Atlanta Restaurant Recommendation-Midtown

I have a client dinner in Atlanta coming up (we are staying near the Atlantic Station area) and have been given the following list of recommended restaurants. Do any of these restaurants stand out among the others? Does any one have a superior wine selection to the others? Am I missing any other candidates?

4th & Swift, Aria, Abbatoire, Sotto Sotto, Empire State South, Local Three, Serpas.


Many thanks,

Jeff Henson

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4th & Swift - haven’t been, can’t comment.

Aria - One of my favorites. Chef-owner Gerry Klaskala does particularly wonderful things with soups, seafood, and anything slow-cooked. Extensive wine list, but I’m not familiar with the pricing because I almost always take my own. Good atmosphere for a business dinner - upscale but not stuffy.

Abattoir - Have been, enjoyed it, but it’s not a regular destination. Industrial-chic setting, meat-centric menu, haven’t paid much attention to the wine list.

Sotto Sotto - One of Atlanta’s top Italian tables, IMO, with a deep, almost-exclusively Italian list.

As much as I like Sotto Sotto, for Italian (in this case, Tuscan) I prefer Antica Posta - http://www.anticaposta.com/wine.html - which also has a deep Italian list (especially Tuscan wines) but with more non-Italian selections, a very interesting ‘Reserve By-the-Glass’ list, and reasonably-priced corkage ($10, versus $30 at Sotto Sotto). Good atmosphere for business.

Empire State South - Most convenient to Atlantic Station of those you list. Another personal favorite. More casual atmosphere and noisier than Aria or Antica Posta, if that makes a difference to you for a business dinner. IMHO, the most interesting wine list in town - not as extensive as others, but thoughtfully constructed, reasonably priced, and well-matched with the cuisine.

Local Three - I dine there more often than any of the others on your list. Very informal, high-energy (read ‘loud’), welcoming, and friendly, with simple, tasty, well-prepared food. Any deficiency in the wine list is more than compensated by the corkage policy: bring all you want, at no charge.

Serpa’s - haven’t been, can’t comment.

Others to consider:

Restaurant Eugene - Atlanta’s best restaurant? Probably. http://www.restauranteugene.com/

Bone’s - If a clubby steakhouse with an excellent (though pricey) wine list appeals, this is the one. http://www.bonesrestaurant.com/

Of those I’ve visited, I’d rank them in the order of:
1)Local Three-great food, good (high energy, slightly loud) atmosphere, small but interesting list with decent pricing
2)4th and Swift-great food, nice vibe (a bit quieter and a notch more refined but still fairly casual), list (IIRC) is okay with the typical mark-up
3)Abattoir-good food (slightly small menu), adequate list, industrial atmosphere but still very workable
4)Serpas-meh
Eugene is really a whole different experience than the others; much more upscale. Great list with the usual mark-up. Certainly a more formal experience and much higher cost.
I think at least the first 3 have both menus and wine lists online; so I’d personally review those to see what strikes a chord with you.

Many thanks to Robert and Chad for your helpful suggestions. We chose Aria’s and had a wonderful dinner. Although the entrance into the restaurant, through a beaded curtain into the bar, with techno music playing, was a bit incongruous, the meal and service was outstanding (but pricey). I had the short ribs, but many at the table ordered the scallops which by all accounts was excellent. Again, your generous advice is greatly appreciated.

Jeff

An out-of-towner and a little late to this, but I’ve been feted a few times now. Would have seconded Aria, I still remember an excellent meal from a few years ago there, so glad it went well for you Jeff. The restaurant in the 4 Seasons, which we went to this August, the food was just tremendous. Local 3, great service, good food but not as good as 4 Seasons. Went to Tasty China last year, very authentic Szechuan, but that taste is not necessarily for everyone. I liked it, but takes some getting used to.

Will be in Atlanta this weekend in midtown/GA Tech area, looking for some recs in area on Restaurants for Saturday dinner (nothing super fancy) & sunday breakfast/brunch.

Some initial thoughts Ecco, Nonni’s, cooks & soldier for dinner.
Joy cafe, West Egg or fly biscuit?

Prefer walking, but will have vehicle and can drive, prefer not heading to Buckhead/outlying areas.

Also thinking of checking in for lunch Friday @ Ponce City Market, any suggestions?

Also will be back in December any recs for nice graduation dinner?

I love General Muir near Emory for great food which will work for dinner but the breakfast is amazing.

Miller Union was extremely good, and it’s signature dish farm baked egg in celeriac cream is truly amazing. We went twice, and the second time having learned from the first, I ordered three appetizers two of which were the celery cream egg. https://millerunion.com/dine-in-dinner-menu/

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Unfortunately if you ask 100 Atlantans you’ll get 101 different suggestions.

However, Cooks and Soldiers is a good option if you like tapas. Ecco is nothing special. A lot of people like Miller Union but we found it fairly predictable and forgettable. You could do worse.

If you like steak, Marcel is excellent, but more in the fancy realm. Another fancy but very good is Bacchanalia. They’ve gotten less fancy since they moved and you can dine at the bar a la carte. But still fairly expensive.

Not sure Ponce City Market is that memorable for lunch. Maybe if you like some decent Pho?

But I’ll be honest, Atlanta is a great city for good food. Lots of good places. Really not much excellent or particularly memorable, which is kind of why you’ll get such a varied response.

This is the veritable who’s who of Atlanta dining. Great write Ups, Robert.

That said personally as I mentioned above, I’ve been to all these places and haven’t found any of them particularly excellent or memorable. Heck I didn’t even mention them lol.

Haven’t been but have heard great things from those that have. https://www.lylalilaatl.com/

Love what I’m seeing on Instagram from them and will be on my list when I finally get back to town.

Restaurant Eugene closed awhile ago…

Holeman and Finch is now in Midtown and would be a great option for a casual dinner or lunch. Legendary burger which I think lives up to it’s reputation and a great cocktail/bourbon list.

Holeman and Finch is not yet reopened. In addition to Eugene, 4th and Swift is also long gone. Bone’s is (IMO) a pretty standard steak house I try to avoid.

On a more positive note, yes, Lyla Lila is very good for contemporary Italian.

My favorite meals in the past couple years… Kimball House (especially the oysters and cocktails), Staplehouse (which is now a market and casual cafe but honestly as stellar as ever), Lazy Betty (this is essentially what Staplehouse used to be, expensive but they actually nail it), Ticonderoga Club (all around good stuff), Deer & Dove (farm-driven contemporary Southern), Spring (way out in Marietta but worth the drive), Aria (classic), BoccaLupo (Italian meets Southern). New wine bar Lucian is doing really nice things with food and the wine menu. A crew of us hit Empire State South a few months back and had a fantastic tasting menu meal - they have recently changed chefs again but I would still expect very good things. Miller Union does teeter on the edge of being predictable sometimes, but they always have a very well thought-out wine list and nice attention to detail throughout, with some dishes really knocking it out of the park.

If you’re adventurous, Little Bear (creative contemporary farm-driven), Talat (ambitious Thai). Up Buford Highway, tons, but favorites include Nur Kitchen, Mamak, Tum Pok Pok, Snackboxe Bistro (not technically BuHi), Masterpiece, Woo Nam Jeong.

In the butcher and baker category, Evergreen has stellar bread, very good pastry, and a wonderful butcher program including housemade deli meats, sausages, dry aged steaks, etc. Big fan. Have yet to try the new Kinship, which is a similar model.

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Lila Lyla is amazing as is Spring in Marietta.

Ended up going to Forza Storico (son’s choice) https://www.forzastorico.com/ @ west midtown, it was really good. Stuffed zucchini blossoms, trumpet mushrooms, green beans were notable. Pastas all hand made, had Capelletti Spinaci which was good, wife had tagliatelle Bolognese which she loved, son and girlfriend had Bertu & Sugo di Coda which they both enjoyed.
Walked about a bit and Marcel (mentioned above) looked interesting & likely top choice for grad dinner when back in December.

Other meal/brunch @ Cypress Street which was convenient to hotel & solid but nothing extraordinary.

Nothing super interesting @ Ponce City, but they did have H & F burger stand (Holeman & Finch).

Forza is quite nice. Maybe you met my buddy Jose that runs the bar.

Had a great meal at St Cecilia in Buckhead last week. Some of the best dishes I’ve had there over the last few years. It was a quick stop in Atlanta but great to be back in the area.