The 25 Best Restaurants in Atlanta Right Now
The New York Times
There’s no shortage of Southern virtuosity in the 404, but don’t miss the outstanding Indian, Italian and Thai cooking — or the amazing wings from an unexpected spot.
In the Where to Eat: 25 Best series, we’re highlighting our favorite restaurants in cities across the United States. These lists will be updated as restaurants close and open, and as we find new gems to recommend. As always, we pay for all of our meals and don’t accept free dishes.
East Atlanta | Eclectic American
The pepperoni butter that comes alongside three little rounds of fry bread has gotten so popular that Banshee now sells it by the pint for $10. But that’s not the only delicious innovation coming from the kitchen run by the executive chef Nolan Wynn and the chef de cuisine Ben Lee. They grill habanadas, the fruity heatless relatives of habaneros, tiger-skin style and add puffed rice and black beans. They use hibiscus to highlight the beets in a dish of fall root vegetables and sprinkle tres leches tiramisu with thyme salt. It’s just the right food for a funky, sexy restaurant that has helped define the East Atlanta vibe since Mr. Wynn and three longtime friends opened it in 2018.
Inman Park | French, African Diaspora
After a series of pop-ups, Demetrius Brown quietly took over a much-loved French cafe and transformed dinner into a showcase for French cuisine as interpreted by Caribbean cooks, particularly those from Haiti. Cilantro, thyme and epis, the herbaceous spice blend, perfume a delicate interpretation of the classic beef patty. In the same way, Mr. Brown uses English peas and local mushrooms to enhance djon-djon, a dish named after a type of Haitian mushroom. He marinates halibut for escovitch, and marries single-origin Haitian chocolate with coconut ice cream. The kitchen-driven cocktail list gets a special nod, especially nonalcoholic surprises made with snap pea juice and matcha. If more traditional French food is what you had in mind, there are always the lunch and breakfast menus.
Old Fourth Ward | Southern
