Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
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.
The meat-and-three plate-lunch format runs across the South but Black-owned Atlanta restaurants codified the soul food version. Paschal's (1947) and Busy Bee Cafe (1947) on the West End ran the format through the civil rights movement. Mary Mac's Tea Room (1945) added the white-tablecloth version. Sides typically include collard greens, mac and cheese, candied yams, black-eyed peas and cornbread. Most rooms still serve lunch only and run cash-and-card under $15.
3 editor picks for Soul food meat-and-three plate in Atlanta, ranked by editorial score. All Atlanta signature dishes · Soul food meat-and-three plate across every city.
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.
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.
Soul food meat-and-three plate makes more sense with someone from Atlanta explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
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