While Atlanta has become very cosmopolitan and culturally diverse in recent years, it is hardly suffering from a lack of southern vestiges or New South interpretations where cuisine of the American South is concerned. 

A number of restaurants have stood the test of time, and some newcomers have secured their place among Atlanta's most exciting dining destinations.  This list is hardly exhaustive, but it is a great starting point for anyone visiting Atlanta, who is trying authentic southern cooking for the first time or is looking to expand their horizons.  In any event, diners will not be disappointed.



7.  The Beautiful Restaurant
     2260 Cascade Road
     Atlanta, Georgia 30311
     Tel:  (404) 752-5931

4.9 miles to Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Formerly located on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta's historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood (the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), the Beautiful Restaurant, whose name is derived from scripture, namely Acts 3:2, serves up the same predictable but solid favorites at its present-day Cascade Road location for which it has been known since its founding in 1979.

Beyond the obligatory fried chicken and barbecue ribs, the Beautiful Restaurant offers soul food favorites such as oxtail and shortibs with gravy, as well as baked cornish hens and salmon with a tantalizing Bourbon sauce.  Sides include cornbread dressing, collards, cabbage, macaroni and cheese, squash and yams. 

The Beautiful Restaurant is a no-frills establishment.  Food is served cafeteria style.  The restaurant functions with purpose, "giving love, consideration and concern for the customers, as well as the preparation of the food."  Owned and operated by The Perfect Church, since its founding the Beautiful Restaurant has steadfastly remained a church-backed legacy business, with members of the congregation making up a portion of its staff.



6.  The Colonnade Atlanta
     1879 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
     Atlanta, Georgia 30324
     Tel:  (404) 874-5642

5.9 miles to Mercedes-Benz Stadium

An Atlanta institution since 1927, the Colonnade offers an extensive menu to suit all tastes.  Appetizers include fried chicken livers with a horseradish sauce and fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese.  Getting down to business with the entrées, one will find everything from pot roast and country fried steak to gulf shrimp and beer-battered fish.  A dizzying array of sides, including southern favorites such as sweet potato soufflé and tomato aspic, round out a perfect meal.  For decades, the Colonnade has, according to various travel guides, including Frommer's, had some of the best, if not the best, fried chicken in Atlanta.  I can attest to that!

On another note, for half a century Cheshire Bridge Road had quite the reputation as a red light district, and various questionable clubs and strip joints, as well as purveyors of adult toys, drew an usavory clientele to the area.  Some clubs were associated with sex trafficking.  That said, Cheshire Bridge Road has since experienced rezoning and much revitalization but remains a landmark for Atlanta's gay community, and some adult toy stores remain. 

The Colonnade has always appealed to both the corridor's senior crowd and gay community, prompting many to boast of the Colonnade's popularity among "the gays and the greys."  Whether one thinks of Cheshire Bridge Road as a bastion of sexual expression or simply enjoys driving there for the Colonnade's fried chicken and trimmings, it goes without saying that the area looks much different today than it did twenty, thirty and forty years ago.  While some actually view Cheshire Bridge Road's sleazy past with nostalgia, others welcome its renewal, which has included the construction of condominiums and loft apartments.  I highly recommend a drive to Cheshire Bridge Road.  It is far less racy and you can enjoy a fabulous meal at the Colonnade and peruse the treasures up the street at Antiques & Beyond, a popular 17,500 square foot antiques shop that appeals to collectors, interior designers and even Atlanta's thriving film industry.



5.  Paschal's Restaurant & Bar
     180 Northside Drive SW
     Atlanta, Georgia 30313
     Tel:  (404) 835-0833

0.5 miles to Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Located in the trendy Castleberry Hill Arts District, Paschal's was founded by brothers, James and Robert Paschal, in 1947.  Their launch at 831 West Hunter Street was propelled by their specialty fried chicken, which was prepared using the brothers' own "secret recipe."

Past patrons have included everyone from Aretha Franklin and Dizzy Gillespie to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and past U.S. Vice President Al Gore.  Former Atlanta mayors, Andrew Young (who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations during the Carter Administration) and Maynard Jackson (for whom the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is partially named), also dined there.  Paschal's still offers its signature fried chicken, as well as barbecue pulled pork, ribs, meatloaf, shrimp and grits, catfish and plenty of tasty southern sides.



4. South City Kitchen Midtown
    1144 Crescent Avenue NE
    Atlanta, Georgia 30309
    Tel:  (404) 873-7358

3.3 miles to Mercedes-Benz Stadium

While South City Kitchen has multiple locations, for purposes of this article, I am focusing on the Midtown location, the original one which opened in 1993 in a restored two-story 1920s bungalow.

Serving both lunch and dinner, South City Kitchen, of course, offers its take on fried chicken, which is elevated by garlic collards, mashed red bliss potatoes and honey-thyme jus.  Other tasty options include the Carolina trout and grilled pork chops.  Sides include Marsh Hen Mill grits, corn maque chaux, charred broccolini and turnips and their greens.

South City Kitchen capably delivers with southern cuisine that results from the marriage of traditional dishes with innovative approaches, and patrons are loving it.



3.  Mary Mac's Tea Room
     224 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE
     Atlanta, Georgia 30308
     Tel:  (404) 876-1800

2.5 miles to Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Located just down the street from the famous Georgian Terrace Hotel (which stands at the corner of Ponce and Peachtree Street across from the Fox Theatre), Mary Mac's Tea Room is legendary.  Established in 1945 by Mary Mackenzie, the restaurant's committment to quality and hospitality has not changed since Ms. Mackenzie or her successor Margaret Lupo ran the business...or the kitchen.

Frequented by celebrities, the restaurant has fed everyone from media and music moguls to prominent actors, politicians and other public figures.  Then-Governor Jimmy Carter used to visit the restuarant often, and the list of other notable visitors includes Justin Beiber, Ted Turner, James Brown, Hilary Rodham Clinton, Mr. T, Richard Gere, Congressman John Lewis, the Dalai Lama and my friend, southern gospel legend Eva Mae LeFevre (1917-2009).  Eva Mae's pianist Mark Fuller has even played for his supper at Mary Mac's.  On several occasions, he has been asked to play the piano during his visit, to the delight of his fellow diners. 

Mary Mac's menu is vast.  Traditional southern specialties include chicken and dumplings, chicken fried chicken with white pepper gravy, pan-fried cube steak with brown onion gravy and roast turkey breast with cornbread dressing.  A selection of fresh seafood is also offered.  Vegetables and sides include fried okra, collard greens and macaroni and cheese, as well as baked sweet potato, hoppin' john and good, old-fashioned southern grits!

The ambience at Mary Mac's can appear hectic at busy times with patrons coming and going, but once diners are seated they are taken back in time to a different era, one in which "the atmosphere," as Mary Mac's website describes, "feels as familiar as your grandmother's kitchen, and our staff treats every customer as if they were serving their long-lost cousin a holiday meal."  The murals of the Atlanta cityscape and the countless photographs of past celebrity diners prove attention-getting in all of the dining rooms, and the front entrance at the sideboard just below a framed Mary Mac's sign makes a great place for capturing one's own visit on film.  

For my own personal tastes and past experiences, Mary Mac's remains my favorite southern restaurant in Atlanta, and my go-to there is the turkey and dressing.  The best in Atlanta!



2.  The Busy Bee Café
     810 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW
     Atlanta, Georgia 30314
     Tel:  (404) 525-9212

1.1 miles to Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Established in 1947 by Lucy Jackson, the Busy Bee Café has enjoyed both longevity and acclaim.  Acquired by Milton Gates in the early 1980s, the reins of the dining establishment were handed over to Gates' daughter, Tracy, in 1987.  She credits encouraging words spoken to her by frequent patron and prominent Atlanta minister and civil rights leader Rev. Hosea Williams (1926-2000) for motivating her to strive for quality and consistency.  Her father had already taught her to "kick the can out of the kitchen" and use fresh ingredients to craft her dishes, and her hard work has paid off, resulting in the James Beard America's Classic Award in 2022 and Michelin Bib Gourmand Awards in 2023 and 2024.

The Busy Bee Café bill of fare includes southern classics such as chicken and waffles and fried pork chops, as well as oxtails and baked chicken with cornbread dressing.  Sides include fried okra, turnip greens, baked beans and broccoli cheese casserole.  The desserts are especially tempting:  banana pudding, sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, blackberry cobbler and various cakes. 

There is one huge downside to the Busy Bee Cafe'.  No dine-in seating is available, thanks to the pandemic of the early 2020s.  Many order online and simply park nearby and eat in their cars.  Visitors to Atlanta who are staying in downtown hotels can access the restaurant and return to their hotel rooms to dine with relative ease, depending on time of day/traffic.  Hotels located at or near Centennial Olympic Park, for example, are on average less than 10-15 minutes away....again, depending on traffic.



1.  Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours
     Apex West Midtown
     1133 Huff Road NW, #D
     Atlanta, Georgia 30318
     Tel:  (404) 350-5500

3.6 miles to Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Past employment with an airline and the global travel that came with it allowed Chef Deborah VanTrece to experience a wealth of cuisines from around the world.  Known for throwing together fabulous meals on planes for her fellow flight attendants, VanTrece had already established her ability to impress others with her cooking before she started Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours.

Renowned for "pairing soulful Southern roots with a global perspective," VanTrece offers up entrées such as hoisin glazed oxtails, chicken andouille ragu bianca and barbecue duck confit.  Small plates include Nashville hot catfish sliders and buttermilk fried lobster tail and waffles.  Even her take on sandwiches is innovative.  Among those offered is the eggplant and fried green tomato parmesan sandwhich.  Sides include her signature collard green roll.

Everyone knows the restaurant business can be brutal.  It's one thing to start off as a sensation. It's another to sustain it.  Chef VanTrece is in a class all her own.  Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours is a fantastic dining destination, one that has captivated locals and visitors alike, including celebrity chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Guy Fieri, who featured VanTrece and her restaurant on his Food Network television show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Stories Regarding Atlanta Often Involve Food and Great Restaurants

In my years of writing, particularly about the American South and gospel music, I have heard my share of stories surrounding Atlanta restaurants and the role they played in the city's story itself. 

My friend, Don Butler (1931-2011), once recounted the story of how the ground-breaking gospel trio, the Sons of Song, were formed.  He happened to run into future group member Bob Robinson, who had just returned by Greyhound bus to Atlanta from Philadelphia following a stint with the Lefevres on their live radio show.  This happenstance meeting occurred on the street just outside Davis Bros. Cafeteria.  Don treated Bob to breakfast that morning and disucssed his plans of forming a new group, which would later include powerhouse tenor Calvin Newton, taking the gospel world by storm.

Another story regarding Don Butler comes to mind as well.  For a time, in partnership with gospel tenor Rozie Rozell (1928-1995), he ran the King & Prince Restaurant inside the historic Briarcliff Hotel on Ponce de Leon Avenue.  Butler explained that their restaurant at its peak was so popular that the nearby churches, including Druid Hills Baptist Church, staggered their service times to allow parishioners ample opportunity to take advantage of the restaurant's hugely popular Sunday meal.  Don said some folks would even bring their own china from home, have their plates filled and return home to enjoy their lunches.  The King & Prince served southern fare as well as a variety of other dishes that expanded the palate of Atlanta diners.  Don talked of mimicing some of what he had encountered at restaurants in California at the time.

And the last restaurant I will mention was one owned by the Dinklers, of Dinkler Hotels fame.  Southern Edition has published perhaps the most extensive article out there on the historic Dinkler Hotels, and the piece has been cited in other articles as well as books, including Stanley Turkel's Great American Hoteliers Vol II:  Pioneers of the Hotel Industry.  My interviews for the piece included the late Carling Dinkler III (1943-2023), whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been in the hotel business.  Carling recalled how his grandfather had, in 1957, launched The Luau, Atlanta's first Polynesian-themed restaurant, at 1999 Peachtree Road NE, across from Piedmont Hospital in Buckhead.  Ephemera (old post cards and ads) reveal The Luau offered "South Sea island delicacies" and "char-broiled American specialties."  Not much southern cuisine there, but the restaurant was, nonetheless, owned by a great old Atlanta family, whose impact was felt far and wide through multiple generations.

Fast forward to 2026.  My friends Don Butler and Carling Dinkler III have both passed since I interviewed them for articles, and yet I am still writing about fabulous Atlanta eateries, including theirs.

The fact remains that great stories continue to be written every day over a meal at one of Atlanta's distinguished dining establishments.  Perhaps it is the business deal of a lifetime, a marriage proposal or an encounter with someone who will change one's destiny in one way or the other.  At Atlanta's best-regarded restaurants, one can generally count on a great meal and, hopefully, a great memory worth retelling.  As for the aforementioned southern dining destinations, great meals and great stories are a given.


Greg Freeman.  Published 13 June 2026.

SouthernEdition.com publisher Greg Freeman is an author, editor, recording artist, songwriter, amateur visual artist and lifelong horse lover, as well as an avid gardener and daffodil hybridist, judge and exhibitor.