Southern soul food, Buford Highway global, and Michelin tables.
Free cancellation on most tours, with live prices on the partner's site.
Atlanta eats with the depth of a Southern capital and the breadth of a globalised one. The city anchors its identity on Black-owned dining rooms like Paschal's, Busy Bee Cafe and Mary Mac's Tea Room, where the meat-and-three plate and fried chicken have run since the civil rights era. Smoke and pit barbecue live on through Fox Bros, Heirloom Market and Community Q. The Michelin Guide arrived in 2023, awarding stars to Lazy Betty in Candler Park, Atlas at the St. Regis Buckhead and the omakase counter Mujo in West Midtown. Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market rewired how the city snacks; Sweet Auburn Curb Market still anchors downtown. Buford Highway runs the South's deepest international corridor: Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, Salvadoran and Chinese counters cluster across DeKalb County strip malls without a single English sign. The constant is range, from the $9 Busy Bee plate to the $185 Atlas tasting.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Enjoy lunchtime dining at 6 locally owned award-winning restaurants, experiencing the best of Southern food today. See Victorian houses in Atlanta's first suburb and i...
Guided tour · 2 hours
Taste the best of Atlanta’s street food without the streets, or the humidity, in Atlanta's largest food hall, Ponce City Market. Enjoy a filling lunch over 5 restauran...
Guided tour · 3 hours
Enjoy a walking tour of Atlanta's vibrant food scene in the company of an Atlantan who is passionate about local food, the city, and its history.
The plates that define eating in Atlanta.
Bone-in fried chicken wings dusted in lemon pepper seasoning, often glossed with butter or hot sauce. Atlanta's signature snack, a hip-hop fixture for two decades.
Where American Deli
Where to eat Lemon pepper wings in Atlanta →Bone-in fried chicken, brined and breaded, served with sides at a Southern Black-owned dining room. Paschal's set the standard in the civil rights era.
Where Paschal's, Busy Bee Cafe, Mary Mac's Tea Room
Where to eat Atlanta fried chicken in Atlanta →A Georgia barbecue stew of pulled pork, chicken, tomatoes, corn and lima beans, slow-simmered. Served alongside barbecue plates as the canonical side.
Where Fox Bros Bar-B-Q, Heirloom Market BBQ, Community Q BBQ
Where to eat Brunswick stew in Atlanta →A protein plus three Southern vegetable sides with cornbread or rolls, served on a single plate. The canonical Black-owned lunch format across Atlanta, at Paschal's, Busy Bee and Mary Mac's since the 1940s.
Where Busy Bee Cafe, Paschal's, Mary Mac's Tea Room
Where to eat Soul food meat-and-three plate in Atlanta →Southern flaky buttermilk biscuits split and smothered in pork-sausage cream gravy black with pepper. The defining Atlanta diner breakfast and Sunday-morning brunch staple.
Where Atlanta Breakfast Club, Thumbs Up Diner, Mary Mac's Tea Room, Waffle House (Howell Mill)
Where to eat Biscuits and sausage gravy in Atlanta →Stone-ground white grits cooked slow with butter and cheese, topped with butter-braised Gulf shrimp, andouille sausage, scallion and a squeeze of lemon. A Charleston dish made Southern across Atlanta.
Where South City Kitchen Buckhead, Mary Mac's Tea Room, Atlanta Breakfast Club, The Optimist
Where to eat Shrimp and grits in Atlanta →Southern-style collard greens slow-braised with smoked pork (ham hock, turkey wing or bacon), onion, garlic, vinegar and red-pepper flakes. The defining Atlanta soul-food vegetable.
Where Busy Bee Cafe, Paschal's, Mary Mac's Tea Room, This Is It Southern Kitchen and BBQ
Where to eat Collard greens in Atlanta →A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Atlanta.
Chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips' Candler Park tasting room in Atlanta opened 2019, earned a Michelin Star in 2023 and runs an inventive prix-fixe menu.
OrderChef's tasting menu, with wine pairing.
Chef Christopher Grossman's St Regis Buckhead room in Atlanta opened 2015 and holds a Michelin Star since 2023 with a tasting menu and a wall.
OrderThe seasonal tasting menu, paired with the wine list at the bar.
Chef Edward Lee Schubert's West Midtown sushi counter in Atlanta opened 2021 and earned a Michelin Star in 2023 for the city's most refined omakase service.
OrderThe chef's omakase: roughly two-hour, eighteen-course service.
Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison's Bacchanalia in Atlanta opened 1993 and remains the city's longest-running fine-dining benchmark, with farm-driven New.
OrderThe crab fritter, an institution since opening night.
Chef Steven Satterfield's modern Southern room in Atlanta's West Midtown opened 2009 and won a James Beard Best Chef Southeast in 2017 for produce-driven.
OrderThe farm egg with grits and roasted vegetables; the menu shifts weekly.
Ford Fry's Howell Mill Road seafood room in Atlanta opened 2012 in an old smokehouse, with a raw bar and wood-grill anchoring West Midtown dining.
OrderOysters and the wood-grilled fish of the day.
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.
Best for: Food halls, Brunch, Pizza, Cocktail bars
Krog Street Market and Beltline-adjacent rooms run the eastside dining circuit. Bocado, Bartaco and Fred's Meat and Bread within five minutes of each other.
Best for: Casual dining, Burgers, Beltline brunch, Markets
Adaptive industrial reuse turned restaurant row. The Optimist, Miller Union and Mujo run the Howell Mill axis; Bacchanalia anchors the western edge.
Best for: Fine dining, Seafood, Tasting menus, Modern Southern
Five miles of strip-mall global food spanning Brookhaven and Doraville. The South's deepest Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, Chinese and Salvadoran corridor.
Best for: Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, Chinese, Dumplings
Sweet Auburn Curb Market still anchors the historic Black business district. Pittypat's Porch, Mary Mac's nearby and downtown hotel kitchens fill the rest.
Best for: Soul food, Hotel dining, Markets
Peachtree Street's high-rise corridor between downtown and Buckhead. Empire State South, Cooks and Soldiers and Atlanta Symphony adjacent rooms anchor dinner.
Best for: Fine dining, Hotel restaurants, Pre-theatre
Lemon pepper wings
Bone-in fried chicken wings dusted in lemon pepper seasoning, often glossed with butter or hot sauce
Atlanta fried chicken
Bone-in fried chicken, brined and breaded, served with sides at a Southern Black-owned dining room
Brunswick stew
A Georgia barbecue stew of pulled pork, chicken, tomatoes, corn and lima beans, slow-simmered
Soul food meat-and-three plate
A protein plus three Southern vegetable sides with cornbread or rolls, served on a single plate
Biscuits and sausage gravy
Southern flaky buttermilk biscuits split and smothered in pork-sausage cream gravy black with pepper
Inman Park
Krog Street Market and Beltline-adjacent rooms run the eastside dining circuit
Midtown
Peachtree Street's high-rise corridor between downtown and Buckhead
Buckhead
Atlanta's polished northern district
A sample of Atlanta hotels from our booking partner, who list 731 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
Atlanta Hartsfield Airport Guesthouse
When you stay at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport Guesthouse in Atlanta, you'll be within a 10-minute drive of Cr...
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Atlanta Hartsfield Guesthouse
When you stay at Atlanta Hartsfield Guesthouse in Atlanta, you'll be near the airport and 3 minutes by foot...
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Atlanta Inn
A stay at Atlanta Inn places you in the heart of Atlanta, within a 10-minute walk of Paul Bunyan Statue and...
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Comfort Suites Atlanta Airport
Located in Atlanta, Comfort Suites Atlanta Airport is in the business district, within a 10-minute drive of...
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Savannah Suites Atlanta Airport
With a stay at Savannah Suites Atlanta Airport in Atlanta (Ben Hill), you'll be within a 5-minute drive of ...
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Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta-Buckhead
With a stay at Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta-Buckhead in Atlanta (Buckhead), you'll be within a 15-minute walk ...
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Sheraton Atlanta Perimeter North Hotel
With a stay at Sheraton Atlanta Perimeter North Hotel in Atlanta (Perimeter Center), you'll be within a 5-m...
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DoubleTree by Hilton Atlanta - Northlake
Located in Atlanta, DoubleTree by Hilton Atlanta - Northlake is in the suburbs, a 1-minute drive from North...
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Sonesta Select Atlanta Cumberland
Located in Atlanta (Cumberland), Sonesta Select Atlanta Cumberland is within a 15-minute walk of Cumberland...
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Comfort Inn Atlanta Downtown South
Located in Atlanta (Summerhill), Comfort Inn Atlanta Downtown South is within a 5-minute drive of Georgia S...
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Atlanta Marriott Marquis
With a stay at Atlanta Marriott Marquis, you'll be centrally located in Atlanta, just a 3-minute walk from ...
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Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Buckhead
A stay at Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Buckhead places you in the heart of Atlanta, within a 15-minute wal...
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Also compare: Holidu in Atlanta from USD 76/night · LateRooms in Atlanta · Expedia in Atlanta
Stays are listed by our booking partners, not editor picks. We earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Atlanta, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Peak food season: March to May for Georgia strawberries, then peaches late May to early August and Vidalia onions through June. October to December for greens, pecans and farmers market peaks. Atlanta Food and Wine Festival runs in May; Taste of Atlanta in October.
Local dining hours: Lunch 11:30-14:30, meat-and-three counters typically last seating by 14:00. Dinner 17:30-22:30 most nights, last seating 21:30 weekdays and 22:00 weekends. Many neighbourhood rooms close Monday or Tuesday; Buford Highway runs latest.
Tipping: Tip 18 to 22 percent on the pre-tax total at sit-down restaurants. Bars and counters get $1 to $2 per drink or 15 to 20 percent. Some hotel restaurants and groups of six or more add an automatic service charge; check the bill before adding more.
Atlanta's signature dishes include Lemon pepper wings, Atlanta fried chicken, Georgia peach cobbler, Brunswick stew, Soul food meat-and-three plate. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map Atlanta by district. Old Fourth Ward and Ponce City Market, Inman Park, West Midtown and the Westside, Buford Highway are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in Atlanta include Lazy Betty, Atlas, Mujo, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 5 editor-picked food tours in Atlanta, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Atlanta dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal, kosher venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.
