5 Atlanta Southern Food Restaurants to Try

A mainstay since 1927, this reliably good family restaurant serves crispy fried chicken, pot roast and other hearty fare in a humble yet welcoming environment. Ample portions will keep you fueled throughout the day. However, any true connoisseur of Southern cuisine knows to save room for dessert. Homemade pies perfect for sharing—coconut icebox pie, anyone?—are made in limited quantities and go fast.

This Midtown café offers some of the best biscuits in Atlanta, a notable achievement with so many good places to eat. (There are other locations as well, including in nearby Kennesaw and Norcross.) Breakfast options include grits, omelets or organic oatmeal pancakes served with warm peach compote and maple syrup. But since you’re in the South, why not try the Southern Scramble complete with two scrambled eggs, spicy collard greens and cheddar cheese grits?

This local restaurant’s New Southern cuisine, a mix of down-home favorites and creative comfort food, hits the sweet spot in the Westside Provisions District, the place to go for shopping and good food. Whether you want homemade bacon macaroni and cheese, the oh-so-crunchy French fries with truffle aioli or the specialty “Angry Mussels,” enjoy a variety of dining choices at this destination. Upstairs expect a more cosmopolitan vibe with small plates, live music, and craft beer and cocktails.

Comfort foods made from scratch and sweet tea—the so-called “table wine of the South”—will delight diners in the one-time tearoom that Mary McKenzie opened in 1945. Though the boarding house days are long gone, you can still feel the care put into running this genteel establishment. While fried chicken is always a good choice, consider ordering the country-fried steak, cornbread stuffing with gravy, fried okra and peach cobbler.

Don’t mind the modest surroundings because you’re in for a culinary revelation. Vegetables such as collard greens, corn and potatoes are important ingredients of what’s considered good Southern food in Atlanta (and beyond), and you’ll get your fill of them in a way that’s tasty and good for you with this restaurant’s spin on soul food. All dishes are vegan—no meat and dairy—so you can chow down on barbecue (aka kalebone, a wheat-gluten protein), brown rice with gravy and cornbread, all without (much) guilt.

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