The 10 Best Brunch Spots in Atlanta

Poached eggs, pancakes, and a can of Schlitz, oh my!

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Superica best brunch Atlanta
Huevos rancheros at Superica

Photograph by Mary Caroline Russell

It’s not easy judging brunch. We had many more contenders than the 10 that ended up on the list below—and even after we narrowed the crowded field to 10, ranking them was no easy feat. We were quick to agree on our top pick, which we especially love, but it was almost as if we had a nine-way tie for runner-up. These places are all so good.

And lest you be disappointed about the exclusion of a couple of mainstays, such as Ria’s Bluebird and Homegrown (and those are just the ones on Memorial Drive!), you should know that we excluded restaurants that serve breakfast throughout the week if they don’t have a separate weekend or Sunday brunch menu. After all, brunch is not breakfast.

10. Buttermilk Kitchen
Chef Suzanne Vizethann’s breakfast-focused Buckhead restaurant Buttermilk Kitchen has a large following for good reason. Everything is made from scratch on both the weekday breakfast/lunch menu and the weekend brunch menu. For the latter, Vizethann offers several options not available during the week, including fried chicken and waffles with sriracha butter and whiskey syrup, short rib hash with yum yum sauce and pickled peppers, buttermilk biscuits with sawmill gravy, and a decadent lobster omelet. Or go for classic fluffy buttermilk pancakes with melting Banner butter alongside an ivory mug of hot Rev Coffee. 4225 Roswell Road, 678-732-3274

One Eared Stag Chef's Breakfast best brunch Atlanta
The Chef’s Breakfast at One Eared Stag

Photograph courtesy of Green Olive Media

9. One-Eared Stag
Chef Robert Phalen’s stylish storefront restaurant predates the massive wave of eateries that hit Inman Park in recent years. And it is no less exciting now than it was in 2011. The brunch menu regularly changes, but you can currently expect the chicken salad sandwich to have lardons and truffle, the fried eggs to be served over veal and rapini, and the bloody mary to get its kick from kimchi. Among the constants is the Chef’s Breakfast, six glorious items (little composed dishes involving peppery biscuits and soft eggs and cured meat and a luxury ingredient or two), served on a silver tray with a can of Schlitz. Are you in brunch heaven yet? 1029 Edgewood Avenue, 404-525-4479

Seed Kitchen & Bar
Blue cod at Seed Kitchen & Bar

Photograph courtesy of Seed Kitchen & Bar

8. Seed Kitchen & Bar
This is by far our favorite OTP brunch. Seed’s airy and modern space transcends its location at the far end of an East Cobb strip mall, and the beautifully plated meals that come out of its kitchen day and night can hold their own against their intown brethren. You might have had smoked salmon with potato pancakes and poached eggs elsewhere, but it didn’t taste as good as it does here. If you’re not feeling eggs or something sweet, go for the not-too-brunchy but oh-so-delicious chicken schnitzel with miso mustard, arugula, and roasted tomatoes, or the blue cod with caramelized Brussels sprouts, roasted cauliflower, and Thai herb vinaigrette. 1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta, 678-214-6888

Brunch. Served until 2pm on the weekends.

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7. Greens and Gravy
Brunch is by far the best meal at Chef Darius Williams’s artsy, intimate soul food restaurant in Westview. There is much to admire about the namesake greens and gravy, served with watermelon chowchow, fried chicken, and biscuits. A fragrant dish of shrimp and sweet potato grits is just as good. Friends and neighbors sit elbow-to-elbow at tables crammed with big mason jars of Kool-Aid, and they just might persuade you to order the toasted pound cake with housemade preserves or the banana pudding waffles for dessert. 1540 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, 404-565-2074

Revival best brunch Atlanta
Almost Famous “Closed on Sunday” Chicken Sandwich at Revival

Photograph by David Crawford

6. Revival
Brunch doesn’t get any more gracious or more Southern than at Revival, the Decatur spot from Atlanta native and bold red-bearded chef Kevin Gillespie. The classic bungalow on the edge of downtown Decatur has a front porch facing a quiet residential street and walls and shelves packed with family heirlooms. On Sundays, it also has giant housemade cinnamon buns, fried chicken sandwiches, cathead biscuits with sawmill gravy, and ham hock hash with crispy potatoes and eggs. 129 Church Street, Decatur, 470-228-6770

Chilaquiles at Superica

Photograph by Mary Caroline Russell

5. Superica
Ford Fry’s Superica is the Tex-Mex restaurant Atlanta didn’t know it needed. You can’t go wrong at lunch or dinner, but weekend brunch is the power move here. Both the Krog Street and Buckhead locations open a bit before most other brunch spots, at 10 a.m., which means you can beat the crowds while indulging in laid-back, Texas-style Mexican grub. Expect pancakes as large as a vinyl record with syrup that tastes like dulce de leche, huevos rancheros made heartier with bacon, and the most Mexican of all brunch items, chilaquiles: day-old tortilla chips brought back to life after a soak in red chili sauce and topped with fried eggs, pickled jalapenos, sliced avocado, shaved radishes, chopped cilantro, and queso fresco. 3850 Roswell Road, 678-705-1235, and 99 Krog Street, 678-791-1310

Canoe best brunch Atlanta
Smoked salmon eggs Benedict at Canoe

Photograph courtesy of Green Olive Media

4. Canoe
There is not a more beautiful setting in town for benedicts and bloodies. Canoe has been around since 1995, making it the grande dame of Atlanta brunch, and it has aged well. This is special-occasion, out-of-town-visitors, show-off-to-your-inlaws brunch, and you shouldn’t complain if you have to wait—strolling the stunning grounds is part of the experience. This town is woefully short on riverside dining, so do your best to land a table on the long, porch-like patio that looks out over the lazy Chattahoochee. Splurge on grilled strip steak over grits with house kimchi and duck egg, and go ahead and indulge in a half order of the brioche French toast for dessert. 4199 Paces Ferry Road, 770-432-2663

Bread & Butterfly
Pancakes at Bread & Butterfly

Photograph by Caroline C. Kilgore

3. Bread & Butterfly
Cakes & Ale may be no more, but we still have Billy Allin’s ode to Paris in Inman Park. Bread & Butterfly is an incredibly useful restaurant, one that stays on top of its game during breakfast, lunch, and dinner six days a week—but Sunday is all about brunch. Waits are fairly tolerable, especially considering that this is where you’ll find Atlanta’s best pancakes. They arrive ready-made, drenched in melted butter and hot syrup. If for some reason you’re not here for those, you’ll be no less delighted by a baguette with room-temperature butter and strawberry jam (pair it with a perfect cappuccino), a simple omelet with a side of vinegary salad greens, or the more American avocado toast. 290 Elizabeth Street, 678-515-4536

2. The General Muir
Until 2013, Atlanta’s deli scene was practically nonexistent. The General Muir changed all that when it opened at Emory Point across from the CDC. Partners Todd Ginsberg, Shelley Sweet, and Jennifer and Ben Johnson (of West Egg Cafe) conceived a juiced-up Jewish deli where everything from rugelach to double-baked rye bread to pastrami to pickles is made in-house. The Muir even has its own bakery (TGM Bakery) next door, which provides the restaurant and its sister concepts—the Canteen, Fred’s Meat & Bread, and Yalla—with baked goodness. Weekend brunch offers several options not on the weekday breakfast or lunch menus, such as pastrami poutine, trout over red flannel hash, and the housemade English muffin with ricotta, peaches, and fennel. Fans will be happy to know you can also order the Muir’s staples: its peerless Reuben and the burger stack with fries (arguably the best burger in Atlanta). Show up early because it gets packed. 1540 Avenue Place, 678-927-9131

Ticonderoga Club best brunch Atlanta
The grain bowl at Ticonderoga Club

Photograph by Bart Sasso

1. Ticonderoga Club
Equally beloved by hardcore brunchers and those who claim to hate ritualistic and overpriced weekend meals, Ticonderoga Club is as delightfully weird and deliciously creative on Sunday as it is every other day. What we’re saying is: this is brunch with integrity. Whether you order the best Cobb salad in the city, the best grits bowl in the city (with poached eggs, sausage, and mushrooms), or the best (and not too brunchy) crispy fish sandwich, your meal will be all the more perfect paired with one of Ticonderoga’s special “cups”—sensible punches and boozy classics crafted by one of the most renowned bar staffs in town. Another perk: The dim-yet-friendly bar atmosphere in the back corner of Krog Street Market is a respite for those who aren’t ready to start their day with too much sunlight. 99 Krog Street, 404-458-4534

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