Atlanta Good Food category interest

When new restaurants open, we check them out. This means that we subject our stomachs and social lives to the good, the bad, and more often than not, the perfectly fine. And every once in a while, a new spot makes us feel like Usher at a roller rink. When that happens, we add it here, to The Hit List.

The Hit List is where you’ll find all of the best new restaurants in Atlanta. As long as it opened within the past several months and we’re still talking about it, it’s on this guide. The latest addition might be a buzzy new restaurant with a lemon pepper sommelier. Or it might be an under-the-radar lunch counter where a few dollars will get something that’ll rattle around in your brain like a loose penny in a dryer.

Keep tabs on the Hit List and you will always know just which new restaurants you should be eating at right now.

THE SPOTS

New to The Hit List (as of 07/11): Nadair

Nadair, the latest from celebrity chef Kevin Gillespie (Gunshow), brings Scottish energy to the old Floataway Cafe space. Wood-fire cooking takes center stage in their six- or three-course dinners ($175/$85). But don't be fooled by the meat-heavy menu—even the lamb tartare with pistachios and green tomatoes tastes light and zesty. The lobster is a standout, bathed in a creamy thermidor sauce that's rich without overwhelming the lobster. Spring for the $75 wine pairing to kick your meal up a notch. It takes you from a crisp sparkling rosé with hints of strawberry to a bold pinot noir that perfectly complements the tasty wood-fired pork. With great wine, delicious charred meats, plaid-covered seating and carpet, and the occasional kilt-clad diner, Nadair makes for a memorable night out.

photo credit: Amy Sinclair

Miss Conduck is now officially the best spot to kick-off a night on Edgewood Avenue’s strip when you want more than a beer and some pretzels. The stylish Caribbean fusion spot, which opened in the former Noni's space, trades in Edgewood’s chaotic buzz for chill island energy. It’s decked out in pinks, greens, and oranges, and filled with tropical plants, all of which should ease the pain of not taking a beach getaway this summer. Before you go searching for a party on a Friday night, come here with friends for some very strong cocoritas—a play on a piña colada and a margarita. Or sit on the patio with a date who likes the sound of tasty chicken rasta pasta with an herby tamarind glaze and curry chicken with rice and cabbage.

photo credit: Tabia Lisenbee-Parker

The Porter in Little Five Points has been a landing spot for beer lovers since 2008. After closing for two years during the pandemic, it has reopened under new ownership with a revamped menu and interior. But we’re glad they’ve kept their most important attribute—their beer selection, which has more options than Tubi has obscure movies. Bring a big group and impress your beer-snob friend with a wide selection of regional brews, 60 taps (they added 18 since reopening), and more than 800 bottles of cellar-aged beer. Grab a seat at the long bar or in the two-tiered dining room, then order the tender beer-brined roast chicken and crispy fries.

photo credit: Amy Sinclair

Floridaman is a weekend-only rooftop bar perched above Breaker Breaker on the Eastside BeltLine, and it's a chill atmosphere to enjoy cheap drinks and coolish breezes. If you don’t get here right when they open, be prepared to hear “at capacity” and wait up to an hour. But once you're upstairs, welcomed by lush plants, fake parakeets, and wicker lighting fixtures, the relaxed bar will feel worth the wait. Some of the Breaker Breaker menu is available, but the delicious pressed Cuban sandwich, packed with ham, chicken, salami, and swiss, is unique to upstairs. Sip on a mango and lime boozy slushie, or score with the white wine—you get the entire Bota Box (that’s roughly three glasses) for just 12 bucks.

From the co-owner of El Valle and Oaxaca, Casa Balam is the newest addition to Decatur’s downtown dining scene. Taking over the old Ted’s Montana Grill space, the Mexican restaurant features huge booths—perfect to crowd into with friends and little ones while you dig into family-style platters of tender chicken, duck, and birria, with warm housemade tortillas. Start with an order of creamy guacamole with onions and jalapeños. And we'd also recommend the juicy 10-ounce wagyu, which is shareable but so good you probably won’t want to. For a margarita, try the Bee Word, made with coconut milk and slightly sweet bee pollen—it’s so refreshing you'll consider the merits of starting your own bee colony.

photo credit: PR

The Painted Pickle, the long-awaited eatertainment spot from the team behind The Painted Duck and The Painted Pin, just opened in Northeast Atlanta. And if you're looking to show off your backspin serve, this eat-and-play restaurant is definitely for you. The spot is huge and features first-come, first-serve pickleball courts, some bar games, and indoor/outdoor lounge spaces. Plus, long booths facing the courts are perfect for grabbing a bite between games. But if drinking is your preferred sport, grab a seat at the bar and sip a frozen rum-spiked Arnold Palmer while breezes drift in from the raised garage doors. If you're hungry, the upscale pub menu delivers some respectable bites like the ball-shaped Pickle Ball snack filled with bacon and pickles and some standouts like the vegetable-packed soba noodle bowl.

photo credit: Courtesy of Damsel

Damsel, a new cabaret dinner theater in Chattahoochee Works, will liven up your date or pals-night-out. A dark, unmarked entrance leads to a showy chandelier-filled dining room, where wait staff in formal waistcoats pass around hors d'oeuvres and cocktails in classic or trendy, heart-shaped glassware. You’re mainly here for the night’s singing and dancing performances, but the $60 nine-course dinner, with small plates like lobster salad-stuffed pastry cones and tender beef wellington slices, is good enough to warrant an encore.

This West Midtown taqueria sits across the street from its sister restaurant Palo Santo. You’ll smell meat cooking from the parking lot way before you clap eyes on the bright red folding chairs and white subway tile countertops in the small dining area. That tempting smell is from the roasted pork, rotating on a vertical spit as a whole pineapple leaks juices onto the slow-cooked meat. And whether you order tacos, costras, or mulitas, that's the protein you should get. But we usually stick with the tacos on handmade corn tortillas topped with fresh cilantro and onions because the pork is so flavorful and tender it doesn’t need much help.

J'ouvert is the first to open among a set of new restaurants planned in Lindberg, which developers are quietly rebranding “Uptown Atlanta." Despite our eye-rolls at the project at-large, this place is great for a meet-up with friends. From the same team behind Belle andamp; Lily’s, the all-day Caribbean cafe near Lindbergh Station plays dancehall classics that'll make you sway in your chairs in front of TVs playing music videos and island travel shows. Stake your claim to your share of the saucy jerk wings and sweet-savory coconut-crusted corn skewers. After a few cocktails, which use fresh pressed juices and housemade ginger beer, your friends should be vibing with your brunch pick.

High Noon looks a little like Barbie’s brunchouse or maybe something that would exist in Miami. But the new all-day spot in Douglasville is more than pink patio umbrellas and flower-covered walls. The Southern breakfast options are among the best in the entire metro, especially the cream sauce-drenched lobster omelet and the well-seasoned, crispy fried chicken wings and pancake combo. Get a mimosa flight so you can try a mix of fun options like the dessert-sweet pina colada cream and the cotton-candy topped melon one.