The Atlanta Restaurants We Loved in 2025
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It’s that most wonderful time of year where Team Resy and Tock have scrolled through our respective camera rolls to pin down the meals that’ve stood out to us the most. It’s never easy to be pick favorites, but our 2025 picks have proven yet again what we know and hold dear to our hearts: Restaurants are our homes away from home, acting as the perfect backdrop for all of life’s moments, both big and small.
From the places where we’ve felt like regulars to the restaurants that hosted our weddings, catch-ups with friends, and everything in between, here are Team Resy and Tock’s favorite restaurant meals of 2025.
My most visited restaurant in 2025…
… was Puma Yu’s — more than three dozen visits. I’ve watched Pete Amadhanirundr and Ally Smith go from pop-up to brick-and-mortar, with their real-deal Thai bar that bursts with American-Southern-grown vegetables. It just feels good when you run into the owners at the Athens Farmers Market as they’re picking up Sun Jewel melons for a summer dish. That and seeing some of my favorite spirits and producers (Martha Stoumen, Ten to One Rum, Matchbook Distilling Co., Forthave Spirits) on the ever-changing bar cocktail menu makes Puma Yu’s one of my happy places.
The dish that keeps repeating in my head is the beef cheek Panang curry — the peanut undertones give this dish a beautiful body, and the spice isn’t for the faint of heart. The beef is tender and plentiful, and the sweet peppers add another layered dimension. Everything sits nicely. I want a few quarts in my Brooklyn freezer for the winter months.
— Nicole A. Taylor, Resy Editorial Contributor
A memorable date night took place at…
… Bon Ton in Midtown. We started with some charbroiled oysters because I wanted a taste of NOLA without the airfare: mission accomplished. We also had the crab cakes with pickled vegetables, which were very filling. Finally for our mains, we ordered the Bon Ton rice bowl with blackened catfish and mac and cheese on the side. The food was incredibly tasty and we will definitely be visiting again.
— Shai Perry, Senior Financial Analyst
I’m not usually the biggest fan of uni…
… (I know, I know, unpopular opinion), but I am a big fan of M @ Umi and was curious to see what sushi boss Kazuo Yoshida was bringing to the omakase counter for its reopening. And wow, was I far from disappointed. Not only did he bring his own seafood connections (which he’s generously shared with other sushi chefs in town) to Atlanta, he’s brought his own custom rice blend for nigiri and some unique techniques (like deconstructing and infusing mackerel with alliums for an unforgettable bite). I had an immaculate butter-poached lobster with truffle mousse for a modern east-meets-west dish; nearly obscene amounts of Ossetra caviar as toppings; and the most delectable uni risotto I’ve ever had. If you’ve been before, go again. I promise that it’s worth it.
— Su-Jit Lin, Atlanta Writer, Resy Editorial
This restaurant’s got it all…
… a beautiful dining room and amazing food, from the homemade bread (served with herbs, radishes, walnuts, and cheese) to the crispy rice. We were so well cared for at Delbar Middle Eastern, so well fed, and felt so welcomed. We left full in many ways, and I can’t wait to go back.
— Amanda Kaderavek, Senior Partner Success Manager
I was gone a lot of the year…
So, when I was home, I gravitated toward comfort food. Like the Cuban sandwiches at Sammy’s and La Semilla, which have continuously warmed my soul. Or a coffee at Necessary Purveyor after a workout. And amaro cocktails at Fawn, especially the Caligula Would Have Blushed (mezcal, Amaro Lucano, crème de cacao, and cacao bitters). I’m looking forward to visiting some holiday bars and putting an end to what was, for me, a wild, crazy 2025.
— Allison Ramirez, Atlanta Writer, Resy Editorial
More Atlanta staff picks, right this way.
The views expressed in this article reflect personal experiences of American Express employees at the applicable restaurants — not American Express — and do not constitute professional business advice.
