City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Address: 467 N. Highland Ave.
77. La Grotta Buckhead
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 231-1368
Address: 2637 Peachtree Rd. NE
Description: Fine Italian cuisine here includes pasta dishes and favorites such as roasted quail stuffed with Italian sausage, grilled polenta with balsamic vinegar sauce, and fillet of swordfish on a bed of spinach and Roma tomato with red pepper and fresh thyme coulis. Dinner is served Monday through Saturday at the Peachtree Road location, and reservations are recommended. The Ravinia location is open for lunch and dinner and is more airy and modern than the Buckhead restaurant, with a wonderful view of the hotel’s gardens from huge glass windows. Favorite menu items include grilled veal chop with herbs, shallots, and finocchio sautéed in butter, and beef tenderloin grilled with Barolo mustard with mushrooms, spinach, and roasted garlic mashed potatoes.
78. mellow mushroom
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 874-2291
Address: 931 Monroe Ave.
Description: Mellow Mushroom got its start in Atlanta in a little shack on Spring Street back in the early 80’s and hasn’t looked back. Now in 16 states, some would argue that there is no place like home. This source of delectable pizzas and fresh salads is a popular gathering place in any neighborhood.
79. Nino’s
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 874-6505
Address: 1931 Cheshire Bridge Rd. NE
Description: This cozy, dim Italian restaurant is more authentic than most you’ll find in the city. Even the waiters speak the language. Nino’s serves both northern and southern cuisine quite simply without dressing up the plates, or the prices for that matter. House specialties include a number of pasta dishes as well as a variety of veal, beef, chicken, and seafood entrees. Nino’s offers a full bar and serves dinner Monday through Sunday. Reservations are accepted and even recommended, especially for weekend dining.
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Address: 500 Pharr Rd. NE
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Address: 313 North Highland Ave.
82. Veni Vidi Vici
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 875-8424
Description: If authentic northern Italian cuisine in a cosmopolitan, elegant atmosphere suits you, this is your kind of restaurant. Smack in the middle of the Midtown scene, Veni Vidi Vici rarely disappoints. Peruse the extensive hot and cold antipasti piccoli, which are small appetizers well designed to pique, not squash, your appetite. Among the restaurant’s specialties are braised rabbit, suckling pig, pounded veal chop, and spinach and egg lasagna with veal and sausage. Visit the bocce ball court next to the patio. Lunch is served on weekdays, and dinner is served every night. There’s a full-service bar on the premises. Reservations are recommended.
83. Hashiguchi Jr.
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 841-9229
Address: 3400 Around Lenox Rd. NE
Description: In the Around Lenox Shopping Center near Lenox Square, this Japanese restaurant is a popular spot with sushi fanatics. Good service is yours at the full sushi counter. The spicy tuna roll will awaken your taste buds, as will the clams steamed over sake. Check out the traditional tempura dishes, one of which features bass. Tofu, crisply fried and dressed with shredded ginger, shows culinary imagination. For beverages, try Japanese beer or sake, and finish your meal with a dish of green tea ice cream. Closed on Monday, Hashiguchi serves lunch with sushi specials and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations are accepted.
84. Ru San’s
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 875-7042
Address: 1529 Piedmont Ave. NE
Description: California-style sushi and Japanese fusion entrees fill the menu of this restaurant, which opened in 1993. Ru San’s on Piedmont Avenue is frequented mostly by the collegiate set, who enjoy the fast pace, lively atmosphere, and laid-back presentation (think “Iron Chef”). Ru San’s is open for dinner every night and for lunch every day but Sunday. Sushi, tempura, and yakitori bargains are wildly popular. The sushi slices are enormous compared to other restaurants that feature this kind of food. Beer and wine are available. The Marietta location has tepan tables (food is cooked at the table), and reservations are taken at that location only. The Ru San’s at Piedmont Road boasts a 100-foot-long sushi bar and a quick-serve take-out counter.
85. agave
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 588-0086
Address: 242 Boulevard SE
Description: Set in the historic Cotton Mill general store of Atlanta’s Cabbagetown section, Agave has become a local favorite. Known for its wide selection of tequila and margaritas, this is not your typical Southwestern restaurant. Owner Joe Sobel has put together a menu that includes fresh fish as well as beef and pork served with distinctive flair. Agave serves dinner nightly beginning at 5 p.m.
86. Caramba Cafe
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 874-1343
Description: The food at this family-owned Mexican restaurant is prepared using vegetable oil. In addition to burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and chalupas, the menu features a number of meat-free and cheese-free dishes. The margaritas are crowd-pleasers, and so is the homemade flan. Dinner is served nightly; parties of six or more may call for reservations.
87. La Fonda Latina
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 577-8317
Address: 1150 Euclid Ave.
Description: The ambience here is in the style of a Mexican cantina, with floral murals, fountains, perky music, and friendly service. The location at Euclid Avenue is the place to go in Little Five Points for spicy Latin-influenced food, including the highly recommended paella served in a sizzling iron skillet, either as a vegetarian dish or loaded with chicken, seafood, and sausage. The quesadillas come with big portions of black beans and yellow rice. Beer, wine, and a delicious homemade sangria are poured at La Fonda. It’s open daily for lunch and dinner.
88. Machu Picchu
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 320-3326
Address: 33375 Buford Hwy.
Description: This restaurant is a delightful little Peruvian entry into Buford Highway’s ethnic stewpot. Decorated with colorful woven tapestries, with music by an Andean flute and guitar combo, the restaurant’s specialties include several varieties of ceviche (slices of raw seafood “cooked” in lime juice and cilantro) and big plates of seafood, chicken, and pork mixed with rice and potatoes. If the spuds seem odd, remember that 16th-century Spaniards discovered them in Peru and brought them back to Europe. Lunch and dinner are offered daily. Free parking is available.
89. Nuevo Laredo Cantina
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 352-9009
Address: 1495 Chattahoochee Ave. NW
Description: For more than 15 years, reviewers have hailed this off-the-trodden-path cantina in northwest Atlanta as the area’s best Mexican food. Faithful patrons who pack the place every day couldn’t agree more. Out-of-the-ordinary house specialties include chicken mole, with a rich sauce and a hint of chocolate; Mexican brisket; chicken and steak diablo; lobster; shrimp, salmon, chicken, sausage, and fish tacos; and quesadillas, tamales, and chile rellenos made only with poblano peppers. They also serve vegetarian and egg dishes, lunchtime combo plates, and a hamburger “para gringos.” Beer, wine, a full bar, and margaritas top off the experience. Lunch and dinner are served daily.
90. Taqueria del Sol
City: Atlanta, GA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (404) 352-5812
Address: 1300 Howell Mill Rd. NE
Description: This is a wildly popular threesome—there’s always a long line waiting for a chance to bite into Americanized Mexican and Southwestern tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and daily chef and seafood specials. For $2.19 you can’t go wrong with a Memphis taco (pulled barbecue pork and cole slaw on a soft taco); the fish, fried chicken, pork, or veggie tacos; or the $3.15 beef brisket, chicken, or cheese enchiladas with tangy red or green sauce. Knock it back with beer or a frozen margarita and you’ve had yourself a big evening for pocket change. All locations are open for lunch on Monday, and lunch and dinner are served Tuesday through Saturday. Taqueria del Sol is closed Sunday. Free parking is available.