Atlanta: Food & Drink
A guide to Atlanta’s best restaurants, cafes, bars, & more!
This list consists of only restaurant and bars that Chris and I have personally visited. It is currently heavy on places near our condo, but I will continue to add more as we expand our horizons around the city! That being said, if you are staying in downtown or midtown, don’t be afraid to hop on over to one of the less frequented neighborhoods for a tasty treat!
MORE COMING VERY SOON! THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE & SUPPORT!
Explore by Category
- Coffee Shops, Cafes, & Breakfast/Brunch Spots
- Diners, Delis, Etc.
- Breweries, Gastropubs, & Bars
- Pizza & More
- American Restaurants
- Italian Restaurants
- Mexican/Latin American Inspired Restaurants
- Tapas Dining
- Other International Cuisine
Explore by neighborhood
Old 4th Ward
- A Mano (Italian Restaurant)
- Staplehouse (Tasting Menu Experience)
- New Realm Brewing (Brewery)
- 2 Urban Licks (Tapas Restaurant)
- Nina & Rafi (Pizza & More)
- Estrella (Modern Mexican Cuisine)
- Bantam (Gastropub)
Inman Park
- Inman Perk Coffee (Cafe / Coffee Shop)
- One Eared Stag (American Restaurant)
- The Albert (Gastropub)
- Victory Sandwich Bar (Deli & Bar)
- MF Sushi (Japanese Restaurant)
- Revolution Doughnuts (Doughnuts)
- Il Localino (Italian Restaurant)
Poncy-Highlands
- Java Jive Coffee House & Cafe (Breakfast / Diner)
- Botiwalla (Indian Street Food)
- Dancing Goats Coffee Bar (Cafe / Coffee)
Grant Park
- Java Cats Cat Cafe (Cafe / Coffee Shop)
- Agave (Southwestern Restaurant)
- Mezcalitos (Mexican Cantina)
- 6 Feet Under (Pub & Fish House)
Little 5 Points
- The Porter (Gastropub)
- The Vortex (Burger Joint)
- Camelis (Pizza & Italian)
- Hattie B’s (Nashville Hot Chicken)
- The Wrecking Bar (Brewpub)
East Atlanta Village
- Emerald City Bagels (Bagels / Coffee)
- BLU Cantina (Mexican Fusion)
- Banshee (American Restaurant)
- The Argosy (Gastropub)
Decatur / Emory
- Iberian Pig (Tapas Restaurant)
- The White Bull (Local Restaurant)
- Scout (American Restaurant)
- Twain’s (Brewpub)
- Brick Store Pub (Gastropub)
- General Muir (New York Style Deli)
- Your Dekalb Farmers Market (International Farmers Market)
Midtown
- Cafe Intermezzo (Cafe / Coffee / Desserts)
- Negril Village (Jamaican Restaurant)
- The Varsity (American Classics)
- Mary Macs Tea Room (Southern Restaurant)
- Krispy Kreme (Doughnuts)
- Baraonda (Italian Restaurant)
- Cafe Agora (Mediterranean Restaurant)
- R Thomas (Organic Restaurant)
West Midtown & Home Park
- Miller Union (Elevated Southern Restaurant)
- Bacchanalia (Upscale Restaurant)
- 6 Feet Under (Pub & Fish House)
- Antico Pizza (Pizza / Gelato)
- Ormsby’s (Gastropub)
- Silver Skillet (American Diner)
Downtown
- Waffle House (Restaurant)
- Der Biergarten (Restaurant / Beers)
Other Areas of Atlanta
- Urban Tree Cidery – Cider Brewery (Berkeley Park)
- Ration & Dram – Gastropub (Kirkwood)
- El Tesoro – Authentic Mexican Restaurant (Edgewood)
OR KEEP SCROLLING TO EXPLORE ALL OF OUR FAVORITE ATLANTA FOOD & DRINK SPOTS!
Atlanta's Best Coffee Shops & Cafes
For obvious reasons (did someone say cats!?), one of my favorite coffee shops in the city in Java Cats Cat Cafe. It also doesn’t hurt that the baristas are friendly and make incredible coffee too.
Java Cats Cat Cafe was the first cat cafe in Atlanta, and now has 2 locations: the original Atlanta location in Grant Park and a location in Marietta, which is on the north side of the city.
The coffee shop is completely separate (including separate ventilation) from the cat room, but a giant window allows you to view the kitties while you enjoy your drink if you’re not up for a personal interaction.
Of course, I love visiting with the cats in the cat room, which you can experience for $12 per person. Price includes a drip coffee or tea.
Current hours are Thursday – Sunday: 11am – 6pm and reservations are required. They are limiting the number of guests in the cat room to 4 and masks are currently required.
poncy highlands
Java Jive is a unique and delicious retro breakfast diner hiding in plain sight across from Ponce City Market. Expect a delicious breakfast, coffee so good it you can drink it black, and homemade biscuits that are unforgettable.
Note: Java Jive is CASH Only, but they do have an ATM inside.
I am hesitant to even include Java Jive in this list, because I love this place. It has such a laid-back local vibe and I want to keep it to myself! But this type of place is exactly the side of Atlanta that should be shared with others.
The food is fresh, made to order, and absolutely wonderful. Expect to see the same small staff on every visit, have time to chat with them about the specials and menu, and enjoy your delicious food and coffee without being rushed. The friendly staff and atmosphere complement the delicious food so well.
They may ask you if you want a biscuit or toast. The correct answer is a biscuit. Do not insult them by ordering toast. They hand make those biscuits every day, and they are on par with the ones my grandmother made.
Another tip: Try the coffee black before you add anything. I am NOT a black coffee drinker – except at Java Jive. It’s that good.
inman park
Inman Perk is a locally owned and operated coffee shop in the heart of Inman Park, offering hot & cold beverages and fresh bites to eat. Inman Perk was founded on the idea of providing really good coffee and a warm, comfortable atmosphere. In fact, you can expect delicious food and drinks that are sustainable and fair trade certified as well.
In my experience, Inman Perk offers up at least 3 varieties of coffee daily, as well as their plethora of specialty espresso beverages and food.
Inman Perk has both indoor and outdoor tables where you often find locals typing away on laptops or chatting with friends.
Atlanta's Best Italian Restaurants
Chris and I both love Italian food, and lucky for me, my favorite Italian restaurant in Atlanta, A Mano, is within walking distance of my condo. Great service, a nice atmosphere, and pasta from scratch elevate the experience.
A Mano is the only Italian restaurant in the city where I have been able to find my favorite dish, Cacio e Pepe. They also have a house made limoncello that I love.
Chris hates limoncello (from anywhere, not just A Mano) and thinks it tastes like Lysol… but that’s okay… more for me!!
Chris’ favorite dish at A Mano is the bucatini alla bolognese. And we are both in agreement that the salted caramel bread pudding is incredible. Sounds strange, but trust us.. get the bread pudding.
We also enjoy the carbonara and the eggplant parmesan, and the cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are excellent as well. In all honesty, we’ve enjoyed everything we have tried so far!
The Best Pizza in Atlanta
Hands down, the best pizza is Atlanta can be found at Antico Pizza Napoletana. The original location has expanded into Little Italia, where you can also find more Italian food, gelato, and cocktails in an atmosphere inspired by historic town centers across Italy.
The original Antico Pizza Napoletana is still owned and operated by the Di Palma family in Home Park. In recent years, other locations have opened in Atlanta at the Battery and Truist Park (our baseball stadium), and in Alpharetta at Avalon Shopping Center.
The brick oven pizza is definitely the star of the show, and you can watch as it is prepared from scratch right in front of you in their open brick-oven kitchen.
Take your pizza to-go, sit outside and enjoy the ambiance of Little Italia, or grab a spot at one of the many communal tables within Antico.
While Antico Pizza does have a small selection of beer and wine, you are also encouraged to BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) to enjoy with your pizza. We love bringing our own bottle of Italian wine & splitting a pie while watching the chef’s toss dough.
Atlanta's Best Diners & Delis
The General Muir is an upscale Jewish Delicatessen located across from the CDC near Emory University. The General Muir is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Our favorite time to head to the General Muir is for brunch. Their bagels are the closest to NYC bagels we have found in Atlanta, and are absolutely delicious. Chris almost always gets a bagel with lox, or the platter that comes with lox, smoked nova, and salmon salad. The smoked hash with pastrami is one of my breakfast/brunch favorites, or I love getting a breakfast sandwich on one of those incredible bagels.
We also both love the matzah ball soup, latkes, and pastrami sandwiches. But the dish I am most obsessed with is the poutine. Think French fries, gravy, cheese curds, and parsley. I add the crispy pastrami and make it a meal because the portion is huge and quite filling. It is probably more calories than I need a week, but who is counting with food this delicious!!
Atlanta's Best Tapas Restaurants
One of our favorite styles of dining is tapas, and our favorite place in Atlanta for tapas is The Iberian Pig in Decatur. They have also opened a second location in Buckhead.
The Decatur location is found in a 100+ year old historic building, adding to the ambiance of your tapas experience. Reminds me of being in Spain.
While tapas are the focus at The Iberian Pig, you can also find family style meals (think larger portions) and plenty of cocktails and wine.
Their chef’s choice charcuterie board also takes me back to our trip to Spain and I always have a hard time not getting one. But there are so many fabulous tapas here, it is easy to over order so sometimes we skip it. We have never had a dish that we didn’t enjoy, even when we went with something outside of our comfort zone (or I guess I should say my comfort zone – all food is in Chris’ comfort zone – just wait until I get around to writing the post about the time he had me eat brains at Holeman & Finch).
I always have to get Patatas Bravas and Shisito peppers – Yes, I know I’m basic as hell when it comes to food and I’m ok with that. LOL.
Other recommendations: Pork Belly Tacos, Empanadas, Bacon Wrapped Dates, Marinated Spanish Olives, & Iberico Mac & Cheese.
In addition, the staff has always been excellent with recommendations for food and wine that pairs beautifully with the meal as well.
Atlanta's Best Breweries, GastroPubs, & Bars
I love the fact that a lot of awesome spots to go for a drink are also elevating their food game.
I met a friend at Brick Store Pub to grab a drink and catch up due to their large selection of beers, both on draft and in the can/bottle. Then I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of tasty food options on the menu as well!
The soft pretzel is an awesome starter or snack regardless of what you’re having for dinner. The pimento cheese plate is also very tasty.
The chicken pot pie is absolutely amazing. It was so good I forgot I was technically at a pub. The crust was just the right amount of crispy, and the filling was so flavorful and piping hot.
Atlanta's Best Mexican / Latin Restaurants
Since our trip to Mexico City, we are always on the lookout for authentic style Mexican food, so when our neighbor told us about brunch at El Tesoro we knew we had to check it out.
El Tesoro in in a small building off the main roads in a random part of Edgewood. There is plenty of street parking and a large grassy patio area for enjoying your food or a margarita.
You can order ahead of time for pickup, or there is a separate line for ordering upon arrival.
A Brunch menu is served on Saturdays & Sundays from 10am – 2pm. Otherwise, El Tesoro is open Wednesday – Sunday: 10am – 8pm (7pm on Sunday).
Our first time at El Tesoro we went during brunch. We both had breakfast burritos – I tried the Frijalero (black bean) & Chris tried the Chorizo con Papas. They were both very good, but if you eat meat, that chorizo one was a little bit more of a treat. We also enjoyed some delicious tostones with salsas and a Frontera tamale filled with mushroom & squash. Everything was delicious.
For drinks we opted for the Paloma & Smoked Paloma – a drink we discovered and loved from Mexico City. But if you are more of a margarita fan, they have several flavors and are excellent from what I am told. They also make various Aqua Fresca daily!
