The best restaurants in Atlanta for 2026

For an unforgettable omakase experience, make your way to the MICHELIN-Starred Mujō that Esquire named one of the Best New Restaurants in America in 2023. Following stints at acclaimed sushi spots in Tokyo and New York, chef J. Trent Harris has been creating elaborate Edomae-style feasts to diners who can snag one of the coveted 15 seats in the restaurant at the cypress counter. Settle in for a memorable evening that might include elegant plates of fatty tuna, hairy crab, and chawanmushi.

From walls decked with 20th-century fine art to a knockout seasonal American menu with European influences, it doesn’t get any posher than this MICHELIN-Starred destination inside The St. Regis Atlanta. Start with a caviar tasting flight before moving on to impressive mains like an Australian wagyu tomahawk for two. For extra-special occasions, go all in on the chef’s tasting menu, complete with wine pairings and impressive desserts.

Adjacent to Chastain Park, this all-day MICHELIN Green Star bistro is a destination for its lush setting and hyper-seasonal New American menu. The French Laundry alum Christopher Grossman whips up elegant dishes like English pea agnolotti with morel mushrooms using ingredients from the restaurant’s on-site garden. Score a seat on the covered terrace decked with string lights for the ultimate treehouse-like escape.

Head to this MICHELIN-Starred spot for an innovative tasting destination from chef and Le Bernardin alum Ron Hsu. Bold dishes like crown-roasted duck with sweet potato and satsuma showcase the restaurant’s fine-dining pedigree and Hsu’s Chinese heritage. Pair them with stellar wines or zero-proof drinks in the elegant space with raw-wood tabletops.

Legendary chef and Aria founder Gerry Klaskala announced his retirement in 2025, but this James Beard-nominated Buckhead spot still commands attention two decades on. Sommelier Andrés Loaiza is now at the helm, and the daily changing American menu still reigns supreme. Get comfortable in the sleek dining room, and go for the seven-course tasting. You might find exciting dishes like roasted eggplant steak with pomegranate molasses. Pastry chef Kathryn King’s desserts are non-negotiable, and make sure you ask about the global wine list, where new options by the bottle and glass are added weekly. It’s no wonder Aria consistently finds a home on the Eater Atlanta 38 list.

At this iconic restaurant located on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, the setting is as spectacular as the elegant farm-to-table fare. Grab a seat in the dining room with wooden ceilings resembling canoes and an open kitchen to watch executive chef Matthew Basford whip up elegant American dishes like slow-braised rabbit with mushroom stroganoff. Or linger with a glass of wine from the award-winning list on the outdoor patio for prime river and garden views.

Open since 1978, this family-owned, AAA Four Diamond restaurant has been serving up refined Northern Italian dishes in one of Atlanta’s most romantic spaces. Enjoy exquisite pastas like pappardelle with lobster and classic mains like a marinated lamb chop with mint pesto in the intimate dining room with rustic brick walls or on the lush outdoor courtyard.

Ford Fry’s swanky Westside spot is where you go for the ultimate steak dinner and one of the city’s best wine lists. With burgundy leather seating and stunning antique mirrors, the dimly lit space is the perfect setting for digging into high-end steaks like a 30-ounce porterhouse for two topped with fancy sauces like lobster and brandy au poivre. Pro tip: get the baked Alaska, flamed tableside.