We spent three and a half days in Atlanta with a toddler, a pregnant person, and three other adults who all have opinions about food. We ate a lot. Here's what was actually good.
This was our first dinner and it set the tone for the whole trip. David and Molly got the cochinita pibil, I got the Baja fish, and both came with tortillas on the side so you're building your own tacos at the table.
Different sauces, salsas, guac. Jamie got a chicken quesadilla and didn't look up once, which is the highest compliment a toddler can give a restaurant. We sat in the atrium area, which was airy and breezy and felt like the kind of place you'd want to stay for a while. Service was great too. Go here first.
This is a tiny Asian market near the Hyatt Regency downtown. They have dumplings, seaweed-wrapped rice balls, and then randomly, really good breakfast sandwiches on croissants. My mom and Molly went to Corner Bakery across the street, which was fine, but Min's was better and more interesting. Hidden gem energy for sure.
The Hub is a food court area near the hotel and it surprised us. David is still talking about Gus's Fried Chicken. I got a poke bowl with tofu from Bull Gogi that was so good I tried to DoorDash it to my hotel room the next day. It wasn't available. I'm still upset about it. My mom and Molly went to Aviva by Kameel for Mediterranean. The owner is a big personality. You will hear him before you see him.
This was my mom's favorite meal of the entire trip, and it came down to the mushroom croquettes. I don't eat mushrooms so I can't personally vouch, but she has not stopped talking about them. David had been to the NYC location years ago and said it held up. It's a tapas spot near Piedmont Park, so if you're spending the afternoon there, just walk up for dinner. Really good for groups because you're all sharing.
It was Molly and Jamie's first time. Jamie loved the grits. Molly's eggs were perfectly cooked. We told the staff it was their first time and they brought over paper hats, which was the cutest thing. I will never not order the chocolate chip waffle. If you haven't taken your kid to Waffle House yet, fix that.
We had big plans to do the food hall thing at Ponce City Market. Then we walked in and it was packed and overwhelming and everyone was starving because we'd accidentally skipped lunch after a big Waffle House breakfast.
We pivoted to Minero, the Mexican spot inside the market, and it turned out to be one of our best meals. Really good queso, solid nachos, Jamie had a black bean quesadilla. Everyone else got cocktails and decompressed. Sometimes the backup plan is the plan.
Good ice cream. We grabbed it after Miro. Honestly I was too full to really enjoy it, but Jamie was happy, and that's all that matters at that point in the day.
This was our last stop before heading home. It's a tiny market with big Rhino Market / Common Market vibes. I got a meatball sub (no deli meat for this pregnant lady), everyone else went the club sandwich and BLT route. Jamie had an apple juice and acted like it was the greatest thing he'd ever been handed. Perfect low-key stop on the way out of town.
The bottom line: Atlanta's food scene is legit, and most of these places were easy with a toddler. If I had to pick three must-hits, it would be Alma Cocina for dinner, Bull Gogi at The Hub for lunch, and Waffle House because it's Waffle House.
We obviously couldn't hit everything in one trip, but a few spots kept coming up in my research that I'm bookmarking for the next visit:
The Varsity is apparently an Atlanta institution. Hot dogs, burgers, fried pies, and they give kids paper cook's hats. It's been open for almost 100 years. We walked by a Varsity food truck at the Centennial Olympic Park (there was a World Cup fan fest going on) and it smelled SO good, but we were still full from Waffle House. Genuinely devastating timing.
Fox Bros BBQ came up on basically every "best of Atlanta" list I looked at. It's on DeKalb Ave and people are serious about their smoked brisket. We almost went but picked Gus's Fried Chicken instead, which was the right call, but this is first on the list next time.