Drool-Worthy New Restaurants in Atlanta and Food to Try Now

By Joleen Pete

Published February 7, 2022
Last Updated February 10, 2022

As things begin to open up in Atlanta, we’re excited to see restaurants thriving again. The Atlanta area has added several new restaurants that are garnering attention in the foodie world. In addition, restaurants that had to pivot during unprecedented times now are eagerly welcoming guests as dine-in eating is an option again. Here’s what’s new with Atlanta restaurants.

New Dining Experiences

Belle & Lily’s Caribbean Brunch House

Brunch all day? Yes, please! The Black, woman-owned Belle & Lily’s menu offers up delectable brunch dishes with a Caribbean flair. Drawing from the owners’ Caribbean roots, menu items include conch fritters, tostones stuffed with crab and lobster meat, halal jerk chicken and buttermilk pancakes, and fried parrot fish with sweet plantains and mesclun salad.

3350 Chamblee Tucker Road, Suite D, Atlanta

Juniper Cafe

Located in the Westside Village, Juniper Cafe is the brainchild of the forces behind Lazy Betty. This Vietnamese cafe and bakery is bright, colorful and modern, offering house-made dishes including pho, noodle salads and banh mis from locally sourced ingredients.

2260 Marietta Blvd NW, Atlanta

Tre Vele at City Walk

This Italian eatery encompasses a dining room, rooftop terrace, café and market. The innovative menu emphasizes homemade pastas and modern odes to classic Italian dishes. The cafe/market offers coffee, pastries and a variety of handmade pastas, sauces, salads and wine to go.

6017 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs

Le Bon Nosh

Located in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, Le Bon Nosh is a stunning all-day café, market, wine bar and restaurant celebrating the beauty of simple, seasonal food. Menu offerings change with the seasons and availability of local produce to ensure food is served at its peak.

65 Irby Ave. NW, Suite 103, Atlanta

Lucian Books and Wine

Imagine dining in your favorite library filled with beautiful books while enjoying a curated glass of topnotch wine. That is Lucian Books and Wine, located in Buckhead. The thoughtfully planned and carefully crafted menu is designed to be enjoyed paired with wine.

3005 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 300, Atlanta

& Cheese Atl

Raise your hand if you love grilled cheese. & Cheese Atl is here to fill that love with grilled cheese sandwiches created from premium ingredients and named for the different districts in the Atlanta metro area. & Cheese is another great addition to Atlanta’s favorite Black-Owned Restaurants.

3393 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta

Dirty Rascal 

The newly opened Dirty Rascal, at the Thompson Hotel, is a classic Italian-American restaurant featuring dishes from James Beard-nominated chef Todd Ginsberg. The menu includes nods to old-school red sauce restaurants in New York as well as Ginsberg’s own mother who nicknamed him “Dirty Rascal” as a child.

415 East Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta

Saints + Council

“The name [Saints + Council] represents the highest and best in all of us – the desire to fulfill all that we were meant to be,” according to the CEO. The menu, which covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, is centered around Dutch-babies (popovers) at breakfast and small plates, salads, sandwiches, slow-cooked meats and savory Dutch babies at lunch and dinner.

1221 Peachtree St., Suite 130, Atlanta

Little Bear

Little Bear is a comfortable and colorful cafe that offers good food without pretentiousness. Recently reopened after offering only take out, the restaurant serves what chef Jarrett Stieber describes as “Michelin Tire dining” and “regular dinners.” The menu is playful with dishes described as Jewish-ish/Sichuan-ish cooking. Visit on Insta to make reservations.

71 Georgia Ave., Summerhill

Daily Chew

The Daily Chew is a new walk-up window restaurant from the team of Stop Think Chew. The offerings, designed to “comfort and nourish you,” include specialty coffee (serving BRASH), brekkie, pita sandwiches, bowls, rotisserie chicken, local veggies and provisions.

2127 Liddell Drive NE, Atlanta

Pollo Supremo

Pollo Supremo is the newest offering from the creator behind Supremo Taco. The new location in East Atlanta is a Sinaloa-style chicken restaurant that features quarter, half and whole roast birds marinated in morita chile, citrus and a selection of spices served with fresh tortillas and paired with sides like rice and beans, street corn, chicken soup and churros.

792 Moreland Ave. SE, Atlanta

The Greek Pizzeria and Gyros

Beneath a colorful mural featuring mythological beings, The Greek offers up fast casual pizza and gyros along with other traditional Greek offerings. In addition to traditional pizzas, The Greek also tops pies with lamb and chicken gyro meat or pork souvlaki and doles out gyros stuffed with a variety of freshly shaved meats.

3400 Clairmont Road, Suite A, Brookhaven

Papi Ali’s

Latin-inspired with Southern influences and flavors, Papi Ali’s menu offers sandwiches, wraps, grain bowls and snacks. Examples include a mushroom chorizo torta and empanadas stuffed with corn and potatoes. Take out or patio seating available.

2323 Main St., Suite A1, Tucker

Talat Market

Talat Market began as a pop-up and became a can’t-miss Thai dining establishment. Thai technique is combined with Georgia ingredients by chef Parnass Lim Savang to recreate traditional dishes from his childhood using ingredients from local farms. Dishes change regularly, but often include crispy seafood pancakes, five-spice tofu stew and red curry beef.

112 Ormond St., Atlanta

Yao Atlanta

Owners of quick success Thai restaurant Tum Pok Pok have opened a new Thai-Chinese restaurant. The elegant, multilevel restaurant serves dishes like khao soi gai, noodles comprising chicken, lime, pickled green mustard, red onions and a quail egg in curry broth, a daily whole salt and peppered fish, and roast duck egg noodles with Yu choy cilantro and a quail egg. Also on the menu are a handful of Japanese inspired dishes such as spicy teriyaki tofu, Ishiyaki Wagyu served Thai style and cha siu pork belly. Be sure to try the homemade coconut ice cream!

237 Perimeter Center Parkway NE, Dunwoody

Pop-Up Eateries

Roving bakeries, taquerias and other other eating establishments allow chefs to try out passion projects and concepts without the massive overhead and fixed hours of brick and mortar shops. These pop-ups have gained traction in Atlanta. Here’s what we’re loving.

Gorditas ATL 

Gorditas ATL pop-up has landed a residency at BBQ Cafe, where chef Yvette serves up Mexican street food such as tacos, snacks and a signature breakfast sandwich with chorizo and a folded egg topped with queso fresco on a brioche bun. Mondays and Tuesdays. Follow Gorditas ATL on Instagram for menu and residency updates.

310 E Howard Ave., Decatur

Humble Mumble 

Black chef Justin Dixon has landed his pop-up for a long-term stay at Tech Square food hall the Collective at Coda. He serves mouth-watering sandwiches loaded with such offerings as salami, prosciutto and soppressata on ciabatta bread. The Italian Job comes with salami, mortadella, prosciutto, nduja, pickled peppers, onions and oregano mayonnaise. Humble Mumble was named one of the hottest new restaurants in Atlanta.

756 West Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta

Gigi’s Italian Kitchen and Restaurant Pop-Up 

Sundays through Tuesdays Gigi’s Italian Kitchen takes over the Gato restaurant in Candler Park. Here you can find “New York-style Italian food with a Southern flair” including dishes such as chicken marsala, marinated mussels, fritto misto and buttermilk panna cotta with Georgia peaches.

1660 McLendon Ave. NE, Atlanta

Phở Cue

This restaurant/pop-up blends Vietnamese flavors and dishes with central Texas barbecue. Several recipes are adapted from chef Wissman’s wife’s family, who are of Hmong heritage. Expect bánh mì and bowls of pho served with Texas-style smoked brisket along with pulled pork dumplings, smoked brisket egg rolls and lemongrass pepper wet smoked wings. 

925 Garrett St., Suite l, Atlanta

DMT Tacos

After leaving the Global Grub Collective earlier in 2021, chef Daniela Guevara and her LA-style popped up at locations throughout the city before landing a residency at Chop Shop in Edgewood. She now offers street tacos, birria tacos and mulitas, the occasional torta and tinga tostadas for online orders from her ghost kitchen in Little 5 Points. Follow DMT Tacos on Instagram for the most recent menu.

Top Food Trucks

And then there are the food trucks. No longer relegated to sleazy construction sites doling out soggy sandwiches and greasy burgers. Food trucks have transformed into restaurants on wheels offering gourmet fare from all ethnicities and regions. Like many large cities, Atlanta is home to a great food truck scene.

These new restaurants and pop-up destinations help make Atlanta a top culinary destination for foodies everywhere.

Joleen Pete lives outside Atlanta with her husband and their son. On the weekends they enjoy going into the city for family fun and exploration. Joleen is the family travel and lifestyle blogger behind Love, Joleen.