Dive barlittle-five-points
Elmyr in Little Five Points, Atlanta has run since 1995 as a Tex-Mex-and-dive-bar combination. Margaritas and pitchers anchor the menu; cheap burritos cover the food.
Signature drink: Margarita
Food: Tacos and burritos
Tip: Cash and card. The patio sits on Euclid; the inside runs darker and louder. Open until 02:00 most nights.
Speakeasybuckhead
Blind Pig Parlour Bar in Buckhead, Atlanta runs a speakeasy with cold-pour cocktails and a 1920s aesthetic. Hidden entrance behind a private-club door on Roswell Road.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Reservations on Tock; no walk-ins on weekends. Password posted on the website each week; ID required at the door.
Cocktail bar and oyster bardecatur
Kimball House in Decatur, Atlanta runs the city's most-awarded cocktail and oyster bar inside a converted 19th-century train station. James Beard nominated bar program.
Signature drink: Absinthe drip service
Food: Oysters, raw bar
Tip: Sunday Happy Hour 17:00 to 18:30 runs cheaper oysters and cocktails. The bar takes walk-ins late on weekends.
Cocktail barinman-park
Ticonderoga Club at Krog Street Market in Atlanta opened 2015 from a team including Greg Best. Awarded James Beard Outstanding Bar in 2019 for the cocktail programme.
Signature drink: Cuban-style cocktails
Food: Bar snacks and small plates
Tip: No reservations; bar seats are first-come. The naval-officers-club aesthetic carries through to the punch service.
Tiki bardecatur
S.O.S. Tiki Bar in Decatur, Atlanta runs classic tiki cocktails in a thatched Polynesian-themed room since 2013. The mai tai is the canonical first order.
Signature drink: Mai tai
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Cash and card. The patio is open in summer. Reservations not taken; queue forms by 21:00 weekends.
Brewpublittle-five-points
The Wrecking Bar in Little Five Points, Atlanta runs a brewpub in a Victorian mansion basement. The house saison and IPAs anchor the rotating taps.
Signature drink: House saison
Food: Brewpub menu
Tip: The patio is the move in summer. Brewery tours run Saturday afternoons; the upstairs ballroom hosts private events.