Atlanta is becoming a second home to me. From going at least once a year to going multiple times as more family has moved there, I'm growing ever more fond of the City in the Forest. Our last visit allowed us to stay for about two weeks, giving us a much more realistic view of Atlanta life. We went back and forth to different areas from Decatur, visited coffee shop after coffee shop, and tried more food than ever before. I found on this longer stay that so much of the food I loved and places I will always revisit on upcoming trips were often outside Atlanta. Some even outside the perimeter. So if you are planning a visit, I would stay somewhere that allows you to easily access all areas of the City. If you time your travels right as we did, you should avoid horrendous traffic. We went all over and never sat in gridlock.

Coffee Shops

ASH COFFEE

Neighborhood - Virginia Highlands

Parking: Street Parking

Good breakfast options, plenty of indoor seating. I really liked the overall vibe of this place.

Momo’s Cafe

Neighborhood - Downtown

Parking: Paid Parking

Annoying location, but really good lattes and delicious pastries. Worth looking for parking downtown.

Finca to Filter

Neighborhood: Old Fourth Ward (other locations)

Parking: Street Parking (on the weekends parking here was tough)

You can do the walk up window or go inside. Specialty latte was good, but the standard latte tasted weak.

Portrait Coffee

Neighborhood: West End

Parking: Free Lot Parking next to it.

Really great shop, just have to make a point to hit it up since it’ kind of out of the way.

ChiCha San Chen

Address: 2174 Pleasant Hill Rd #105, Duluth, GA 30096

This boba shop had recently opened so we took advantage of giving it a try during our trip. The place was absolutely packed and I ordered two drinks and waited about 20 minutes for them. If the lines are still that long I would say skip it. Having an abundance of boba tea in Orlando, this place didn’t really stand out as anything particularly special other than the cute boba holder they give you.

Spiller Park

Neighborhood: Toco Hills (other locations)

Parking: This location is in a shopping center, so no parking issues.

Loved their matcha drink!

Academy Coffee

Address: 1019 Virginia Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306

I really liked this shop, especially their interesting seasonal menu that had a lot of stuff I haven’t seen other shops create which was refreshing. They also have a dry goods section and you can order food. We got a breakfast sandwich that was so good, sorry no pictures, we inhaled it.

Valor Coffee

Area: Dunwoody

Parking: This location is in a center, so easy parking.

Really love their drinks and the vibes at their cafes. They are mostly North of Atlanta though.

Brash

Location: Several this one is on the West Side

Parking: This area has awful parking, but there is a tiny lot next to it if you are taking it to go you could potentially snag a quick space.

Love this spot, and their drinks the only bad part is parking in this area is pretty awful. However they do have other locations if you don’t want to visit this spot on the Westside.

El Tesoro

Address: 1374 Arkwright Pl SE, Atlanta, GA 30317

El Tesoro was on our list as a recommendation, and we didn’t dine in, but we grabbed to-go. The food was extremely flavorful, I actually couldn’t get over how good the burrito was. In comparison to some other really bland, lackluster Mexican food we tried, El Tesoro was a highlight.

Kamayan ATL

Address: 5150 Buford Hwy NE A230, Doraville, GA 30340

Kamayan is the perfect example of why you should leave the city to eat great authentic cuisines. It’s a small Filipino restaurant located in Doraville, and it’s so cute and homey when you walk in. The food is spectacular as is the service. The only down side is they really pack you into their space, so the tables are extremely close to one another. When we left I was practically hovering over the table next to me while they were eating just to squeeze out of the space. However that shouldn’t stop you!

Breaker Breaker

Address: 921 Wylie St SE, Atlanta, GA 30316

Great location right off the beltline. The food was decent as were the drinks. It’s more of a interesting space to check out once you know the history of the building. Parking is not great. The food was better than I expected, but the limited menu is mostly seafood or beach type fair.

Snackboxe Bistro

Address: 1960 Day Dr NW Ste 1000, Duluth, GA 30096

This spot was such a gem. If you love Laotian food bookmark this restaurant and go. We shared the Lao platter seen below which was more than enough for two people and allowed us to try so many of their menu items. Highly recommend this spot.

Antico Pizza Napoletana

Address: 1093 Hemphill Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

I think I’ve gone to Antica every single Atlanta trip. There was expanded seating in the Hemphill Ave location, and the pies still come out fast and delicious.

Kimball House

Address: 303 E Howard Ave, Decatur, GA 30030

Kimball House in Decatur was a splurge dinner to see if it lived up to the hype around it. The service was immediately off—putting, some people were nice others were very rude and they didn’t seem to like that we asked to sit outside and then asked not to be sat in direct sunlight but under a covered area (the patio was empty mind you). Needless to say that started off the meal in an uncomfortable place. Drinks and food were fine, it’s just very expensive for the portion sizes, so for that and the rude vibes I wouldn’t recommend.

Fishmonger

Address: 674 North Highland Avenue Northeast Suite A, Atlanta, GA 30306

I found this spot on Eater and it looked worth giving a try. Another place where we immediately felt like we weren’t welcome, so we got one sandwich to split and got out of there as fast as possible. Sadly the sandwich actually tasted great, but the service and overall vibe made us want to leave. Seating is extremely limited so know that before you head to this location.

Poco Loco Neighborhood Provisions

Address: 2233 College Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30317

My local friend told me about this spot for breakfast burritos, so after grabbing coffee at Con Leche we headed over. There are no modification on the burritos and you grab and go (a few tables are outside to eat there if you wish). The burritos are quite hefty and the salsa they come with just adds to the flavors already packed in. The price per burrito are around $9 which is a steal considering how full they left us for hours. Definitely recommend, but they sell out fast so go early.

Little Rey

Address: 1878 PIEDMONT AVE N.E. ATLANTA GA 30324

This place was really disappointing. Flavorless and bland. Not to mention it’s another Atlanta parking nightmare that just isn’t worth it. Don’t recommend.

Buena Gente Cuban Bakery

Address: 1365 Clairmont Rd, Decatur, GA 30033

This place was AMAZING. I haven’t had a Cuban sandwich this good since it was homemade by my Abuela. It’s a smaller little cafe that is takeaway only and the hours are tough, you an literally only get a sandwich from 11pm - 2pm, but set your alarm and go!

Owens & Hull

Address: 6255 Riverview Rd SE Building 4000 STE 100, Mableton, GA 30126

We hit up shops in Marietta whenever we are in Atlanta, so this BBQ spot was kinda on the way back into this city. It was a recommendation from Smokemade Meats so I made an effort to give them a visit. The BBQ is solid, we didn’t really have any complaints, and the sides were good accompaniments as well. Would I drive out of my way to go here…that’s a tough call cause I’m lazy. However, it was definitely a solid BBQ spot if you are in the vicinity.

Fudo

Address: Suite# A-100, 5070 Peachtree Blvd A-100, Chamblee, GA 30341

Finding sushi in Atlanta was harder than I expected. Most of their sushi spots that have notoriety are expensive Omakase style places and we were just looking for one good but not break the bank sushi night. Another local recommendation came through, again out of the city at Fudo in Chamblee. This place was packed out early on a Saturday. The sushi was really solid, the place was just an absolute sensory nightmare of sound, so beware if that bothers you. Also, you have to pay for parking.

Jusgo Supermarket food court/ Tokyo Kuma

So before this trip to Atlanta, I had gone to Jusgo in Duluth to check it out, and the space to the right mostly empty with a few stalls. This visit I went back and the entire space had been transformed into a real food court with an additional shop inside. Truth be told I was not prepared to chow down when I went, so I didn’t each anything other than the matcha ice cream, but I would still say it’s worth visiting.

It’s worth going even if you aren’t looking to eat because inside the space you will find Tokyo Kuma. It’s a large shop filled with products, from beauty and accessories to home goods and snacks.

BE Banh Mi

Address: 2180 Pleasant Hill Rd. Ste B16, Duluth, GA 30096

If you go to Teso Life in Duluth and you get hungry you will find several spots in that same plaza. I’ve been to Be Banh Mi twice and these are excellent sandwiches.

Chai Pani

Address: 406 W Ponce de Leon Ave, Decatur, GA 30030

If I’m in a city with a Chai Pani, I’m going. If you aren’t familiar this is Indian Street food, think Bombay Street Kitchen. The dishes are always on point, and the Decatur location is quite large with indoor and outdoor seating.

SHOPPING

YOUNG BLOOD

Address: 1392 McLendon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307

This gift shop is right down the street from Space Queen.

Space Queen

Address: 1404 McLendon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307

This vintage shop in Chandler Park is aesthetically pleasing from every angle. The items are highly curated and not exactly affordable for all, but you still might score something.

Ben's Antiques & Market

Address: 9365 The Landing Dr Ste C, Douglasville, GA 30135

This is outside the perimeter in Douglasville, but it’s a very large and worthwhile antique mall. There is a good mix of the types of booths. you will find including retro items, housewares, and fun nostalgic stuff.

Antique Factory

Chamblee, GA is known for having an “antique row” of shops, but we found most of them to be true antique shops with mostly older furniture and glassware. The one we enjoyed the most was the Antique Factory. It was almost like walking through a huge prop closet that also had amazing mid-century modern items mixed with other vintage goods. We didn’t buy anything, but it was a fun pit stop.

Other Antiques Malls worth going to:

• Cobb Antique Mall - This place is huge and awesome. Great variety of options.

• Marietta Antique Mall - Not as big as Cobb, but still worth a visit.

• Big Shanty Antiques & Auctions - This place has a lot of 80s + 90s nostalgia booths.

• America’s Thrift - This is right across from Big Shanty. Super clean and organized.

• Treasure Hunt Antique Mall - This one was way out in Powder Springs, but we found so much stuff here at really reasonable prices.

  For other Atlanta recs you can search my other Atlanta blog posts