Ultimate Guide to Restaurants in Eastside Atlanta

By Muriel Vega

Published May 22, 2026

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Atlanta’s Eastside is home to some of the city’s most beloved neighborhoods, and the dining scene across all of them reflects the character and energy that make each one worth exploring. Virginia Highland draws a loyal crowd for its neighborhood bistros and wine bars. Poncey-Highland has become one of the better eating stretches in the city, with bakeries, wine bars and award-winning restaurants. Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park sit at the heart of the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail, surrounded by food halls and rooftop bars. Further south, Little Five Points, Cabbagetown, Reynoldstown, East Atlanta Village and Grant Park bring their own distinct personalities to the table — from “divey” neighborhood bars and vegan spots to brewpubs and classic Southern breakfast joints.

The Beltline’s Eastside Trail connects most of this, running from Ponce City Market to Krog Street Market, with great food accessible at nearly every stop along the way. Whether you’re spending a morning on the trail, planning a big night out or just looking for a reliable neighborhood meal, the Eastside has something worth eating at every turn. Here’s where to start.

Start your day

Kinship Butcher & Sundry

If you’re spending a morning in Virginia Highland, Kinship Butcher & Sundry is a great place to begin. The neighborhood spot combines a whole-animal butcher, mini-market and coffee shop. Start the day with the breakfast sandwich. It comes on a soft brioche bun from local bakery TGM Bread and is loaded with fluffy eggs, Thomasville Tomme cheese, griddled onions and Duke’s mayo. Order it as a double to get both bacon and sausage. If you’re back for lunch, note that the sandwiches change daily based on what’s available from the butcher counter.

Check out Kinship Butcher & Sundry’s breakfast sandwich featured on “Beyond the Menu”.

Colette Bread and Bakeshop

Colette’s is a small bakery in Poncey-Highland that is worth a trip. The offerings change frequently based on what’s in season, but the giant cinnamon roll is the thing. It’s perfectly pillowy, not too sweet — and delectable. The pastry case leans heavily on fresh fruits and vegetables — brioche tarts overflowing with house-made strawberry filling, spicy shishito pepper scones and a rotating selection of baked goods.

Little Tart Bakeshop (Grant Park)

The Grant Park location is the Little Tart flagship — a light-filled space with hanging plants and a full working bakery visible in the back. The pastry case changes with the seasons, with highlights like seasonal fruit galettes, chocolate pistachio croissants and bostocks made with croissant dough and pecan frangipane. The lunch menu includes grain bowls, carrot salad and veggie soup inspired by local farmers. On weekend evenings the bakery transforms into Little Tart After Dark, serving small plates and cocktails — a good way to start a night out in Grant Park.

Ria’s Bluebird

Ria’s Bluebird is a beloved breakfast spot in Grant Park, sitting right across from Oakland Cemetery. The buttermilk pancakes are fluffy, dense and sturdy enough to hold up under a generous pour of syrup — and they’re as good as everyone says. The country-fried tempeh over a biscuit with white pepper gravy and the slow-cooked brisket with poached eggs are worth ordering if you want something more savory.

Homegrown

The Comfy Chicken Biscuit at Homegrown is reason enough to make the trip to Reynoldstown. An open-faced buttermilk biscuit layered with crispy chicken and smothered in pork sausage gravy, it’s one of the best breakfast dishes in Atlanta. The rest of the all-day breakfast menu is equally worth exploring — breakfast sandwiches with applewood-smoked bacon, runny eggs and roasted garlic aioli on fresh bread are available at any hour. 

Midday lunch and afternoon bites

Glide Pizza

Glide Pizza is a NYC-style pizzeria in Old Fourth Ward right off the BeltLine Eastside Trail, and one of the few spots in Atlanta where you can walk up to a window and order by the slice. The dough is made with a 48-hour ferment that gives it just the right amount of sourness and a beautifully charred crust. The Spicy Pepp City is the one to order — pepperoni, fresh jalapeño, Calabrian chilies and fresh mozzarella on a crispy, airy base with a kick that builds with each bite. 

BeetleCat

BeetleCat’s oyster happy hour and its patio are a great way to spend a late afternoon in Inman Park right by the BeltLine. The nautical-inspired seafood restaurant is a comfortable spot, and the S.S. Minnow platter — six oysters, six shrimp, crab salad, ceviche and snapper crudo — is a great way to graze through the menu. The blackened mahi sandwich and fish and chips are excellent follow-ups to the happy hour.

Kitty Dare

The spacious, plant-filled patio at Kitty Dare is one of the more inviting spots to spend an evening in Inman Park, especially with a Hommas gin cocktail in hand — a pear and lime-forward drink with a light chili finish. The Mediterranean menu is worth eating through, starting with the cumin-spiced Tunisian eggplant dip, then moving on to lamb kebabs with barbari bread and marinated feta, or turmeric gnocchi in a lamb ragu. 

Krog Street Market

Krog Street Market was one of the first food halls to open in Atlanta, and it remains one of the most visited spots in Inman Park. The market brings together food stalls like Fred’s Meat and Bread, Gu’s Dumplings and Little Tart Bakeshop alongside full-service restaurants like Ticonderoga Club and Superica. Hop City has a bar on the premises with several beers on tap.

Ponce City Market

Ponce City Market is one of Atlanta’s most visited destinations, and for good reason. The massive mixed-use development — housed in a former Sears warehouse and retail store that later served as Atlanta’s City Hall — sits right on the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail and draws a steady crowd of locals and visitors throughout the day. The Central Food Hall is the heart of the building, featuring artisan food stalls and local vendors such as Spiller Park and King of Pops. Beyond the food hall, the building is home to a handful of full-service restaurants worth visiting, including Minero, H&F Burger, Botiwalla, Jia Szechuan, Pizza Jeans and others.

Check out more food halls in Atlanta.

Close out the day with a nice meal

Wrecking Bar Brewpub

Head downstairs at Wrecking Bar Brewpub and you’ll find one of Little Five Points’ most charming dining rooms — a cozy stone-walled basement inside a stunning circa 1900 Beaux-Arts building that feels more like a European tavern than a neighborhood bar. The kitchen turns out hearty, locally sourced dishes like creamy mushroom risotto and duck breast that go well beyond standard bar food. The rotating house-brewed beer selection is best explored through a flight.

BoccaLupo

BoccaLupo cooks up Italian-American classics with Southern influences.There’s black spaghetti with squid ink pasta and spicy Calabrese sausage, and 20 Yolk Tagliatelle with kale kimchi. The four-course tasting menu at $155 is shareable and a good way to experience the full range of the kitchen. If you’re lucky to nab a reservation, don’t forget to order the Basque cheesecake to close out your meal.

La Semilla

La Semilla is a plant-based Latin restaurant that makes a strong case for vegan dining in Atlanta — and it’s a great spot to bring skeptics. The menu reimagines Latin classics with plant-based ingredients — esquites with a kick, cubanos and vegan queso. The Crunchwrap, a twist on Taco Bell’s, is the dish that built the restaurant’s following back when it was a pop-up. If the Bistec de Palomilla, a seared lion’s mane mushroom steak with yuca mash and mojo, is available, order it — it sells out fast and for good reason.

Madeira Park

Madeira Park is a wine bar in Poncey-Highland with an 11-page wine list and food that holds its own. The anchovy butter tartine, pommes frites and seasonal potato gnocchi are stars of the menu. In the evenings, fuller plates like bistro steak show up on the dinner menu alongside a fish option and other seasonal offerings. The patio is a great spot to settle in for a glass of wine and a few small plates, and the relaxed atmosphere makes it easy to stay longer than planned.

Tio Lucho’s

Tio Lucho’s in Poncey-Highland is where chef Arnaldo Castillo blends traditional Peruvian cooking with Southern and local Atlanta ingredients. The menu is built around coastal flavors — red snapper ceviche, cornmeal-fried calamari, Pulpo Anticuchero, lomo saltado and the Pollo Anticuchero Sanguche, the chicken sandwich that started it all during his pop-up days. Take advantage of a great cocktail bar and order a pisco sour with your meal.

Tio Lucho’s: A Peruvian-Southern Restaurant that Locals Love in Atlanta

Gunshow

There’s no traditional menu at Gunshow in Glenwood Park — instead, chefs bring small plates directly to your table, explain each dish, and you decide whether you want it. The weekly changing menu is built around locally sourced produce and leans into creative, unexpected combinations. Chef Cody Chassar keeps things adventurous, and the cocktail program and amaro flight are worth exploring alongside the food. It’s one of the more fun and energetic dining experiences in Atlanta, especially for a first-time visitor looking for something distinctly local.

Banshee

A neighborhood favorite, Banshee is a New American restaurant in East Atlanta Village with a creative seasonal menu and an atmosphere that feels upscale without taking itself too seriously. Start with the fry bread and pepperoni butter — a lighter take on naan with a salty, smoky butter so popular they sell it by the pint. The rotating menu delivers bold flavors throughout, from New York strip in caramel onion sauce to grilled lamb skewers with pineapple tepache glaze. On Friday and Saturday nights, a DJ and late-night food pop-up on the back patio keep things going well past 10 p.m.

Check out Atlanta’s Must-Try Restaurants.

Muriel Vega is an Atlanta-based bilingual freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience covering technology, culture and innovation. Previously, she served as managing editor at Hypepotamus, and her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Eater, Dwell, Outside, Atlanta Magazine, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Bitter Southerner, among others.