8 editor picks in Atlanta.
8 soul food places in Atlanta we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Atlanta | Soul Food across every city.
Soul food and Southern cooking sit at the center of Atlanta's identity, with institutions scattered across the west side and beyond. Busy Bee Cafe and Paschal's downtown carry the deepest history, both rooted in the city's civil rights era, while Mary Mac's Tea Room in Midtown keeps the family-style Southern meal alive. Miller Union in West Midtown represents the more refined, farm-driven end of the same tradition.
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.
TipLunch is the quieter seat. Resy reservations open 30 days out; the bar takes walk-ins.
Paschal's in Atlanta has served soul food since 1947, when brothers Robert and James Paschal opened on Hunter Street. Located in Downtown. Priced at $$.
OrderFried chicken plate with collard greens, mac and cheese, candied yams.
TipThe current Castleberry Hill location since 2002 expanded with a banquet space; the original Hunter Street site is preserved at Clark Atlanta.
Mary Mac's Tea Room in Atlanta opened 1945 and runs Southern Sunday dinner classics in a four-dining-room compound on Ponce de Leon, with the same recipes.
OrderPot likker with a side of cornbread, then fried chicken with three sides.
TipOrder the pot likker as a starter; it comes free with cornbread. No reservations Monday through Thursday lunch; OpenTable for dinner and weekends.
Busy Bee Cafe in Atlanta opened 1947 on MLK Drive and won the James Beard America's Classics Award in 2022 for its decades of soul food service near the AUC.
OrderFried chicken with two sides; the oxtails on lunch special when available.
TipCash and card. Lunch and early dinner only Tuesday to Sunday; line forms before noon weekends.
South City Kitchen's Buckhead room in Atlanta runs refined Southern cooking from the Fifth Group with shrimp and grits, buttermilk fried chicken and a she.
OrderShrimp and grits with andouille gravy, then the buttermilk fried chicken.
TipReservations on OpenTable. The brunch service runs the cult fried chicken and waffles; the bar takes walk-ins.
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.
OrderButtermilk pancakes with a side of bacon, then shrimp and grits the second visit.
TipNo reservations; line forms by 09:00 on weekends. Walking distance from Oakland Cemetery and Cabbagetown.
Chef Steven Satterfield's modern Southern room in West Midtown, Atlanta opened 2009 and won James Beard Best Chef Southeast in 2017 for produce-driven.
OrderThe farm egg with grits and roasted vegetables, then whatever fish the kitchen has that night.
TipLunch service is the quieter seat. The bar takes walk-ins with the full menu.
Maepole in Atlanta's Summerhill is the under-$15 Southern grain bowl: seared chicken or shredded pork, collards, mac, vegan and keto options on the same line.
OrderBuild-your-own Southern grain bowls
TipPick the shredded pork over a grain base with collards and mac and cheese. Same Summerhill block as Southern National.
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