The Resy Hit List: Where In Atlanta You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

Miller Union’s Steven Satterfield and Neal McCarthy have another hit on their hands with the new wine bar and restaurant they opened with Dive Wine’s Tim Willard. Folks have been fast to smash the Notify button since its opening, and the jury’s split between whether the small plates or the big glasses should take top billing. Shareable dishes range from light to less light; a poulet rouge and creamy potato gnocchi are as big as plates get. McCarthy and Willard are both esteemed sommeliers, and thankfully, their excitement to share their knowledge means a choice of roughly two dozen wines by the glass. Once you grab a seat, just follow our Dish by Dish recs and let that be your guide.

Delbar may be nicely settled into their newest digs, and Fares Kargar’s third location has shown no signs of slowing down. Lunch and brunch are in full swing now, in addition to the always-on-Notify dinner service. Validated two-hour self-parking makes this city central location even more convenient, and you’ll want to linger in the high-glam, convivial space, savoring shared plates like pomegranate molasses-drizzled red pepper muhumara spread (featured in our Rundown) and — perfect for spring — a strawberry- and currant-accented salad of peas four ways. Try the herbaceous sabzi polo rice with tahdig and frizzled onion with savory adana kabob to make the house soft serve and ice cream feel all the sweeter after.

Chef Duane Nutter may be a newly minted cookbook author, but first and foremost, he’s still one of Atlanta’s best kitchen talents. So, come ready to play: Grab a drink at the bar, intentionally designed to feel like a listening room, before you sit down to your Resy. Then satiate your visual sense observing the art collection this multi-time James Beard nominee takes such pride in before digging into a jalapeno johnny cake and biscuit bread basket, smoked chicken with fettuccine in pecan pesto, and tongue-in-cheek dishes like Lamb Burger Helper (rigatoni with lamb and fennel) and Trout Nutter-Dean with dirty rice grits and peanut lemon-caper sauce. If it’s the legendary brunch you’re after, set a Notify. That’s Sundays only, and always in demand.

Plenty of restaurants serve mezcal, but far fewer are bold enough to call themselves a mezcaleria — and this is Atlanta’s first. Décor showcases the agave plant, from suspensions over the bar to real harvesting tools on an accent wall in the glamorous emerald green and black dining room. Experience a tableside Tequila flight and the power of smoke and flame with steak in a habanero ash sauce, a charcoal and orange cocktail, and “forgotten” blistered masa tortilla. Don’t miss the cochinita pibil blue corn sopes nor the overstuffed chicken enchiladas with poblano cream. Mole sauce is painstakingly scratch-made here, as are desserts by pastry chef Ricky Saucedo, whose little-bit-of-everything “Magic Tea Cup” shows us how smoke enhances everything — even chocolate. Brunch means conchas; enjoy them on the patio.

Offering perhaps the only cocktail tasting menu in town, this a 60s-era, fur-trimmed, red-lit vintage tour bus is limited to 18 seats. Bites from co-owned Muchacho next door are paired to enhance four rounds of drinks over 80 minutes; add-ons are coursed accordingly. The current “Karate Kid” theme — call it hot Asian fusion, if you must — is waxing off for the last time, but in its place as of May 9 is “Pulp Fiction.” Two paths, Vincent and Jules, feature creative drinks named after key moments in Quentin Tarantino’s movie. Think ingredients like cherry tomato shrub, green chile-infused vodka, and more. Resys open up only every other Tuesday, so set a Notify to lock down your spot. 

Set up to resemble a Thai marketplace, zealously decorated with knickknacks and playful references, this BuHi staple by Adidsara “Tum” Weerasin and Jakkrit “Pok” Tuanphakdee specializes in the cuisine of the northeast. The menu is divided into Isan, where the food is less sweet and Laotian influences make their mark in dishes like larb, housemade sausage, and raw green papaya salads; Very Thai, where you’ll want to order boat noodles or dishes made with fresh, not dried, rice noodles (a rarity in Atlanta); and Special Thai for favorites from other regions, covering ample ground across the country. Get the moo dang — the roast pork that gave the nation’s most famous hippo her name — over rice or with noodles and pair it with Thai and Japanese beers. 

Choose your own three-course adventure with Kevin Gillespie’s prix fixe menu, which offers plenty of opportunities to see how hearty Scottish fare can be given a contemporary Southern and New England twist. For instance, Georgia-grown wagyu culotte grilled on wood comes with barbecued sweet potatoes and Scotch ale mousse and Maine peekytoe crab is accompanied by brown-butter yuzu and a tattie scone. Or just let Gillespie navigate your “way of nature” with a six-courser freshly updated for the season. New winter riffs feature smoked mussels with hard cider cream and duck confit with spiced quince. Warm up further with a dram from his private whisky collection — just the right drink to feel like a laird in his lodge.

The viral favorite and Dunwoody gas station-famous smashburger has glowed up to full service as the latest newcomer to the posh Avalon complex north of Atlanta. What’s been called one of the nation’s best burgers continues to do what it does best: classic, retro double-patty cheeseburgers on soft potato rolls and fries, tater tots, hot dogs fried in beef tallow — the technique that launched the Golden Arches and has come back in fine-dining spots like Ford Fry’s Little Sparrow. Dine indoors or out at high top, counter seats, and communal tables. Stay a while to play cornhole, slurp milkshakes, or try cocktails from an automated dispenser.  

 No reservations. Find more info here.

Under the stewardship of executive chef Charles Lowney, chef-owner Jason Hill’s oldie but goodie continues to push the modern Southern cooking that pioneered a movement when Wisteria opened two dozen years ago. The historic building, identifiable by its brick façade, opens up to a dining room with a downtown vibe, where local art is on display and for sale. That way, you can take home more than just a memory of a great meal of fried Gulf oysters, charred romaine Caesar salad, pimento cheese deviled eggs, molasses-rubbed pork with sweet potato puree, or wild-caught diver scallops. Pro tip: As you would at Miller Union, order the vegetable plate for the table for a sampler that often includes corn pudding, apple relish, succotash, parsnip mash, and seasonal greens. 

Filipino flavors are on fire right now, and this local favorite has been generating both local and national accolades. Plus, next year’s upcoming expansion is hotly anticipated as Resys fill up ever faster with the growing recognition. Book a kamayan-style feast as a private event for the most memorable spread in town, or design your own with an array of lumpia ranging from pork or Filipino sausage to jalapeños and cheese, then chicken adobo, and sisig with pork belly cheek, snout, and pate. Ube fans won’t want to skip the desserts, as the purple yam takes three forms.

An airy, summery bistro with a coastal, southern Mediterranean feel, this newcomer by chef Kevin Maxey is beautiful watercolor blend of his venerable cooking experience under celebrity chefs like Ford Fry and Tom Colicchio: a proper New York/New Jersey-style (read: monster-sized and extra cheesy) chicken Parm, Southern chicory reimagined as carbonara with honeyed bacon vinaigrette, Gulf shrimp scampi that references his upbringing in Texas, appetizer-sized wood-fired new-age Neapolitan pizzettes, and Venetian-inspired spritzes. Dine family-style, starting with a luscious beef tartare with shaved egg and ending with an enormous goblet of tiramisu, which pairs perfectly with the creamy, coffee liqueur-tinged dessert cocktail. For details on everything else in between, here’s what to order.

Chef Santiago Gomez’s urbane oasis remains one of Atlanta’s hot spot fixtures, but that’s never kept innovation off the table here. Bar director Orestes Cruz is new to the team, infusing cocktail offerings with fresh fruit and herbaceous twists — often literally. Also new: Taco Tuesday, with a la carte gourmet tacos that let you mix and match proteins such as birria and double-fried pork belly with sauces like salsa macha and molcajeteada with toppings like beans, guac, and pickled radish. Pro tip: some drinks are exclusive to the rooftop or dining room (drinks upstairs are designed to pair well with the Japanese light bites offered there), so make your Resy accordingly.

Pullman Yards staple Tamara Hewitt’s specials are now accessible more regularly as the concept enters its residency era. Flavors from Jamaica and the American South come together every weekend in combinations of your choosing as you DIY a small-bite spread from oxtail empanadas and fluffy seafood hush puppies to tiny hot honey chicken biscuits and shrimp with a grit croquette. If decision paralysis hits, go for the afternoon tea-style brunch tower for a generous sampler and a pot of blooming hot tea. For something heartier, peach-stuffed waffles and egg skillets stick to the ribs. Whatever you do, don’t skip dessert: her adorable, uber-realistic sweet treats like banana pudding-stuffed mini bananas and the already-viral chocolate “plant pots” are unmissable.

Recently reopened with chef Robert Butts (formerly of Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours) and Tregaye (Fraser) at the helm, this Angel has definitely earned new wings. A revamped menu features dishes whose flavors match the polished but unabashedly bold décor of the jewel-toned, historic space. For instance, roasted cauliflower topped with toasted sunflower seeds surprises with a succotash emulsion that packs secret heat in the finish. Then mains like meaty lobster ravioli with Creole bechamel and smoked lamb chops with spicy pepper jam and chimichurri made with collard greens make global dishes distinctly Southern and soulful. Don’t skip dessert or the cornbread by Megan Brent as she flexes her pastry chops. Pro tip: Charcuterie lovers will want to book a Resy for Thursday’s Grazing Hour.

Erika Council just dropped a bomb at the Larkin, the new address of her nationally acclaimed breakfast and brunch spot, moving a few blocks and due to reopen. The menu will be slightly abbreviated (for now!) but foundational favorites remain. Lemon pepper chicken biscuits, maple butter chicken and waffles, sausage and cheese biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and more – along with daytime cocktails and locally roasted coffee – are on deck. And speaking of decks, outdoor seating as well as indoor, plus an hour earlier opening time than at its last location, might make it a teensy bit easier to lock down that Resy. And a takeout area further increases your odds of getting blown away by these biscuits. So if you think you’re feeling luckier these days, you are.

If you’ve never found yourself heading toward Mableton, pitmasters Robert Owens (Grand Champion) and Bryan Hull (Secret Pint BBQ) are certainly giving us reason by the pound. Two enormous smokers filled with locally sourced oak and parked right outside show they mean business, but the results prove they know their craft. Order the brisket, the gorgeous pink smoke ring broken only by rivulets of fat that lace through fall-apart meat and well-seasoned bark. Unspeakably tender turkey, oversized ribs, and thick, juicy sausages that split with the tightest of snaps are also musts. The house-pickled accoutrements are no afterthoughts; nor is dessert. If you see the whipped pudding with the three-cookie crust, grab it with both hands — you won’t want to share.  

Find more info here.