Best place to dine at the bar
The fried goat cheese with honey and black pepper is the perfect way to start a meal at the bar at Ecco, your pick for best place to eat at the bar in and around Atlanta. Photo: Elissa Eubanks, eeubanks@ajc.com
YOUR PICKS
1. Ecco
You say, “Ecco with Eric mixing the drinks and some of the best food in town. Grilled Octopus –yum” and “Ecco is Atlanta’s absolute best!”
2. Manuel’s Tavern
3. Brick Store Pub
4. Leon’s Full Service
5. Porter Beer Bar
La Tavola Trattoria is our pick for best place to dine at the bar. One major reason? Knowledgeable and welcoming bartender Alli Royce Soble, who's been behind the bar at the Fifth Group restaurant for more than 11 years. Photo: Alli Royce Soble
OUR PICKS
Have a Campari with Alli. It's her favorite. Photo: Alli Royce Soble
1. La Tavola Trattoria
The AJC dining team’s specialist in International Cuisine Gene Lee says, “Take a warm neighborhood bar, pair it with delicious Italian food, add the coolest bartender you’ll meet in metro Atlanta and the result is Virginia-Highland’s La Tavola. At this point, I can’t imagine anyone other than Alli running the restaurant’s bar. She is the ultimate professional and has a telepathic ability to pick you out a perfect glass of wine.”
2. Holeman & Finch
3. Empire State South
4. Abattoir
5. Leon’s Full Service
accessAtlanta Partner Sites
Sections
Advertise on accessAtlanta.com »
Reach the audience you want by advertising on accessAtlanta.com
Join the Access Atlanta Network »
Advertisers and Publishers, expand your reach by joining the Access Atlanta Network.
Tell us what you think about the site
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement | About our ads
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
149 comments Add your comment
Lew Mac Daddy
December 19th, 2011
2:46 pm
Pure…preferably Alpharetta.
pubs
December 19th, 2011
3:00 pm
Gotta be The Porter in L5 or, frankly, any good gastropub. Upstairs @ the Brickstore in Decatur is pretty awesome as well…better for beer at least…
StaceyAnnT
December 19th, 2011
3:17 pm
Houstons: Lenox or 75/Paces Ferry. South City Kitchen Vinings. I often dine alone and the staff very friendly and engaging but still give you space to enjoy your meal. BTW great reasonably priced menus.
erin
December 19th, 2011
3:37 pm
Hearth in Sandy Springs
katsrulz
December 19th, 2011
3:46 pm
Flat Iron or The Earl in EAV!? Hands down!
Mary B
December 19th, 2011
4:04 pm
Vortex!!
Mary B
December 19th, 2011
4:04 pm
Oh and Flat Iron, forgot them
Ray A.
December 19th, 2011
4:16 pm
I like Nava. But sounds like I need to check out Flat Iron. I’ll check nearbythis.com for a review.
Anne
December 19th, 2011
4:29 pm
Love Davio’s in Phipps – great bar, great food and awesome people watching!
East Atl Foodie
December 19th, 2011
4:38 pm
Graveyard Tavern in EAV has friendly staff and good food.
Bob
December 19th, 2011
4:42 pm
Leons in Decatur. Their food is excellent!!
Weaseal
December 19th, 2011
5:55 pm
We all should have a local favorite with Great & Food & Service-Best of Luck to all the Restaurateurs in 2012 !!!
Bruce
December 19th, 2011
6:33 pm
Swallow at the Hollow. Great bar with the canoe full of beer and the open kitchen behind it. Watch them prepare delicious bbq while enjoying your some of the best food in town with ice cold beer…..what could be better?
Ben T.
December 19th, 2011
11:34 pm
Houstons Lenox, hands down.
Raskolnikov
December 20th, 2011
12:02 am
Top Flr
Roger Dottin
December 20th, 2011
12:06 am
Cajun Crab House on Butner Rd in SW Atlanta
Southern Man
December 20th, 2011
12:23 am
Local Three. No annoying televisions, good bar staff, excellent food and beverage menus, and what’s essentially a community table at the end of the bar. Best place to sit and enjoy an evening while making some new friends.
Dmitri K.
December 20th, 2011
1:19 am
Top Flr
C
December 20th, 2011
1:32 am
Crabapple Tavern in Crabapple/Alpharetta. Great folks, good food and beer selection.
john e lasher
December 20th, 2011
1:51 am
atkins park.incredible chicken fingers not the fakey preformed stuff!!!i think they have an actual chef
Chainshaw
December 20th, 2011
1:56 am
McCrackens in Marietta
Harry
December 20th, 2011
2:59 am
1) Houston’s . . . or 2) Ocean Prime on Piedmont
David
December 20th, 2011
7:09 am
Dantanna’s, hands down
blakpurl
December 20th, 2011
7:11 am
McCormick’s, CNN Location
jomps
December 20th, 2011
7:28 am
The Tavern
KJ
December 20th, 2011
8:05 am
The Porter. Also, a couple of new but really good spots are Wrecking Bar and Hill St Tavern.
Michael from Snellville
December 20th, 2011
8:10 am
Leon’s is good, Square Pub as well, both in Dec. Iberian Pig , not so much.
Jen
December 20th, 2011
8:43 am
Hands down the best place to dine in at the bar would be Monterrey Mexican Restaurant on Holcomb Bridge in Roswell. The bartender Juana is absolutely AMAZING and the food is superbly AUTHENTIC! We visit there at least once a week, sometimes twice, and we have yet to be disappointed.
Rick
December 20th, 2011
8:44 am
Midtown: Ecco – Eric is the best bartender in Atlanta
Decatur: Square Pub – great vibe and conversation at the bar
OTP: Local Republic in Lawrenceville – always a great conversation at the bar and no TV
Ricky
December 20th, 2011
10:02 am
Smokey Bones Lithonia has a nice bar centered in the restaurant, with wall to wall tv’s and a very friendly bar staff. The food is pretty darn good too.
ALTAmom
December 20th, 2011
10:18 am
Applebee’s 2 for $20.
Jeff
December 20th, 2011
10:35 am
Graveyard Tavern in East Atlanta has great food! Leon’s in Decatur is great, but too crowded to sit in the bar to eat.
JK
December 20th, 2011
11:25 am
Wisteria in Inman Park. Hadi is the best.
The Bald Eagle
December 20th, 2011
11:33 am
Iberian Pig has some of the best bartenders in town and great food. Ditto for Holeman and Finch, though it can get a little too cramped. Porter is awesome, too. I my opinion, most restaurant experiences are better at the bar.
Dr Fever
December 20th, 2011
11:41 am
Manuel’s Tavern. Hey Pat, What’s up?
OakhurstDude
December 20th, 2011
12:20 pm
U Joint all the way. Sean and the gals rock it.
If only that mark fella wasn’t such a grump.
Suzy
December 20th, 2011
12:29 pm
Ecco in Midtown
John S
December 20th, 2011
12:46 pm
5 seasons brewing
KKillian
December 20th, 2011
12:50 pm
Seed Kitchen and Bar in Marietta. Jose, Chris and Garn are the bomb! Killer drinks and food is amazing!
Raw Dog
December 20th, 2011
12:52 pm
Hearth in Sandy Springs
Jwest
December 20th, 2011
1:17 pm
Manuel’s Tavern! Always.
Jwest
December 20th, 2011
1:19 pm
The Porter’s pretty good, too. The food’s better there than at Manuel’s–but you really can’t beat the vibe at Manuel’s.
Nancy
December 20th, 2011
1:22 pm
Sauced in Inman Park, esp. on Wednesdays- $5 specials are fab. Josh at the bar during the week is a doll and takes great care of customers.
tee steve
December 20th, 2011
1:35 pm
WHA…… LOCAL THREE HAS THE COOLEST BAR IN TOWN. HANDS DOWN AND TONS OF BROWN LIQUOR
Hungry Gringo
December 20th, 2011
1:37 pm
Manuel’s, Brickstore, Leon’s, Atkin’s Park, Bone Garden…
Ken P
December 20th, 2011
1:45 pm
It’s brand new, but pretty great – lovin “The Fifth Ivory” on Juniper & 5th in the old Avera location! Amazing food, great drinks, and friendly service. Time it just right, and there is a pretty amazing pianist knocking out some good tunes!~
Delta John
December 20th, 2011
1:55 pm
Joe’s All American Grill in Grayson. A pint of Guinness and 20 lemon pepper wings cannot be beat!
Jim S.
December 20th, 2011
1:57 pm
Wrecking Bar, Dantannas Downtown, and Stats. Get some TVs though Bob.
Ryan
December 20th, 2011
2:01 pm
Woodfire Grill, hands down!
JoeF
December 20th, 2011
2:03 pm
Pure… Hands down… Any of the locations is excellent and they have excellent margarita’s…