The 10 Restaurants That Defined Atlanta Dining This Year

Hidden among warehouses, before a web of freight train tracks on a stretch of the west side still littered with grassy empty lots, Palo Santo began as a clear frontrunner for risk-taking in Atlanta. Now as it enters its sophomore year, confident in its fully formed identity, chef Santiago Gomez’s hot spot has turned that spark of inspo into a roaring flame of its namesake wood.

It has literally raised the bar (and the age limit; you must be 25+ to party) – you’ll find it on the rooftop Wednesdays through Sundays, serving chilled snacks and fancy drinks. A DJ bumps into the wee hours Thursday onwards, and a monthly brunch adds a new opportunity. Don’t miss the blue corn masa pancakes – it’s as much a must for the table as the roasted head of cauliflower, covered in caramelized miso and frizzled leeks, is for dinner.

This now-classic dish is part of how Palo Santo has redefined what to expect from Mexican cuisine in Atlanta, as well as from fine dining in general. Gomez pushes folks to order outside the box – pairing mussels and bone marrow, duck carnitas with kimchi, crickets and scorpions with rare mezcals – and presenting his dishes in exquisite fashion in one of the most cosmopolitan dining rooms in the city. And in doing so, Palo Santo continues to drive experimentation forward at a time Atlanta could very much use it.

This intimate restaurant, tucked off the train tracks before the “MARIETTA” mural, is one of Cobb County’s worst-kept secrets – it’s perhaps this suburb’s top pride and joy, the strongest proof point that boundaries are being pushed beyond the Perimeter. (Because of that, it was also one of the sorest points of omission among Atlantans in the recent awards from a certain tire-affiliated company.) Regardless, chef Brian So’s minimalistic approach continues to define beautiful dining in a city often prone to glitz and excess. In a small dining room bare of frippery, an equally minimalistic menu wows through every one of its frequently rotated iterations. Only three each of starters, mains, and desserts are offered at a time, a boldly confident move with serious “just trust me” vibes. All of them are adventures in texture and layered flavors, and all reinforce that Marietta’s pride in So is well deserved.

A universal truth Anthony Bourdain proved is that when culture is shared over an full table is when the most understanding and appreciation happens. And so, during these tense times, it’s a point of pride how deeply Atlanta has embraced the pleasure of Persian cuisine — namely with the opening of the latest, elegant extension of the beloved Delbar brand in the ‘burbs. In a dining room that feels like an open-air royal courtyard, meals start with fresh-baked flatbread studded with black sesame seeds, which is worth hanging onto for the lamb-topped dill labneh. The tahdig, dramatically crusted and saturated with flavor, is a must-order side. Enormous entrees that range from whole fish to stews and kebabs offer plentiful variety. Moreover, Delbar brings the generosity and communal aspect of food culture to the fore. This is joyous, delicious food that rightfully brings Atlantans together … yes, in Alpharetta, too.

Atlanta may have our own style of barbecue, but the explosive growth and perennial popularity of Texas-style Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q proves that the two can happily coexist. In fact, their recent expansion into Brookhaven has made them even more Atlantan than ever, laying down a fifth set of roots in the city. This even more casual location (if you can even imagine such a thing) features counter-style ordering of meats cooked low and slow in three custom smokers, sliced to order, and priced by the pound. It’s back to basics here: brisket, pork, turkey, housemade sausage, and those truly excellent ribs.

You won’t find their Fox-a-Roni, their outstanding Brunswick stew and mac and cheese, nor their spectacular fried brussels sprouts. But like Spring, Fox is demonstrating that a restrained scale-back in an age of too many options can be as defining as an all-out bash.

More info here.

This year, Kevin Gillespie celebrated a full decade of welcoming folks to Gunshow. At the time, it introduced a whole new approach to food service. Though you’ll still find Gillespie in the open kitchen today, he’s largely turned over the reins to his creative team, and given them latitude to flex, which even at 10 years old makes this one of the city’s most exciting places to watch talent develop in real time. Every single day, Gillespie’s team is  challenged to come up with original dishes, which they then personally peddle from table to table, building on their visual and verbal presentation skills.

The power is with the diner to say yea or nay to interpretations of seasonal and local ingredients, often described in vague ways: “Shrimp. Grits. Boudin” or “Beef. Mustard. Onion.” So here’s a a salute to Gillespie’s hired guns (not to be confused with the restaurant’s annual Hired Guns event) who are finding new and dashing ways to redefine the New South.

Another one not resting on its laurels, chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips continue to innovate at their tasting-menu restaurant (now the proud recipient of one of Atlanta’s first Michelin stars).  While the food has been long turning heads in every seasonal iteration — think roasted onion tortellini with a gruyere fondue, also a full-on vegetarian alternative menu — it’s some of their other focal points that have been helping to redefine  the restaurant industry in Atlanta as a whole.

Recently, Lazy Betty earned Sensory Inclusive certification to draw awareness to those who may be susceptible to sensory overload, becoming the first restaurant group in the city to do so. Before that, Hsu was one of the earliest chefs in town to be outspoken about pay equity in the food service industry. Indeed, both partners have been leading by example, from back to front of house. They’ve remained committed to including gratuities in their pricing to ensure adequate compensation for staff. So go ahead and add on caviar service or a wine pairing. The math’s already done for you, and you’ll be supporting a restaurant that wants to make things ever more fair.

Chef Joey Ward is another prime example of chefs redefining Atlanta dining outside of what’s on the plate. Another strong advocate for normalizing equity in compensation and benefits for full-time restaurant staffers, he made his restaurants tip-inclusive in 2023. Thus his multicourse tasting experience at Georgia Boy, the celebrated communal table restaurant within Southern Belle, allows every one of his eight-at-a-time guests to be surprised only by what’s on their plates. The one set thing is the sticker price.

That allows for a certain freedom. So, set a Notify for 28 days in advance of your desired date and try your odds at enjoying fantastical takes on local flavors. Think twice cooked chicken “lemon pepper wet,” and corn grits creamed with roasted chanterelles, goat cheese, and truffle popcorn. The limited seatings make it a hard booking to get, but Ward wants us to enjoy it in a way that feels just a bit more equitable.

Omakase has been burning super hot in 2023. Nearly every high-end Japanese restaurant in Atlanta is unveiling an omakase offering, with some newcomers booking up 40 weeks in advance. But this year-old sleeper – once a pop-up in Silom Thai & Sushi Bar, then the beloved Brush Sushi Izakaya – by chef Leonard Yu offers a refreshing and exquisite alternative to the sultry, sceney aesthetic that seems to define ATL omakase.

The hushed, light-filled dining area for a dozen diners at a time is a  Zen-like environment to quietly savor 20 courses of cured, marinated, aged, and technically perfect bites made with fish flown in from Toyosu Fish Market, genuine Koshihikari rice, fresh Shizuoka wasabi root, and once-in-a-lifetime ingredients like Japanese Imperial prawn. Even the bathrooms here are a modern adventure in their minutiae of precision. Just be careful which buttons you push!

Call 404-205-5876 for reservations.

The many Northeastern transplants moving to Atlanta may argue that their home states boast the best Italian food, but Atlanta has been working hard and fast to debunk that. And Lyla Lila has been leading the pack, serving housemade pastas with seasonal, pan-southern European influences that include a crispy duck lasagna with cocoa bechamel; cavatelli with a Sicilian pork ragu that veers untraditional with Thai basil and butter-poached lobster; and beef and black truffle ravioli. Luxurious mains such as porcelet with farro verde and grilled peach and snapper with satsuma orange-roe butter gave reason to dazzle.

Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson’s entrance into Atlanta last year is just further evidence that we’re fast-moving as more than a blip on the radar as an exploding culinary scene … and that our local culture and color isn’t to be ignored if you want to succeed in our city. While the Red Rooster Harlem founder’s emphasis is fancy comfort food, he tapped into local minority talent to add the soul, including Hannah Young from the Adele’s that once occupied this space, and a majority female kitchen team. He also noted on record that he consulted with well-known Atlantan chefs like Linton Hopkins and some of our local music industry power players. Together, they created a space that’s retro-cool and a menu that marries barbecue, Southern indulgences like his famous Yard Bird, and seafood with a more global spin.

Call 470-890-1700 for reservations.