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Atlanta’s food scene exemplifies what the South means to me: creativity, inclusivity, and damn good eats. We’re officially bouncing back from the dining depression brought on by the pandemic, and newer local teams are whipping up everything from beignets and Ethiopian coffee to Michelin-level fried chicken. Nearly a decade into covering Atlanta’s food scene, I’m the go-to for friends who need a new spot for date night or family dinner. Now, I’m sharing my knowledge with you. Here are the best places to eat in Atlanta that should be on your radar, some of which might be near you.
Papi's Cuban and Caribbean Grill
Papi’s has been the go-to spot for Cuban ITP sandwich lovers for over a decade. (For the uninitiated, ITP = Inside the Perimeter.) A staple on Ponce, Papi’s is best known for juicy classics like the medianoche (just one of the Cubans on the menu), with layers of ham and roast pork pickles, mustard, and garlicky special sauce, plus entrées like citrusy vaca frita (crispy fried flank steak). Treat yourself to one of their tropical mango, passionfruit, or guanabana milkshakes.
Dua Vietnamese
Dua won my heart when I was an undergrad at Georgia State University. The original Broad Street location was the perfect place to duck into on chilly, rainy days. These days I enjoy it on my couch. Spicy pork bun bo hue stands out among the soups. Pho enthusiasts should branch out with a steamed rice vermicelli (bun) or steamed rice (com) dish with grilled lemongrass chicken, or, my personal favorite, extra spicy lemongrass tofu.
Yay Beignet
Don’t let the name fool you. Yay Beignet has more going on than pillowy pastries dusted with powdered sugar (not that that would be a crime). This highly recommended Atlanta restaurant brings NOLA to Atlanta through Cajun chicken and fish biscuits, along with po’ boys served up on French bread. Yay Beignet also serves Harar, rich Ethiopian coffee made from sun-dried coffee cherries. One ambitious person or a few of the less ambitious should go for the eight-by-four-inch Behemoth beignet.
Fox Bros Bar-B-Q
Fox Bros. Texas-style barbecue has dominated best-of lists for years, and for good reason. Locals love the extra smoky wings and Frito pie. It feels odd to recommend a salad from a barbecue place, but the house salad with melty chopped brisket and homemade ranch has never let me down. The only mistake you can make is skipping the jalapeño cornbread. Go ahead and add an extra order to your cart.
Estrellita
A welcome addition to Atlanta’s small Filipino food scene, Estrellita opened quietly in Grant Park in 2020 and not only braved the worst of the pandemic, but thrived. In 2023 the restaurant received Michelin’s Bib Gourmand nod. Estrellita became so well known for its chicken that they recently added chicken chicharrones to the menu as a separate dish. I recommend touring the menu family-style and adding traditional Filipino eats like lumpia, barbecue pork skewers, and slow-simmered pork adobo.
Cinnaholic
A Shark Tank darling, Cinnaholic is known for grapefruit-sized vegan cinnamon rolls. Each one can be customized with nearly two dozen frostings and 30 toppings that include amaretto, marshmallow, coffee dust, and sliced bananas. Cinnaholic also offers limited-edition rolls, like the Strawberry Shortcake with strawberry frosting, fresh berries, and shortbread crumble. Did I mention everything they sell is 100 percent vegan?
The Salty Donut
A combination of a local donut shop and a boutique bakery, The Salty Donut offers decadent yet unpretentious brioche donuts like the cookie-dough-filled Cookie Monster and the Ultimate Oreo Cookie, a vegan donut stuffed with Oreo buttercream and coated with a vanilla oat milk glaze. In a collab with Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, The Salty Donut went savory for their brioche meat pie filled with pork and mac ’n’ cheese. Donuts sell out, so the best time to order is right when they open.
Jamal's Buffalo Wings
Wing spots are a dime a dozen in Atlanta, but no one is doing it like Jamal’s. After 20 years in a small trailer in the parking lot across from the Georgia Dome, Jamal’s relocated to a counter-service storefront on MLK Jr. Drive in the West End. Yet the only thing that’s changed is their address. Every order is fresh out of the fryer, crispy and dripping with sauce. Wings come in quintessential flavors like honey barbecue, lemon pepper, jerk, and ranch. My order? A 10-piece hot with blue cheese and a Sprite. This is undoubtedly one of the top restaurants in Atlanta.
Reuben’s Deli
Reuben’s has been satisfying sandwich cravings in Downtown Atlanta for nearly 40 years. This New York-style deli might be the only place where you can still get a $10 turkey sandwich. Reuben’s dishes out not only its namesake and other deli staples like the tuna melt, but also breakfast classics, from BECs to pancakes. For the extra hungry, there’s the Jack Stack: a whole pound of jerk chicken, blackened turkey, pork sausage and bacon topped with pepper jack cheese and Provolone cheeses between two ciabatta slices. Keep the New York vibes going by finishing off with a black-and-white cookie.
Yumbii
Born as a food truck, Yumbii’s Mexican-Korean barbecue fusion has spurred four brick-and-mortar locations. We’re talking bulgogi cheesesteak dripping with kimchi juice and crunchy-sweet sesame-coated french fries with chipotle ketchup. Pro-tip: Order both the honey sriracha and the gochujang buffalo wings —the sweetness of the former balances out the intense heat of the latter.
Poke Burri
An early addition to our now-saturated poke scene, Poke Burri made its mark with Instagram-worthy sushi burritos. For the uninitiated, sushi burritos are basically extra large sushi rolls eaten with two hands and filled with poke bowl fixings like sushi rice, salmon, edamame, avocado, and wasabi mayo. Poke Burri’s signature Demogorgan, a nod to Atlanta-filmed Strangers Things, is filled with sushi-grade spicy tuna, crunchy cabbage and lettuce, eel sauce, and spicy mayo. Opt for pickup to visit the East Atlanta micro-food hall where Poke Burri makes magic happen.
Aviva
Aviva is a prime example of doing a few simple things really well. Their humble menu consists of juicy chicken shawarma, grilled salmon, or falafel (which is vegan and gluten-free) with seasoned brown rice and fresh veggies or salad. It’s basically all of your daily nutrients in one very tasty meal. If you’re just looking for plain good food in Atlanta, this is the place to come.
Kin NoTori
Kin NoTori is an underrated darling in Atlanta’s ramen scene. Their vegetarian-friendly shoyu (soy sauce) miso and spicy yasai (vegetable) broths can impress even the strictest meat lovers. That said, feel free to add pork belly to whichever broth you choose, as well as super spicy bakudan sauce. Ki NoTori also gets points for packaging: Instead of those tricky plastic bowls that can runneth over with broth, Kin NoTori uses tall paper bowls that keep every slurp safe.
Mukja Korean Fried Chicken
Somehow, finding good fried chicken in this city is a bit of a Goldilocks experience: That chicken’s too greasy. This one is too dry. The other place is only open for lunch. Thankfully, Mukja succeeds where others fall short. Their fried bird is delightfully crunchy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. I loved it by itself, but Mukja has an array of sauces like soy garlic and spicy-sweet Yangyum that up the ante even more. Be careful with the habanero-based A-T-Hell sauce: Sweetness lulls you into safety before the heat kicks in the door. Lean into the spice with extra creamy smoked gouda and roasted kimchi mac ’n’ cheese. Or a cabbage and corn salad topped with gochujang thousand island.
Glide Pizza
Glide Pizza brings a much-needed Brooklyn flare to a scene inundated with Neapolitan-style ’za. A tiny takeout window on the Beltline’s Eastside Trail, Glide offers 20-inch pies with that coveted thin, New York-style crust. Get the Pepp City adorned with pepperoni, fresh jalapeño, Calabrian peppers, and parsley to see what makes Glide a cut above. Throw some serranos pickled in-house on top, if you dare.
Sweet Hut Bakery and Cafe
Sweet Hut is the granddaddy of bubble tea for in-town Atlantans; it’s been a boba destination since it opened a Midtown outpost in 2014. More than boba, though, Sweet Hut is a full-fledged eatery with cases full of traditional Korean bites, like red bean and sweet corn buns, and freshly made snacks ranging from unagi bao to salt-and-pepper chicken nuggies. Their bakery is one of the few places in the metro making the viral cromboloni — a cream-filled croissant and bomboloni combo.
Named to the Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2023, Fred’s Meat and Bread has been satisfying red meat cravings at Krog Street Market since late 2014. Fred’s menu of classic eats includes hefty ribeye cheesesteaks, eggplant parm, and roasted turkey on freshly baked bread from fellow Rye Restaurants concept TGM Bread + Soup. Have no fear of a soggy bottom: My Goodfella’s cheesesteak with cherry peppers arrived with a dry crust and the integrity of the bread intact.
Yalla!
Another concept from Rye Restaurants (Fred’s Meat and Bread, TGM Bread + Soup), Yalla! is like Fred’s cool twin sister. Instead of loaded, meaty sandwiches, you’ll find lighter Mediterranean and Middle Eastern staples like chicken shawarma, laffa wraps, and kebabs. Be sure to try the signature Yalla fries, which are tossed in sumac, harissa, tahini, and mango-vinegar amba.
Savi Urban Market
Inman Park’s Savi Urban Market, also known as Savi Provisions, specializes in gourmet paninis. Savi’s crowd-pleaser, the Carter panini, is made up of smoked turkey dressed with dried cranberry and pesto aioli on sourdough. Not all the sandwiches are hot off the grill, though. Their classic Caprese with deli-fresh mozz comes untoasted on a baguette. The bonus? Everything on the menu is less than $15.
TGM Bread + Soup
The team behind Rye Restaurant and The General Muir made the extremely wise decision to launch an outpost just for their bakes back in 2016, and this place specializes in cozy food. It pairs soups and breads for you: creamy potato and leek soup with asiago levain; luscious tomato bisque with a Hawaiian roll. Stock the fridge and pantry with pasta fa*gioli by the quart and sliced honey wheat or rye. Better yet, bookmark this spot for your next dinner party, sick day, or for when you just need some serious comfort food.
Aamar
Aamar serves up a cross-country selection of specialties from all over India, from creamy shaag ponir made with spinach and cheese to succulent lamb vindaloo and homestyle goat biriyani. It really is okay if you want to go the conventional American-style Indian food route and order tandoori chicken tikka masala and a zesty mango lassi, though.
Wood’s Chapel BBQ
At first glance, Wood’s Chapel doesn’t look much different from the city’s other barbecue spots. Brisket, pulled pork, and braised greens are nothing new. Upon closer look, things start to get interesting. Tater tots are dressed okonomiyaki-style with kewpie mayo and pickled ginger; fried mac ’n’ cheese is made with creole mustard; and the creamed corn is elote-inspired, topped with cotija cheese. The more creative the order here, the better the meal.
El Super Pan
First things first: Get the mofongo. Puerto Rico’s unofficial national dish, mofongo is a mash of unripened green plantains with garlic and olive oil. At James Beard semifinalist chef Hector Santiago’s El Super Pan, it comes in six varieties: pork belly, roasted pork, sofrito chicken, shrimp, ropa vieja, and smoked tofu. I particularly love the shrimp mofongo, which comes in a bath of savory garlic adobo or a pool of spicy tomato-coconut sauce.
Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ
Famed pitmaster Rodney Scott brought his Carolina flavor to Atlanta in 2021. Folks venture to his Southwest Atlanta restaurant mostly for the juicy, jumbo ribs and smoky pulled pork. Scott’s signature Rod Sauce is a vinegar-based Eastern Carolina barbecue sauce, while Sweet Kathy’s is a tomato-based one made with brown sugar. Every entrée comes with cornbread, but I couldn’t help but add on the sweet, golden hush puppies. Worth it!
Desta Ethiopian Kitchen
If you ask a local where to get Ethiopian food, they’ll probably point you to Desta. I recommend starting with fried sambusas filled with minced beef or lentil. The three must-have dishes are the tender sautéed lamb iret mitas tibs, gomen (collard greens seasoned with nigella seed and cardamom), and the spicy red lentil miser. Have fun and make your own restaurant-style spread to eat with spongy injera. A rarity, Desta has co*cktails (including delicious martinis) for delivery.
Rreal Tacos
Alon’s has been around for as long as I’ve been alive. Their menu is a smorgasbord of offerings that include pints of tuna salad, Angus meatballs, decadent tiramisu, and chocolate chunk cookies. My inner Francophile leans toward the gruyere panini and a surprise assortment of macarons. You can even get an entire eight-inch chocolate raspberry mousse cake delivered. They serve six to 10, but I don’t judge.
Cafe Kulture
Sweet Auburn gem Cafe Kulture offers up healthful, plant-based comfort food. On the comforting side is their All-American Burger — a Beyond patty topped with mushrooms and melty vegan gouda and dripping with mango barbecue sauce. A lighter option is the Best Life, a spinach wrap filled with couscous, kale, carrots, and mushrooms with black bean-tomato relish and avocado-chickpea mash. The spiced cinnamon apple panini, offered during breakfast only, makes for a sweet start to the day.
Botiwalla by Chai Pani
Modeled after Irani cafes in India, Botiwalla is the brainchild of James Beard Award-winning chef Meherwan Irani. Most everything is handheld and chargrilled. I recommend the chicken tikka roll with a paneer skewer — both coated in a subtle kashmiri chili paste — and the chaat masala-spiced smashed potatoes. Refresh your palate with their tangy tamarind cola or lime rickey with strawberry purée. Botiwalla also serves gulab jamun, deep-fried, sticky-sweet milk dumplings soaked in rose-cardamom syrup.
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