Restaurants in contention opened between Oct. 1, 2024, and Oct. 1, 2025 and reside within Rough Draft’s coverage zones in the cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Tucker, Sandy Springs, and Dunwoody, along with a few from greater metro Atlanta.

This year’s award winners brought something extra special to the Atlanta dining scene. Your next favorite dish might come from a sandwich shop doubling as a community hub, a fine dining establishment leaning into Alpine ingredients, a strip mall spot dedicated to an Italian grandmother’s legacy, or a tiny counter-service restaurant whipping up made-to-order meals perfect for a dinner party.

Introducing Rough Draft’s Best New Restaurants of 2025, along with the winners of our inaugural Readers’ Choice Awards and a trio of special awards for Best New Bar, Best Collaboration, and Community Spirit.

Jump to: Readers’ Choice | Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Tucker | Best New Bar | Best Collaboration | Community Spirit Award

Overall Winners

Avize
956 Brady Ave., Westside Atlanta

Avize is a culinary exploration of Chef Karl Gorline’s Bavarian heritage and the Alpine-bordering countries of Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy. For Gorline, Avize isn’t a literal interpretation of Alpine food traditions. Instead, the menu pays homage to these cuisines through foraged ingredients, such as serviceberries, and vegetables, grains, and herbs harvested weekly from the restaurant’s Bremen, GA farm. The only physical indication Avize leans Alpine is in the dining room, where a taxidermied white mountain goat named “Truffles” is given pride of place.

Gorline gussies up rustic dishes of venison, duck, and schnitzel, whipping gamey proteins, fish, and root vegetables into elegantly presented plates that are almost too pretty to eat.

Begin with the dandelion greens salad studded with seasonal citrus, or the venison tartare. Gorline gets cheeky with his lemon pepper wet riff on frog legs. For the main event, order hay-smoked duck, fermented carrot Bolognese, or the fallow deer crusted with black sesame atop a serviceberry jus accompanied by eggplant and chicory. 

While wine pairing suggestions come listed with each dish, tap in Avize Director of Hospitality and sommelier, Taurean Philpott, for further advice. As with the food, wine at Avize favors Alpine producers. 

Moody and cozy, with a playlist jockeying between 1980s New Wave and old and new-school hip hop, Avize makes fine dining fun and approachable. With the more casual vibes of Bar Avize next door, serving martinis on silver plates and everything from fries and oysters, to adult chicken nuggets topped with caviar, this Brady Avenue restaurant is the total package. 

Danbi Seasonal Kitchen
3432 Clairmont Road, Brookhaven

Don’t be fooled by Danbi Seasonal Kitchen’s appearance — this Brookhaven strip mall spot offers far more than meets the eye. Although the sleek, technology-forward interior, minimal staff, and no-tipping policy suggest a standard fast-casual operation, the actual product is on the same caliber as finer dining institutions. Chef Jack Kim has worked a wide range of restaurant jobs, and it shows. 

With the exception of the cookies and brownies on the counter (those are baked ahead of opening hours), Kim makes everything to order. The menu’s foundation on healthy, seasonal ingredients proves that food can be good for you and taste good, too. The smoothies, for example, don’t contain an excess amount of sugar, instead highlighting the god-given flavors in each ingredient. The frothy beet smoothie gets its sweetness from Fuji apples and maple syrup, with the main ingredient’s earthy flavor at the forefront. 

Everything is good here, but the Guajillo coconut salmon especially shines. (This is one case where you do want to order salmon at a restaurant.) The fish itself maintains that ideal doneness with just a hint of medium-rare, and the accompanying curry-like sauce, Brussels sprouts, and miso-glazed kabocha sauce almost outshine the main dish. 

If you’re feeding a large party, order everything to go and serve it at home. 

Madeira Park
640 N. Highland Ave., Poncey-Highland

It’s been 16 years since Steven Satterfield opened Miller Union, now a Michelin-recognized restaurant for the James Beard-award-winning chef. But in 2025, Satterfield and Miller Union partner Neal McCarthy, and Dive Wine founder Tim Willard, opened Madeira Park in Poncey-Highland. 

They transformed the former cafe at the old Highland Inn into a lively wine bar where people pack the dining room and patio nightly.

The wine list–a constantly evolving project for Willard and sommelier and General Manager Jade Palmer–features familiar favorites, boundary-pushing vintages, and collector wines. Pro tip: Ask for the “book” – an off-menu, hand-written list of limited-run and rare wines curated by Palmer. 

Fortified wine lovers will find a healthy selection of vermouth, sherry, port, and Madeira, including bottled-aged pours of Terrantez dating back to 1899 and a century-old Sercial. And while Philip Weltner keeps cocktails low-ABV by dialing into fortified wines (try the Bijou with sweet potato shochu, vermouth, and sherry), heavy hitters like the Sazerac and Rob Roy round out his drinks list.

Bar snacks include salads, oysters, ham and cheese beignets, and beef tartare, with entrees featuring the seasonality of ingredients for which Satterfield is known. Led by Chef Ollie Honderd, order a bistro steak with crowder peas and caponata, or the daily fish en papillote seared in brown butter complemented with French filet beans. 

Sammy’s
565 Northside Dr., Adair Park

Jason Furst and Chef Sam Pinner have created a buzzy community hub in Sammy’s, a compact coffee and sandwich shop at Abrams Fixtures in Adair Park. Lines form early for coffee and bacon, egg, and cheeses in the morning. In the afternoon, the lines return for sandwiches chock-full of ingredients. 

You’ll meet Furst at the counter, greeting you with his sterling smile. Hospitality courses through his veins, and through his long, flowing locks and full beard. Pinner works the smoker out front, tending to the pork butts for Uncle Sam’s sandwich and the Miami Sami served on bread sourced from Pan American Bakery. For the Reuben, Pinner brines the pastrami and finishes it on the smoker, topping the sandwich with Southern-style coleslaw, based on his mother’s recipe.

Every Friday evening, Sammy’s transforms into a bar teeming with people ordering High Life ponies and martinis from Furst paired with smashburgers, whole smoked wings, and barbecue specials from Pinner. 

Sammy’s already feels like it’s been around for years in Adair Park, with people huddled around tables, sometimes with small stockpiles of sandwiches. (Yes, they’re just that good.) It can be hard to find a seat at peak hours–even outside–an indication that Furst and Pinner must be doing something right. 

Season Marietta
301 Lemon St., Marietta

You would have no idea Season just celebrated its first anniversary. Situated in a standalone building on Lemon Street, the breakfast and brunch restaurant has the aura of a place that’s been open for decades. The restaurant runs like an extremely well-oiled machine, with an attentive staff thrumming at both the back and front of the house. 

There’s a smaller, separate coffee menu for diners who can’t function sans-caffeine. The specialty and seasonal drinks are just as detailed and visually impressive as items from a neighborhood coffee shop. You also won’t go wrong just ordering a French pressed coffee.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that everything on Season’s food menu makes for a solid meal. The savory dishes like the chorizo chilaquiles and tamale huevos rancheros truly shine here. Chef Nick Jennings makes Season’s red chorizo in house, and sausage lovers who don’t try it are quite frankly doing themselves a disservice. 

Those whose tastes steer sweeter should opt for the maduros-stuffed buttermilk pancakes, or French toast served with blueberry compote, duck ham, Virginia maple syrup, and cinnamon sugar. Other must-orders include the pork belly grilled cheese, croque madame, and selection of biscuit sandwiches. 

Come early, or make reservations. If not, be prepared to wait for a table. A meal at Season, however, is worth it. 

Tipsy Thaiger
605 Atlanta St., Roswell

Birdie Niyomkun, Phudith Pattharakositkul, and Candi Lee want Tipsy Thaiger to reflect their love for entertaining. Here you’ll find homestyle Thai staples mingling with Thai street foods and finer dining Thai dishes within the cozy environs of one of Roswell’s most historic dining rooms. 

Kicking off with a cocktail is the move, including with the gin-based Green Curry Sour, or Thaiger Martini mixed with vodka and yellow rice sake. The Mango & Sticky Rice mixes rum with clarified mango and a float of salted coconut foam. 

With a food menu divided into gab-glaam (bar bites, small plates) and gab-kao (shareable entrees served with rice), order everything family style, starting with the jackfruit dip and Thaiger salad comprising beets, tomatoes, and aromatic herbs tossed in Thai dressing with fried shallots. The unctuous chili jam clams are a must, which sees middleneck clams coaxed open as they’re quickly stir-fried in a creamy, sweet and spicy sauce. 

Never skip ordering she-crab fried rice for the table to complement entrees of 36-hour braised Hung-Le short rib or the daily market fish, which can come fried, poached, or seared. For a decadent dessert, opt for the Thai tea toast – a hunk of toasted brioche covered in Thai tea cream and peanut crumbles served with coconut ice cream to cut the sweetness.  

Tipsy Thaiger gently nudges you out of your Thai food comfort zone–and that’s a good thing–while also introducing you to the depth and breadth of Thailand’s foodways and hospitality traditions. In other words, it’s a triumph.

Top Five Readers’ Choice Winners (overall)

1. Tipsy Thaiger (Roswell)
2. Enso Izakaya (Avondale Estates)
3. Lucky Star (Star Metals)
4. Brasserie Margot (Midtown)
5. Madeira Park (Poncey-Highland)

Best of Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, and Tucker

Brookhaven

Danbi Seasonal Kitchen
3432 Clairmont Road, Brookhaven

Don’t be fooled by Danbi Seasonal Kitchen’s appearance — this Brookhaven strip mall spot offers far more than meets the eye. Although the sleek, technology-forward interior, minimal staff, and no-tipping policy suggest a standard fast-casual operation, the actual product is on the same caliber as finer dining institutions. Chef Jack Kim has worked a wide range of restaurant jobs, and it shows. 

With the exception of the cookies and brownies on the counter (those are baked ahead of opening hours), Kim makes everything to order. The menu’s foundation on healthy, seasonal ingredients proves that food can be good for you and taste good, too. The smoothies, for example, don’t contain an excess amount of sugar, instead highlighting the god-given flavors in each ingredient. The frothy beet smoothie gets its sweetness from Fuji apples and maple syrup, with the main ingredient’s earthy flavor at the forefront. 

Everything is good here, but the Guajillo coconut salmon especially shines. (This is one case where you do want to order salmon at a restaurant.) The fish itself maintains that ideal doneness with just a hint of medium-rare, and the accompanying curry-like sauce, Brussels sprouts, and miso-glazed kabocha sauce almost outshine the main dish. 

If you’re feeding a large party, order everything to go and serve it at home. 

Brookhaven Readers’ Choice: Confab Kitchen & Bar 

Dunwoody

Yaba’s Bagels
4780 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody

Lena Abdallah and Ahmed Nashif bet on Atlantans’ affinity for bagels when they opened Yaba’s Bagels this summer. Yaba means “father” in Arabic. For Abdallah, the Dunwoody bagel shop is more than just a business, it also serves as an homage to her father, who used to own bakeries in New York. 

Abdallah grew up understanding that a good “water” bagel depends on the precisely timed kettle boiling process to bring about the signature textures: crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Yaba’s respect for the bagel-making process, which includes boiling the dough twice before baking, comes through in the first bite.

But Yaba’s Bagels isn’t your standard New York-style bagel shop. Sure, you can get staples like bagels and lox, or a bacon, egg, and cheese, but the signature bagels infused with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors and ingredients are the real move at Yaba’s. 

Based on Abdallah’s father’s recipes, order the Levantine za’atar bagel with a thick spread of labneh drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with za’atar. The Souk sees your bagel of choice (we suggest sesame) topped with a spread of tahini and date syrup garnished with dates and toasted walnuts. For a little sweet and savory action, the Yaffa on an onion or salt bagel piles on grilled halloumi, arugula, and tomato. It’s finished with pomegranate molasses.

Bagels aren’t the only shining stars at Yaba’s. The deli sandwiches are every bit as good, including the Reuben stuffed with hot pastrami, melted Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut. Order this sandwich on a za’atar bagel. Grab one of Abdallah’s cheese danishes or apple turnovers for the road. 

Dunwoody Readers’ Choice: Cuddlefish 

Sandy Springs

Nonna Dora Italian Eatery
1100 Hammond Dr., Sandy Springs

When you find yourself sipping on Parmigiana sauce from a spoon like it’s a luxurious stew or bisque, you know you’re in the midst of a transcendent dining experience. Thank Nonna Dora for that, whose namesake shaped chef-owner Patrizio Alaia’s childhood and cooking philosophy. Every menu item, from the cheesy frittatine to the 100-percent beef meatballs, carries his grandmother’s influence. 

Antipasti and pasta make up most of the menu. It’s hard to go wrong here, but if you’re not into tomato-based sauces, opt for the pesto, Parmigiana, or ultra-rich mushroom lasagna. There’s also a small selection of pizzas, salads, and meat and fish-based main courses (branzino, saltimbocca, and a breaded chicken cutlet). 

Denying yourself a post-dinner cannoli, frolla (Neapolitan pastry stuffed with ricotta and candied orange cubes), or tiramisu is a criminal offense. Make the meal feel extra European by pairing it with an Italian soda.

Come in on Saturdays and Sundays for brunch, including for lemon ricotta pancakes, polenta and shrimp, and an Italian version of an English breakfast. 

Sandy Springs Readers’ Choice: Mister 01 Pizza

Tucker

Nicky’s Undefeated
2316 Main St., Tucker

Greater Philadelphian-owned Nicky’s Undefeated brought yet another strong tenant to Tucker’s Main Street in 2025. It’s a restaurant and bar serving top-rate sandwiches, cheesesteaks (don’t ask for a Philly), wings, and pizza that also doubles as a Philadelphia Eagles hub. 

The hoagies and melts come served on super-soft Liscio’s rolls straight from South Jersey, so no sharp corners will distract your mouth from the pile of meat and cheese inside. Bring a crowd, because the menu at Nicky’s is best divided and conquered. 

Order garlic parmesan wings, cheesesteak egg rolls, and mozzarella squares for the table. Then split a sandwich. Hoagies and cheesesteaks are the name of the game here. But we also recommend Nicky’s fried chicken cutlet sandwiches like the Rocky Balboa (chicken Parmesan), Crazy Betty (Buffalo chicken with mozzarella and more Buffalo sauce), and Meadow Soprano (a fried chicken and kale Caesar hybrid blessed with Pecorino Romano). The slow-roasted Italian pork sandwich with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe and a couple of jumbo pizza slices (more accurately described as quarters) also get the job done. Save room for dessert, including Via Veneto Italian ice, Bassetts ice cream, or pistachio ricotta cake.

There’s no “vibes” at Nicky’s, just a clean, well-lighted place with a good attitude, huge portions, and a modest bill. It works and, frankly, shouldn’t be questioned.

Stop by Sunday and Monday nights to catch NFL games on one of the big-screens. Non-Eagles fans are welcome at Nicky’s, but probably shouldn’t vocalize that fact, or take offense to the anti-Packers and Chiefs art taped to the counter window. 

Tucker Readers’ Choice: Nicky’s Undefeated

Jump to: Readers’ Choice | Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Tucker | Best New Bar | Best Collaboration | Community Spirit Award

Best New Bar

Lucky Star
1055 Howell Mill Road, Star Metals

Lucky Star became the latest restaurant from Chef Jason Liang (Momonoki, Cuddlefish, Brush, Michelin-starred O by Brush) when it opened at Star Metals. As a breakfast to happy hour, and beyond, kind of place, Liang returns to his Taiwanese roots at this restaurant and the comforting street foods of his childhood. 

While you should absolutely come for Liang’s food (try the beef noodle soup and gan mian dry noodles), stay for cocktails from beverage director Kirk Gibson.

You might recognize Gibson from his days at The Pinewood in Decatur and Cardinal in Grant Park. Maybe you attended one of his pop-ups years ago at Brush, or in Candler Park during Little Bear chef Jarrett Stieber’s Eat Me Speak Me days. 

At Lucky Star, Gibson lets loose his bartending skills and passion for cocktail science and experimentation. He goes all in on techniques like fat-washing and clarification, or using a sous vide machine or liquid nitrogen to extract the flavors and textures he’s after for drinks. Cocktails come mixed with syrups and tinctures made from seasonal and foraged ingredients. 

Look for cocktails like a painkiller made with freshly juiced white corn, a coconut-washed rum Manhattan, or a Sidecar made with yuzu juice and salted yuzu syrup. For Lucky Star’s clarified espresso martini, Gibson distills down cold brew steeped in vodka in a Buchi Rotavapor, which boils off the alcohol, leaving behind the roasted floral notes of the coffee. Gibson then re-dilutes the cold brew mixture to 80 proof and finishes the cocktail with white creme de cacao and creme de peche.

With everything batched and ready to go, cocktails arrive within minutes of ordering, even if the ingredients comprising these drinks took hours or days to create. Gibson and his team make cocktails at Lucky Star seem effortless.

Gibson has definitely hit his stride here. A word to Atlanta cocktail enthusiasts: prioritize grabbing a seat at the bar to geek out with Gibson and his cohorts during one of the weekly cocktail omakase services. You’ll thank us later.

Best Collaboration

The New South
Various locations

Yes, please do believe the hype around Black chef collective The New South. Current members include Robert Butts, Demetrius Brown, Gary Caldwell, Carlos Granderson, India Johnson, Chryssie Lewis, Dene Lynn, Jon’nae “Jae” Smith, Rodney Smith, Charmain Ware, and Christan Willis. 

Independently, each member is already impressive — since forming in 2024, these chefs have headlined food festivals, competed on food television shows, announced new restaurants, and hosted ticketed dinners. When The New South works in tandem, however, its chefs produce something that’s hard to replicate.

You can catch The New South in action at one of the collective’s quarterly, eight-course dinners, where you’ll find bites such as infused sweet watermelon juice “hard cups,” or sofrito braised lamb with plantain gnocchi, pickled fresno, lamb demi glaze, microgreens, and charred onion dust, or dukkah smoked Kobe beef with broccoli, onion puree, and pickled green tomatoes.

Since there are more chefs now than courses, not all of The New South members contribute to a meal. But you’ll find many of them attending New South dinners to support and infuse the event with infectious positive energy. And even when they’re not hosting dinners together, this collective shouts out members making strides on their own. In other words, it’s impossible not to root for The New South and its chefs.

Community Spirit Award

Minhwa Spirits
2421 Van Fleet Cir., Doraville

Part distillery, part coffee shop, and part tavern, Minhwa Spirits’ greatest asset might be the commitment to metro Atlanta chefs and food producers.

In addition to cocktails incorporating the distillery’s award-winning soju, chai-infused gin, and makgeolli, owners Ming Han Chung and James Kim have cultivated a community of collaboration at Minhwa. 

You’ll find resident chefs doing stints in the kitchen, including Lino Yi (TKO Korean, Lazy Betty), who currently handles lunch, dinner, and brunch. There’s regular coffee service from Postern Coffee and pastries from small-batch bakery Sugar Plus Air. 

Minhwa also hosts numerous collaborative events throughout the year, ranging from pop-up nights with Dhaba BBQ, Karly’s Kitchen, Mighty Hans, Salty Smiles, and Soupbelly, to dumpling and makgeolli (Korean rice wine) workshops, to regular makers’ markets and K-pop bingo nights. (Resident cat, Hoshi, was even named after a K-pop singer known for his feline appearance.) 

Chung and Kim see Minhwa Spirits as a sort of jumak, a Korean tavern that provided lodging, nourishment, and alcohol to travelers during the Joseon Dynasty. Serving the community lies at the heart of everything on offer at Minhwa Spirits, right down to always providing space and opportunities to support local chefs, bartenders, and artists.

Jump to: Readers’ Choice | Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Tucker | Best New Bar | Best Collaboration | Community Spirit Award

The post Rough Draft Atlanta’s Best New Restaurants of 2025 appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

Atlanta-based ASW Distillery and Doraville-based Minhwa Spirits received high awards earlier this month at The Tasting Alliance’s World Spirits Competition in San Francisco. Established in 2001, the World Spirits Competition is known as the “Oscars of the booze world.”

The Yong soju from Minhwa Spirits won Best in Class in the soju category. It’s the first soju in America, as well as the first soju outside of Korea, to win the category.

But this was not Minhwa’s first accolade from The Tasting Alliance. Yong soju won double gold in the category at the 2024 and 2025 World Spirits Competition, which made it eligible for the Best in Class award.

Minhwa Spirits opened in Doraville last fall and functions as both a distillery (jumak) and pop-up restaurant incubator with a coffee shop.

Related Story: Add these Atlanta-made gins and sojus to your home bar

ASW Distillery’s Fiddler Encore Finished Bourbon line won Best in Class in the small batch bourbon (6-10 years) category. This was ASW Distillery’s second Best in Class award, the first being Maris Otter Single Malt Whiskey for best craft whiskey in 2020. Additionally, the Red X Single Malt Whiskey was a top three finalist for best single malt in 2023.

ASW Distillery’s Fiddler Encore, Fiddler Toasted Rye, and Riddler Chin Music Toasted Bourbon have previously won double gold or platinum awards, while Fiddler Toasted Bourbon, Fiddler Soloist Bourbon, and Fiddler Georgia Heartwood Bourbon have previously won five gold medals.

ASW Distillery debuted on Armour Drive in 2018 and has since added tasting room locations at the Battery Atlanta in Cobb County and Lee & White in West End. Earlier this year, ASW Distillery opened Flights & Bites on Concourse B at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The Tasting Alliance and the San Francisco International Wine Competition were founded by Anthony Dias Blue in 1980. The Tasting Alliance also holds annual spirits competitions for Asia, Latin America, and New York, as well as the San Francisco Ready to Drink Competition and a design competition.

The post Two metro Atlanta distilleries win big at World Spirits Competition appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

GREENVILLE, SC – The inaugural Michelin Guide to the American South is now official (and confirmed by the French tire company) after what appeared to be a press release scheduling snafu earlier this morning that revealed the list hours before the ceremony began.

The leak was all anyone in Greenville could talk about ahead of the awards, with some laughing it off and others feeling a little let down by how unceremoniously the list was revealed.

The morning’s spoiler alert, however, transformed into an afternoon of bar crawl parties, followed by a ceremony providing people the chance to relax, schmooze, and catch up with friends and colleagues from across the South. After parties would then take place at restaurants throughout Greenville.

Related stories:
• It’s Michelin season again, with changes afoot
• The 2024 Michelin Guide to Atlanta

This year marks a significant change in how the French tire company recognizes metro area restaurants, folding the previous Michelin Guide to Atlanta in with the new guide to the American South.

The only change to Atlanta’s 2025 Bib Gourmands saw Banshee shift to the recommended restaurants list. Eight new Atlanta restaurants earned recommendations this year from Michelin, including Staplehouse, which lost its one star due to the relocation of the tasting menu to the owners’ new restaurant in Gay, GA. The remaining 2024 one-star restaurants maintained status in 2025, including Atlas, Lazy Betty, and Spring. There were again notable restaurant snubs and geographic exclusions this year.

The prestigious dining guide, which awards coveted stars, Bib Gourmands, and other distinctions to restaurants worldwide, first featured Atlanta restaurants in 2023. While anonymous dining inspectors focused on restaurants within the Perimeter that year, Michelin broadened its scope in 2024 to include restaurants within Atlanta’s northern suburbs.

For 2025, Michelin broadened its reach further in the South to include restaurants in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. But the 2025 guide does not include Georgia restaurants outside of metro Atlanta, including those in nationally celebrated dining scenes such as Savannah and Athens. 

The decision came down to a tourism partnership between Travel South USA and Michelin, along with local tourism boards, like the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, which helped bring the guide to communities throughout the South. It also means the 2026 Michelin Guide to the American South could expand to feature Georgia restaurants statewide.

Check out Atlanta’s starred restaurants, Bib Gourmands, and recommended restaurants for 2025. Click here for the full Michelin Guide to the American South.

Green Star

No new Atlanta restaurants for 2025

Maintained in 2025

Bacchanalia
The Chastain

Bib Gourmand

No new Atlanta restaurants for 2025

Maintained in 2025

Antico
Arepa Mia
Bomb Biscuit Co.
The Busy Bee
Estrellita
Fishmonger
Fred’s Meat and Bread
Heirloom Market BBQ
Little Bear
Masterpiece, Duluth
Superica
Table & Main, Roswell
Whoopsie’s

One Star

No new Atlanta restaurants for 2025; Staplehouse lost its one-star status due to relocating its tasting menu to Uberto in Gay, GA.

Maintained in 2025

Atlas
Bacchanalia
Hayakawa
Lazy Betty
Mujo
O By Brush
Omakase Table
Spring, Marietta

Recommended Restaurants

New in 2025

Avize
Best BBQ on Buford Highway
Fawn in Decatur
Lucky Star
Madeira Park
Pho House in Duluth
Ryokou
*Staplehouse (new designation for 2025)

Maintained in 2025

Banshee
BoccaLupo
Chai Pani
Delbar
Food Terminal
Georgia Boy
Gunshow
Han Il Kwan
Hen Mother Cookhouse, Johns Creek
Home Grown
Kamayan ATL
Kimball House
LanZhou Ramen
Little Sparrow
Lyla Lila
Marcel
Miller Union
Nadair
Nam Phuong
Poor Hendrix
Snackboxe Bistro
Southern Belle
Storico Fresco
Talat Market
The Alden
The Chastain
The Deer and the Dove
The General Muir
The White Bull
Ticonderoga Club
Tomo
Twisted Soul
Woo Nam Jeong (Stone Bowl House), Doraville
Xi’an Gourmet House

Did Michelin get it right? Let us know your thoughts on the 2025 Michelin Guide to the American South and the Atlanta restaurants included. Sound off by sending an email to Rough Draft Atlanta Editor in Chief and Senior Dining Editor Beth McKibben at beth@roughdraftatlanta.com. Look for our thoughts on the new guide this week on Rough Draft Atlanta.

The post 2025 Michelin Guide to the American South drops and included these Atlanta restaurants appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

Not only is it Michelin season again, but we’re fast approaching Best New Restaurants season in Atlanta. It’s the time of year when publications like Rough Draft present awards to new restaurants bringing something special to the local food scene. 

New restaurants often reflect our present-day communities and show us where Atlanta’s food scene is headed, whether that’s fresh perspectives on familiar cuisines or spotlighting underrepresented cultures on menus. Some new restaurants look to shake up traditional service models, like fast casual and fine dining, becoming food and operations trendsetters. 

Rough Draft Dining Reporter Sarra Sedghi and I have spent the last year eating at dozens of new restaurants across the metro area. To compile our list, final decisions are based on specific criteria, such as creative use of ingredients, consistency of food and service over multiple visits, and unique characteristics like zero-waste practices or clever beverage programs setting some new restaurants apart from others. 

While we’re currently working to finalize the 2025 list, we want to also give our readers a chance to weigh in on the new restaurants they believe deserve top marks for 2025. 

Enter Rough Draft’s Readers’ Choice Awards. Participation is as simple as filling out a form to vote for your favorite new restaurant. 

Just like Rough Draft’s 2025 list, new restaurants considered for Readers’ Choice opened between Oct. 1, 2024, and Oct. 1, 2025. New restaurants must reside within Rough Draft’s major coverage areas, including the cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Tucker, Sandy Springs, and Dunwoody. We’ve provided space to fill in your favorite restaurant for each city category, along with a category for new restaurants residing in adjacent communities within greater Metro Atlanta. (Think Roswell, Decatur, Marietta, Jonesboro, Duluth, Peachtree City, etc.) 

We’ll collect reader responses through Nov. 21 and announce the Rough Draft and Readers’ Choice winners during the first week of December. 

Click here to vote for the Best New Restaurants of 2025.

Need a refresher on the restaurant openings from the past year? Check out each month’s major restaurant openings below. 

• SEPTEMBER 2025 openings
• AUGUST 2025 openings
• JULY 2025 openings
• JUNE 2025 openings
• MAY 2025 openings 
• APRIL 2025 openings
• MARCH 2025 openings
• FEBRUARY 2025 openings
• JANUARY 2025 openings
• DECEMBER 2024 openings
• NOVEMBER 2024 openings
• OCTOBER 2024 openings

The post How to vote for Atlanta’s Best New Restaurants of 2025 appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

This week, over 150 leaders from across Georgia’s Community Improvement District (CID) network gathered to honor Dan Buyers and Joe Allen at the Council for Quality Growth’s 15th Annual CID Recognition Event.

The event, hosted at the Jewel Box in Atlanta’s Assembly Studios, highlighted Buyers’ and Allen’s impactful contribution to their respective CIDs and the greater community at-large.

Buyers, partner at McWhirter Realty Partners and long-time board member of Town Center CID, received the John Williams CID Leadership Award.

Serving on the Town Center CID board since its establishment in 2012, Buyers’ achievements include guiding projects such as the South Barrett Reliever and the Skip Spann Connector (which aims to reduce traffic congestion in key areas), pioneering Georgia’s first CID bikeshare program, along with developing a study regarding the expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the Town Center area.

Buyers, who was presented with the honor by Natalie Tyler-Martin (past chair of the Airport West CID and the previous recipient of the John Williams CID Leadership Award), expressed his appreciation to everyone in-attendance. 

“This award is outsized,” said Buyers. “Being recognized with any award that is named for such an exceptional leader, businessman, and philanthropist like John Williams is truly an honor. I am deeply honored.”

Joe Allen, executive director of Gwinnett Place CID, garnered the 2024 CID Professional Excellence Award for his commitment to improving his CID region.

Since helping to establish the CID in 2006, Allen has driven initiatives to redevelop the vacant area of the former Gwinnett Place Mall into a vibrant urban center with housing, retailers, offices and green space.

Recently, Allen’s redevelopment plan made local headlines with the announcement that an additional 23 acres would be bought by Gwinnett County to expand and accelerate the area’s revitalization efforts.

“CIDs have no official power,” said Allen. “But we have the ability to bring people to the table, facilitate conversation, and prime the pump to make great things happen.”

Allen is the fifth recipient of the CID Professional Excellence Award, with past winners including Gerald McDowell, Ann Hanlon, Emory Morsberger and Jim Durrett — who presented Allen with the honor at this year’s event.

The 2024 CID Recognition Event marked the ninth year straight that the Council for Quality Growth has handed out CID Awards for “deserving leaders,” according to a release.

Since their establishment over 35 years ago, CIDs have contributed “year-round to enhance the quality of life here across metro Atlanta and Georgia,” said the Council for Quality Growth.

Among the areas in which CIDs have supported their respective communities include infrastructure improvements, transportation initiatives, beautification and trail projects, public safety support, among other projects.

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