By Ligaya Figueras and Henri Hollis via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Journal-Constitution restaurant critics Ligaya Figueras and Henri Hollis reviewed more than three dozen restaurants in 2024, both inside and outside the Perimeter. Here are their 10 favorites, all of which received three- or four-star reviews (meaning they were excellent to extraordinary).
Atlas
The first dish on the December tasting menu at Atlas was a generous dollop of Kristal caviar in a nest of crisp strips of winter vegetables over a creamy vegetable puree. The earthy root vegetable “confetti” paired beautifully with the bright salinity of the caviar.
A supplemental course of white truffle risotto turned out to be a wild card. The first time we ordered the $95 add-on, the risotto was bland and undercooked, and the freshly shaved white truffle was devoid of flavor. The dish was executed much better on our next visit.
Atlas works to accommodate vegans, vegetarians and omnivores at the same table, but occasionally the different menu experiences don’t quite align. The grand finale on the traditional menu was a whole squab presented in four different preparations. It was a master class in using every part of an animal. Meanwhile, the vegetarian finale included three butternut squash ravioli. The ravioli were good, but the dish was nowhere near as dramatic or creative as the squab. — Henri Hollis
88 W. Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta. 404-600-6471, atlasrestaurant.com
Avize
Starters of venison tartare and a foie gras parfait were delightful. The former brought the minced game meat bound with a walnut ketchup and bulked up with buckwheat, fermented blueberries and beech mushrooms. The latter featured a rich mousse of foie gras, rabbit and duck liver topped with a gelee of dandelion root tea, ice wine and persimmon vinegar.
Among the entrees, a creative vegan pasta dish turned fermented carrots into a Bolognese sauce tossed with house-made cavatelli. Two sauces — Italian bagna cauda, pungent with garlic and anchovy; and herby French sauce verte — unified a bass dish plated with grilled artichokes and turnips. And hay-smoked duck was divine when swiped in a heady, heat-free habanada cherry duck jus.
Only a few menu items were underwhelming: flammkuchen (a glorified bacon and onion flatbread); mezzaluna (half-moon ravioli that was so thick and dense the brown butter sauce could not permeate the pasta); and roast chicken in an uninteresting lemon caper sauce. — Ligaya Figueras
956 Brady Ave. NW, Atlanta. 404-879-1713, avizeatlanta.com
Bey Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar
Nearly all the appetizers at Bey were richly flavored. Wonderfully crisp french fries were dusted with lip-smacking sumac, while fried cauliflower was dressed in spicy red harissa and rich, cooling tahini. Charred octopus received an almost Spanish treatment with romesco aioli and salsa verde.
The dishes got better as the meal progressed. Grilled branzino was tender and flaky — a perfectly executed dish. Bey’s fried chicken, with a thick, heavily spiced breading, was a spectacular achievement of both flavor and texture.
But the star was the upside-down lamb pilaf, a mountain of Middle Eastern comfort food. The redolent cardamom rice was cooked in the same braising liquid used for the fork-tender lamb shank that capped the dish, so each grain tasted almost as rich as the meat itself. It’s the type of dish that you look forward to eating as leftovers — and won’t stop thinking about, once it’s gone. — H.H.
1035 Alpharetta St., Roswell. 678-404-8793, beymediterranean.com
Bey Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar
Nearly all the appetizers at Bey were richly flavored. Wonderfully crisp french fries were dusted with lip-smacking sumac, while fried cauliflower was dressed in spicy red harissa and rich, cooling tahini. Charred octopus received an almost Spanish treatment with romesco aioli and salsa verde.
The dishes got better as the meal progressed. Grilled branzino was tender and flaky — a perfectly executed dish. Bey’s fried chicken, with a thick, heavily spiced breading, was a spectacular achievement of both flavor and texture.
But the star was the upside-down lamb pilaf, a mountain of Middle Eastern comfort food. The redolent cardamom rice was cooked in the same braising liquid used for the fork-tender lamb shank that capped the dish, so each grain tasted almost as rich as the meat itself. It’s the type of dish that you look forward to eating as leftovers — and won’t stop thinking about, once it’s gone. — H.H.
1035 Alpharetta St., Roswell. 678-404-8793, beymediterranean.com
Ela
Ela’s must-try mezze board included labneh, smoked eggplant dip, hummus, pickled vegetables and grilled pita wedges. My only gripe: There wasn’t enough bread to use up all the dips.
We enjoyed the chargrilled skewers, digging into harissa chicken, black pepper lamb, chile-garlic shrimp, meaty mushroom shawarma and an adana-style kebab of pork seasoned with tamarind and date.
Sides included couscous studded with the traditional Moroccan mix-ins of dried fruits, herbs and nuts; local greens with roasted pepper, shaved fennel, olives, feta, pita croutons and green goddess dressing; and a combination of roasted red beets, thin rounds of raw golden beets, strawberries and nuts, resting on a swath of thick labneh.
Among the single-person entrees, the lamb kofta burger was a confused mess of flavors and the beer-battered cod was oversalted.
For dessert, take your pick of Greek doughnuts or tangy frozen Greek yogurt. — L.F.
1186 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-873-4656, ela-atlanta.com
Lazy Betty
Life is better when you realize perfection is impossible to achieve, but you can find beauty in attempts to reach it.
The folks at Lazy Betty, a Michelin-starred, fine-dining restaurant that recently relocated to Midtown, seem to understand this. Chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips said they intentionally promote a culture of continuous improvement, rather than perfectionism. With the staff freed from unrealistic expectations, the atmosphere is relaxed and the food is approachable, despite being extremely luxurious.
The restaurant space is calm and subdued, bathed in golden light, and offers a welcome respite after navigating Midtown traffic or the annoying parking deck of the 999 Peachtree office building. Lazy Betty eschews grand drama in favor of uncomplicated elegance. — H.H.
999 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 470-851-1199, lazybettyatl.com
Nàdair
Nàdair offers a three-course menu or a six-course tasting menu, with some crossover. Some dishes benefit from the three-course menu’s larger portion sizes, as in the lamb tenderloin au sauvage, a tartare dish accented with warm North African flavors. Unfortunately, the tiny servings on the tasting menu serving weren’t enough to allow the subtle tastes to bloom.
But the tasting menu improved considerably with an unusual combination of foie gras torchon, cantaloupe salad and red plum gelee.
The seafood dishes exclusive to each menu were perhaps the best at the restaurant. On the three-course menu, the potato-crusted filet of sole was a gorgeous interplay of Old World European elegance and down-home Southern technique. The tasting menu, meanwhile, had a smoked Maine lobster atop a bed of wonderfully al dente herb spaetzle, with a rich thermidor sabayon sauce.
Also, a spectacular grilled scallop was paired with peach-glazed pork belly. — H.H.
1123 Zonolite Road NE, Atlanta. 404-941-7254, nadairatl.com
Omakase by Yun, Dunwoody
The menu here changed quite a bit between visits, although the structure remained largely the same. Each meal started with a fish carpaccio; the second visit’s umami-rich tai snapper with miso and garlic outshone the salmon that we had the first time around.
Luckily, both menus included a dish called menage a quatre, a raw oyster topped with uni, salmon roe and caviar.
A couple of hot dishes included a clear, fragrant fish broth made with the day’s discarded fish bones. Chawanmushi, an egg custard soup, was served with sweet Hokkaido snow crab.
Of the nigiri courses, the bite of hay-smoked mackerel was a clear winner, while the fatty tuna was gorgeously rich and clean. A bite that included two tiny firefly squid was as creative as it was delicious.
The traditional finishing course, a slice of sweetened, cakelike scrambled eggs, used purple yam to add color and character. — H.H.
4511 Olde Perimeter Way, Dunwoody. 470-395-3068, omakasebyyun.com
Pata Negra
While this restaurant serves plenty of smokier mezcal, it offers a longer list of tequilas, as well as other agave spirits, such as sotol.
The food is a balance of familiar Mexican classics and elevated modern interpretations. The oro verde guacamole was straightforward and fabulous, and the salsa madre and much spicier salsa huasteca buzzed with freshness.
In a dish called temporada de lluvias, a risotto made with mild, earthy huitlacoche (known as the truffle of Mexico) provided a base for perfectly cooked scallops.
Fideo negro, a seafood dish that leaned Italian, featured an octopus tentacle over black squid-ink pasta, tossed in a piquant salsa.
Tacos Arabes featured warmly spiced, citrus-marinated chicken, handmade corn tortillas and avocado mousse.
Perhaps the most impressive offering was enmoladas, a simple plate of enchiladas enveloped in an anything-but-simple mole negro sauce. — H.H.
1777 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 404-343-6212, patanegraatl.com
The Porter, Little Five Points
This restaurant, which reopened in 2024, remains a casual, old-fashioned tavern that revolves around beer. It has an extensive, thoughtful draft list and an unparalleled cellar.
The food was just as good. The new menu included such longtime favorites as the goat cheese fritters, salt and vinegar popcorn, pull-apart pretzel, french fries, smashburger, and fish and chips.
Other dishes, including the beef tartare, deep-fried hen of the woods mushrooms and the shrimp toast, showed a bit of fine-dining flair.
The menu’s crowning achievement, though, might have been the roast pork sandwich by way of Philadelphia. The bread was from Philly bakery Amoroso, while the cheese was imported Italian sharp provolone. The pork was marinated for three days and roasted for several hours until it was tender enough to eat with a spoon. Braised greens added a needed touch of vegetal bitterness, and the finishing touch was an impressively hot Calabrian chile relish. — H.H.
1156 Euclid Ave., Atlanta. 404-549-7132, theporterbeerbar.com
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