The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Highland Tap
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Rank 2. 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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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 4. Ela
Mediterranean
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Rank 8. 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 9. 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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Rank 10. 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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- 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 13. 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 14. Aria
New American
- AAA Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Hospitality
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
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Rank 15. 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 16. 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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Rank 17. 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 18. 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 19. 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 20. 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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- 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 23. 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 24. 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 26. La Grotta
Northern Italian
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Rank 27. 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 28. AG, Modern Bar And Steakhouse
New American
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Rank 29. 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.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service · Taurean Philpott
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
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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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- 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 32. 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 33. 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 34. 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 35. Mujō
Sushi
Chef J. Trent Harris runs a sushi counter of Southern cypress in a darkened West Midtown room where omakase pivots between playfulness and precision—grilled cobia with red miso and charred squash give way to nigiri and Hokkaido crab, each course tended with visible care. Tradition yields to surprise here, and dessert arrives as something earned rather than obligatory.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Southeast · J. Trent Harris
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 36. Bacchanalia
New American
Dark wood and Edison bulbs frame a dining room where Georgia produce takes center stage across a four-course prix fixe with theatrical touches—dishes emerge on carts, beneath glass cloches—and genuine choice. A crab fritter has anchored the menu since opening; a grapefruit soufflé with pistachio crumble and rose cream closes it with restraint and precision. Handsome without pretense.
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Rank 38. Majestic Diner
Southern
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Rank 40. Gigi's
Italian
- Eater 2022 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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- Esquire 2024 · Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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Rank 42. The Colonnade Restaurant
Historic Southern
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Rank 43. 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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Rank 44. 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 45. 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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Rank 46. Hayakawa
Sushi
Chef Atsushi Hayakawa seats a handful of diners at his dark-stone counter in an office tower, where seasonal processions move from delicate broths through vinegared octopus before arriving at substantial nigiri of flown-in fish. His buoyant command of the room and Hokkaido-style generosity suggest a chef indifferent to restraint.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Atsushi Hayakawa
- The Infatuation #5 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
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Rank 47. O by Brush
Omakase Sushi
Chef Jason Liang's omakase counter transforms hay-smoked fish and dry-aged cuts into a procession of precise, small revelations. The sake program matches each course with the same careful attention that defines this Michelin-starred counter tucked inside a luxury shopping center.
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Rank 48. 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 50. 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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Rank 51. 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 52. 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 53. Casa Balam
Mexican
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Rank 54. Daily Chew
Mediterranean
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Rank 55. 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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- The Infatuation Where To Eat When You’re Visiting Atlanta
- The Infatuation The 18 Best Bars In Atlanta
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Rank 58. Omakase Table
Japanese
Chef Leonard Yu commands a intimate counter where traditional omakase unfolds with seasonal precision, each course—from wagyu in sukiyaki to seared sole—executed without artifice. The meal culminates in restrained elegance: uni gohan with otoro and a delicate panna cotta that feels inevitable rather than showy.
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Rank 59. Miller Union
Seasonal Southern
In a restored warehouse where the old stockyards once stood, Steven Satterfield and Neal McCarthy build their menu around the season—cornbread panzanella gives way to seared duck with corn pancakes and blueberry mostarda. The cooking is direct and generous, rooted in Southern tradition but never nostalgic, and the blondie with rum raisin ice cream suggests they understand how a meal should end.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation #13 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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Rank 60. 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 61. Lucky Star
Taiwanese
A sleek lobby café by day and cocktail bar by night, Lucky Star pivots between Taiwanese comfort food—braised beef scallion pancakes, oyster omelets, house-made pastries—and evening drinks with confident precision. The green velvet and polished surfaces suggest a place that takes both its morning coffee and its after-dark cocktails seriously.
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Rank 62. Little Sparrow
Bistro French
A compact French bistro where the namesake's spirit lingers in the details: warm baguette and cultured butter arrive first, followed by onion soup and beef tartare that refuse nostalgia. Pork belly and schnitzel anchor the menu, but the triple-fried fries—thick-cut, served with aïoli or Béarnaise—are the argument for coming back.
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times 2024 · French Onion Soup · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 63. 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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Rank 65. 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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Rank 67. 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 68. 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 71. Emerald City Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
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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 74. Southern National
Southern
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Duane Nutter
- The Infatuation #11 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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Rank 75. Desta Ethiopian Kitchen
Ethiopian
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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 78. 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 82. 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 83. 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 85. Mothers Best
Southern
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Rank 87. Mary Mac's Tea Room
Southern
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A self-serve beer hall on Peachtree where eighty taps dispense everything from pilsner to pale ale while twenty screens flicker above—the operative word is *you* pour, *you* pay, no intermediary required. The wings and cheeseburgers arrive as expected; the point is the frictionless efficiency of a place built for watching sports without ceremony or markup.
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Rank 89. Marcel
Steakhouse
Low lighting and red leather wrap a speakeasy-style steakhouse on the west side, where Ford Fry channels midcentury glamour through dry-aged beef and French sides like pommes aligot. Steak tartare arrives with bone marrow and sourdough; the côte de boeuf is substantial and properly tended. A expensive proposition, but the theater and precision justify the ticket.
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Rank 90. Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours
Modern Southern
Deborah VanTrece's cooking takes the architecture of Southern soul food and reassembles it into something more urgent and strange—a spread sampler arrives as pimento cheese fondue, black-eyed pea salsa, creamed collards. The fried chicken, paired with three-cheese mac and cornbread collard rolls, lands not as nostalgia but as argument.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Deborah VanTrece
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Kursten Berry
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 92. Pink Lotus
Thai
- The Infatuation #12 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Atlanta
- The Infatuation 2025 · #2 · Atlanta’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 93. Emerald City Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
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Rank 94. 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 97. Xi’an Gourmet House
Xi'an Noodles
A Midtown counter-service outpost where Xi'an street cooking takes precedence over ceremony. Wide, hand-pulled biang biang noodles arrive properly seasoned with cumin and chili; the boiled dumplings—pork, lamb, or both—matter just as much, their pale surfaces glistening under a house-made sauce that does all the work. This is cooking that knows what it's after.
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Rank 98. 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 100. El Tesoro
Mexican