Ponce City Market is the food anchor. Around it sit the Beltline, Krog Street tunnel and a dense block of new bars, brewpubs and restaurants.
Staplehouse in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta opened 2015 inside a converted carriage house and runs a chef's tasting under the nonprofit Giving Kitchen umbrella.
Signature: Chef's tasting menu, Seasonal small plates
Order: The chef's tasting menu; the menu rotates with the seasons.
Tip: Profits fund The Giving Kitchen, supporting Atlanta hospitality workers in crisis. Reservations on Tock 30 days out.
Staplehouse in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta opened 2015 inside a converted carriage house. Runs a chef's tasting under the nonprofit Giving Kitchen umbrella.
Order: The chef's tasting menu; the menu rotates with the seasons.
Tip: Profits fund The Giving Kitchen, supporting Atlanta hospitality workers in crisis. Reservations on Tock 30 days out.
Ladybird in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta sits on the Beltline with a summer-camp-themed kitchen and a wide patio. Kitchen leans american camp-themed.
Signature: Cast-iron cornbread, Fried chicken sandwich, Smores
Order: Cast-iron cornbread with honey butter, then the fried chicken sandwich.
Tip: The patio is the Beltline's largest; runs dog-friendly. Brunch on weekends is busy; reservations on Resy.
Ria Pell's Memorial Drive diner in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta opened 2000 across from Oakland Cemetery with the city's cult buttermilk pancakes and Southern.
Signature: Buttermilk pancakes, Shrimp and grits
Order: Buttermilk pancakes with a side of bacon, then shrimp and grits the second visit.
Tip: No reservations; line forms by 09:00 on weekends. Walking distance from Oakland Cemetery and Cabbagetown.
Indaco in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta opened 2023 just above the Eastside BeltLine trail with wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, hand-rolled pasta and antipasti.
Signature: Wood-fired pizza, Hand-rolled pasta, Focaccia with honey butter
Order: A wood-fired pie, focaccia with honey butter and the bucatini.
Tip: Patio runs 45 seats with a built-in bocce court. Reservations on OpenTable; the bar takes walk-ins with the full menu.
Spiller Park Coffee at Ponce City Market in Atlanta opened 2016 from a partnership including chef Hugh Acheson. The honey latte is the cult order.
Signature drink: Honey latte
Tip: Counter ordering. The Toco Hills cafe has more seating; PCM runs the food-hall foot traffic. Try the Toco Hill beans for retail.
Chrome Yellow Trading on Edgewood Avenue in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta runs a third-wave espresso bar paired with a shortlisted goods shop in a renovated 1923.
Signature drink: Cortado
Tip: Tight space; counter and one communal table. Good for solo work in mornings, less so at peak weekend hours.
Condesa Coffee in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta runs a third-wave cafe with Counter Culture beans, breakfast burritos and a wide work-friendly room.
Signature drink: Cold brew
Tip: Patio is dog-friendly. Brunch service runs Saturday and Sunday with the cult breakfast burrito.
Dancing Goats Coffee in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward roasts Batdorf and Bronson beans across a third-wave menu. Order the single-origin pourover.
Signature drink: Single-origin pourover
Tip: Largest seating of any third-wave cafe in O4W; the Decatur and Ponce locations match the bean program.
Five Daughters Bakery at Ponce City Market in Atlanta runs the Hundred Layer Doughnut, a three-day fusion of croissant and doughnut with 144 buttery layers.
Tip: Top items often sell out by mid-morning Saturday. The classic Hundred Layer Doughnut is the marquee order; rotating seasonal fillings change weekly.
Worth the queue: Hundred Layer Doughnut
Spiller Park Coffee in Atlanta roasts its own beans since 2016 from a partnership including chef Hugh Acheson. The honey latte is the cult menu item.
Tip: Counter ordering at PCM and Toco Hills. Roasted beans sold for retail; the Burundi single-origin runs strongest in summer.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya, Colombia
How they serve: Espresso, Pourover, Whole bean retail
Batdorf and Bronson roasts in Olympia, Washington and runs the Dancing Goats Coffee Bar in Atlanta, opening in 2007. Located in Old Fourth Ward.
Tip: Whole bean retail. The Dancing Goats house blend has been on the menu since 1995; cleanest medium-roast in the rotation.
Sources from: Colombia, Ethiopia, Sumatra
How they serve: Espresso, Pourover, Whole bean retail, Subscription
12 Cocktail Bar on The Roof at Ponce City Market in Atlanta runs a sophisticated speakeasy-style room with expertly crafted cocktails and elevated small.
Signature drink: Seasonal craft cocktails
Food: Elevated small plates
Tip: Reservations or walk-ins Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday. The rooftop terrace runs the seasonal pours in spring and fall.
Clermont Lounge in Atlanta's Hotel Clermont basement runs the city's longest-running dive bar since 1965. Located in Old Fourth Ward. Order the beer and shot.
Signature drink: Beer and shot
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Cash only at the bar. The Clermont Hotel above has a rooftop bar with a much different vibe; same building.
Ladybird's Camper Bar on the Beltline in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta runs summer-camp-themed cocktails in a vintage Airstream parked on the patio.
Signature drink: Summer-camp themed cocktails
Food: Smores, snacks
Tip: The Airstream patio is the move in spring and fall. Smores and snacks the menu; full dinner at the Ladybird restaurant.
Thumbs Up Diner on Edgewood Avenue in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta runs all-day breakfast and burritos since 2002. Open daily 07:00-15:00. At 573 Edgewood Ave SE.
Try: Burrito and pancakes
Tip: Cash and card. No reservations; line builds by 09:30 weekends. The Heap with chorizo runs the heaviest breakfast in town.
Ponce City Market in Atlanta opened 2014 inside the 1926 Sears, Roebuck warehouse with 35 plus food stalls including Hop's Chicken, H&F Burger and Root.
Tip: Skyline Park on the roof runs amusement rides. The food hall stalls are the destination; H&F Burger and Hop's Chicken are the cult orders.
Sidewalk Food Tours Atlanta runs an Old Fourth Ward route through five restaurant stops in three hours: soul food, sandwiches and a coffee finish.
Tip: Tours run rain or shine. Wednesdays through Saturdays; Sunday tours run a slightly modified route. Book online.
Secret Food Tours Atlanta runs a Midtown walking tour from the Georgian Terrace, six tastings on Peachtree into Colony Square ending with a secret dish.
Tip: Best for first-time visitors. Walk is short, 0.5 mile, but the building is large; wear flat shoes. Diets accommodated with notice.
Ria's Bluebird in Atlanta is the Grant Park diner that defined the city's brunch shorthand: buttermilk pancakes, tempeh gravy, ten-table queue.
Order: Buttermilk pancakes and country-fried tempeh with white pepper gravy.
Tip: Wednesdays are closed and weekends queue out the door by 09:30; come solo or sit at the counter to skip the worst of the wait.
Marcus Bar and Grille runs Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward weekend brunch buffet: Marcus Samuelsson's fried chicken and waffles, shrimp gumbo, $55 spread.
Order: Fried chicken and waffles, shrimp gumbo with chorizo from the buffet line.
Tip: Marcus Samuelsson's Old Fourth Ward room. The $55 buffet runs unlimited mimosas as an add-on; come hungry.
9 Mile Station on the roof of Ponce City Market is the indoor-outdoor beer garden and cocktail bar with skyline views across Buckhead, Midtown and downtown from the highest open deck on the Eastside.
Tip: Weekend brunch from 11:00, kitchen runs to midnight Friday and Saturday. OpenTable for the dining room; the rooftop park entry is the easier walk-in.
Clermont Lounge in the basement of the Hotel Clermont on Ponce de Leon has been Atlanta's oldest strip club and dive bar since 1965, with a circular jukebox stage and cheap pours running until 03:00.
Tip: Open weeknights 20:00, weekends from 15:00, last call 03:00. Cash preferred; the jukebox is dancer-funded so requests cost a dollar.
Joystick Gamebar on Edgewood is the arcade dive with 1970s through 1990s cabinets, pinball, a small-batch whiskey list, hand-crafted cocktails and a kitchen running burgers and tots until close.
Tip: Monday through Friday 16:00-02:30, weekends from noon. Quarter games take cash; pinball league nights run mid-week.
Sister Louisa's Church on Edgewood is the no-television, no-internet bar packed with Sister Louisa folk-art canvases, two ping pong tables and a Choir Practice singalong every Tuesday night.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Choir Practice runs Tuesday 22:00 with an organ singalong; ping pong is first-come and house paddles are free.