Atlanta Good Food category interest

Unlike the cocktail heatmap, which lists the newest hip drinking establishments around town, this map lists the essential Atlanta bars continuing to dominate the city’s thriving cocktail scene. Each establishment mentioned — be it a bar at a restaurant or a standalone spot — brings something unique to Atlanta’s drinking culture, with some places listed below considered the cornerstones of ATL’s now booming cocktail scene.

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Read more: 18 Atlanta Bars and Restaurants Serving Marvelous Martinis

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Leaning into classic concoctions, and enhanced by the use of Thai and southeast Asian flavors and ingredients, look for cocktails like a pineapple daiquiri, Painkiller, mezcal margaritas tinged with pineapple, and a martini served with gin, vodka, or pisco. Blanc vermouth, dry madeira, pandan, artichoke, and orange bitters are then added to the drink, making this a brilliant twist on the classic martini. Also try a “mini tini” for a snack-sized martini.

This East Atlanta bar, owned by Nhan Le (Fishmonger, So Ba), is a popular late-night hangout for restaurant industry workers in search of a great post-shift meal and equally great cocktails in a punk rock atmosphere. Opening its doors after many restaurants have shuttered for the night, the menu includes selections like Spanish octopus, ramen, and a Maine lobster roll. Sip on a Hemingway collins while waiting on the late night meal.

Peter Chvala, chef Nolan Wynn, and Faielle Stocco worked together for years in Ford Fry restaurants in Atlanta, while Katie McDonald was a manager at Wrecking Bar Brewpub in Little Five Points. The longtime friends all live in and around East Atlanta Village (EAV) and appreciate the neighborhood’s quirky vibe and penchant for late nights. Their restaurant, Banshee, has become a dining destination for EAV residents and visitors to the neighborhood seeking dishes with nods to the seasons and cleverly crafted cocktails (and maybe a late-night hot dog). Try perennial favorites such as the Stately Hag made with tequila, strega, Cocchi Americano, lemon, and thyme and the Rabbit in the Moon made with gin, dry vermouth, and pickled baby carrots. The wine list is great, too.

Designed after the iconic 007 agent, this James Bond-inspired bar makes some banger cocktails, and of course, a mean martini, named James’ Perfect Martini with vodka and stuffed olives served up. The vibey lounge makes for a relaxed setting. Try riffs on classics like the Glenn and Tonic made with Tulsa gin, Italicus, grapefruit, rosemary, and tonic, or try a seasonal special.

This unpretentious bar and lounge on Moreland is backed by two restaurant industry veterans. Low lit and at just 40 seats, barman Tim Faulkner and his team can make you any cocktail you want, even those that are a bit more obscure or harder to find at other bars around town. Pair an amaretto sour, Tuxedo, Corn n’ Oil, or any number of classic cocktails from Faulkner with delectable roast beef sandwiches topped with horsey sauce, a prime rib platter, or Southern snack tray filled with deviled eggs, pickled vegetables, and pimento cheese from chef and owner Hudson Rouse. Plenty of zero-proof drinks are also available. All you have to do is ask.

Led by longtime Atlanta bartender Kysha Cyrus, Mambo Zombi resides in the former Georgia Beer Garden space, hardly visible from its perch on Edgewood Avenue. People enter via an outside stairway along the side of the building leading to the second floor and step into a space where a hodgepodge design is inspired by global celebrations of life, the honoring of ancestors, and the afterlife threaded throughout festival holidays like Día de los Muertos, All Souls Day, and Qingming. Expect Caribbean-style drinks and classic cocktails here, including the Singapore Sling, Mai Tai, Harvey Wallbanger, and Ti’ Punch, along with original tipples such as the Elote made with Haitian rhum, house-made corn milk, and condensed milk from Cyrus.

Ticonderoga Club at Krog Street Market is co-owned by three forefolk of Atlanta’s cocktail movement: Greg Best, Paul Calvert, and Regan Smith. Cocktails rotate regularly here, but T-Club’s mint julep riff, the Ticonderoga Cup, and an Irish Coffee are typically always on the menu, alongside drinks like Slabtown Sling made with gin, lemon and lime benedictine, hibiscus, and soda, the Champ-Ale mixed with sweet vermouth, lemon, lager, and a dry sparkling wine.

Little Spirit is an intimate space for drinks in Inman Quarter. It’s also adorned with pieces by local artist Erica Arndts depicting musicians like Tupac, the Notorious B.I.G., and David Bowie as Renaissance-era patron saints who watch over the cocktail bar. The drinks menu rotates frequently here to focus on seasonal and classic cocktails, which are always solid. Try the tongue-in-cheek Tittie Sprinkles made with vodka, cachaca, fruit loops, limoncello, raspberry, citrus, and egg white, or Crane Wife stirred with gin, jasmine tea, elderflower, vermouth, honey, and bitters.

No Atlanta “best-of” bar list would be complete without Kimball House. Located in a renovated train depot in Decatur, the bar has been nationally recognized for its elegant twists on classic drinks, champagne and absinthe services, and seasonal cocktails full of ingredients straight from the restaurant’s garden. The namesake martini is one of the best around, combining gin and equal parts Cocchi Americano, and French vermouth. Oh, and the oyster selection at Kimball House is top notch, too.

A tropical oasis in the heart of Decatur, S.O.S. is a modern take on classic bars like Trader Vic’s. Tiki staples such as the mai tai, zombie, and painkiller are all on the menu here, as are a few S.O.S. originals and a vast selection of rums for sipping.

One of the first craft cocktail bars in Decatur (and sibling to Brick Store Pub,) Leon’s has seen a few of Atlanta’s finest behind its bar at one time or another. Does Miles Macquarrie (Kimball House) ring a bell? The bar program continues to focus on classic cocktails as well as its extensive local beer list thanks to its Brick Store ties in Decatur.

Michelin-starred Lazy Betty in Midtown is surely known for their innovative tasting menu but do not skip the cocktails. Bar seating is first-come first-served and the new cocktail menu is concise: just eight super-refined cocktails. Try the I Love Puerto Rico No.2 with rum, creme de banane, toasted hazlenut orgeat, and pineapple, or go classic with an Old Fashioned. Four nonalcoholic cocktails are also available.

Immerse yourself in a Wes Anderson film at Bar Margot in Midtown. Named for the iconic Margot character in Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums”, the cocktail bar shares the same cool, retro aesthetic. Try the Gin Margot for a refreshing take on a classic gin and tonic with limoncello, all while soaking in the moody vibe here. Keep an eye out for celebrities, too. They often call the Four Seasons Hotel home while in town shooting a movie or TV series.

Lucian may be best known for its amazing selection of wines by the glass and bottle, but do not sleep on the stellar martinis here. While the bar makes the cocktail to order (and with gin or vodka), take advantage of the fact that this is a wine bar carrying quality, small batch vermouths and stir that martini into a 50/50 with a lemon twist.

Leaning into classic concoctions, and enhanced by the use of Thai and southeast Asian flavors and ingredients, look for cocktails like a pineapple daiquiri, Painkiller, mezcal margaritas tinged with pineapple, and a martini served with gin, vodka, or pisco. Blanc vermouth, dry madeira, pandan, artichoke, and orange bitters are then added to the drink, making this a brilliant twist on the classic martini. Also try a “mini tini” for a snack-sized martini.

This East Atlanta bar, owned by Nhan Le (Fishmonger, So Ba), is a popular late-night hangout for restaurant industry workers in search of a great post-shift meal and equally great cocktails in a punk rock atmosphere. Opening its doors after many restaurants have shuttered for the night, the menu includes selections like Spanish octopus, ramen, and a Maine lobster roll. Sip on a Hemingway collins while waiting on the late night meal.

Peter Chvala, chef Nolan Wynn, and Faielle Stocco worked together for years in Ford Fry restaurants in Atlanta, while Katie McDonald was a manager at Wrecking Bar Brewpub in Little Five Points. The longtime friends all live in and around East Atlanta Village (EAV) and appreciate the neighborhood’s quirky vibe and penchant for late nights. Their restaurant, Banshee, has become a dining destination for EAV residents and visitors to the neighborhood seeking dishes with nods to the seasons and cleverly crafted cocktails (and maybe a late-night hot dog). Try perennial favorites such as the Stately Hag made with tequila, strega, Cocchi Americano, lemon, and thyme and the Rabbit in the Moon made with gin, dry vermouth, and pickled baby carrots. The wine list is great, too.

Designed after the iconic 007 agent, this James Bond-inspired bar makes some banger cocktails, and of course, a mean martini, named James’ Perfect Martini with vodka and stuffed olives served up. The vibey lounge makes for a relaxed setting. Try riffs on classics like the Glenn and Tonic made with Tulsa gin, Italicus, grapefruit, rosemary, and tonic, or try a seasonal special.

This unpretentious bar and lounge on Moreland is backed by two restaurant industry veterans. Low lit and at just 40 seats, barman Tim Faulkner and his team can make you any cocktail you want, even those that are a bit more obscure or harder to find at other bars around town. Pair an amaretto sour, Tuxedo, Corn n’ Oil, or any number of classic cocktails from Faulkner with delectable roast beef sandwiches topped with horsey sauce, a prime rib platter, or Southern snack tray filled with deviled eggs, pickled vegetables, and pimento cheese from chef and owner Hudson Rouse. Plenty of zero-proof drinks are also available. All you have to do is ask.

Led by longtime Atlanta bartender Kysha Cyrus, Mambo Zombi resides in the former Georgia Beer Garden space, hardly visible from its perch on Edgewood Avenue. People enter via an outside stairway along the side of the building leading to the second floor and step into a space where a hodgepodge design is inspired by global celebrations of life, the honoring of ancestors, and the afterlife threaded throughout festival holidays like Día de los Muertos, All Souls Day, and Qingming. Expect Caribbean-style drinks and classic cocktails here, including the Singapore Sling, Mai Tai, Harvey Wallbanger, and Ti’ Punch, along with original tipples such as the Elote made with Haitian rhum, house-made corn milk, and condensed milk from Cyrus.

Ticonderoga Club at Krog Street Market is co-owned by three forefolk of Atlanta’s cocktail movement: Greg Best, Paul Calvert, and Regan Smith. Cocktails rotate regularly here, but T-Club’s mint julep riff, the Ticonderoga Cup, and an Irish Coffee are typically always on the menu, alongside drinks like Slabtown Sling made with gin, lemon and lime benedictine, hibiscus, and soda, the Champ-Ale mixed with sweet vermouth, lemon, lager, and a dry sparkling wine.

Little Spirit is an intimate space for drinks in Inman Quarter. It’s also adorned with pieces by local artist Erica Arndts depicting musicians like Tupac, the Notorious B.I.G., and David Bowie as Renaissance-era patron saints who watch over the cocktail bar. The drinks menu rotates frequently here to focus on seasonal and classic cocktails, which are always solid. Try the tongue-in-cheek Tittie Sprinkles made with vodka, cachaca, fruit loops, limoncello, raspberry, citrus, and egg white, or Crane Wife stirred with gin, jasmine tea, elderflower, vermouth, honey, and bitters.

A tropical oasis in the heart of Decatur, S.O.S. is a modern take on classic bars like Trader Vic’s. Tiki staples such as the mai tai, zombie, and painkiller are all on the menu here, as are a few S.O.S. originals and a vast selection of rums for sipping.

One of the first craft cocktail bars in Decatur (and sibling to Brick Store Pub,) Leon’s has seen a few of Atlanta’s finest behind its bar at one time or another. Does Miles Macquarrie (Kimball House) ring a bell? The bar program continues to focus on classic cocktails as well as its extensive local beer list thanks to its Brick Store ties in Decatur.

Michelin-starred Lazy Betty in Midtown is surely known for their innovative tasting menu but do not skip the cocktails. Bar seating is first-come first-served and the new cocktail menu is concise: just eight super-refined cocktails. Try the I Love Puerto Rico No.2 with rum, creme de banane, toasted hazlenut orgeat, and pineapple, or go classic with an Old Fashioned. Four nonalcoholic cocktails are also available.

Immerse yourself in a Wes Anderson film at Bar Margot in Midtown. Named for the iconic Margot character in Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums”, the cocktail bar shares the same cool, retro aesthetic. Try the Gin Margot for a refreshing take on a classic gin and tonic with limoncello, all while soaking in the moody vibe here. Keep an eye out for celebrities, too. They often call the Four Seasons Hotel home while in town shooting a movie or TV series.

Lucian may be best known for its amazing selection of wines by the glass and bottle, but do not sleep on the stellar martinis here. While the bar makes the cocktail to order (and with gin or vodka), take advantage of the fact that this is a wine bar carrying quality, small batch vermouths and stir that martini into a 50/50 with a lemon twist.