21 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
For years, Atlanta sat back and watched Charleston and New Orleans play tug of war for the title of “Culinary Capital of the South.” Not anymore. Restaurants in Atlanta are grabbing the rope—and pulling hard. Hotspots such as Spring routinely soar to the top of national best-restaurant lists, and places like Sushi Hayakawa and Masterpiece are changing how the James Beard Foundation—and the world—sees Atlanta cuisine. No longer is this simply a town for hearty and deep-fried Southern fare (though no one does chicken and waffles better); it’s a culinary powerhouse where big-name chefs are showing off their skills—and proving Atlanta is ready to play. We hope our list of the best restaurants in Atlanta can be your entry point.
Click the link to read our complete Atlanta guide.
Heidi GeldhauserrestaurantMiller Union
$$At Miller Union, a warehouse-turned-restaurant on the Westside, James Beard Award winner Steven Satterfield makes poetry from produce. His most popular dish—and certainly the most photographed—is the farm egg appetizer, baked in a rich celery cream and served with crusty grilled bread. If you’re a carnivore, there are plenty of meaty entrées; still, you should try the seasonal vegetable plate, which can include heirloom tomatoes with basil and local feta cheese, crispy fried okra, and pickled beets with ginger. The brown-butter bourbon cake is the perfect way to end the meal.
Andrew Thomas LeerestaurantLazy Betty
$$$Ask any Atlanta foodie about buzzy local restaurants, and you're likely to get an earful about Lazy Betty. Chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips, vets of Le Bernardin, began developing their menu with a series of pop-ups that quickly sold out. The momentum continued when Hsu, an Atlanta native, appeared on Netflix’s The Final Table, wowing audiences with his composure under stress. So it came as no surprise that when Lazy Betty and its tasting menu finally began welcoming diners, it was an instant smash.
Angie Mosier/Courtesy GunshowrestaurantGunshow
$$Throw out all your assumptions about restaurant dining: With Gunshow, Top Chef favorite Kevin Gillespie has torn up the rulebook. The Glenwood Park restaurant wheels around cartfuls of tapas that diners may choose or forgo. Likewise, half the cocktails on the menu are prepared tableside. The fluorescent lights are bright, the hard-rock music is loud, and the kitchen is so in-your-face that you can see right into the walk-in cooler. “The atmosphere is very raucous,” says chef-owner Gillespie. “It’s more like going to a concert than a restaurant.”
Courtesy BoccaLupo/FacebookrestaurantBoccaLupo
$$Bruce Logue has serious restaurant cred: The Atlanta native was sous chef at Babbo in New York and executive chef at Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad before earning his Master Italian Cooking certificate and helming La Pietra Cucina in Atlanta. At BoccaLupo, on a residential street in Inman Park, the chef-owner shows why The New York Times hailed him the fief of his own “neighborhood pasta kingdom.” Must-try dishes include black spaghetti with hot sausage, red shrimp, and scallions, as well as 20-yolk tagliatelle with wild mushrooms and Tuscan kale kimchi.
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restaurantBones
$$$This is a steakhouse in all its glory. Since opening in 1979, Bones has become a Buckhead institution, and the classic menu is a big part of the reason why. Start with the sharable chilled seafood platter with shrimp, crab legs, and lobster. For something smaller, try the creamy lobster bisque with just the right hint of spice—it's worth a visit in itself. You’ll also want to order a steak; don’t miss the dry-aged bone-in ribeye. Sides, meant for sharing, include rich sautéed mushrooms and truffle-butter mashed potatoes. In honor of your surroundings, finish your meal with a slice of warm Georgia pecan pie with praline sauce and vanilla ice cream.
Andrew Thomas LeerestaurantKimball House
$$An annual James Beard Award nominee, Kimball House is famous for its cocktails, but has so much going for it: An oyster program widely considered the best in the city (and, some say, the Southeast), thanks to the prodigious efforts of partner and oyster-bar manager Bryan Rackley. (Stop by between 5 and 7 for the daily oyster happy hour, when all bivalves are offered at reduced prices.) Chef Brian Wolfe’s main menu, has standouts like Georgia trout with fermented chile grits and tender duck breast served with shishito peppers and okra. And you shouldn't leave without one of Pastry Chef Yesenia Justiniano’s crowd-pleasing desserts like the frozen peanut-butter bombe.
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Courtesy Green Olive MediarestaurantTable & Main
$$At Table & Main in Roswell, Chef Woody Back is shaking up a few Southern staples: Instead of pigs in a blanket, his menu has hogs ‘n’ quilts (barbecue pork shoulder in a chive crepe), and in place of pimento cheese and crackers, there’s pimento cheese and chicken skins. Still, he doesn’t get cute with the classic fried chicken, considered by many critics to be the best in Atlanta. Be sure to finish your meal with something sweet, like sour cream pound cake with honey-roasted Georgia peaches and lemon-basil sherbet.
Sharif Hassanrestaurant8Arm
$$When chef Angus Brown died unexpectedly in early 2017, four months after opening 8Arm, many wondered whether his funky, rule-breaking restaurant would survive. Chef Maricela Vega’s arrival last March answered that question in triumphant fashion. Her fearless menu—13 inventive plates, most of them meatless—has sent Atlanta’s food world into a tizzy. Locals show up in droves to 8Arm’s small white-brick building, which sits in the shadow of Ponce City Market in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood.
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Sara HannarestaurantUmi
$$$At Umi, a see-and-be-scene hot spot in Buckhead, the staff flies its seafood in from all over the world to create clean, crisp dishes. For drinks, begin with a custom cocktail from bar manager Gabe Bowen—might we suggest the gin-forward Tomu Kat O?—then ask your server to pair your food with sake or wine. Start with a Nobu-inspired appetizer of thinly sliced yellowtail topped with jalapeno peppers, cilantro, and ponzu sauce. Another Nobu riff? The fabulous spicy tuna crispy rice. Move on to a wide selection of nigiri, sashimi, and sushi rolls. Finish the night with a pour of Japanese whisky, like the 12-year Yamazaki. Go here to impress your date—or find one.
LuAnne DeMeo/Courtesy AriarestaurantAria
$$After more than a 15 years in Atlanta, Aria got an aesthetic revamp in 2016 when chef-owner Gerry Klaskala set out to attract casual weeknight diners to a Buckhead restaurant that had, up until that point, been reserved for special occasions. Much to the relief of many an Atlantan, Klaskala did not remove his most popular dishes during the redesign. You’ll still find the signature short ribs served with hakurei turnips, snow peas, carrots, and potato puree.
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Andrew Thomas LeerestaurantBacchanalia
$$$After 18 successful years in the Westside Provisions District, Bacchanalia surprised Atlanta when it moved a mile and a half down the road to a new building on Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard in 2017. But move or no, legendary chef-owner Anne Quatrano, the grande dame of Atlanta's culinary scene, continues to have a hit on her hands. Bacchanalia’s famous crab fritter did not fall off the $95 prix fixe during the move—start there. For the second course, try the Rohan duck. The cheese course comes next, followed by dessert: a slice of cherry cheesecake.
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James Camp/Courtesy Green Olive MediarestaurantTaqueria del Sol
$No matter the time of day, you’ll spot Taqueria del Sol’s Westside restaurant by the line of patrons spilling into the parking lot. It’s the same story at all its locations (there are four in Atlanta): You walk to the bar, grab a margarita, then walk back outside to wait in the main line. If you are going to order anything at all, it simply must be Eddie Hernandez’s legendary cheese dip—it will haunt your dreams. The guacamole, while not quite as good, is certainly worth a try, too. For your main course, the entire menu of Southern-Mexican tacos is solid, but we're a sucker for the shredded beef-brisket taco topped with subtly spicy pico de gallo.
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Masterpiece
$Set on a lonely stretch of Buford Highway in Duluth, Masterpiece might seem an oxymoronic name for a strip mall restaurant. But ask anyone plugged into Atlanta's food scene where to find the best Chinese in the city—perhaps even the South—and this is what they’ll name. In fact, the James Beard Foundation nominated chef Rui Liu for Best Chef in the Southeast in 2018. Inside the restaurant are simple tile floors, a smattering of tables, and framed photographs of Liu’s family, who runs the restaurant with him.
Heidi Geldhauser HarrisrestaurantTiny Lou's
$$$At Tiny Lou's, chef Jeb Aldrich doesn’t dial back the technicality on his classic French cuisine simply because he’s working above a strip club (it doesn't throw him, don't let it throw you). In fact, some of his most popular dishes are the most traditionally French, including the black cocoa foie gras torchon and steak frites with certified Angus culotte and crispy house frites. Don't fill up before dessert; try the Ode to Blondie, a kicked-up blondie a la mode named after the most popular dancer at the Clermont Lounge, the strip club downstairs.
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Andrew Thomas LeerestaurantSushi Hayakawa
$$In a city that likes its sushi joints to have sex appeal (see: Umi), Sushi Hayakawa is a conservative outlier. Set in a strip mall on Atlanta’s Buford Highway, Sushi Hayakawa has simple green walls, a smattering of tables, and a thick wooden sushi bar. Behind that bar is chef Atsushi Hayakawa, his signature red towel rolled around his head, slicing chunks of abalone flown in from Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market. This year, the James Beard Foundation nominated him for Best Chef in the Southeast, and if you want a front-row seat to the action, good luck. Reservations for his new omakase table are booked several weeks out. Sushi Hayakawa is a traditional sushiya, and if you wouldn’t find it in Japan, you won’t find it here. Still, there are plenty of crowd pleasers like thick-sliced fatty tuna nigiri served over warm rice with just a dot of potent wasabi.
Justin Crate/Courtesy SpringrestaurantSpring
$$When you get to Spring, you may have a hard time believing you're in the right place. Housed in the bones of a 1,000-square-foot former train depot, the restaurant is just a few blocks away from suburban Marietta Square; a simple green awning above the door bears no logo, just the word “Spring” in white sans-serif lettering. There are just 14 tables, each illuminated by a single Edison bulb—and, to top it all off, there's no bar. Could this really be the same spot our sister pub Bon Appétit named one of America’s best new restaurants in 2017? The short answer is yes. Chef Brian So employs classical French techniques to turn out perfectly executed, Southern-inflected dishes that keep both locals and city slickers coming back for more. Spring has a serious wine game too, and you’ll also find a nice variety of local beers, including Creature Comforts Tropicalia IPA from nearby Athens (more on our favorite college town here).
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Arnette's Chop Shop
$$$As all proper steakhouses should, Arnette’s knows how to shake up an excellent martini. (Try the signature Carnivore variety, speared by olives stuffed with bacon and blue cheese.) And if you want a stiff cocktail or reliable glass of cab to go with your steak, you’re in the right place. Arnette’s serves 10 cuts of Prime steaks, including a gargantuan 36-ounce Old World Tomahawk, but the way to go is the tender eight-ounce spinalis, a ribeye cut rarely seen on Atlanta menus. Sides include roasted mushrooms foraged from nearby Ellijay and sweet-and-spicy jalapeño cream corn. Crowd favorites like Arnette’s are popular for a reason. Come see why for yourself.
Andrew Thomas LeerestaurantLittle Rey
$$Don’t be deterred by the line wrapped around this cheery Tex-Mex joint—it moves quickly. Celebrated Atlanta restaurateur Ford Fry had tacos and margs down to a science well before opening this fast-casual restaurant in 2019 (thanks to his popular restaurants Superica and El Felix). He knows how to serve solid south-of-the-border eats while turning tables in a flash. If you’re lucky enough to arrive during breakfast hours, start your day right with the breakfast tacos—widely considered the best in town. For lunch or dinner, don’t miss the juicy wood-roasted chicken served with smoked onions and jalapeños, ranch beans, and cilantro rice. Wrap it all up with a cone of homemade soft-serve ice cream.
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Mia YakelrestaurantNina & Rafi
$$When Nina & Rafi opened in early 2019, all eyes were on co-founder Anthony Spina, who made a name for himself turning a square pizza called Grandma’s Pie into a religion at Duluth’s O4W Pizza. This time, the pizza he unveiled was the Detroit Red Top, made with a super-thick crust, marinara on top of the cheese, and a layer of baked cheese hugging the crust’s perimeter. Though Spina recently left the restaurant to brainstorm another pizza-parlor opening, the Detroit remains Atlanta’s pie darling—at least for now. There are additional pizza options on the menu (the thin-crust Old Fashioned, the Neapolitan-style round pie), as well as hearty appetizers like risotto rice balls and a chopped pizzeria salad. But the reason you’re here is the colossal Detroit, and it’s hard to find room for anything else. Come with your appetite, a loose pair of pants, and plenty of time.
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Courtesy Cubanos ATLrestaurantCubanos ATL
$Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Ozzy Llanes wanted to find an authentic Cuban sandwich shop in Atlanta, where he moved to work in finance. After years of searching to no avail, he decided to create his own. During the onset of the pandemic, he built a tiny house in his driveway. He then convinced a Sandy Springs shopping center to let him move said house onto its parking lot. By opening day in August 2020, Cubanos ATL already had 4,000 followers—and sold out of sandwiches in 45 minutes. Cubanos ATL doesn’t have a liquor license, but its dangerously strong four-ounce pour of colada (Cuban espresso) should require an I.D. Llanes also sells hard-to-find Cuban sodas such as pineapple-flavored Jupina and cream-soda-like Ironbeer.
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Rank StudiosrestaurantEl Tesoro
$Sometimes, pretty days call for great tacos, strong margs, and a perfect patio. El Tesoro has all three. The restaurant’s owners have found a star in Cristina Lugo Soto, who runs the kitchen with her daughter Mayra. Born in Mexico’s Guerrero region, Soto has no formal training but knows exactly how to make killer tamales (the secret is her homemade masa). El Tesoro also offers items rarely seen in Atlanta, such as comforting mulitas—two corn tortillas stuffed with chihuahua cheese and rajas, then griddled with more cheese on the outside. Order it with a side of the refried black beans. Weekend mornings, sample the brunch menu (find more of Atlanta's best brunch, here): There are tacos stuffed with migas and burritos filled with scrambled eggs and salchichon hot dogs.
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