine menu, all of it enjoyed on a spacious, dog-friendly patio; the only thing to top all that is handmade gelato, and don’t worry, Fritti’s got it. As the legend goes, Chef Ricardo Ullio was wandering around Naples—the birthplace of pizza—when he found a restaurant combining the pizzeria and the traditional fried-food joint friggatoria. In 2000, Ullio brought the concept home to Inman Park, turning an old auto garage into one of the Southeast’s first authentic Italian pizzerias. Nearly two dozen pies offer something for everyone, with traditional classics like the Napoli, topped with anchovies, and Sorrentina, with smoked mozzarella and basil. They arrive with perfectly bubbled crusts, made strictly with imported 00 flour, and topped with sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes. As the name suggests, Fritti’s fried antipasti are worth an order: try the funghi fritti, which serves up rich cremini and oyster mushrooms lightly battered in rice flour, with a zesty garlic aioli. Prices here are reasonable, so bring the family, and remember to slip a piece of mozzarella to the dog—he’s being such a good boy.
Pastrami sandwich
Photograph by Andrew Thomas Lee
General Muir
From breakfast to dinner, Todd Ginsberg’s loving ode to the classic Jewish deli does many things—all of them well. Start with compact New York–style bagels that strike a balance between nostalgic and slightly dressed-up: On an open-faced sandwich called the Avenue A, for instance, chunks of grapefruit and avocado offer a fresh and very pretty addition to the tried-and-true combo of nova smoked salmon, red onion, and dill. Towering sandwiches make hearty lunches—whether you choose a corned-beef Reuben or a beguiling vegetarian version, made with thinly sliced smoked beets—and there’s something for the in-between times, too, in a bakery and coffee bar that features black-and-white cookies, rugelach, and much more.
Gigi’s grilled brassicas
Photograph by Martha Williams
Gigi’s Italian Kitchen
Checkered-tablecloth nostalgia meets modern technique at Gigi’s, which has recently made the transition to full-time restaurant in the same Candler Park space where, several nights a week since last year, it’s been in a pop-up residency. Two young chefs, Eric Brooks and Jacob Armando, are behind it, offering a tightly curated, seasonally driven Italian menu with dishes like fried polenta cake with creme fraiche and caviar, brassicas cooked over a yakitori grill and seasoned with Calabrian chilis, and artfully plated housemade pastas and classic preparations like chicken Milanese. Replacing Nicholas Stinson’s beloved Gato, Gigi’s promises to be just as integral to the fabric of the neighborhood.
Photograph by Cori Carter
Gunshow
Kevin Gillespie broke the mold with this one, and still today—nearly a decade after it opened—there’s nothing else like it in Atlanta. The setup requires some explanation: As they finish a batch of dishes, cooks roam the dining room, presenting them dim sum–style to diners who then say yea or nay; diners may also engage a roving bar cart to have cocktails made tableside. The room is raucous, the noise level famously deafening, the vibe absolutely unpretentious, and the food consistently fascinating, an ever-changing array of small plates that may contain anything from corn creme brulee topped with smoked chicken liver, shishito granita, and blueberries to pasta filled with Sichuan-style cumin lamb and topped with eggplant, smoked and dried tofu, and basil.
Art Hayakawa searing nigiri
Photograph by Andrew Thomas Lee
Hayakawa
Now settled into sleeker, refined digs at Star Metals, Hayakawa has become even more intimate. Chef Atsushi Hayakawa—often spotted with his signature red towel tied around his head—presides over an eight-seat counter that earned its first Michelin star after the move from Buford Highway. A James Beard Outstanding Chef semifinalist, Hayakawa builds a 14-course omakase that changes weekly, drawing on classical Japanese training and the restrained flavors of his native Hokkaido. The menu focuses on nigiri, sashimi, and precisely executed cooked dishes. Fish flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market anchors the experience, while thoughtful design details—fine woodwork, rotating textiles, and calligraphy by Hayakawa’s late father—reinforce the sense of quiet reverence.
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Gu’s Kitchen
In 2015, Yiquan Gu and his family decided to close Gu’s Bistro, which they’d opened five years before just outside the Perimeter on Buford Highway. Gu, the chef, was nearing retirement age; the lease was up; and the Gu brand would live on at Krog Street Market, where the chef’s daughter, Yvonne Gu Khan, oversees a counter specializing in the restaurant’s famous dumplings. But Gu grew tired of retirement, and soon enough, the family was back in business—this time closer to town, in this polished, superaccessible dining room that would swiftly emerge as one of the jewels of the Chamblee food scene.
It continues to specialize in the gorgeous Sichuan-style noodles, dumplings, and other dishes—exquisitely spicy but not incinerating—with which the Gu family made its name. Always look at the posted menu by the entrance for daring specials (sometimes featuring organ meats) before filling up on signature platefuls of pork or vegetable Zhong-style dumplings (boiled, sauced, topped with minced garlic and toasted sesame seeds), dramatically presented cold Chengdu noodles (a huge Instagram hit), or my absolute favorite: handmade sweet and spicy thick noodles, curling peacefully in a deep bowl. The input of the younger family members has been crucial to the success of a restaurant that looks pleasantly modern, even a bit flashy. Gu’s has also eschewed an endless menu in favor of easy-to-order hits that include Sichuan po’boys, beautifully fried eggplant dishes, and legit ma po tofu that, for me, is always a must. —CL
The Korean pork sandwich
Photograph courtesy of Heirloom Market BBQ
Heirloom Market
Cody Taylor is from the American South, and Jiyeon Lee is from South Korea; together, the pair own and operate this roadside stand, whose huge flavors belie its humble digs: This is some of the best ’cue in Atlanta, with a familiar assortment of smoked meats—brisket, pulled pork, etc.—getting a Korean-style upgrade so fantastic that it makes you wonder why every rack of ribs isn’t rubbed with gochujang. As at every barbecue place worth its salt, the sides bear paying special attention to—only here they include kimchi slaw, Korean sweet potatoes, and sweet and spicy tofu.
Photograph courtesy of Hen Mother Cookhouse
Hen Mother Cookhouse
Soraya Khoury was an executive chef at Rumi’s before launching this Johns Creek restaurant in 2018, and she’s since become famous for two things: her highly entertaining Instagram feed (@hen.mother_cookhouse) and the enormous culinary range she displays at breakfast and lunch, in finely wrought renditions of the morning hits—shakshuka, yeasted waffles, gravlax on bialys—but most especially for her gorgeous pastries. Her quiches are stunning, her cinnamon rolls are famous for miles around, and her creative riffs—“stromboli” danishes for Father’s Day, packed with mortadella, prosciutto, pepperoncini, and so forth—leave most of the flashier ITP brunch spots in the dust.
Homegrown
Along the rest of Memorial Avenue, Atlanta’s gleaming, future-forward development barrels ahead at breathtaking speed—but Homegrown ain’t interested in all that. Instead, Kevin Clark and Lisa Spooner are doing what they’ve always done: serving superlative diner-style breakfast and lunch out of a poky little corner house in Reynoldstown that’s about as saggy and beloved as it was when they opened in 2010. It’s the kind of place where your comfy chicken biscuit arrives on the same no-frills plates you remember from that diner back in wherever-the-hell-you-came-here-from, but they’re so good you can’t forget that you now live in one of the best dining cities in the world. Homegrown’s one cosmopolitan concession is Storytellers Goods coffee in the back corner, and we’ll allow it—their drinks are excellent. Best of all, Clark and Spooner bought their building in 2025, and have zero major renovations planned, because some things need never change.
K&K Soul Food
Some soul food restaurants are more historic, some are better known, some are more gentrified; many no longer serve pork products. Opened in 1968, K&K resists many of the prevailing trends—but persists as one of Atlanta’s homiest restaurants. From early in the morning till closing time at five, there’s no more comfortable place to be than in the cafeteria-style line here, where customers come and come again for the amazing fatback, country bacon, and fried whiting for breakfast; lunch cuts (or “dinner,” in the parlance) like neck bones, turkey wings, and baked chicken; glossy collards and black-eyed peas on the side; and cobblers and banana pudding for dessert.
The Kamayan pop-up was famous for its communal feasts—known in the Philippines as kamayan, in which food is spread across the table on a bed of banana leaves.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Kamayan ATL
Originally launched as a pop‑up, Kamayan settled into its permanent home on Buford Highway in early 2023, bringing family‑style Filipino dining to Asian Square. Founded by Mia Orino and Carlo Gan, James Beard Award semifinalists for Best Chef: Southeast, the Michelin‑recommended restaurant draws from regional traditions. The menu features dishes meant for sharing, from lumpia and sizzling lechon sisig to pancit noodles and whole fried fish, with halo‑halo and ube churros for dessert. The homey, colorful space reinforces the communal spirit at the table—and because the compact space fills up quickly, reservations are strongly recommended, especially on weekends.
Porterhouse steak
Photograph by Greg Dupree
Kevin Rathbun Steak
Kevin Rathbun’s roots in this neighborhood precede the BeltLine, but his restaurant still offers one of the best scenes along the hallowed path. Polished but not stuffy, the atmosphere is as inviting as the food. We recommend the dry-aged cowboy rib-eye if you’re looking to go big, but don’t forget to appreciate the versatility of this menu, including Rathbun’s famous eggplant fries, voluminous seafood options, Southern sides like grits au gratin, and—the final flourish—peanut butter banana cream pie with toasted meringue. You may appreciate, too, the many thoughtful little touches, like steak plates propped on a slight incline so that the juices from the meat don’t mess up its char.
Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore
Kimball House
Open since 2013 and a local fave ever since, this past year Kimball House was able to stick a new feather in its cap: The restaurant now serves oysters from its own harvesting operation, Shiny Dimes Oyster Farm, down on the Florida Panhandle. That’s in addition to what’s already the metro’s finest oyster program, an asset that cries out for cocktails to match—which are mixed up here in spades, from a sophisticated house drink (the Kimball House features gin, French vermouth, Cocchi Americano, and orange bitters) to more fanciful creations like the New Tokyo, a scotch-based number with pine and pear brandy, ginger, yuzu, and lime. What else? Elegantly prepared steaks and other entrees, lively vegetable sides, caviar, and a gorgeous dining room inside of an 1891 train depot. Can’t you hear that whistle blow?
Artichoke salad
Photograph courtesy of La Grotta
La Grotta Ristorante Italiano
Classic and Old World only begin to describe this Atlanta stalwart, which for almost 45 years has served Buckhead and beyond with its scratch-made Italian recipes: Jumbo shrimp linguini in spicy tomato sauce, lemon butter Dover sole meuniere, and pasta dishes like pappardelle ribbons with lobster, shallots, and white wine cream sauce are just as timeless as roasted veal and marinated lamb chops. Don’t wait for a special occasion to stop in, even if only for an ahi tuna or beef carpaccio paired with a glass or bottle of one of the seemingly endless options from their world-traveled wine list.
La Semilla’s plant-based offerings—tacos, Cubanos, crunch wraps, and gloriously garnished cocktails—seduce the eyes before they start on the palate.
Photograph by Martha Williams
La Semilla
La Semilla’s owners, Sophia Marchese and Reid Trapani, aren’t trying to fool or convert anyone with the plant-based menu at this Latin Restaurant on Memorial Drive. Dishes here seduce the eyes before they start on the palate, with lion’s mane mushrooms, jackfruit, cauliflower, and squash standing in for a previous generation’s bland textured vegetable proteins. Crunchiness and creaminess, often missing from the vegan experience, are present throughout: for instance, in a delightful potato- and cashew-based queso blanco. Try the pressed Cubano, as fresh and tasty as those in Miami, or an easy-to-share crunch wrap. The vegan menu and elegant cocktails stand out, but what’s truly unique about La Semilla is its joyous vibe.
Beef noodle soup with hand-pulled noodles
Photograph by Andrew Thomas Lee
LanZhou Ramen
Dinner and a show, and all from the same seat: A window into LanZhou’s kitchen lets diners observe chefs rolling out and hand-stretching the impossibly long, exuberantly springy noodles that eventually wind up on tables—served either in steaming bowls of soup (with various cuts and off-cuts: beef, beef tendon, roast pork, intestine, tomato and egg, lamb, and so on) or stir-fried, in options including regular, spicy, and cumin-scented. Whatever the configuration, they’re a tonic for anything that ails you. Founded in 2017 by Fu Li Zhang, the restaurant takes its name from the Northwestern Chinese city where these kinds of noodles originated.
Lazy Betty's five-course menu includes sorghum-glazed duck.
Photograph courtesy of Andrew Thomas Lee
Lazy Betty
The crown culinary jewel of the Hsu family’s growing restaurant empire, Lazy Betty remains one of Atlanta’s most impressive dining experiences, matching some of the cleverest, most gorgeously plated food in town with a remarkably unbothered neighborhood vibe. This past summer, the restaurant’s six- and eight-course tasting menus included indulgences like heirloom tomato salad with charred lamb fat, veal tenderloin with sweetbread cream, and truffle-glazed diver scallop with corn pudding; various add-ons—e.g., caviar service with steamed milk buns and scallion pancakes—are always worth the money. All-vegetarian tasting menus are available on request, as are wine pairings.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Little Bear
Perhaps a quotation from the menu will be the most efficient way to describe . . . whatever is going on at Jarrett Stieber’s iconoclastic, opinionated restaurant. Check out the dish described as “Potato & Peach,” containing also “chermoulah labneh sauce, peach amba, shishito, garlic chive, herbs out the ass.” It’s got the global ambition, the local ingredients, the surprising creativity, and the playful profanity that characterize the overall vibe here. This is high-concept fare, often exploring the sympathies between food that’s vaguely Sichuan and food that’s vaguely Jewish, that welcomes everybody to take a bite: “Michelin Tire Dining,” as lettering on the front window boasts.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Little Sparrow
Prolific chef and restaurateur Ford Fry replaced his Southern mainstay JCT Kitchen with a French-inspired bistro where butter and cheese reign supreme. The atmosphere strikes a balance between warmth and intrigue, and the food follows suit. After Levain bread service, start with the rich ricotta gnudi in pistou (similar to pesto) or the hearty onion soup topped with torched Gruyere. Entrees span the protein gamut. No matter your pick, the crispy, thick-cut frites are a must, preferably with raclette. Wash it down with an ice-cold Le Petit Martini; its 3½ ounces are just enough to sate.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Lucian Books and Wine
If you’re looking for the makings of a nice night out, this Buckhead hybrid—part restaurant, part wine bar, part honest-to-god bookshop—offers everything you could hope for: It’s sophisticated but not stuffy, upscale but not intimidating, and unflaggingly devoted to the pursuit of deliciousness. Working with chef Jason Paolini, owners Jordan Smelt and Katie Barringer offer a parade of seasonal small plates, from oysters with strawberry mignonette to burrata with caponata and pine nuts to a classically perfect French omelet with caviar and creme fraiche. Smelt is an amiable companion as you work your way through the wine list; Barringer, the bibliophile, curates the thoughtful selection of mostly art books.
Lucky Star’s beef noodle soup
Photograph by Martha Williams
Lucky Star
After a string of accomplished Japanese restaurants, chef Jason Liang takes a sharp turn with his latest project. Liang—a Michelin-starred chef, James Beard nominee, and one of Atlanta’s most prolific restaurateurs— trades in sushi for Taiwanese food, with all its bold, deeply comforting flavors. It is a homecoming of sorts for Liang, who was born in South Carolina and raised in Taiwan. His new restaurant, which quietly opened inside an office building in the Star Metals complex on Howell Mill Road, is unexpected and overdue—especially from someone with Liang’s culinary chops. Don’t miss the Sausage in Sausage, a Taiwanese night-market staple, that layers sweet pork sausage inside a chewy glutinous sticky rice sausage, cleverly wrapped in rice paper, with pickled cucumber and garlic soy. It’s a loud, fatty, deeply satisfying dish that’s messy but worth it.
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Lyla Lila
Performative splash doesn’t live here: The appeal of this upscale Southern European restaurant is in its effortless cool, from the gentle color palette of its interior to the large windows looking out on Midtown traffic to the musical philosophy based on vinyl funk grooves. And, above all, chef Craig Richards’s kitchen wizardry, expressing itself in dishes like duck lasagna, whose stacks of crisp pasta sheets give way to layers of rich cocoa bechamel and carrot-coriander puree, and squid-ink spaghetti with Georgia shrimp and Calabrian chili sausage. Richards’s menu approaches French, Italian, and Spanish dishes in a way that makes Lyla Lila appear to take itself far less seriously than it actually does. Same goes for the bar, where the 43-page beverage book offers a roughly equal amount of zero-proof and “spirited” cocktails (in the latter category, definitely try the mezcal-Negroni-ish ’Round Midnight), and a wide selection of low- or no-intervention, mostly Italian wines that adhere to the restaurant’s commitment to only supporting responsible producers.
Richards previously oversaw cuisine for Ford Fry’s restaurants; here, he teams up with restaurateur Billy Streck, who’s shown a particular knack for picking great locations for low-key, high-quality ATL dining establishments. Launching almost three years ago in a prime location across from the Fox Theatre, they achieved immediate success in making the southern end of Peachtree Street way more awesome. And sure, the proximity to the Fox has made reservations a bit challenging—but regardless of what’s going on across the street, it’s worth planning ahead to get a taste of what a New Atlanta experience feels like, in the best possible way. —MJ
Madeira Park
Atlanta is now a wine bar city, and Madeira Park gives it legs. A partnership between Miller Union’s Steven Satterfield and Neal McCarthy and Dive Wine’s Tim Willard, this buzzy, small-plates spot treats food with as much care as the drinks. A lengthy wine list is balanced by a concise, hard-hitting menu—think crispy panisse and chicken liver mousse with brioche, strawberry jam, and peanuts. Sommelier Jade Palmer keeps the ever-changing reserve list close at hand with half-pours available. Equally compelling are Willard’s wine-based cocktails and chef de cuisine Ollie Honderd’s heartier dishes, including bistro steak with salsa verde and grilled romaine.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Marcus Bar & Grille
It’s rare for an out-of-town chef to bring an existing concept to Atlanta and see it thrive, but Marcus Samuelsson broke the mold. The Ethiopian-born, Sweden-bred chef brings a playful, global sensibility to Southern cooking, folding in touches like miso and mustard seed bordelaise. From sweet cornbread with whipped butter to pork ribs glazed in smoky peach barbecue sauce, the kitchen leans hard on the wood-fired grill. The high‑energy dining room feels boldly industrial, with walls clad in vinyl records and roller skates, and music turned up loud. A bustling patio carries that energy outside.
Creme fraiche vanilla cake with citrus shortbread, blood orange-lemon sorbet, and fennel
Photograph courtesy of Miller Union
Miller Union
There’s fancier stuff on the menu, and there are more famous dishes (in particular, an iconic farm egg cooked in celery cream), but the heart of the Miller Union experience is probably still Chef Steven Satterfield’s seasonal vegetable plate—on any given night, a virtuosic demonstration of how a sense of place can be expressed through food, whether tomatoes, field peas, okra, or onions. Satterfield and general manager Neal McCarthy opened this refined, brass-accented spot in 2009: since then, Miller Union has raked in the accolades, including a James Beard Award in 2017 and a Michelin award for outstanding service in 2023. More importantly than all that hardware, the restaurant has been instrumental in redefining the meaning of Southern cuisine, freeing it from its chicken-fried stereotypes and rooting it in our region’s most precious assets: the land and the stories it tells. That said, the recognition is amply earned: Every visit here is a masterclass in hospitality, and whether you’re looking for the freshest take on seasonal produce or just another go at that farm egg in celery cream (it never gets old), you’ll find yourself enthralled with the stories Miller Union has to tell.
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Mujo
Arrive early: You’ll want to pregame at the sanded-stone cocktail counter with barman Mike Satusky, who makes perhaps the city’s best Negroni, in which hojicha tea creates a bridge between the drink’s bitterness and its sweetness. Then, dig the music, which counterbalances Mujo’s aspirational nature with songs like “Sexy M.F.” by Prince (the explicit version) and the anthemic “Motownphilly” by Boyz II Men. When seating begins, you’re led through a door to a spotlit 15-seat counter, where you’ll spend two and a half hours on executive chef J. Trent Harris’s Edomae-style sushi, aged and cured exquisitely and presented twice nightly in an always evolving omakase experience.
Harris, whose Michelin cred comes from working in celebrated restaurants like Sushi Ginza Onodera of NYC and Tokyo, was recruited by Atlanta restaurateur Federico Castellucci, who convinced him to launch a sushi pop-up out of Cooks & Soldiers. During the early days of the pandemic, it offered takeout—an impossible idea that Harris achieved at the highest level of quality, flavor, and precision, reminding stuck-at-home diners that, even in times of separation and difficulty, great dreams can become reality.
Today, Mujo’s omakase is booked out a month in advance and might include decadent and buttery blackthroat sea perch or other rare fish flown in from Toyosu—the island area of Tokyo where the famed Tsukiji fish market moved several years ago. Fresh produce, which shows up in small plates of hot and cold dishes such as nasu agebitashi—a chilled dish of marinated, fried eggplant, served with squid ink and burnt-eggplant puree—comes from local and regional purveyors including Delaware-based Japanese vegetable producer Suzuki Farms. Kentucky native Harris’s Southern sensibility helps it all blend together beautifully. With so much attention to detail, Mujo would be amazing if it didn’t have the best raw fish in Atlanta. But this unlikely restaurant’s survival story has indeed reshuffled our city’s sushi hierarchy. —MJ
Sashimi bowl at Nakato
Photograph courtesy of Nakato
Nakato
A Cheshire Bridge fixture for more than half a century, Nakato is a grand dame of dining in Atlanta. Opened in 1972 by Tetsuko Nakato, the restaurant is now operated by her granddaughter, Sachi Nakato Takahara, who continues to showcase a broad vision of Japanese cuisine, from voluminous maki and nigiri to steaming bowls of noodles, hibachi and teppanyaki, tempura, and sukiyaki. A recent $2.4 million renovation modernized the space without erasing its history, alongside refreshed wine and cocktail programs that complement the menu. While much has changed, fish continues to be flown in multiple times a week, and the polished service underscores the restaurant’s enduring legacy.
Nam Phuong
Atlanta has two locations of what is arguably the best family-style Vietnamese restaurant around, but for maximum effect, head to the one on Jimmy Carter Boulevard, where the set menus are the best deal (e.g., a seven-part family dinner, for $77.33, will feed four), and where huge weekend crowds load up their tables with the full spectrum of regional Vietnamese cooking: fresh spring rolls, caramelized catfish, banh xeo (savory crepes stuffed with shrimp and pork or tofu), shaking beef, lotus root or papaya salad with crispy rice crackers, and lots of noodles and soups.
Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore
9292 Korean BBQ
The place to go if you want the sizzle and the service of a topflight Korean barbecue, 9292 (if you say it in Korean, it sounds like the word for “grill”) is the flagship of a multipart business that includes D92, a newer, almost-as-good outpost in Decatur. With glistening slices of paper-thin pork belly, hand-rubbed seasoned steak, squid, and beef bulgogi, the combos will set you back a buck or two—but there’s no match for the quality of this meat, or the mesmerizing sight of it sizzling away in front of your eyes. Typically, kimchi fried rice comes at the end; take note, too, of the cold noodle soups, savory pancakes, and daily rotating selection of immaculate banchan.
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Northern China Eatery
It may be sacrilege to say this in Atlanta, but the best brunch around doesn’t involve bottomless mimosas. It involves plate after plate of dumplings at this BuHi hideaway, whose menu, as the name suggests, reflects the cuisine of a region where wheat flour is a common ingredient: dumplings, noodles, buns. Highlights here: spicy-vinegary Shanxi cold noodles, chive pies and scallion pancakes, crullers enfolded in eggy crepes, and chef specials like cumin chicken skewers, fish with cornbread and tofu, and Tianjin smoked chicken. (And to be perfectly clear, this place is open all day long—the exact window of time in which this stuff hits the spot.)
Lobster roll
Photograph courtesy of The Optimist
The Optimist
Ford Fry’s sterling fish camp has survived and thrived since its 2012 opening thanks to high-level executive talent leading the way, from Adam Evans (who recently picked up a James Beard Award) to Pat Pascarella (who just opened Bastone across the street) to Brian Horn, who expertly trims the sails today. Start things off with warm, creamy she-crab soup or seafood gumbo that boasts a perfectly penny-dark roux—in addition to, of course, amazingly fresh oysters on the half shell. The most ideal supper then proceeds to fish, any fish—Thai-style branzino, swordfish poached in duck fat, a simply dazzling Arctic char with salsa verde—all roasted in the restaurant’s blazing wood hearth. There are also seafood plateaux of varying sizes, if you’re in the mood to go overboard.
Pata Negra Mezcaleria
For more than 20 years, chef Octavio Aguirre dreamed of opening a restaurant specializing in mezcal, and today, that dream has come true with his Brookwood Hills restaurant—Georgia’s first mezcalería. The concept felt almost impossible when he arrived in Atlanta more than a decade ago, as the city’s palate was unfamiliar with the kind of rural Mexican food he wanted to serve. Those flavors are rooted in such ingredients as corn, chiles, beans, and Mexican herbs. Through his food, Aguirre offers a true reflection of himself and his story. Start with Carne Apache to share—a beef tartare elevated with chipotle, dried peppers, and fresh Mexican herbs. Sip some rare, limited-edition, and collectible mezcals through an almost spiritual mezcal tasting that starts with lighting up sage and palo santo to set the tone right at your table.
A spread of the whole branzino and the colorful components, including wrapping leaves of miang kham
Photograph by Martha Williams
Pink Lotus
Owner Niki Pattharakositkul, of 26 Hospitality Group, has built a reputation for approachable Thai across the metro. Pink Lotus, the group’s shiny new jewel, features regional Thai dishes that are bold in color and intense in flavor, with a splash of drama. The fuchsia-soaked restaurant’s name is a tribute to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, who watches over the dining room from a mural that sets the mood for the plush velvet banquettes and gold accents throughout. Start with the beautifully plated miang kham or crispy tempura-fried kale mixed with ground chicken and punchy lime dressing. For an entree, skip the pad thai and order fried branzino, perfectly greaseless and served with a vinegary, bright-green apple salad.
Wade McSwain
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Pit Boss
Police vehicles still frequently populate the old parking lot at Pit Boss—despite the 14-year-old barbecue stalwart’s recent move to the parking lot directly across the street. If nothing else, the fact that members of law enforcement (not just the Hapeville PD, and no pork jokes intended) so clearly support this nondescript, far-too-long-underappreciated temple of hog heaven means you can trust that owners Wade and Tracy McSwain know how to consistently drop that baste on slabs of smoked meat. Those cops know what you should know, too: The smoke ring on Pit Boss’s sliced Black Angus brisket is always a gorgeous gradient of slow-cooked, red-to-brown perfection—a muted rainbow of beefy magic. The smoked chicken wings are also mini-marvels, comparable to if not outright better than the smoked wings at any other restaurant you could name. The flavorful chew of the 12- to 14-hour pulled pork, particularly when chopped and served in a sandwich, gives a balance of sweet and sour that can only be described as a tongue-tickling twang. And the sides ain’t shy, either: You’d be hard-pressed to find better-seasoned collard greens or a more grin-inducing cup of Brunswick stew anywhere in metro ATL.
This Black-owned, airport-adjacent Hapeville barbecue shop has long been a best-kept secret among Southsiders—not just cops but also the thousands of Delta employees who work down the street. It’s time for you to know what they don’t want you to, only because you might become the reason that amazing brisket sells out before they make it over for lunch. That said, don’t race the cops on Virginia Avenue if you see them headed down to the parking lot. Who knows? Great barbecue might quietly be a get-out-of-jail-free card in the Tri-Cities. —MJ
Photograph by Martha Williams
Pizza Verdura Sincera
Trying a new place where a beloved Little Five Points ice cream counter once stood stirs nostalgia. There is comfort, though, in seeing the Zesto’s mural intact on the wall by the parking lot. But restaurant life goes on, and now the draw is pizza, specifically plant-based pies. They’re served in an open room with a bohemian, industrial vibe—exposed brick, aqua paint, cement floors, cherry-stained wood, and high ceilings. Choose from half a dozen specialty pizzas and a few seasonal salads. The fresh pizza dough (made using organic, non-GMO flour) produces a light, golden-brown crust with toasty bubbles along the rim, and a sweet and tasty blend of vegan mozzarella and cheddar ups the flavor. The standout pizza is the Messicano, with spicy vegan sausage, peppers, roasted corn, onion, garlic, and ginger for extra kick.
French dumplings with carrots and thyme
Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore
Poor Hendrix
This is the platonic ideal of a neighborhood pub, with friendly servers, outdoor seating, solid drinks, and food that hits a near-impossible sweet spot at the intersection of indulgent (fish and chips, blackened fried-chicken sandwich, buffalo cauliflower) and relatively light. A James Beard–nominated pastry chef in a past life, Aaron Russell (who owns the restaurant with his wife, Jamie) is particularly adept with cold dishes, such as a salad with Tucker Farms lettuces, Manchego, and pickled green beans; curried chickpeas with grilled flatbread; and a so-good-why-didn’t-anybody-think-of-it combo of soy- and lime-spiked salmon tartare and Zapp’s potato chips.
Kashk badenjoon
Photograph by Greg Dupree
Rumi’s Kitchen
Since opening Rumi’s in 2006, chef-owner Ali Mesghali has added new locations in Alpharetta and Midtown, and, earlier this year, finished a $3.5 million renovation on the Sandy Springs flagship. In addition to updated furnishings and plaster walls to cut down on noise—a common guest complaint—the refreshed Rumi’s boasts modernized cocktails, as well as desserts from pastry chef Sohrob Esmaili, a Food Network Spring Baking Championship winner. New menu items, including wagyu shish kebabs, lamb ribs, and Chilean sea bass, join Persian favorites like creamy hummus topped with lamb merguez sausage and herby stews like ghormeh sabzi. At all outposts, the swanky decor—and clever cocktails—are as seductive as what’s on the plate.
Akami (lean tuna), chutoro (medium tuna), and otoro (fatty tuna) from Kyushu, Japan
Photograph by Brandon Amato
Ryokou
Tucked in an alley in Adair Park, Ryokou rewards those who know where to look. The 10-seat space, owned by Leonard Yu of Michelin‑starred Omakase Table, is helmed by chef Paul Gutting. Instead of the stark minimalism common to omakase rooms, Ryokou leans warm, with an onyx bar and a glowing cabinet of illuminated bottles setting the mood. The eight‑course tasting moves between raw and cooked preparations, each introduced with an explanation that traces the ingredients back to specific regions of Japan. Sake pairings and tea‑based cocktails enhance the experience, which unfolds at an unhurried, conversational pace. Expect a few playful touches—and a bill to match the level of intimacy and craft.
Pork belly sliders
Photograph courtesy of Seed Kitchen & Bar
Seed Kitchen & Bar
The natural light that shines into Seed from angular floor-to-ceiling windows brightens every corner of the space, thanks to an abundance of natural wood and surrounding white hues. The daylight feels as good for the soul as Doug Turbush’s modern American menu, centered on entrees such as char-grilled, paprika-rubbed pork porterhouse in red wine jus with pimento cheese polenta and luxurious Bay of Fundy salmon, enlivened by tasso ham, roasted lemon, and mushroom confit—culinary artistry that’s helped Seed grow, since opening in 2011, into something truly sustainable.
Vietnamese Grilled Pork Belly for Two
Photograph by Martha Williams
Southern Belle
Tucked into the Plaza on Ponce, this charming, blue-hued little restaurant has been innovative since its 2019 opening—luckily, since certain events of 2020 forced owners Joey and Emily Ward to be innovative once again. Joey, the chef, pivoted to a dinner service organized around a four-course seasonal tasting menu that may include dishes like a decadent 90-day dry-aged rib-eye with smoked pork belly, ramps, and Georgia peaches—and another four-course seasonal menu that’s entirely vegan, where you might find something like a sweet corn risotto with chanterelles, arugula pesto, and truffle and corn granola. That’s not even the end of the good things going on here: Southern Belle is also leading the way on new models of socially responsible restaurateurship, with a recently instituted tipless service model.
Photograph by Martha Williams
Southern National
Southern National opened in the summer of 2023 in trendy Summerhill. And, as it was in the beginning, you can still find lauded chef (and now, cookbook author) Duane Nutter right outside the kitchen pass, fussing over plates in the dining room before they head to diners. A natural showman, he thinks nothing of depositing shiny black mussels, shiitake mushrooms, and bacon in a thicket of glossy Southern greens or plating tradition-breaking berbere-spiced fried boneless chicken thighs on tender maque choux. The bread service—all-around-crisp sheet-pan biscuits with pepper jelly and jalapeño johnnycakes with cane sugar syrup butter—lets you know that you are in a South that is evolving beyond tradition. A smoked-turkey-and-corn soup with big-pearl couscous and bright green Southern chimichurri sauce, a perky salad of grilled okra and shishito peppers, and an exuberant vegetable plate spiced with za’atar win you over instantaneously thanks to their originality. But there is more: a frequent special of pimento cheese set with pickled goodies against a giant bouquet of homemade crackers; grilled pork chop rubbed with coffee in red wine mustard sauce; and sassy baked rigatoni with “lamb burger helper.” Complex and exciting, a finely textured, boozy pecan Old-Fashioned float feels like a cocktail and a dessert in one. The opulent bar mixes clean, well-balanced concoctions and the wine list roams from Spain’s Basque region to Italy’s Puglia with well-priced, timely selections.
Pappardelle, morels, green garlic cream, fava beans
Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore
Spring
Truist Park isn’t the only place of national prominence to arrive in Cobb County in the late 2010s. That distinction is shared with Spring, led by James Beard–nominated chef Brian So, who along with his wife, Kerry, runs a restaurant whose pretense is so nonexistent that one might take for granted the fact that one of the country’s best restaurants is just sitting right there on Marietta Square. But simple is the way of Spring, where the menu has fewer than a dozen items, allowing a focus on sustainable and seasonal minimalism, aided by sommelier Daniel Crawford’s impeccable wine curation. Diners may be tripped up by the modest entree options—but subsequently reassured by the magic in every bite, whether it’s risotto (in all its creamy-chanterelle, sungold tomato, corn, and squash-blossom glory) or pan-seared yellowedge grouper in beurre blanc.
Staplehouse
Staplehouse is proof that a rarified fine-dining animal can change its stripes—and that Atlantans will reward the effort. The Hidinger-Smith family launched the restaurant in 2015 out of an early 20th-century brick building in Old Fourth Ward, just after beloved local chef Ryan Hidinger (Hidi) tragically died of gallbladder cancer. Immediately, Staplehouse won acclaim for its hyper-local menu and exquisite attention to detail. But when the pandemic rocked fine dining in 2020, owners Ryan Smith and Kara Hidinger were already practiced sailors of stormy waters. Over the last few years, they’ve shifted to a more casual, market-style concept, with a wood-fired pizza program among other simple—but perfectly executed—sandwiches, salads, pastas, and charcuterie boards with abundant house-cured meats. Every shift of the season brings enticing additions to the menu, bursting with local Georgia produce, much of it sourced from Quercus Farm south of Atlanta (Smith and the Staplehouse team also helm the Quercus property’s Uberto Restaurant). Order at the counter, grab a bottle of wine from the restaurant’s robust selection, and enjoy it al fresco on the cozy, bistro-light-strung patio. It feels like fine dining, and it also feels like your cousin’s backyard: it’s an alchemy that earned Staplehouse a Michelin star in 2023, but it’s also—as anyone here will tell you—the pure essence of Hidi, shining on through those who loved him.
When Talat Market opened in April 2020, it was doing takeout only—and selling out every night.
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Talat Market
Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter made a name for themselves as pop-up chefs before launching this brick-and-mortar, inauspiciously, toward the beginning of the pandemic—and proving that the robustness of their fan base could propel them through even the toughest of times. The reason for all that fuss: The chefs’ ingenious combination of Thai technique with Georgia ingredients, as expressed in complexly flavored, ultrafresh salads like yong phonlamai (seasonal fruit with mint, shallot, cilantro, toasted coconut, and scallop floss) and yum khao tod (fish sauce–spiked crispy rice whose changing elements could include peach, tomato, cabbage) and bold, beautiful larger plates—red curry, whole flounder—all served in a plant-themed dining room that’s about as whimsical and colorful as what’s on the plate.
Photograph by Hannah Feiten Photography
Taqueria del Sol
Whether it’s high-quality fast-casual dining or the idea of interpreting global cuisine through the lens of Southeastern U.S. ingredients, Eddie Hernandez and Mike Klank were way ahead of the curve, opening the first location of this Mexican-Southern mashup in 2000 on the Westside. It has aged into a beloved Atlanta institution (with locations in Tennessee), still drawing crowds out the door for Hernandez’s fried-chicken tacos with lime-jalapeño mayonnaise, enchiladas with green chili sauce, and flavorful sides that include the inspiration for the title of Hernandez’s 2018 cookbook: Turnip Greens & Tortillas.
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Taqueria la Oaxaqueña
You’ll sometimes see the tlayuda compared to a Mexican “pizza,” but that frankly undersells it—and understates the crackling freshness and piquancy of the Oaxacan specialty, which is also the specialty of the house at this Clayton County taqueria. The base is a disc of masa larger than a frisbee, fried or grilled till crispy, then topped with refried beans, juicy tomatoes (perfectly in season, on a recent visit), avocado and sliced jalapeño pepper, and then stretchy Oaxacan cheese—which admittedly is a little mozzarella-like. Then, your choice of meat (carne asada, pork stomach, a sumptuous al pastor, et al)—or just more vegetables. And then—almost done—one or more salsas from this restaurant’s voluminous salsa bar, which includes a punchy salsa verde and a blood-red salsa macha. If it’s a cousin to pizza, the tlayuda is equally a relative of a tostada, a salad, and a seven-layer dip. In short, it’s everything.
Rosalia Ruiz—who owns Taqueria La Oaxaqueña with her husband, Oscar Arteaga—started selling food on the street in Oaxaca, where she grew up, at the age of 16. Since coming to the Atlanta area, her career has built slowly toward this restaurant: first, a flea market; then, a food truck; then, a small Clayton County brick-and-mortar; and now, this cheerful space on Mt. Zion Road, which at any given lunch hour is filled with construction crews and office workers. The tlayuda is the marquee item, but the rest of the menu is as lavishly good, whether you’re looking for simple tacos on handmade tortillas, weekend menudo and pozole, textbook tamales (wrapped in corn husk or, in the style of Oaxaca, banana leaf), or specialities like mole Oaxaqueño or chicharron en salsa ranchera. —SW
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Ticonderoga Club
The fact of a restaurant as weird, warm, and welcoming as Ticonderoga Club being situated inside as slickly produced and tourist-thirsty a space as Krog Street Market can be hard to get your head around—but that’s just the first miracle that owners Greg Best, Regan Smith, and Paul Calvert pull off. There are also the drinks: The mixology muscle within these walls is legendary, but the bartenders are friendly as hell, happy to make a recommendation or guide you through a cocktail list on which you’ll always find something to like. Then, there’s the food from executive chef Dave Bies, not easily summarizable but terrific nonetheless: sweet and sour pork over green papaya salad, fried Ipswich clams, veal sweetbreads with spiced yogurt and rhubarb chutney. The door in the back corner of KSM doesn’t just feel like the entrance to a dining room—it feels like a portal to another, cooler world.
Tio Lucho’s
Photograph by Martha Williams
Tio Lucho’s
Having established himself with his pop-up La Chingana—and, previously, as executive chef at Minero—Arnaldo Castillo launched a brick-and-mortar in the summer of 2022, offering a regular place for his fans to get their fix of Castillo’s irresistible coastal-Peruvian cooking: superfresh raw-fish dishes like ceviche and spicy tuna tiradito; wonderful salads built around quinoa, corn, and sweet-hot aji dulce peppers; the classic Chinese-Peruvian stir-fry lomo saltado; and a fun cocktail list with both a classic and a seasonally changing pisco sour. Themed dinners, happy hours, Peruvian chicken night, and Sunday brunch add to the creative mix.
Clockwise from top left: larb gai (minced chicken with lime and chili), crab omelet, and Isan sausage
Photograph by Bailey Garrot
Tum Pok Pok
Both Tum Pok Pok and Talat Market opened their doors in the last few years, and each in its own way broke the mold of Thai cuisine in Atlanta, veering away from the usual crowd-pleasers and toward preparations with tons more depth and creativity. The brainchild of owner Adidsara Weerasin, Tum Pok Pok focuses largely on the fare of Isan, a northeastern region of the country, where heat and funk combine with herbal and sour notes in ways that are nothing short of magical—and in dishes like the spicy, lime- and ginger-accented ground-meat salad lab (known elsewhere as laap or larb), fiery fermented papaya salad, and lemongrass-scented Isan sausage, all served with ever-present side helpings of sticky rice.
Hoisin oxtails
Photograph by Henri Hollis
Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours
The mothership of Deborah VanTrece’s past and present stable of restaurants, Twisted Soul moved from Decatur to a stylish space on the Westside in 2016—to the glee of longtime fans of the endlessly innovative soul food chef. As she turns her attention toward the success of her newer establishment, Oreatha’s at the Point, and other projects, VanTrece has given rise to a stellar cast of culinary talent. Notable alums include former executive chef Robert Butts, who is now at the helm of his own place, Auburn Angel. As a mentor, VanTrece shared her knack for otherworldly soulful-slash-edible art, whether it’s hoisin-glazed oxtails with garlic-ginger bok choy or a scene-stealing sweet-tea barbecue brisket pimento cheese melt. Her meals are a testament to the existence of soulful food that knows no geographic or creative boundaries, and one amazing Black woman’s uncanny ability to show us the otherwise invisible paths and foodways that connect humanity to the larger global dinner table.
Photograph by Cori Carter
Zyka: The Taste
In 2020, it added a second location in Alpharetta, but the funky Decatur original is still the Zyka of record for us, occupying a capacious, well-lit space that feels a bit like the dining hall in a church annex. Founded by Nooruddin Fazel and specializing in the food of Hyderabad, India, Zyka’s most famous offering is its almost indecently red Chicken 65, spicy nuggets of thigh meat marinated with ginger and garlic before being finished with green chilis and fresh curry leaves—there’s no better food to take to a party. Other highlights include okra masala, chickpeas and spicy tomato gravy, and—for dessert—dense kulfi ice cream with chopped pistachios. Everything is served on disposable plates with plastic cutlery; it only adds charm.
