The Optimist is a seafood restaurant in West Midtown, Atlanta.
Editorially verified May 18, 2026 by Elliot Marsh, TableJourney editor. Source.
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.
Address: 914 Howell Mill Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
Bones steakhouse in Buckhead, Atlanta opened 1979 and remains the city's classic white-tablecloth chophouse, with dry-aged steaks and Wine Spectator Grand.
OrderThe dry-aged bone-in ribeye, with the Lobster Savannah as the seafood add.
TipDress code: jackets preferred. Mondays through Saturdays; closed Sundays. Reservations a week ahead on OpenTable.
Kimball House in Decatur, Atlanta opened 2013 inside a converted 19th-century train station, with the city's deepest oyster selection and a James Beard.
OrderTwo dozen oysters and the absinthe drip service.
TipReservations on Resy; the bar takes walk-ins until late. Sunday Happy Hour 17:00-18:30 is the under-the-radar bargain.
Staplehouse in Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta opened 2015 inside a converted carriage house and runs a chef's tasting under the nonprofit Giving Kitchen umbrella.
OrderThe chef's tasting menu; the menu rotates with the seasons.
TipProfits fund The Giving Kitchen, supporting Atlanta hospitality workers in crisis. Reservations on Tock 30 days out.
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.
