In the Where to Eat: 25 Best series, we’re highlighting our favorite restaurants in cities across the United States. These lists will be updated as restaurants close and open, and as we find new gems to recommend. As always, we pay for all of our meals and don’t accept free dishes.
Banshee
East Atlanta | Eclectic American
The pepperoni butter that comes alongside three little rounds of fry bread has gotten so popular that Banshee now sells it by the pint for $10. But that’s not the only delicious innovation coming from the kitchen run by the executive chef Nolan Wynn and the chef de cuisine Ben Lee. They grill habanadas, the fruity heatless relatives of habaneros, tiger-skin style and add puffed rice and black beans. They use hibiscus to highlight the beets in a dish of fall root vegetables and sprinkle tres leches tiramisu with thyme salt. It’s just the right food for a funky, sexy restaurant that has helped define the East Atlanta vibe since Mr. Wynn and three longtime friends opened it in 2018.
Bread & Butterfly
Inman Park | French, African Diaspora
After a series of pop-ups, Demetrius Brown quietly took over a much-loved French cafe and transformed dinner into a showcase for French cuisine as interpreted by Caribbean cooks, particularly those from Haiti. Cilantro, thyme and epis, the herbaceous spice blend, perfume a delicate interpretation of the classic beef patty. In the same way, Mr. Brown uses English peas and local mushrooms to enhance djon-djon, a dish named after a type of Haitian mushroom. He marinates halibut for escovitch, and marries single-origin Haitian chocolate with coconut ice cream. The kitchen-driven cocktail list gets a special nod, especially nonalcoholic surprises made with snap pea juice and matcha. If more traditional French food is what you had in mind, there are always the lunch and breakfast menus.
Bomb Biscuits
Old Fourth Ward | Southern
You can find biscuits everywhere in the South, but you’ll only find ones with this lineage at Bomb Biscuits. Here, the former software engineer Erika Council pays homage to a long line of culinary Black women, including her grandmother Mildred Cotton Council, who opened the enduring soul food restaurant Mama Dip’s Country Kitchen in Chapel Hill, N.C. At this little brick storefront in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, the thing to get is the Glori-Fried Chicken Biscuit. It’s built with a thigh that has been marinated in spiced buttermilk, then fried until it’s crunchy. A dip in a thin, hot honey sauce is good, but the lemon-pepper version is her love letter to Atlanta.
BoccaLupo
Inman Park | Italian
Walking into BoccaLupo, tucked into a low-slung building in one of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods, can feel like you’ve arrived at a house party in full-tilt mode. The bar dominates the front room, and the people making drinks take their creations very seriously. (The rum-based Pirates of Dark Water has simple syrup made from brown sugar and squid with a mezcal rinse). The menu is based on Italian cuisine but Bruce Logue, the chef and owner, veers onto creative side roads, like Southern fried chicken Parm with a side of creamy collards. Still, the classics are in play when he hand-cuts 20-yolk tagliatelle or works fresh Georgia shrimp into risotto.
The Busy Bee
Vine City | Southern
As Miss Lawrence, the singer and salon owner who for years was a regular on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” says: “Everybody and their mama has been to Busy Bee.” That includes the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was fond of the ham hocks, and Vice President Kamala Harris, who like almost every major political candidate before her stopped by in a quest for higher office. Tracy Gates owns the place, which Lucy Jackson, known as Mama Lucy, started in 1947 when Jim Crow laws restricted where Black-owned businesses could open. The fried chicken remains a classic of the Southern genre, but oxtails with gravy and baked turkey wings with cornbread dressing have a solid fan base. Pick your vegetables and sides dishes from a list on the board, in the manner of the classic Southern meat-and-three. Steamed cabbage and fried okra ought to be among them.
Chai Pani
Decatur | Indian
Meherwan Irani and his wife, Molly, have created a lovely Indian food ecosystem in the South, and Chai Pani is the star. What started as an Indian street food restaurant in Asheville, N.C., expanded to a walkable Atlanta suburb in 2013, the menu shifting to homey dishes from the state Gujarat. In a casual spot that was once home to a gas station and then the original Watershed restaurant, the exuberant menu moves beyond kale pakoras and classic chaat to include fried catfish Bengali-style served on griddled pav, the yeasty Indian rolls you can also get stuffed with spicy fried potato dumplings. Okra, cut into matchsticks, flash fried and tossed with salt and chaat masala, is on nearly every table.
The Colonnade
Morningside | Southern
Here’s all you probably need to know to understand the Colonnade, one of Atlanta’s oldest restaurants: The menu has a tomato aspic that tastes a little like a Bloody Mary, and a platter of chicken gizzards fried with the same Southern perfection as the Gulf shrimp and the chicken. The feel here is like a Midwest supper club’s Southern cousin, with servers who don’t need to write down your order (the place long shunned a computer system) and tables filled with regulars. Both the cocktails and the platters of food are quite generous. Always ask for extra yeast rolls and an order of fried okra. For dessert? Coconut icebox pie, of course.
Das BBQ
Grant Park | Barbecue
With its rows of smokers, a cooler full of Fanta and taps pouring local beer, Das BBQ is an easy-to-love barbecue spot that highlights the wide-ranging smoked meat amalgam that defines Georgia’s style. Although the pork isn’t pulled from the whole hog like it is at the South Carolina pitmaster Rodney Scott’s Atlanta outpost, it is a fine example of how good a slow-smoked shoulder can be (made even better with a hit of vinegary North Carolina-style sauce). The turkey and brisket are equally solid choices for your tray, either naked or dressed with a slightly sweet hot sauce. A proper rendition of macaroni and cheese is made with shells and extra sharp Cheddar. There are two locations, but the one in Grant Park, which is a short walk from the city’s historic Oakland Cemetery and stocked with games like cornhole and bocce, is the one to visit.
Dumpling Factory
Midtown | Chinese
Buford Highway, a state road that stretches into the northern reaches of the greater metro Atlanta area, is home to hundreds of taquerias, halal markets, pho shops, international grocers and Korean barbecues. If time and transportation allows, the possibilities are endless. But if you need a taste of Buford closer to the city center, Dumpling Factory can scratch the itch. It’s a recent offshoot from Fan Zhang, owner of Northern China Eatery, a favorite spot in Doraville where the wait for a table can stretch past an hour. The bright counter-service dumpling house in a newly refurbished 15-acre industrial complex called Westside Paper is a greatest hits menu, with handmade buns, soup dumplings and potstickers, along with a few noodle dishes and fried rice. If they’ve got dumplings filled with lamb and cilantro, don’t say no.
Fishmonger
Poncey-Highland | Seafood
Atlantans always seem to long for more spots that directly connect what comes from the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico to what’s on the plate. Fishmonger, which Skip Engelbrecht and Nhan Le opened along with the chef Bradford Forsblom after the pandemic shutdown, scratches that itch. What started as a cramped-but-fun counter-service restaurant and retail seafood shop in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood has added two more outposts, all centered on cooking sustainable seafood. The fan favorite remains a grouper sandwich, blackened and set on a buttery toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, lots of herbs and pickled peppers, and a dill-forward miso-mayo Florida sauce. Messy New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp are glorious, and if you are lucky, a seafood boil might be the special. If all else fails, order the seafood chowder built with a subtle fumet and finished with a punch of nori butter.
Gigi’s Italian Kitchen
Candler Park | Italian
The spirit at Gigi’s Italian Kitchen, tucked inside a former diner in a neighborhood named after an early Coca-Cola magnate, is decidedly nostalgic red-sauce Italian, but the cooking is seasonal and free-form. The small menu always has one or two housemade pastas, but the chefs Jacob Armando and Eric Brooks will likely be searing duck or brassicas on a yakitori grill and making deft use of fish roe, local mushrooms and togarashi, too. The amaro list is on point and so are the delicate blocks of tiramisu served for dessert.
Heirloom Market BBQ
Akers Mill | Barbecue
Getting to this open-air spot next to a little grocery store is a bit of a drive from the city center. The reward is barbecue that marries the best flavors of Korea and the American South. The former K-pop star Jiyeon Lee and her husband, the Tennessee-raised Cody Taylor, rub gochujang into spare ribs, punch up coleslaw with kimchi and inject miso into brisket smoked for 12 hours. They make five sauces every day, including a sweet-and-spicy wing sauce that is terrific with an order of Korean-style fried chicken. But no one should leave without tasting their banana pudding topped with perfectly toasted meringue.
Kimball House
Decatur | Seasonal American
For 11 years now, local chefs have been heading to this restored train depot for expertly shucked oysters and drinks that range from pristine martinis to fresh peach-and-absinthe frappés. Arturo Justo, the executive chef, will turn fresh grouper into crudo or set a sautéed fillet over Sea Island red peas, mushrooms and poblano peppers. And as much as the owners are deeply dedicated to seafood, the kitchen puts forth a serious meat program. Pork comes in belly, porterhouse and chop form, and any of the five cuts of beef arrive with a tidy slice of potato pavé, okra and a perfect onion ring. Spend the extra $6 for a best-in-class maître d’ butter and order any sorbet built with local fruit.
La Semilla
Reynoldstown | Latin Vegan
Vegan restaurants seem to be constantly evolving, and La Semilla is a lovely example. Sophia Marchese and Reid Trapani have developed a smart menu of pan-Latin dishes that lead with deliciousness. Some, like the spicy dip sikil pak with pumpkin seeds and tomato, are inherently vegan. Others, like seitan carnitas on a hand-pressed tortillas, an ode to the Taco Bell crunchwrap, or the Cubano sandwich with jackfruit, make smart use of meat alternatives. The vibe is sweet, the service focused and the bar a friendly landing spot. Of particular note: cocktails built with tinctures and syrups made from kitchen scraps, part of La Semilla’s zero-waste policy.
Little Sparrow
Westside Provisions District | French
Opened last year, Little Sparrow is a relative newcomer to the constellation of Ford Fry’s restaurants and certainly his most evolved. It’s pure French brassiere, with Gruyère-coated bowls of French onion soup, Dover sole meunière presented tableside and a towering green salad wearing a light vinaigrette. The star is steak haché: coarsely chopped rib-eye seasoned and formed into a square patty with a crunchy crust and a medium-rare center. It comes topped with a dollop of herb butter and a stack of thick, thrice-cooked fries. Walk past the crème brûlée and chocolate souffle and head directly for the Basque cheesecake.
Lyla Lila
Midtown | Italian
Lyla Lila is the sophisticated and comfortable restaurant Atlanta’s booming Midtown neighborhood needed. The name comes from the daughters of a co-owner, Billy Streck (Lila), and the chef, Craig Richards (Lyla). A pasta magician, Mr. Richards makes great use of the region’s Sapelo Island clams, fresh Atlantic shrimp and produce like okra and peaches on a menu that reads more Italian than Southern. Snapper crudo comes dressed in cucumber juice and caviar, with a kick of chile oil. He stacks thin sheets of pasta into a crispy duck lasagna with cocoa béchamel, or rolls it into pappardelle specked with flowers and herbs to hold a ragù of beef cheeks and figs. The bar is great place to eat or drink, with a big beverage book holding plenty of low- or no-intervention Italian wines and inventive zero-proof picks.
Lucian Books and Wine
Buckhead | Seasonal American
That this perfect oasis in Atlanta’s shiny, celeb-heavy Buckhead neighborhood was named after Lucian Freud, the renowned British painter and grandson of Sigmund, is only one indication of its sensibilities. Here you’ll find creamy omelets with caviar spooned over the top and French fries exactly the way you want them: crisp with hot, tender interiors, served with herbed mayonnaise. A roasted duck leg with crackling skin is married with lady peas and cherry tomatoes. Ricotta gnudi might show up dressed in morels and English peas or cherry tomatoes and basil. All of it is served in a warm, light-filled cafe with about 40 seats, a small bar and a towering arched walnut bookshelf of art, fashion and cooking volumes for sale, selected by Katie Barringer, who owns the place with her husband, Jordan Smelt, the gifted wine director.
The Magic City Kitchen
Downtown | American
One could argue that no other city is as wing-centric as Atlanta, where almost 40 percent of all wing orders involve some form of lemon pepper spice. The best wing spot is very much up for debate, but the wings at Magic City hold a special place in Atlanta lore because they are served at the city’s most famous strip club, frequented by high-profile music executives, actors, professional athletes and tourists on their way to airport. They can honestly say they go for the wings, which are small and seasoned to the bone, with a perfect ratio of crisp skin to meat. The breaded version with a side of hot sauce is righteous, too. It’s too bad they swapped coated fries for crinkle-cuts, and the terrific blue cheese dressing will make you wish they would add some celery to the menu. Still and all, an order of lemon pepper wet here is a true Atlanta experience. (Get them to go Keith Lee style if the club isn’t your thing.)
Miller Union
Westside | Seasonal Southern
With Miller Union, Steven Satterfield has emerged as a star of the new Southern culinary movement pioneered in the 1990s by restaurants like Bacchanalia and the now-closed original Watershed. A regular at the farmers’ market, he looks to express the best of the region’s agriculture in a deeply seasonal cadence. His salad of field peas and peanuts with ricotta and mint manages to be both contemporary and country, as does cornmeal-fried okra with garam masala. To get the full Satterfield effect, order his five-item vegetable plate. (In the summer, hope he is making succotash, a paragon of the corn, butter beans and sweet onion mix.) The lively general manager and co-owner Neal McCarthy oversees a tight wine list focused on small producers, and Claudia Martinez creates precise desserts with savory and tropical flavors.
Mujō
Westside Provisions District | Japanese
In a world of bromasake restaurants and overpriced tasting menus, Mujō stands as a model of how to experience a long, mediative evening of fish punctuated by a playlist that always includes a taste of Atlanta hip-hop. The executive chef, J. Trent Harris, lured from New York by the Atlanta restaurateur Federico Castellucci, presides over a luxurious evening of Edomae-style sushi, centered on 10 pieces of fish, each lightly aged to achieve texture and flavor and delivered on seasoned rice calibrated to a precise temperature. The meal, which starts with three small dishes and ends with roasted sesame ice cream with miso rum caramel, is delivered across a 15-seat cypress counter that is smoothed and softened by a daily sanding. The service, led by the maître d’ Katy Reese, levels up hospitality in a city where it can be wildly uneven.
Nàdair
Woodland Hills | Scottish Southern
Nàdair is the Scottish-Southern mash-up no one knew American dining needed. It’s the latest and most personal restaurant from Kevin Gillespie, the red-bearded chef who became a star in the early seasons of “Top Chef.” With a carpet woven in the colors of his family’s tartan and a pocketful of his Scottish granny’s recipes, you’d think the place would be a stodgy tribute to oats and haggis. It’s anything but. Yes, there is haggis, but it’s a clever vegetarian version in crisp pastry with peated whiskey cream and mushroom velouté. A tender cornmeal crust gives a Scottish cheese and onion pie a Georgia kiss. Lacquered pork shoulder that takes a couple of weeks to cure and smoke arrives with a collard-green dumpling. A small plate with fancy twists on sweet Scottish classics like tablet candy and snowball cookies sends you off into the Atlanta night.
Southern National
Summerhill | Modern Southern
Born in Louisiana but raised in Seattle, Duane Nutter has become a sort of culinary godfather of the South. A longtime fixture in Atlanta kitchens, he went on to mix sushi and Southern classics at One Flew South in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport along with the chef Todd Richards. He opened the first iteration of Southern National in Mobile, Ala., with his business partner, Reggie Washington. They’ve since moved operations to Summerhill, a charmingly scruffy Atlanta neighborhood. The restaurant is sleek and soothing with a well-appointed bar. Mr. Nutter’s bread basket is filled with sheet-pan biscuits and jalapeño johnnycakes, and his menu with fresh takes like “lamburger helper,” a rich dish of mini rigatoni, fennel-spiced lamb and lots of mozzarella. He spices crispy fried chicken thighs with berber and usually has a nice take on red fish. Vegetarians can expect dishes like tandoori cauliflower.
Star Provisions
Blandtown | Farm to Table
Imagine if your favorite farm-to-table chef opened a roadhouse stocked with all her favorite things. That’s Star Provisions, a bakery and easy stop for breakfast or lunch that reflects the sensibilities of Anne Quatrano, who has done more to change the landscape of Atlanta dining than any other chef. There are always a couple dozen lunch options, flaky fruit hand pies and cookies, and several breakfast biscuits and sandwiches — including a perfect one made with a barely runny fried egg with bacon and bitter greens on a soft roll. She also sells eggs from her farm, along with some of her favorite local cheeses and a host of lovely items to make your table prettier and kitchen more functional.
Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours
Blandtown | Global Southern
Deborah VanTrece has been cooking in Atlanta for a long time, but her star has recently risen with her first cooking show, “Global Soul Kitchen,” and her role creating the menu for the American Express Centurion Lounge at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport — fitting for a former flight attendant. Her welcoming restaurant centers on what she calls global soul food. She pairs perfectly crisp fried green tomatoes with truffled burrata, coats oxtails in hoisin and makes a riff on Polish cabbage rolls with collard greens and ham hocks. She can also nail the classics, like cola-cured pork chops for dinner and fried chicken on vanilla-scented waffles for brunch. The cocktail list is its own adventure, with drinks like the Southern Playalistic Cadillac Martini made with bacon-infused vodka, brown sugar, walnut liqueur and a touch of sage.
Talat Market
Summerhill | Thai
Thai-Georgian cuisine is not a thing anywhere else, but in this buzzy industrial space in the Summerhilll neighborhood, a great argument can be made for why it should be more widespread. Parnass Savang, who cooks alongside Rod Lassiter, took what he learned in his parents’ Thai restaurant in a northern suburb of Atlanta and overlaid formal chef’s training to create a bright, precise menu that offers surprise after surprise. There’s serious heat in the Laotian laap built from mushrooms instead of meat and a subtle seasonality in his version of som tom, with butternut squash standing in for green papaya. Crispy skinned trout is married with green curry made with hand-pressed coconut. The cocktails meander through a creative set of ingredients that might include lemongrass or makrut lime, mixed with unusual spirits like Mexican mango eau de vie. The room is as fun as the food.
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