Which foods fall under the “Southern” umbrella varies by region in the South. However, many people associate Southern food with down-home comfort dishes like fried chicken, cornbread, fried green tomatoes, grits, biscuits and gravy, and pimento cheese paired with sweet tea and banana pudding or pecan pie for dessert. While Southerners know there’s more to the South’s food than fried chicken and cornbread, Eater rounded up the Atlanta area restaurants showcasing regional specialties on their menus like those mentioned above.
1. Table & Main
Roswell, GA 30075
This downtown Roswell restaurant set along the city’s historic Canton Street offers up huge, crispy portions of Southern fried chicken as well as fried catfish and shrimp and grits and sides such as fried okra, collard greens, cornbread muffins, and tomato pie. Head here to partake in the restaurant’s large bourbon selection, too.
2. Bogartz Food Artz
Sandy Springs, GA 30328
Bogartz Food Artz at City Walk in Sandy Springs serves Southern and Cajun-inspired dishes while also paying homage to a beloved dining tradition in the South: the meat and three. The menu includes sausage and seafood gumbo, fried catfish and chicken, barbecue shrimp, and po’boys.
3. Southbound
Chamblee, GA 30341
Located in an old factory in Chamblee, Southbound includes everything from deviled eggs and fried green tomatoes to daily selected vegetable plates and smoked short rib on its menu. Come here for the large whiskey and bourbon selection and whiskey-laced cocktails.
4. Magnolia Room Cafeteria
Tucker, GA 30084
Tucker’s Magnolia Room has a good hold on Southern classics, but expands its reach with seasonal offerings like shrimp creole and sweet potato balls. They’ve got enough pies to fill a bakeshop — coconut custard, lemon meringue, sweet potato — so go ahead and grab a slice.
5. Swan Coach House
Atlanta, GA 30305
Located on the campus of the Atlanta History Center, this old coach house part of a Buckhead mansion is now home to an art gallery, gift shop, and restaurant and events facility. Ladies who lunch come here for crab cakes, tea sandwiches, chicken salad, fried green tomatoes, and sweet tea. Open Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
6. Busy Bee Cafe
Atlanta, GA 30314
In business since the 1940s, this Vine City staple on Atlanta’s Westside serves some of the city’s best fried chicken, alongside an assortment of other Southern “meat and three” staples. It’s always packed so, prepare to rub elbows with fellow diners. Busy Bee opens its second location in downtown Atlanta later this year.
7. Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours
Atlanta, GA 30318
Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours in Westside is where the South’s most loved dishes meet the classically trained chef Deborah VanTrece. VanTrece’s world travels and her three decades of professional cooking experience are present and accounted for on the menu and in the service here. Twisted Soul strikes that difficult balance between casual and fine dining with ease. Expect amuse bouches like a delicate bite of chicken salad, shared dishes such as black-eyed pea salsa fresca served with fresh tortilla chips, and graciously plated entrees such Cajun-spiced roast chicken atop a bed of red beans and rice.
8. JCT. Kitchen & Bar
Atlanta, GA 30318
Ford Fry’s take on Southern food includes some very fine and fancy fried chicken. This fried yardbird is served with collards and a buttermilk biscuit with a side of hot sauce. But don’t sleep on other Southern takes like the deviled eggs, angry mussels with soppin’ toast, milk braised rabbit, and hickory grilled pork chop.
9. South City Kitchen
Atlanta, GA 30309
Fifth Group restaurants now has four locations of its Southern restaurant South City Kitchen. With locations in Midtown, Vinings, Buckhead, and Alpharetta, people in need of a Southern food fix will find it at South City Kitchen. Expect Southern classics like she-crab soup, pimento cheese, crab cakes, grilled quail, Carolina trout, and, of course, fried chicken on the menu.
10. Miller Union
Atlanta, GA 30318
James Beard award-winning chef Steven Satterfield’s farm-fresh, updated Southern cooking is simple, elegant, and includes a lot of fresh and seasonal vegetables. The farm egg baked in celery cream with grilled bread is considered a top-10 Atlanta dish. The restaurant has one of the best vegetable plates in town, offers a killer wine list, and the lunchtime-only ice cream sandwiches are the perfect post-meal treat.
11. Empire State South
Atlanta, GA 30309
After nine years in Midtown, chef Hugh Acheson’s Empire State South continues to shine the spotlight on Southern food and the farmers who grow and produce the region’s vegetables, seafood, and meats. Try the jarred spreads and pickles, pickled shrimp, quail, any of the vegetable dishes listed on the menu, and shoofly pie for dessert. Make sure to order wine or cocktails here — both shine as bright as the food coming out of the kitchen.
12. Rising Son
Avondale Estates, GA 30002
Rising Son in Avondale Estates is an Atlanta favorite for breakfast, lunch, and brunch. Dishes worth the order include the frittata ensalada with eggs, roasted tomato, shallots, arugula, and parmesan; the fried trout and grits; or the chorizo and scrambled egg tacos. Order a meat and 1, 2, or 3 platter at lunch. Supper (served on Friday and Saturday nights) is where owners Hudson and Kathryn Fitzgerald Rouse let their creativity and love of the Southern seasons shine.
13. Mary Mac’s Tea Room
Atlanta, GA 30308
If the topic is Atlanta’s best fried chicken, Mary Mac’s has to be one of the top contenders in the city. The restaurant has plenty of experience, too. It’s been serving traditional Southern fare for more than 70 years now. Head in for an infusion of Southern hospitality and sweet tea.
14. Revival
Decatur, GA 30030
Chef Kevin Gillespie’s Revival pays tribute to Sunday suppers and Southern meals served up by his grandmother. While the fried chicken dinner with all the trimmings is the star of the show, make sure to order the tomato pie when the fruit is in season, pimento cheese spread, fried catfish, sides like collards, and buttermilk pound cake for dessert. Most everything on the menu here is served family-style.
15. Wisteria
Atlanta, GA 30307
This longtime Inman Park restaurant owned and operated by chef Jason Hill straddles the line between fine dining and casual. Swing by for takes on Southern classics such as fried catfish, iron skillet fried chicken, and shrimp and grits. Valet is available and reservations are encouraged.
16. The Colonnade
Atlanta, GA 30324
Another Atlanta classic, the Colonnade opened in 1927 and serves nothing but pure Southern comfort food on it menu. Diners come for the turkey and dressing, chicken fried steak, and fried chicken and numerous vegetable offerings. Restaurant regulars swear by the very strong martinis, bloody marys, and Southern brunch here, too.
17. Home grown GA Restaurant
Atlanta, GA 30316
Home Grown is a breakfast favorite among Atlanta’s eaters and restaurant industry members. It’s also home to one of the city’s must-try dishes — the comfy biscuit topped with fried chicken and smothered in sausage gravy. There’s almost always a wait at this casual Southern-centric neighborhood diner on the weekends. It’s definitely worth it.
18. Q’s Restaurant
Atlanta, GA 30344
Q’s Restaurant is absolutely worth the travel time and traffic down to East Point. Southern favorites at this cafeteria include daily specials like rip tips, oxtails, fried pork chops, and cube steak with sides of mac and cheese and green beans washed down with a blend of tea and lemonade.
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