On the Menu

Long recognized for traditional Southern cooking and comfort food, Atlanta is also becoming known for the wide variety of fine restaurants, neighborhood joints and ethnic eateries located throughout the city. For oh-so-Southern dishes like deep fried chicken and sweet fried corn, try Mary Mac’s Tea Room, where you’ll share the dining room with locals who’ve been eating there since 1945. The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead or Bacchanalia’s four-course meals offer dining that is truly world-class. For a romantic evening, book dinner in The Abbey, a restored 1915 church; Anthony’s, a 1797 antebellum plantation set in the city confines; or Canoe, situated on the banks of the Chattahoochee River.

To view the city skyline while savoring a meal, enjoy roof-top dining at the Sun Dial at the Westin Peachtree Plaza, Nikolai’s Roof at the Atlanta Hilton or the Hyatt Regency’s Polaris Room. If it’s foreign fare you’re after, sample Moroccan food at Imperial Fez; upscale Italian at the long-established La Grotta, located in the bottom of a Buckhead apartment building; or Tamarind for Thai cuisine. Fogo de Chao is the city’s first Brazilian churrascaria; Kyma offers up the flavors of Greece; and a chanteuse sings with your supper at South of France.

To spot local celebrities, try the Buckhead Diner, but to see Hollywood stars you’ll have to shell out the bucks at BluePointe. For a little out-of-the-ordinary ambience, check out 57th Fighter Group, a WWI-style restaurant next to Peachtree-DeKalb Airport; Café Tu Tu Tango, set in an artist’s loft; or Agatha’s A Taste of Mystery, where diners take part in a murder mystery during dinner.

Whether you’re in the mood for an exquisite dinner or a dose of local culture, you can find your flavor in Atlanta’s culinary scene. But those who know the city best direct visitors to The Varsity, the world’s largest drive-in and, since 1928, the place with the best chilidogs and onion rings around.

The following brief list includes addresses and phone numbers for the restaurants we’ve mentioned as well as some of Atlanta’s other well-known eating establishments. Be sure to call ahead to check times, make reservations where needed and confirm prices.

57th Fighter Group

Watch the planes take off as you dine in this nostalgic WWI setting next to Peachtree-DeKalb Airport.

3829 Clairmont Rd. (Decatur)
770/457-7277

The Abbey

The “monks” serve dinner in this restored 1915 church, and there’s harp music, too.

163 Ponce de Leon Ave.
404/876-8532

Agatha’s A Taste of Mystery

Decide who done it at this fun and funky mystery dinner theater.

693 Peachtree St.
404/875-1610

Anis

French bistro in a cozy house

2974 Grandview Ave.
404/233-9889

Anthony’s

Surf and turf, souffles and flambes in an antebellum mansion

3109 Piedmont Rd.
404/262-7379

Aria

Contemporary American cuisine in an all-white room

490 E. Paces Ferry Rd.
404/233-7673

Atlanta Fish Market

Fresh fish and lots of choices. You’ll know it by the giant copper fish outside.

264 Pharr Rd.
404/262-3165

Bacchanalia

Real gourmet in a renovated meat-packing plant

1198 Howell Mill Rd.
404/365-0410

BluePointe

The hottest place to see and be seen

3455 Peachtree Rd.
404/237-9070

Bone’s

Charbroiled steaks and cheesy grits fritters

3130 Piedmont Rd.
404/237-2663

Buckhead Diner

Good food, good service and people-watching galore at this upscale diner

3073 Piedmont Rd.
404/262-3336

Canoe

A continental menu and a gorgeous setting on the Chattahoochee River

4199 Paces Ferry Rd. (Vinings)
770/432-2663

Cheesecake Factory

More than 50 different cheesecakes and desserts. Dinner menu, too.

3024 Peachtree Rd.
404/816-2555

Chops

Prime steaks and fine wines in Buckhead

70 W. Paces Ferry Rd.
404/262-2675

City Grill

Varied menu in an elegant setting

50 Hurt Plaza
404/524-2489

Dante’s Down the Hatch

A longtime tourist favorite with fondue, a boat and a moat

3380 Peachtree Rd.
404/266-1600

The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead

A memorable dining experience at this top-rated restaurant

3434 Peachtree Rd.
404/240-7035

ESPN Zone

Popular, noisy, crowded sports bar

3030 Peachtree Rd.
404/682-3776

Fogo de Chao

Skewers of meat are sliced to order and never quit coming at this Brazilian churrascaria.

3101 Piedmont Rd.
404/255-7277

Imperial Fez

Five courses of Moroccan, Moroccan and more Moroccan, complete with belly dancers

2288 Peachtree Rd.
404/351-0870

Kyma

The flavors of Greece at your table

3085 Piedmont Rd.
404/262-0702

La Grotta

Upscale Italian in the bottom of a Buckhead apartment building

2637 Peachtree Rd.
404/231-1368

Mary Mac’s Tea Room

Old-fashioned, Southern cooking in big rooms with formica tables

224 Ponce de Leon Ave.
404/876-1800

Nava

Southwest dining and multi-level decor to match

3060 Peachtree Rd.
404/240-1984

Nikolai’s Roof at the Atlanta Hilton

French and Russian specialties with a great view

255 Courtland St.
404/221-6362

Pano’s and Paul’s

A super lounge and famous fried lobster tails

1232 W. Paces Ferry Rd.
404/261-3662

The Polaris Room at the Hyatt Regency

A room with a view atop the hotel

265 Peachtree St.
404/577-1234

South of France

Authentic French country cuisine accompanied by a chanteuse

2345 Cheshire Bridge Rd. (Northeast)
404/766-9688

Sun Dial at the Westin Peachtree Plaza

Steaks and seafood in a revolving restaurant 72 stories up

210 Peachtree St.
404/589-7506

Tamarind

Sophisticated Thai in this Midtown hideaway

80 14th St.
404/873-4888

Three Dollar Cafe

Wings and beer, sports and more beer

3002 Peachtree Rd.
404/266-8667

The Varsity

Burgers and dogs, which locals request with pimiento cheese. They come “naked” (plain), “in the garden” (lettuce and tomato) or “walkin” (to go).

61 North Ave.
404/881-1706

The Vortex Bar and Grill

Pub food with BIG burgers

878 Peachtree Rd.
404/875-1667

Watershed

Once a service station, now a hip venue for regional cuisine

406 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. (Decatur)
404/378-4900

Woodfire Grill

A California wine country menu in Atlanta

1782 Cheshire Bridge Rd. (Northeast)
404/347-9055