The Best Restaurants in Decatur, by the Record
The best restaurants in Decatur, by the professional record: James Beard Awards, Michelin Guide, and The Infatuation have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. The Deer and the Dove comes out on top.
Chai Pani and The White Bull hold the next two places. The Infatuation shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with James Beard Awards next.
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Rank 1. The Deer and the Dove
Rustic New American
Salted yeast rolls arrive hot with garden herb butter before you've even made a decision, which tells you something about how this rustic neighborhood restaurant in Decatur operates. Terry Koval won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast, and the room earns it without trying to impress you. Cocktails lean playful, the vegetables get serious treatment, and the duck stays on the menu for good reason.
- 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 2. Chai Pani
South Asian Indian
String lights and vivid artwork set the tone at this colorful Indian street food restaurant in Decatur, where the menu reads like a series of small arguments for ordering just one more plate. The kitchen leans on local, seasonal ingredients for its South Asian cooking, and the format works as well for two as for a full table going family-style. A James Beard semifinalist and Michelin selected, it draws a crowd that tends to ignore the menu only because they already know what they want.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Meherwan Irani and Molly Irani - Chai Pani Restaurant Group
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
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Rank 3. The White Bull
Seasonal New American
The name nods to Hemingway's phrase for the blank page, though the room in Decatur's Court Square plays it subtle enough that you'd miss it without context. This is a seasonal New American restaurant where the kitchen mills its own flour and churns its own butter, which tells you roughly how seriously they're taking things. Small plates, house-made pastas, and main dishes move with the seasons. The Michelin Guide has it selected.
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Rank 4. Casa Balam
Mexican
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Rank 5. Heaps
New Zealand
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Rank 5. Mothers Best
Southern