Letter of Recommendation Atlanta
Highland Tap Is a Timeless Neighborhood Steakhouse for Everybody
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In a city where many structures are oversized, shiny, and new, Highland Tap wears its history lightly — and in a time when all of the information in the world is at one’s fingertips, it seems that word of mouth and experience are still the best ways to learn about this place.
Since 1989, Atlanta folks have been returning to Highland Tap for bistro steaks, burgers, and generous pours of boozy cocktails. Its storied location was once a market (Murrah’s Grocery Store), then a gay bar (Texas Drilling Company), and surely other things in between, with the pioneering rock group, The B-52s, who formed in Athens, Ga., in the 1970s, even having played in the space early on.
On a recent rainy weekday, I decided to revisit the subterranean restaurant.
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While heading down a short flight of stairs into its back room, I was welcomed by the sight of its stained-glass windows that look as though they’ve been filtering in light for over a century.
The room is all stone walls and handsome wood paneling. Once comfortably seated, with a moment to glance around, I notice that my party consists of three women in a room full of men, most of whom appear to be dressed from the same catalog: khaki pants and checkered shirts in pastel blues and various shades of gray. They look at us when we walk in as if surprised (tickled, perhaps?) that girls are allowed.
We like to order knowing everything will end up in the middle: Spinach and artichoke dip (delicious, creamy); roasted baby beets with goat cheese salad, (a must-try in a town lacking in stellar salad offerings); and burgers all around (the signature Original Steak Burger is excellent with tomato jam, which they’ll bring upon request). For sides, the giant onion rings and fries are customary. And the overall menu also includes classics like French onion soup, shrimp cocktail, ribeye, and escargot.
For cocktail enthusiasts, the Tap Martini is essential. We place an order for two with gin — mine less dirty and 50/50 with regular olives, another dirty with blue cheese olives — along with a Manhattan. With each ranging from $14 to $16, the drinks are reasonably priced, especially since they all come with sidecars (which is the right way to do it, if you ask me).
What gives Highland Tap its staying power is not only what’s on the plate, but the life that gathers around it. The neighborhood is walkable, and if you’ve never been inside the restaurant, you might wander in and wonder how you hadn’t been coming all along. You can order the prime rib (on Mondays, a slow-roasted 10-ounce cut with sides, au jus, and horseradish, for just $18) in workout clothes or get dolled up and decked out for a patty melt, French dip, or jumbo lump crab cake.
What gives Highland Tap its staying power is not only what’s on the plate, but the life that gathers around it.
Highland Tap works just as well for a gossipy girls’ night as it does for a first date, or even a last one. Children are welcome (with their own dedicated kids menu featuring a special 4 oz. steak burger), and so are the various definitions of family people carry with them. It’s open late, too — until 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and around midnight most other nights.
A few practical notes for first-timers: You should probably make a reservation unless you enjoy waiting because the room fills up quickly, and for good reason. Booking ahead saves time and disappointment. If you’re driving, there’s free valet in the back parking lot — an unflashy convenience that feels increasingly rare. These are small considerations, perhaps, but they matter. Like the restaurant itself, they suggest a place that understands hospitality was built to last.
Highland Tap is open for lunch and through dinner until 12:30 a.m. from Tuesday to Thursday, 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and midnight on Sunday. On Monday, service starts at 5 p.m.
Allison Ramirez is a bicoastal, Atlanta-based (for now) freelance journalist. She has over a decade of experience writing for publications like Travel + Leisure, the Daily Beast, Liquor, Thrillist, and others. Her recent work spans art, architecture, travel, and food & beverage stories, focusing on diversity within those spaces in the South and beyond. Follow her on Instagram. And Resy, too.
