The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Chai Pani
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Rank 1. Chai Pani
South Asian Indian
Strings of lights and colorful murals animate this Decatur dining room where the kitchen builds seasonally inspired South Asian cooking from local ingredients. Butter chicken arrives rich and silken; cauliflower in the gobi pepper fry is battered to a crisp shell, sharp with vinegar and heat. The menu's detailed descriptions and family-style portions make it easy to keep ordering.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Meherwan Irani and Molly Irani - Chai Pani Restaurant Group
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Sahar Siddiqi
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 2. Kimball House
Seafood
In a converted rail depot lined with tufted leather and dark wood, Kimball House pours craft cocktails and shucks more than twenty oysters, each tagged with tasting notes to guide the undecided. The beef tartare arrives studded with capers and a runny yolk; the desserts—butternut crunch cake, a reimagined Paris Brest—arrive as small arguments for why sweets deserve the final word.
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Miles Macquarrie
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Rank 3. The Deer and the Dove
Rustic New American
In a rustic dining room in Decatur, Terry Koval and his team build meals around house-made foundations: yeasted rolls with herb butter, pappardelle enriched with morels and whipped lemon ricotta, duck prepared two ways with its own bone jus. The cocktails—playfully named, impeccably constructed—suggest a kitchen that takes pleasure seriously without pretension.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Best Chef: Southeast · Terry Koval
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation #3 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
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Rank 4. Casa Balam
Mexican
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Rank 6. The White Bull
Seasonal New American
Pasquale Pascarella's spare, intelligent dining room in downtown Decatur pivots through seasons with small plates and hand-rolled pasta that taste of deliberate craft—butter churned in-house, flour milled on premises. The cooking whispers rather than shouts, as when corn tortelli arrives in its own amber sauce, or a peach hand pie closes the meal with quiet precision.
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Rank 7. Fawn Wine + Amaro
Seafood
In a Decatur storefront, Fawn courts diners with an amaro collection and seafood-forward à la carte—fritto misto, crudos, dry-aged fish—but reserves its ambition for the tasting menu, where housemade spaghettini meets hazelnut miso and uni, and fourteen-day dry-aged hiramasa arrives cured and forceful. The kitchen's playfulness extends to dessert.
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Rank 8. Mothers Best
Southern
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Rank 10. Heaps
New Zealand
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Rank 12. Evergreen Butcher + Baker
Artisanal Bakery
- The Infatuation Our Favorite Bakeries In The Country Right Now
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
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Rank 13. Madeira Park
Wine Bar
In Poncey-Highland's moody wine bar, the list—heavy on reserves and aged Madeira—sets the tone, but Chef Ollie Honderd's kitchen keeps pace with seasonal small plates (panisse, ham and cheese beignets) and evening entrées like bistro steak and seared tilefish over black lentils. Everything coheres, including the vanilla semifreddo with melon granita that closes the meal.
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Bars
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
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Rank 14. Buena Gente Cuban Bakery
Cuban Bakery
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Rank 15. Ticonderoga Club
Cocktail Bar
A narrow dining den tucked inside the Krog Street Market where mismatched bar stools and tropical light strings set the mood for Chef David Bies's playful, shareable cooking. Steak tartare and mussels in sake broth anchor a menu that moves between global touches and house staples, while rum cocktails lean cheerfully into the tiki aesthetic without pretense.
- Punch Industry Icon
- 50 Best 2026 · #85 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
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Rank 16. Poor Hendrix
Southern-Asian New American
A corner spot that trades pretense for genuine warmth, Poor Hendrix pivots its menu daily around contemporary Southern and Asian influences—shrimp skewers with Alabama barbecue sauce, cold spicy peanut noodles—prepared without ceremony. The room itself is intimate and slightly askew, the cocktails deft, the vibe the real draw.
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Claudia Martinez
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
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Rank 18. Georgia Boy
Creative New American
A hidden counter restaurant accessed through a secret door in Southern Belle's library, where Chef Joey Ward stages playful, experimental tasting menus with flourishes like seared snapper served with cereal and tableside coconut broth. The theatrical presentation and inventive cooking justify the special-occasion price.
- Eater Most Innovative Chef · Joey Ward
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation #6 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
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Rank 19. Gigi's
Italian
- Eater 2022 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation #15 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
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Rank 20. Delbar
Persian
At Delbar, a Middle Eastern kitchen built for sharing, chef Fares Kargar channels his childhood through spreads of dill labneh, crispy tahdig rice, and lamb neck so tender it yields to a glance. The room hums with the convivial spirit the name promises—a place where food becomes the grammar of connection.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation #7 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants Around Atlanta
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Rank 21. Nàdair
Scottish-influenced Southern
Tartan panels and ancestral rugs set the stage for Kevin Gillespie's Scottish-inflected kitchen, where mussels meet 'nduja and duck arrives lacquered with peach. A prix-fixe that honors lineage without pretense, closing with peanut butter chess pie that reconciles two culinary traditions.
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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Rank 22. Banshee
Creative New American
East Atlanta's Banshee works a studied casualness—whitewashed brick, wood floors—that frames a menu alive with genuine invention. Fry bread arrives hot with pepperoni butter; the corzetti yields to crab; beets and blackberries clash with aquavit vinegar in ways that feel eager rather than showy. A place where New American cooking knows its own appetites.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation #18 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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Rank 23. Tio Lucho's
Coastal Peruvian
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Arnaldo Castillo
- The Infatuation Where To Eat When You’re Visiting Atlanta
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants Around Atlanta
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Rank 24. Lazy Betty
Experimental
Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips orchestrate a tasting menu where regional Southern ingredients meet delicate Asian sensibilities. A tuna roll wrapped in translucent bluefin, mushroom and chestnut ravioli with potlikker vichyssoise, and honey-lacquered duck demonstrate a kitchen thinking clearly about flavor rather than flourish.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Infatuation Infatuation’s Highest-Rated Restaurants In America
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Ronald Hsu and Aaron Phillips
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- Food & Wine 2024 · Best New Chefs · Erika Council
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Erika Council
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Rank 26. BoccaLupo
American Italian
A neighborhood trattoria where Bruce Logue's modern Italian-American cooking—fried chicken parm with creamy collards, squid ink spaghetti with Calabrese sausage—lands with the ease of something both carefully made and utterly unpretentious. The focaccia alone, honey-brushed with house butter and aged balsamic, justifies a visit. Regulars pack the room for a reason.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Bruce Logue
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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Rank 27. Arepa Mia
Venezuelan
Lis Hernández's bright corner spot in Avondale Estates radiates genuine warmth, its colored chairs and painted walls a prelude to Venezuela on a plate. The grilled arepas—stuffed with fried chicken and mango salsa, or pernil sweet with caramelized onions—arrive generous and unfussy, the kind of cooking that needs no embellishment.
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Rank 29. Brewhouse
Beer Bar
In Little Five Points, Brewhouse Cafe trains its screens on soccer matches and international sports with the intensity of a true partisan. The beer list spans continents, the wings arrive lemon-pepper or incendiary, and the Painkiller cocktail scales its proof to match the fervor of the crowd.
- Eater The Best Sports Bars in Atlanta for Watching the World Cup and More
- The Infatuation The 18 Best Bars In Atlanta
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Rank 31. Fishmonger
Southern Seafood
A working fish market where a communal table and counter seating overlook the cases of daily catch. Order at the back—oysters, crudos, sandwiches—but expect Southern inflection: the blackened grouper sandwich arrives on a buttered seeded bun with Florida sauce and pickled peppers, generously spiced and without pretense. The gumbo is hearty, the specials driven by what came off the boats.
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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Rank 32. Southern Belle
Contemporary Southern
A neon-blue "Bless Your Heart" glows above the bar at this Ponce de Leon fixture where Chef Joey Ward transforms seasonal produce into dishes of surprising refinement—strawberry gazpacho, braised lamb loin, olive oil cake with lime curd. The charm here is genuine, earned through the kitchen's evident care rather than calculated nostalgia.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants Around Atlanta
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Joey Ward
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Rank 34. Gunshow
New American
A dinner party perpetually in motion: Kevin Gillespie's tapas kitchen sends out a family-style parade of restless invention—strawberry and green garlic tarts topped with pop rocks, pork ribs glazed in tamarind and rose, cheese foam with grapefruit sorbet—each plate a small argument between sweet and savory that somehow works.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation Where To Eat When You’re Visiting Atlanta
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants Around Atlanta
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- The Infatuation Where To Eat When You’re Visiting Atlanta
- The Infatuation The 18 Best Bars In Atlanta
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. East
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. East
- The Infatuation The 18 Best Bars In Atlanta
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Rank 38. El Malo
Latin/Caribbean
- The Infatuation Where To Eat When You’re Visiting Atlanta
- The Infatuation The 18 Best Bars In Atlanta
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Rank 39. Bread & Butterfly
Haitian French
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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Rank 40. AG, Modern Bar And Steakhouse
New American
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Rank 41. Whoopsie's
Southern
The kind of neighborhood spot that rewrites itself daily: a plastic cafeteria tray arrives laden with pimento cheese, chow chow, and pork terrine, while the kitchen rotates through prime rib and golden-skinned chicken thighs, each joined by sides that work as standalone dishes. Portions are generous, technique modest but sure, and if pecan pie appears for dessert, you've won the day.
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A light-filled deli with retro-chic charm serves matzoh ball soup with restorative broth and smoked Nova on bagels with the confidence of a New York institution. The cheesecake is classically creamy, the black-and-white photographs a reminder that this food's appeal runs deep.
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Rank 44. Staplehouse
New American
In Old Fourth Ward, Staplehouse trades white tablecloths for a counter and casual courtyard where diners order, drink, and linger over seasonal pizzas and charcuterie. The kitchen pivots its limited menu daily, treating each board and sandwich as an expression of what's fresh and available.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation #22 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
- Eater 2016 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 45. La Semilla
Latin (Vegan)
- Eater 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants Around Atlanta
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Rank 49. Emerald City Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
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Rank 50. Ela
Mediterranean
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Rank 53. Madre Selva
Peruvian
- The Infatuation 2025 · #4 · The Top-Rated New Restaurants
- The Infatuation #9 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
- The Infatuation 2025 · #1 · Atlanta’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 55. El Tesoro
Mexican
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Rank 56. Majestic Diner
Southern
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Rank 60. Fred's Meat & Bread
American
Inside the Krog Street Market, Fred's operates from a modest counter where sandwiches arrive towering and unapologetic: a pimento cheese club crowned with fried green tomatoes and crispy bacon, an Italian grinder heavy with provolone and cherry pepper relish, fries dusted in barbecue spice. The bread is seared, the portions are excessive, and everything tastes purposefully over the top.
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Rank 61. Superica
Mexican
The original Superica, housed in a soaring Krog Street Market space with an open kitchen, serves approachable Tex-Mex that justifies the crowds. Paper-thin tortillas and saucy enchiladas arrive in a buzzy industrial setting meant for sharing and lingering over margaritas.
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Rank 63. Aria
New American
- AAA Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Hospitality
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
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Rank 64. Emerald City Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
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Rank 65. Ria's Bluebird
American
- The Infatuation Where To Eat When You’re Visiting Atlanta
- The Infatuation #20 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
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- The Infatuation Where To Eat When You’re Visiting Atlanta
- The Infatuation The 18 Best Bars In Atlanta
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This loungey sports bar in a reclaimed Parish building trades rowdiness for sleek comfort, its walls lined with screens and its kitchen turning out loaded nachos and warm crab dip without pretense. It is the sort of place where the game matters more than the décor, which is precisely the point.
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Rank 71. Atlas
New American
Inside the St. Regis, Chef Freddy Money's restaurant pairs rotating fine art with a seasonal American menu enriched by European technique—lobster with smoked paprika butter, sherry-caramelized sweetbreads, Australian wagyu—all delivered in a room designed for celebration rather than restraint.
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In East Atlanta Village, this corner pub trains its gaze on soccer—especially during the World Cup—while the beer list ranges from local breweries to European imports. The kitchen leans Irish: fish and chips, bangers and mash, a brunch on weekends that feels built for the crowd that lingers over a pint.
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Rank 74. Home Grown
Southern
In Reynoldstown's knotty-pine booths, Home Grown serves breakfast and lunch with the unassuming air of a neighborhood fixture, though its daily specials—tamales, snapper tacos, frog legs—suggest deeper ambitions. A buttermilk biscuit crowned with crisp chicken and sausage gravy arrives as proof that restraint and audacity need not conflict.
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Rank 75. Estrellita
Modern Filipino
A narrow room where owners Hope Webb and Walter Cortado serve Filipino classics with a modern sensibility. The roasted pork belly lechon arrives Cebu-style with crackling skin and lemongrass, while beef lumpia—crispy wrappers around Angus and vegetables—suggests refinement without pretense. Walk-ins only; patience rewards.
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Rank 77. So So Fed
Lao Thai
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Rank 78. Desta Ethiopian Kitchen
Ethiopian
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Rank 79. Lyla Lila
Southern European Mediterranean
Craig Richards' Lyla Lila pairs moody interiors with southern European cooking centered on house-made pasta—the crispy duck lasagna with cocoa béchamel and ricotta-miso gnocchetti are unmissable. Roasted proteins and finishes like chocolate-orange mousse arrive with the precision of someone who understands restraint and the logic of a meal.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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Rank 80. Bomb Biscuit Company
Southern
What began as a pop-up evolved into a casual breakfast spot where the smell of fresh biscuits—traditional, jalapeño-cheddar, stacked with hot honey chicken—still dominates the newer, more spacious room. The cinnamon rolls arrive glazed with tangy cream cheese, but it's the biscuits themselves, built thick and buttery, that justify the pilgrimage.
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Rank 81. The Colonnade Restaurant
Historic Southern
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Rank 83. Daily Chew
Mediterranean
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Rank 84. Southern National
Southern
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Duane Nutter
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
- The Infatuation Where To Eat When You’re Visiting Atlanta
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Rank 85. Little Bear
International
In Summerhill, Jarrett Stieber's open kitchen sends out an eclectic, frequently shifting menu that pulls from culinary traditions across the globe. The dining room buzzes with locals and their dogs, all orbiting the bar for biscuits and dishes like spiced lamb with red pea doubanjiang or earthy chicken liver custard—a modest restaurant that takes nothing for granted.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Infatuation #14 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants Around Atlanta
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Rank 90. Mary Mac's Tea Room
Southern
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In Summerhill's industrial-meets-vintage dining room, Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter marry Thai fundamentals with Georgia's seasonal bounty, anchoring their menu in raw seafood and incendiary small plates. The crab-and-pork curry arrives subtle and layered, while house-pressed coconut milk curries reward the heat-seekers prowling a no-reservation counter that moves fast and uncompromising.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: Southeast · Rod Lassiter and Parnass Savang
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Rod Lassiter and Parnass Savang
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 92. La Grotta
Northern Italian
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Rank 94. Das BBQ
Texas-Style Barbecue
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Woofs relocated to a larger space on Plasters Avenue, where two dozen screens broadcast everything from Atlanta United matches to the Olympics across its bar. The kitchen turns out tacos and wings while regulars settle in for college football and Braves games, and the room doubles as a gathering place for local queer sports leagues and charity nights.
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Rank 98. Avize
European
A boho-rustic dining room that channels alpine lodge warmth while Chef Karl Gorline executes a modernist take on cross-border mountain cuisine—frog legs and venison tartare give way to seared scallops with charred potato, duck, and American wagyu handled with equal precision. The wine list matches the cooking's continental scope, and black sesame tiramisu closes the meal on an unexpected note.
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service · Taurean Philpott
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 99. Antico Pizza Napoletana
Neapolitan Pizza
At a counter beneath overhead menus, you order Neapolitan pizza while the cavernous dining room hums with the sight of dough stretching across three open ovens. Di Palma's pies—whether topped with truffle and cippolini or deconstructed meatball and ricotta—arrive with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what pizza should be.
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