The critically acclaimed restaurant, owned by chef Brian So and partner Daniel Crawford, features a tight, seasonally-inspired menu of dishes paired with a carefully curated list of natural and biodynamic wines. Start with fois gras terrine and sockeye salmon crudo before moving on to entrees like grilled wagyu flatiron steak and braised short rib or a whole fish course. Never skip the desserts at Spring, which change often and incorporate herbs, fruits, and other ingredients of the season. The small dining room here lends itself nicely to intimate dinner dates for two or foursomes of friends meeting to catch up over bottles of wine and a meal. Reservations highly encouraged.

Located on Delk Road, Mina’s Grill and Emporium is a cornerstone restaurant and market for Atlanta’s Brazilian community. Head in for a traditional Brazilian buffet as well as churrasco cut to order, and other fried street foods, including pastéis stuffed with ground meat or cheese, pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese puffs), and coxinhas (croquettes shaped like tear drops). It’s not unusual to find people camped out at tables dining while watching soccer at Mina’s, especially when Brazil is playing. Read more about Mina’s here. Takeout available.

The Gullah and Lowcountry dishes at Virgil’s, owned by Gee and Juan Smalls, are not to be missed. Order the she-crab soup or Gullah egg rolls stuffed with red rice, cabbage, and shrimp; the crab rice mixed with sautéed bacon, onions, and peppers; a side of greens; and the brownie-based Chucktown Chewie sundae for dessert. A second location opens along the Marietta Street Artery in 2022 near Georgia Tech. Order online for takeout. Just north of the College Park MARTA station. Outdoor seating available via parklet.

For years, this modest restaurant just south of town has been serving up a comforting mix of Laotian, Thai, and Chinese dishes on its menu. But it’s the Laotian fare that really shines at Hot Cafe. Make sure to order any of the larb (or “lab”) — a meat salad tossed with scallions, cilantro, red onions, and toasted rice — along with the fiery papaya salad paired with sticky rice. Regulars also swear by the wings, pad thai, and tom yum soup. Call to order takeout.

Two decade-old fine-dining stalwart Bacchanalia and its epic tasting menu are better than ever. The menu still includes the popular crab fritter, Maine lobster with caviar and brioche, and a rotating array of in-season entrees and desserts. Located next to market and cafe Star Provisions on Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard, reservations are necessary for a table here. Don’t have reservations? Head to the bar for cocktails, a glass of wine, and the a la carte menu. For those looking to create the Bacchanalia experience at home, the restaurant also offers a lavish, four-course takeout menu that includes dishes such as Maine lobster, New York strip, cheeses, and dessert. Reservations required. Order online for takeout.

In business since the 1940s, this Vine City soul food staple on Atlanta’s Westside serves some of the city’s best fried chicken, alongside an assortment of other Southern meat-and-three staples. The fried chicken here is marinated for 12 hours, hand-breaded, and fried. If that isn’t enticing enough, get the smothered version, which is topped with pan gravy. Order online for takeout and delivery.

James Beard award-winning chef Steven Satterfield’s fresh Southern cooking is simple, elegant, and includes a lot of seasonal, locally grown vegetables. The farm egg baked in celery cream with grilled bread is a must-try Atlanta dish. The restaurant also has one of the best vegetable plates in town and offers a killer wine list, too. The pandemic saw Satterfield and his team of chefs offer takeout from the restaurant for the first time ever to enjoy the Miller Union experience at home. Reservations encouraged. Order online for takeout. Outdoor seating available.

Redbird, the restaurant from chef Zeb Stevenson, churns out wildly creative seasonal dishes, with vegetables and fish always playing starring roles on the menu. Order family style and pair the meal with food-friendly wines, a cleverly named cocktail, or local beer while sitting in the airy, light-filled dining room or on the covered patio taking in the action at buzzy Westside Provisions District. Redbird serves weekend brunch, too, with its biscuit sandwich and burger pop-up Birdy Biscuits from the restaurant’s to-go window on the patio. Reservations encouraged. Order online for takeout. Outdoor seating available.

Chef Craig Richards opened his Midtown restaurant Lyla Lila in December 2019. Just three months later, the pandemic halted its forward momentum as a destination restaurant. Despite it all, Richards seemed to never lose sight of his original vision for Lyla Lila, a casually elegant neighborhood restaurant that Midtown needed. Pasta is a craft Richards has been working at for nearly two decades, which includes stints with Italian chef Lidia Bastianich at her Kansas City and Pittsburgh restaurants, and leading the kitchens at Virginia-Highland trattoria La Tavola and St. Cecilia in Buckhead. From cold-smoked scallops to duck lasagna to whole wood-grilled fish to the tiramsu, the dishes on the menu definitely make Lyla Lila a destination restaurant. Reservations encouraged. Order online for takeout. Outdoor seating available.

Summerhill Thai restaurant Talat Market opened in spring 2020 inside an old neighborhood market on Ormond Street. Each week, chefs Parnass Lim Savang and Rod Lassiter create around a dozen or so Thai and Thai-influenced dishes for the menu, featuring soups, salads, relishes, curries, stir-fries, and desserts, along with a couple of larger entrees, like yum khao thawt (crispy rice salad) and whole fish preparations. This is where to head for happy hour specials, fresh oysters, off-menu dishes, and crushable cocktails, including a Thai-inspired twist on the pina colada. Order online for takeout. Outdoor seating available via patio and parklet.

Owners Katie Barringer and Jordan Smelt merge their love for books, wine, food, and London at bookshop and wine bar Lucian. Located at Modera Buckhead, Lucian specializes in titles centered around art, design, food, and culture and carries nearly 250 wines by the bottle and 15 wines by the glass, curated by Smelt. Food here is approached with the same thoughtfulness and care as Barringer does with books and Smelt with wine. Nothing is an afterthought, right down to the sauces composed for each dish. Standouts on the menu are the raw hamachi with seasonal fruits, the gnudi, and duck. Be sure to order a bowl of crispy fries, too, which comes served with a chef’s choice aioli, like horseradish or spiced with chilis. Pair with a glass of champagne. Read more about Lucian here. Reservations highly encouraged.

The lines that form in the evenings at Glide Pizza speak volumes of the breakout success this takeout operation continues to experience at Irwin Street Market. First opened during the height of the global pandemic last summer, Glide Pizza owner Rob Birdsong slings giant slices and 20-inch Brooklyn-style pies for takeout or local delivery via electric bicycle served through a to-go window just steps from the Eastside Beltline. Birdsong keeps the pizzas at Glide simple and classic, using fresh meats and other ingredients to top his pies procured from several local food purveyors in town. Soon, residents and visitors of Decatur will be able to grab slices and pizzas from Glide when a second takeout window opens inside brewery Inner Voice Brewing. A third location opens later in 2022 at the new Westside Paper complex on West Marietta, too. Order online for takeout or local delivery.

Supremo Taco, the taco spot from chefs Duane Kulers and Nhan Le, resides across the parking lot from Grindhouse Killer Burgers on the edge of Grant Park. This LA-style takeout establishment serves a selection of tacos, like al pastor, mole poblano with chicken, and barbacoa, as well as tostadas, and snacks, such as a fried choriqueso and churros. Make sure to check out Supremo’s daily specials, too. Order at the window or online for takeout. Follow on Instagram for special menu drops.

To be a member of this Krog Street Market New England-style tavern, one simply has to walk in, grab a seat, and order a drink or a meal. Try popular menu mainstays like the Ipswich clam roll, the seasonal vegan noodle bowl, the veal sweetbreads, or the crowd-pleasing (and feeding) chuckwagon steak platter. Ticonderoga Club is owned by three forefolk of Atlanta’s cocktail movement: Greg Best, Paul Calvert, and Regan Smith. Cocktails rotate regularly here, but T-Club’s mint julep riff the Ticonderoga Cup and an Irish Coffee are always on the menu. Watch for cocktail and wine specials on the menu here. Reservations encouraged. Order to-go cocktails online for takeout.

Opened in 2013, Italian-American restaurant BoccaLupo has become both a neighborhood favorite in Inman Park for local residents and one of Atlanta’s must destination restaurants. Order any of the fresh pasta dishes on the menu — the black spaghetti and the 20-yolk tagliatelle are now Atlanta classics. Make sure to check out the tight wine list and cocktails here, too. Reservations encouraged. Outdoor seating available.

This East Atlanta Village hangout has been known to quietly serve some of the best versions of popular foods on its menu for years, including pizza, meatloaf, wings, vegan burgers, and a hot chicken thigh sandwich served on a brioche bun. Make sure to check out the seasonal food and dessert specials on the menu, too, and pair the meal with clever cocktails, wine, local beer, or even a boilermaker. Order online for takeout. Outdoor seating available.

Owned by chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips, Lazy Betty in Candler Park is built around the tasting menu experience. Here, people choose between two highly curated tasting menus of six to eight courses with optional wine pairings. There’s also champagne and caviar service, which comes served with steamed milk buns and scallion pancakes, too. In Lazy Betty, Hsu and Phillips have created the elegance and sophistication of fine dining wrapped in a warm and inviting neighborhood restaurant. Reservations required. Vegetarian menu available upon request. Outdoor seating available.

This small and inviting neighborhood restaurant on the corner of McClendon Avenue and Clifton Road in Candler Park discontinued its popular Southwestern-influenced breakfast on the weekends. It’s been replaced by Taiwanese breakfast pop-up Mighty Hans on Saturdays. Dinner is where Gato really shines. Served Wednesday through Sunday, the dinner menu explores the regional food roots of southern Mexico and the Yucatán. Head in to enjoy a tight selection of natural and biodynamic wines in the evening with a family-style meal. Gato also serves as an incubator for young chefs and restaurant entrepreneurs, some of whom have gone on to own their own restaurants, including chefs Parnass Lim Savang and Rod Lassiter of Talat Market and Jarrett Stieber of Little Bear. Look for Gigi’s Italian Kitchen here on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings. Follow on Instagram for pop-up updates. Limited outdoor seating available.

This congenial restaurant on Briarcliff, owned by siblings Tamar Telahun and Simon Gebru, serves traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean fare on its menu with flatbread called injera used to scoop up the vegetable- and spicy meat-laden dishes. Order options like the lamb and collard stew gomen be’siga or the red pepper stew doro wet, the ye’shimbra asa chickpea biscuits, and the marinated short ribs goden tibs or vegan mushroom tibs. All entrees are served with injera, which can be substituted for rice. Order online for takeout.

Chef Terry Koval opened his Decatur restaurant in 2019 and its become not only a destination restaurant for Atlantans, but provides Koval ample space to really shine as a chef. Expect skillfully composed dishes of in-season vegetables, beef and pork from nearby cattle and pig farms, and game meat entrees, like crispy rabbit legs fried in fermented buttermilk, duck sausage roulade, and plates of venison. The restaurant’s bar offers a handful of classic cocktails, beer, and cider, as well as a selection of mainly French and Italian wines. In the mornings, head next door to Koval’s B-Side Cafe for Montreal-style bagels, bagel sandwiches, and coffee. Reservations encouraged. Outdoor seating available.

Housed in the former Decatur train depot, the menu at Kimball House is an ode to elegant dining and drinking all experienced in a dimly lit, laid-back dining room. Kick off the night with Southern and Gulf water oysters paired with cocktails or champagne at happy hour. Stay for dinner and continue the evening by sharing local vegetable and fish dishes or a three-course steak dinner for two. Beyond its award-winning cocktails, the Decatur restaurant features a wine list that is equally impressive, and includes everything from mucadet, chenin blanc, and big, bold reds to sherry, madeira, and vermouth. Reservations encouraged. Outdoor seating available.

Since opening in 2018 at the H Mart plaza in Doraville, Lao restaurant Snackboxe Bistro has gained an avid following — and for good reason. Chef Thip Athakhanh mixes traditional Lao dishes and street foods with beloved home recipes passed down from her family on the menu at Snackboxe. Expect plates of larb (meat salad), khao poon (spicy rice noodle soup), and the popular mok pha (steamed fish) with street foods such as fried garlic-pepper wings, lemongrass spare ribs, and tapioca pearl dumplings here. A second location opens soon in Duluth focused on Lao barbecue. Order online for takeout.

This Buford Highway staple in the Pinetree Shopping Plaza, now with a second location in Kennesaw, offers heaping plates of hand-pulled noodles and noodle soups on its menu. Try the pork or oxtail stir-fried noodles or order the beef or roast duck hand-pulled noodle soup. Watch the chefs through the kitchen window roll, twist, pull, and whip noodles into shape. LanZhou also offers a variety of dumplings on its menu, including soup dumplings and pork buns. Order online for takeout.

Located in the Patel Plaza in North Decatur, this counter-service vegetarian restaurant has been serving loyal regulars Indian street eats for over 20 years now, including generously sized dosas, savory samosas, and a selection of vegetarian biryani. Order thali platters and Indo-Chinese dishes here, too. Make sure to pop over to the bakery counter to grab some sweet treats for the road, like jalebi, kulfi, a variety of burfee, and kaju rolls. Call to order takeout.

Located in Seoul Plaza on Buford Highway, Woo Nam Jeong or Stone Bowl House serves traditional Korean fare created by the restaurant’s longtime chef Young Hui Han, lovingly referred to as “grandma”. Regulars to this Korean restaurant know to order its signature dish, any of the dolsot bibimbap. The dish is served in a searing hot cast iron stone bowl allowing the rice to become nice and crispy before mixing. Make sure to indulge in the complimentary banchan here, which Han makes herself each day. Other dishes to try include the haemul pajeon (seafood scallion pancake) and gujeolpan, an elaborate Korean royal court dish consisting of nine types of food served with crepes in an octagonal wooden platter. Order online for takeout.

Hailing from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, chef Woinshet Legesse Emory (Chef Winnie) is no stranger to the hustle and bustle of restaurant life. She worked in a number of hotel restaurants before settling in Clarkston, where she opened her eponymous restaurant. Here, Emory mixes Ethiopian, Mexican, and American cuisines on the menu; one might dine on beef, chicken, or jackfruit curry tibs and gomen with spongy injera alongside Philly cheesesteaks and fish tacos. Order online for takeout.

Opened in 2021, Pakistani bakery cafe Dil Bahar Cafe is already a go-to in Norcross for its variety of Karachi-style chaat, Masala fries, panipuri, and samosas as well as for desserts like shahi tukray (bread pudding) or glasses of refreshingly cold falooda. Try the chicken roll, the bun kabab, or the savory, deep-fried kachori served with sabzi (mixed vegetables). Pair snacks with a hot cup of chai or a mango lassi. Make sure to keep an eye out for specials here, including beef and lentil haleem. Takeout available. Halal.

Sun City in Stone Mountain serves beef, chicken, and coco patties, a selection of classic Jamaican dishes, and a few specialties, including barbecued jerk ribs, on its menu. Come for the weekly soup specials like a thick red pea soup or the fish soup — referred to in Jamaica as “fish tea”. Breakfast often features jerk chicken and waffles, oat or cornmeal porridge, and saltfish paired with ackee or callaloo. Takeout available.