Your Favorite Upscale Restaurants in Decatur/Atlanta
Decatur Metro | May 20, 2015 | 8:30 am
I’m not entirely sure what to call these types of restaurants. “Fine Dining” isn’t really employed anymore, is it?
But I’m talking about the types of restaurants where you may need a reservation, take a date, and leave the sandals at home.
So…What are your favorite upscale restaurants in the Atlanta metro? (Psst…The Eater 38 list is never a bad place to start if you need a bit of a jump-start.)
Photo of Cakes & Ale courtesy of Eater
I am a Ford Fry fan, especially King & Duke and The Optimist.
Miller Union and Gunshow are our favorites. Many date nights spent at these two places.
Kimball House and Gunshow are standouts for me right now. And I enjoy Rathbun’s.
Don’t do upscale very often, but in Decatur it’s Cakes and Ale by a wide margin. It’s my favorite food, regardless of location. Elsewhere, I loved Empire State South when it first opened, but the quality has dipped. Wasn’t that impressed with The Optimist. Miller Union is at the top of my list to try. A lot of the highly regarded restaurants are on the Westside, which I don’t enjoy visiting, so I’ve missed out on some of the top places.
You asked, so here we go.
But 1st, a moment of silence for the passing of Quinones. (Sob!) It was a sad as the loss of Seegars.
Our current favorite is Better Half. Amazing food but casual atmosphere. Beyond that, in no particular order….
Baccanalia
Miller Union
Cakes & Ale
La Grotta (the BH location)
BoccaLupo
Saltyard
Kimball House
4th & Swift
Gunshow
Serpas
Last Word
I confess that we’ve not fought for a table at any of the Krog Street newbies- yet. Looking forward to Craft Izakaya.
One of the things I don’t like about many “upscale” restaurants is the uncomfortable seating. I don’t care for spending a bunch of money and being crammed right against another table, at tables that are too small for the plates, and in cheap chairs. One example that comes to mind is Sotto Sotto, which has great food but I can’t stand the seating. My wife and I share this opinion, so we often end up sitting at the bar at these types of places if it’s just the two of us. Thankfully, there seems to be a movement away from the communal style seating at some of the newer places. I didn’t get a chance to try the food, but I had drinks at Community Smith (in the Midtown Renaissance Hotel) the other night and thought it was just an amazing, old-school style space, with varied seating options and comfortable chairs (but, alas, not comfortable bar stools).
In addition to awful seating, I often find it hard to understand why people like Atlanta’s so-called “upscale” restaurants at all. Other than gorgeous decor and fancy tableware, they rarely seem to offer much substance with the food or sincerity from the staff. Showy, flashy, trendy. Banquette seating. Loud. Expensive. Small portions. It’s all an illusion.
My favorite place right now is Paper Plane. Cool retro vibe, amazing cocktails, and great food. I’d drive a long way to eat there but it just so happens to be about a mile away.
I like this place too. It’s not a place to bring your elderly parents who probably need Parker’s on Ponce (is it still there?) nor children under 13. But it has an neat, almost subversive vibe.
I love Paper Plane, but think of it as hip, not upscale. Same, to a lesser extent, for Kimball House. Which isn’t to say these places aren’t expensive, but they have a more casual vibe.
Agreed, Paper Plane is pretty awesome. I don’t typically think of it for upscale food though. What I’ve ordered has been good, but it’s such a limited menu. BoccaLupo has been my favorite for a while now.
Maybe the best pork chop I’ve ever eaten was at Paper Plane, food there is incredible — I like the perfectly executed limited menu.
If we’re talking actual fine dining, it’s gotta be Bacchanalia, hands down. For “upscale”, then Cakes & Ale–again, hands down (have been underwhelmed with everything except the cocktails at Kimball House). We also enjoy Lure (in Midtown), and Sotto Sotto.
What if I want to keep my hands up? Don’t you oppress me! 😉
😛 Hush up, you, and hand over those oysters…
“We also enjoy Lure (in Midtown),”
Lure was totally off my radar until a recent office move for my wife put her near there. Haven’t had a full meal there yet, but have really enjoyed the small plates and nibbles I’ve tried there (especially the smoked trout pate). The patio is also terrific. Underrated place, I’d say so far.
The smoked scallop appetizer there is sublime!
The pan-fried sole fillet is a thing of simple beauty. And their baked crab dip with tomatoes is a fab starter for sharing. Totally agree with Irene’s recommendation of the smoked scallop appetizer!
Kevin Rathbun Steak was a delight recently. La Grotta is a nice old standby as well.
Baccanalia and La Grotta are Old School in a GREAT manner (IMO). Really tough to beat if you’re looking for repeatable, top-quality food and service.
Dined at Cafe Lily last week; it was great. Great food, great service, good price. I’ve always liked it for lunch, but only with that last visit have I elevated it to “dinner worthy.” Don’t know why I was a surprised, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Part of the fun of La Grotta in Buckhead is the odd location downstairs in a condo building. I was there one night and looked to my right to see a schnauzer seated at the next table. He was better behaved than any kid would have been.
Are there any traditional “white tablecloth” establishments around anymore? Pretentious hosts, servers in starched shirts and bowties, lots of French words on the menu… you know the type.
I used to enjoy the theater of that style, but you don’t seem to find them much any more.
Yes – Bones.
Also, La Grotta, which someone mentioned above.
Restaurant Eugene
Very difficult to maintain in today’s cargo shorts world. By which I mean you can put out the white tablecloths and fine china, but it’s only a matter of time before someone in a baseball cap and t-shirt shows up and wants to be seated.
For awesome food in Decatur/area, I’ve gotta go with Cakes & Ale and give a serious nod to Sun In My Belly. For best bar program, the (criminally underrated) Pinewood Tippling Room beats the snot out of every other joint in town. Best newcomer is Twisted Soul… great service, delicious menu. (Speaking of newcomers, any rumors about what’s going into the old Atlantic Star/Carpe Diem space?) Atlanta-wide, Bacchanalia reigns supreme – though I’ve never had a meal at Restaurant Eugene that didn’t blow me away. I have never understood the adoration poured on Miller Union; every experience there leaves me underwhelmed. Still dying to get to Gunshow!
I feel that Gunshow totally lives up to the hype surrounding it. Go with a small group and try everything. I love the interaction with the people who actually made the food – and the fact that all the food was fantastic. They turned me into someone who likes Brussels sprouts. We had a small birthday celebration there and I can’t recommend it enough. I will add that I don’t think it feels “upscale.” It’s pretty industrial if you ask me, but the food and fun atmosphere are really why should go.
I agree that Gunshow serves very good and interesting fare, but don’t go hungry and only bring friends that are OK splitting the check evenly. The cost of those small plates add up real fast!
That’s the truth! We went once. Everything we ate was very good and some of it was phenomenal. But not a single plate did my cheapskate ass consider “worth it” for the price we paid. Eight bucks for a “Chick Fil-a” sandwich that’s a quarter the size and maybe half as good as the original? Ugh.
Insert snarky “J_T’s Big Green Egg” comment here: ___________________________________________________
Should have stuck to the oysters, I guess.
Ditto on Pinewood Tippling Room. LOVE their cocktails. All of my clients/friends have been duly impressed as well.