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

Chefs Parnass Savang and Rod Lassiter continue to bring new-idea energy to this this James Beard-nominated former pop-up, still as scrappy, self-challenging, and experimental as ever, now eight years as a brick and mortar. Yes, you should still stalk their Instagram story for the daily changing menu. On balance, though, expect a wild flight to Thailand fueled by Georgia ingredients. Grab a seat against the vivid street-style mural for dishes like Issan-style chicken laap, the daily curry with their signature housemade coconut cream, and the beloved Crispy Rice Salad. And if you’re lucky, you might just get a teaser to their next concept, Some Luck, due to open this summer.

Thai cuisine has been on the rise in Atlanta, growing ever more sophisticated with each newcomer, but this concept by renowned sake sommelier Jenna Phravorachit taking over 788 Omakase Table might just be its spectacular crescendo. Every dish certainly does “charm” in a splendid celebration of her Thai-adjacent Laotian heritage and passion for fine dining and omotenashi hospitality. A tropical fruit salad has catfish cosplaying as panko crumbs, blue crab curry becomes a luscious warm custard, and papaya salad is somehow sorbet. Bright, unabashed flavors build to Japanese luxury ingredients — a nod to the space — and unique presentations through 11 courses, as a billowing cloud dissipates to reveal lemongrass and sweet chili paste-seasoned lobster and A5 wagyu tenderloin and beautifully bitter sticky rice are invited to be eaten by hand.

“Last bite, best bite” has gone from saying to promise at pastry chef Claudia Martinez’s stylish dessert bar, where the vibe is industry-edgy, Afro-Latin-Caribbean cool, and accessibly warm. In this cozy courtyard-inspired, intimate space, seasonally inspired sweets (her signature style) are made with indulgent ingredients and presented as modern art. For example, Araguani chocolate cake bites with passionfruit ganache and mole crunch with pomegranate arils or apple spice cake with tamarind caramel and dulce de leche cremeaux might be enjoyed solo or as part of a tasting. Treats, pastries, and exquisite housemade ice creams are complemented by Recuerdos crafted coffee drinks by day for sun-up to sun-down verve that just doesn’t quit.

After a five-year sabbatical spent traveling, Jonny Rhodes is finally back behind the line. This time, it’s with an upscale, intimate, alcohol-free brasserie meant to share how deep exposure to other cultural and agricultural practices has impacted him. His heritage takes a place of honor as he spotlights Haitian French Creole, while Thai influence adds even more complexity to the mix. For instance, diri djondjon — a Haitian rice dish — is enhanced with tamarind and black garlic. Elsewhere, sophisticated centrifuge-driven mocktails include combinations such as grilled pineapple, lemongrass, galanga, and coconut cream. On more personal notes, Clara’s Kalalou Soup, rich with crab and Champagne, is named after his mother and the charcuterie board features summer sausage from his family’s own cattle ranch.

In a city awash in Mediterranean options, chef Marc Mansour provides a chance to focus on Lebanon in a setting reminiscent of his native coasts, from blush corals and sages indoors and umbrella’d white patio seating outdoors. Share juicy meatballs shining with sour cherry sauce or the bright nibbeh nayeh “tartare” (pro tip: it’s only available Fridays and Saturdays, so lock down your Resy accordingly) with a za’atar-spiced savory martini. Taste the summer with thick-cut heirloom tomatoes topped with sauteed dandelion greens, followed by shrimp and herb manti (dumplings) in a smoky cream sauce. Big portions and bigger flavors make moving past mezze a big ask, but the chicken with ultra-garlicky toum and  pistachio halawa chocolate cake are worth it.

This gamer haven was the blueprint for now-ubiquitous “eatertainment.” The first in the U.S. to combine video gaming with great food and drinks, it’s everything enthusiasts wanted their middle school best friend’s basement to be. Semiprivate nooks with living room setups, complete with couches and coffee tables to set down your glittery “potions,” invite group play; a huge menu of childhood- and fantasy-inspired sweet-skewing cocktails make losing less bitter. Share appetizers like bulgogi beef-topped fries or an enormous nacho tray. Or grab a board game and a seat in the retro-style dining room. Single players won’t want to miss getting classically thick burgers and oversized sandwiches delivered directly to their individual gaming stations circling the central hub.

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Returning from renovations with limited seating in time for its 10-year anniversary, this Marietta Square destination continues to prove that quality trumps quantity every time. In this intimate space, chef Brian So’s seasonal menu is so tight that no more than three options are ever offered for each course. Yet, deciding remains near-impossible when choosing between asparagus with cured salmon and ramps or a parfait of foie gras with plum and pistachio for starters. Garganelli with green garlic cream, morels, and fava beans or grilled grouper with scallops and leeks keep the challenge going in mains. To take the pressure off the decision-making, have sommelier Daniel Crawford make a pairing for you from his selection of natural wines. As with everything else here, it’s hard to go wrong.

Those ready to graduate into modern regional Mexican cuisine should find their way to this discreetly hidden gem. The menu is an introduction to the “Land of the Seven Moles,” featuring preparations that range from green to coconut truffle, dishes that center masa, such as steak tlayuda, and plenty of stringy Oaxaca cheese in squash blossom veggie quesadillas. But as fitting for a restaurant named after what is considered the culinary capital of Mexico, favorites are elevated as well. For example, elote dressed with black garlic, steak tacos with fire-roasted bone marrow, and octopus chicharrónes. Sip a warm-weather cocktail on the spacious, semi-private patio — preferably one with mezcal, one of the state’s biggest claims to fame.

Led in the kitchen by chefs Joshua Fryer and Chris Marconi (previously of The Deer and the Dove) and co-owned by many other former The General Muir veterans, Last Dance is no first rodeo. Yet what’s old is new again with a menu that combines New American and Continental cuisine. For instance, the schnitzel is of lamb, an éclair is stuffed with liver pate, and clams are steamed with sorrel before being topped with salsa macha. Bread service is an obvious must with Marconi at the oven — think drape focaccia and hoecakes with housemade accents like zhug butter and strawberry-magnolia jam. Brunch (coming soon!) is sure to be a must-Notify, with pies, doughnuts, quiches, and hints of the Mediterranean promised. In the meantime, sip classic cocktails or wine from a tightly edited European list in a lived-in, French cottagecore setting, where vintage elements such as oil paintings and sconces draped in petticoat-shaped scraps illuminate eclectic coziness.

Seafood is unquestionably the specialty when the raw bar’s dramatic display is enough to turn a fiery wood hearth and painted octopus on the wall into background players. They’re serious about it at this Ford Fry mainstay. You’ll find oysters offered three ways (and for happy hour), smoked haddock chowder with butter-fried saltines, and aficionado-coded items like cod cheeks. Duckfat-poached swordfish blends fish and fowl and kedgeree, land and sea. Desserts reference the coast, too. Key lime pie and coconut rum tres leches take us further south while the white tile coastal design of the main dining room veers north. Meanwhile, the ample patio and lawn space are laid-back, both as inviting as a casual afternoon on a New England estate.

Nothing is ever quite what it seems when it comes from a place of pure imagination … which is best way to describe James Beard-nominated chef Joey Ward’s 14- to 16-course tasting menu. Every dish is a personal love letter to the seasons, flavors, and — without giving away too much — different pockets of Georgia and Atlanta, including within Southern Belle. For instance, a tribute to a certain international stretch of the city is done with appreciation; local produce, like sweet potatoes, become the literal bread and butter of the region; and a cheese course is presented as an actual pop of nostalgia. So go ahead and lick the beaters, drink the cereal milk, and be dazzled. Pro tip: Pricing is tip-inclusive — no math required.

Transplants from suburban New Jersey and Long Island will feel right at home at this nostalgic gem, where a carpeted dining room, art-adorned wallpapered walls, wipeable tablecloths, and high-touch service blur the lines between someone’s grandma’s house and a classic Italian red sauce restaurant … Which makes sense, since owners Antonio and Maria Fundora both came of age in Italian American strongholds (New York and Chicago, respectively) before opening the iconic Alfredo’s on Cheshire Bridge over 40 years ago. Service is team-based, but specials are often recited by the matriarch herself, who’ll rattle off a long list of multi-item parmigianas, osso bucco, seafood, housemade ravioli, and more. On the everyday menu, find excellent renditions of banners like scarpariello, piccata, Marsala, and Francese dishes sauces at nearly equally old-school prices.

Move over, Chengdu Zhong-style dumplings — Chongqing’s hot pot tradition is making a play to become our city’s favorite Sichuan-style dish with the Chicago favorite’s new location in Duluth. For those unfamiliar with the concept, think broth-based fondue, but substitute that for a center pot that can offer up to three broth bases made with a variety of 32 spices and six varieties of chile peppers. Translation: if you haven’t experienced that authentic mala sensation yet, settling down into one of these white-trimmed, group dining booths means you’re about to. Choose vegetables, noodles, dumplings, and proteins — including tofu — from an extensive, semi-illustrated bilingual menu for your tabletop cooking, then dip them in a sauce of your own creation for another layer of customization.

Posh Persian glamour is pervasive through every dynamic inch of the most glittering location of Fares Kargar’s critically hailed trio of restaurants. A long bar that begins near the entrance transitions seamlessly to an open kitchen, where the sounds of chefs at work are muted by the always-bustling, convivial ambiance of this group-friendly restaurant. Pro-tip: Request a table in the mezzanine for a more low-key buzz, or the now-open patio for summertime beach-club style. Share savory mains like saffron-rubbed duck confit fesenjoon, char-grilled wagyu strip with Turkish coffee rub, and summery lamb chops with dill labneh, to make the house soft serve feel all the sweeter after.

Now that the summer of soccer is ending, embrace another sleeper genre for Americans: women’s sports. The former pop-up and Pullman Yards star centering women’s teams is now brick-and-mortar, giving Atlantans a full-time space to showcase women’s leagues in surround sound and multiple screens. Elements of classic sports bars combine with homey bright natural light and a lovely architectural wall. Even cozier features appear on the menu: feta whipped with hot honey, Sloppy Jolene Sliders, a “Girl Dinner” assortment, mac ‘n’ cheese topped with crumbled Cheez-Its and Goldfish. Sip a Dreamsicle margarita or something from the rotating drafts menu while cheering on your favorite teams; college football and Atlanta teams are also given their turns for major events.

No reservations. Find more info here.

The countdown has finally ended for Atlanta’s first chai café, and folks are already flocking to Monica Sunny’s cheery, casually chic spot in droves for their fix of the wildly popular tea blends Oprah made viral by naming as one of her favorite things. Ochre banquettes line the storefront window and beneath an evocative scene depicting the gardens of Jaipur, and more Indian influence appears in the unique pastry program, with custom-developed treats like samosa croissants, saag paneer danishes, cardamom buns, and rose pistachio tarts. Cake rusks take the place of biscotti, which is equally up to the task of being paired with signature chai drinks or coffee offered in a partnership with Georgia Tech alumni Driftaway Roasters — another nod to local success stories gone national.

No reservations. Find more info here.