Where to Eat in Atlanta

Where to Eat in Atlanta
By KIM SEVERSON FEB. 16, 2016
Visitors frequently ask me where to eat in Atlanta. Solid picks are spread throughout the several
counties that make up the greater Atlanta region. You could make a day of it just driving up and
down Buford Highway eating pho and kimchi and exploring markets that sell everything that a
cook from Ethiopia or Bombay may need. But for people in town for just a meal or two, I usually
offer them options inside the city.
CreditRich Addicks for The New York Times
WHERE ATLANTA CHEFS WILL LIKELY TELL YOU TO GO
Cakes and Ale
Billy Allin’s pitch-perfect Decatur restaurant is iconoclastic but draws from the South’s pantry.
“He’s so talented and stubborn and everything a chef should be,” said Anne Quatrano, whose own
fleet of restaurants (Bacchanalia, Little Bacch, Floataway Café and Star Provisions) are all standup options, too.
155 Sycamore Street, Decatur, 404-377-7994; cakesandalerestaurant.com.
CreditGoodness Studios
BEST BARBECUE
Community Q BBQ
Atlanta isn’t really a barbecue town. For that, you may want to head to North Carolina or Texas.
But pulled pork and macaroni and cheese made with penne and three cheeses will satisfy.
1361 Clairmont Road, Decatur, 404-633-2080; communityqbbq.com.
CreditAndrew Thomas Lee
BEST BREAKFAST
General Muir
The chef Todd Ginsberg created an oasis of a Jewish deli that does dinner, too. Get one of the best
bagels in the South, hand-cut pastrami and a righteous cheeseburger. (The lunch menu version is
better than dinner.) Shalom, y’all.
1540 Avenue Place, Suite B-230, 678-927-9131; thegeneralmuir.com.
CreditBart Sasso
BEST PLACE TO FIND A CULT BARTENDER
Ticonderoga Club
This odd little restaurant and bar is where Greg Best and Paul Calvert, whom many say are the
best in the city, work magic. David Bies cooks food that is both old fashioned and innovative, with
dishes that vary from Hasselback potatoes to papaya and butternut salad with maple nuoc mam.
Bonus: A trip here offers a chance to explore the Krog Street Market, one of Atlanta’s new food
halls.
99 Krog Street NE, Suite W, 404-458-4534; ticonderogaclub.com.
CreditMarcus Ryan
BEST OXTAIL AND FRIED CHICKEN
The Busy Bee Cafe
A lunch spot that has been making food since 1947, and anyone who knows anything about
Atlanta politics and Southern cooking has paid a visit. It’s a meat and three to love. And it’s
almost always busy.
810 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW, 404-525-9212; thebusybeecafe.com.
CreditDustin Chambers for The New York Times
BEST FOOD TO RIVAL NEW YORK’S
Staplehouse and Gunshow (Tied)
Kevin Gillespie’s loud, rapid-fire Gunshow, where you can get a crazy take on beef Wellington or
duck legs in red curry brought out dim sum style, would be just as at home in Brooklyn. And Ryan
Smith’s five-course tasting menu at Staplehouse would be just as at home in Manhattan.
Gunshow, 924 Garrett Street, 404-380-1886; gunshowatl.com.
Staplehouse, 541 Edgewood Avenue SE, 404-524-5005; staplehouse.com.
CreditRich Addicks for The New York Times
BEST FOOD TO RIVAL CALIFORNIA’S
Miller Union
Steven Satterfield’s menu shows off the best of the South’s okra, field peas, turnips and tomatoes
in a style that would make Alice Waters weak in the knees. Perfect for a date night or lunch at the
counter, where one can explore an innovative wine list with pours by the glass.
999 Brady Avenue, 678-733-8550; millerunion.com.
CreditDustin Chambers for The New York Times
BEST RESTAURANT TO TAKE YOUR PARENTS (OR YOUR RICH FRIENDS)
Atlas
With the help of the beloved Atlanta restaurant veteran Gerry Klaskala, the chef Christopher
Grossman accents trout with peanuts and young Vidalia onions, and plates truffle dumplings with
Wagyu beef. The walls are often filled with paintings by Picasso and Matisse from the British
billionaire Joe Lewis’s collection. This is luxe Buckhead dining at its best. You can even drop
$2,900 on a bottle of Screaming Eagle.
88 West Paces Ferry Road, 404-600-6471; atlasrestaurant.com.
CreditEmily Andrews
BEST SUSHI IN THE SOUTH
Umi
Although Atlanta has a surprisingly big Japanese population, sushi isn’t the first thing that comes
to mind. Much of it is overwrought and sloppy, but at Umi, fish (and plenty of other ingredients)
get the respect they deserve from the chef Fuyuhiko Ito. The modern room is exciting, as is Umi’s
new moody cocktail lounge, called Himitsu, shown above. It requires a reservation and code to
enter and has Shingo Gokan practicing the strict ritual of Japanese bartending in an American
way.
3050 Peachtree Road NW, 404-841-0040; umiatlanta.com.
CreditVictoria Lee
BEST NEIGHBORHOOD ITALIAN RESTAURANT YOU PROBABLY CAN’T GET INTO
Bocca Lupo
Atlanta isn’t a town built on great Italian restaurants, which makes this little neighborhood pasta
kingdom run by Bruce Logue so great. His marriage of mortadella and octopus is a master class in
texture management.
753 Edgewood Avenue NE, 404-577-2332; boccalupoatl.com.
CreditErika Botfeld
MOST UNEXPECTED LUNCH
Spice to Table
Asha Gomez makes the case that the American South and her homeland, India’s southern Kerala
region, have much in common. Her philosophy is on display in this serene little spot on the edge
of an old textile factory turned condominium complex. It’s a little like an Indian version of a meat
and three, with Kerala-inspired fried chicken and samosas made with a loving hand. Don’t skip
dessert; she may have black-pepper carrot cake or the mango upside-down cake.
659 Auburn Avenue Northeast, No. 506, 404-220-8945.
CreditAndrew Thomas Lee
BEST PLACE FOR COASTAL SEAFOOD
The Optimist
Ignore the silly mini-golf putting green outside. This repurposed factory warehouse from Ford Fry
shows off fat Georgia shrimp in a bath of arbol chile butter and lime, and treats Georgia scallops
and Florida grouper with simplicity and respect. Fish from northern waters is on the menu, too.
914 Howell Mill Road, 404-477-6260; theoptimistrestaurant