18 mid-range rooms in Atlanta, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good rooms in Atlanta — no surprise on the bill, real cooking. All Atlanta food.
Paschal's ★ 4.7
downtown · 180 Northside Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30313
Paschal's in Atlanta has served soul food since 1947, when brothers Robert and James Paschal opened on Hunter Street. The civil rights movement met here; SCLC was anchored at the bar.
Tip: The current Castleberry Hill location since 2002 expanded with a banquet space; the original Hunter Street site is preserved at Clark Atlanta.
Busy Bee Cafe ★ 4.7
downtown · 810 Martin Luther King Jr Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30314
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 campuses.
Tip: Cash and card. Lunch and early dinner only Tuesday to Sunday; line forms before noon weekends.
Mary Mac's Tea Room ★ 4.6
midtown · 224 Ponce de Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
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 through three ownership changes.
Tip: Order the pot likker as a starter; it comes free with cornbread. No reservations Monday through Thursday lunch; OpenTable for dinner and weekends.
Heirloom Market BBQ ★ 4.6
buckhead · 2243 Akers Mill Rd SE, Atlanta, GA 30339
Heirloom Market BBQ in Atlanta merges Korean and Southern BBQ since 2010: gochujang-marinated pulled pork, brisket and the Korean pork sandwich on a steamed bun.
Tip: Cash and card. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Get there early; the brisket runs out by 14:00 most weekends.
Fox Bros Bar-B-Q ★ 4.5
candler-park · 1238 DeKalb Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307
Fox Bros Bar-B-Q on DeKalb Avenue in Atlanta has run Texas-style smoked brisket and pork since 2007. Texas-fries (chili-cheese fries topped with brisket) the cult order.
Tip: Counter ordering; the Beltline-adjacent patio runs dog-friendly. Closed Mondays.
Brick Store Pub ★ 4.5
decatur · 125 E Court Square, Decatur, GA 30030
Brick Store Pub in Decatur Square, Atlanta opened 1997 with a Belgian beer focus and pub menu. The upstairs Belgian Bar runs the rare brews; James Beard Outstanding Bar finalist.
Tip: Upstairs Belgian Bar runs rare Belgian beers; downstairs is the casual pub. Reservations on the front bar only.
Ria's Bluebird ★ 4.5
old-fourth-ward · 421 Memorial Dr SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
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 brunch plates.
Tip: No reservations; line forms by 09:00 on weekends. Walking distance from Oakland Cemetery and Cabbagetown.
Community Q BBQ ★ 4.4
decatur · 1361 Clairmont Rd, Decatur, GA 30033
Community Q BBQ in Decatur, Atlanta runs Southern-style smoked pork, brisket and ribs since 2010 with mac and cheese that became a local cult side.
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays. Cash and card. Family meals scale to feed six and travel well.
Fred's Meat and Bread ★ 4.4
inman-park · 99 Krog St NE Suite F, Atlanta, GA 30307
Fred's Meat and Bread at Krog Street Market in Atlanta opened 2014 with chef Todd Ginsberg's burger and sandwich counter. The double cheeseburger anchors the city's burger debate.
Tip: Counter ordering; pickup at the window. The Bocado burger across town is the spiritual prequel; both run by Ginsberg.
Antico Pizza Napoletana ★ 4.4
west-midtown · 1093 Hemphill Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
Giovanni Di Palma's West Midtown pizzeria in Atlanta opened 2009 with wood-fired Neapolitan pies certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana since 2010.
Tip: Communal tables, no reservations. Wine is BYOB at the original Hemphill location. Buckhead and Decatur sister locations take reservations.
Buford Highway Farmers Market Food Hall ★ 4.4
buford-highway · 5600 Buford Hwy NE, Doraville, GA 30340
Buford Highway Farmers Market in Doraville, Atlanta houses an international grocery with a 12-stall food court running Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican and Chinese counters.
Tip: Grocery and food court open daily; food stalls run cash and card. Best Saturday morning when stalls are freshest.
So Kong Dong Tofu House ★ 4.3
buford-highway · 5280 Buford Hwy NE Suite A, Doraville, GA 30340
So Kong Dong in Doraville, Atlanta's Buford Highway corridor, runs Korean comfort food: soondubu (silken tofu stew) at clay-pot temperature, galbi and bulgogi.
Tip: Lunch is busy with H Mart shoppers; dinner is quieter. Cash and card; family-friendly with high chairs.
Bocado ★ 4.3
west-midtown · 887 Howell Mill Rd, Atlanta, GA 30318
Chef Todd Ginsberg's West Midtown room in Atlanta runs the city's most-debated burger: the double-stack with American cheese on a Martin's potato bun, since 2009.
Tip: Reservations on Resy. Closed Sundays. Patio sits on Howell Mill.
Home Grown ★ 4.3
reynoldstown · 968 Memorial Dr SE, Atlanta, GA 30316
Home Grown on Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown, Atlanta runs a Southern diner with the cult Comfy Chicken Biscuit and country-fried steak since 2011.
Tip: No reservations; the line builds by 09:30 weekends. Cash and card.
Ladybird Grove and Mess Hall ★ 4.2
old-fourth-ward · 684 John Wesley Dobbs Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Ladybird in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta sits on the Beltline with a summer-camp-themed kitchen and a wide patio. Cast-iron cornbread, smores and burgers run the menu.
Tip: The patio is the Beltline's largest; runs dog-friendly. Brunch on weekends is busy; reservations on Resy.
Ammazza ★ 4.2
old-fourth-ward · 591 Edgewood Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Ammazza in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta runs wood-fired Neapolitan pizza out of an Edgewood Avenue space since 2013. The Diavola and Margherita anchor the menu.
Tip: Edgewood Avenue patio in spring. Reservations on Resy; takeaway hatch on busy nights.
Bantam and Biddy ★ 4.1
morningside · 1544 Piedmont Ave NE Suite 301, Atlanta, GA 30324
Shaun Doty's rotisserie chicken counter in Morningside, Atlanta runs free-range and antibiotic-free birds with seasonal vegetable sides since 2012.
Tip: Counter ordering. The chicken-pot-pie at lunch is the under-the-radar pick. Family takeaway packs feed four.
Bartaco ★ 4.1
inman-park · 969 Marietta St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
Bartaco's Inman Park location in Atlanta runs taco-and-cocktail service with a Resy ordering tablet. Coastal Latin-American tacos and a serious tequila list.
Tip: Order off the paper menu with a pencil; the tablet works only for the bill. Reservations on Resy.