Best onion rings
There might be a touch of grease on those golden rings, but those crispy circles of deliciousness are still the best in town. Both readers and our critic put them at the top of the list. Photo: Elissa Eubanks, eeubanks@ajc.com
YOUR PICKS
1. The Varsity
You say, “The Varsity, they may be greasy and can get on the soggy side but they use a great tasting batter and even better tasting onions which I believe are sweet Vidalia onions. MMMMM.”
2. Barker’s Red Hots
3. Ted’s Montana Grill
4. Zesto
5. Sonic
OUR PICKS
1. The Varsity
The AJC dining team’s Popular Eats specialist Jon Watson says, “If there were any single flavor that encapsulates The Varsity, it would have to be the onion rings. The light, though often greasy, batter on the thinly sliced rings has made this a nearly iconic dish for long term residents of Atlanta.”
2. Bone’s
3. Ormsby’s
4. Grindhouse Killer Burgers
5. Barker’s Red Hots
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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
124 comments Add your comment
Dale
July 23rd, 2012
11:38 am
My vote is for California Dreaming. I know it’s a chain but they have an awesome onion loaf that is lightly breaded and homemade, of course. Really good dipping sauce as well.
BarryWhite
July 23rd, 2012
11:38 am
Burger King!
Michele
July 23rd, 2012
11:52 am
Ted’s Montana Grill! Definitely!
J CANTRELL
July 23rd, 2012
11:55 am
RONNIE’S SAVANNAH GA
Ann
July 23rd, 2012
11:56 am
Sprayberry’s BBQ in Newnan has the best in the Atlanta area. They taste almost exactly like the onion rings at the Beacon Drive-In in Spartanburg, SC, which are THE BEST, bar none.
Charles Harris
July 23rd, 2012
12:04 pm
Five Seasons Brewery has INCREDIBLE beer battered onion rings.
GAPeach
July 23rd, 2012
1:40 pm
Lucky’s in Roswell
Dee
July 23rd, 2012
1:40 pm
Cj’s Hotdogs in McDonough has the best onion rings!!!
Who Cares
July 23rd, 2012
1:50 pm
Silly Rabbits, Everybody knows the best rings are at the V
SAWB
July 23rd, 2012
2:03 pm
The Varsity
Nathan
July 23rd, 2012
4:19 pm
Onion rings come in so many varieties that it can be difficult to choose just one:
When it comes to thin-cut rings, the Varsity set a high standard for tasty onion rings, but believe it or not, I think that local chain Martin’s does them even better.
For thicker, battered onion rings, look no further than George’s in Virginia-Highlands. Perfection.
Nathan
July 23rd, 2012
4:31 pm
Sorry, I meant Virginia-Highland. Not Highlands.
Bhorsoft
July 23rd, 2012
4:40 pm
For National Fast-Food O-Rings, Dairy Queen usually beats BK. I am partial to Bar-B-Qutie for regional casual dining O-Rings. For local rings, I’m partial to J.D.s BBQ in Acworth.
MMMmmmm....Food!
July 23rd, 2012
4:42 pm
Ormsbys rings are great! And You have choice of like 8 different dipping sauces!
Best onion rings | Atlanta Informer
July 24th, 2012
4:01 am
[...] News here – Best Of The Big A ← Events for Fourth of July Cancel [...]
John
July 24th, 2012
5:36 am
Barker’s onion rings are great!
Mary B
July 24th, 2012
9:25 am
The Varsity, Flip and Bones….YUM
GaPeachy
July 24th, 2012
9:54 am
mmmm Zesto’s onion rings are the bomb!
tori hawkins
July 24th, 2012
3:12 pm
popeye’s chicken
Adam
July 24th, 2012
9:05 pm
Burger Kings onion rings are terrible… If you want pretty good fast food Onion Rings Zesto’s is pretty good.
Briley Parkway
July 24th, 2012
9:16 pm
The Varsity. George’s in Va Highland is a distant second.
Dirty Dawg
July 24th, 2012
9:17 pm
The Varsity…had some today…along with a coupla allthewaydogs – toasted.
MS. FOODIE
July 24th, 2012
9:23 pm
SINCE I CAN’T NOMINATE MYSELF, I’LL SAY DAIRY QUEEN.
Bama Man
July 24th, 2012
9:23 pm
Hal’s for a nice place, Barker’s for a regular place, also like Varsity
Andy
July 24th, 2012
9:23 pm
Bones has my vote!
C'mon People
July 24th, 2012
9:28 pm
Sonic for sure…
yuzeyurbrane
July 24th, 2012
9:35 pm
Varsity
jc of woodstock
July 24th, 2012
9:35 pm
OK Cafe- thin rings that are perfect!
Carson
July 24th, 2012
9:38 pm
Barkers Red Hots in Roswell & Marietta. They’re the best…not to thick, not to thin, just right and great taste!!! ummm good
Raoul
July 24th, 2012
9:39 pm
Pookie Parrish in L5P. Super greasy. Tell them Raoul sent you.
Lightly Breaded Please
July 24th, 2012
9:40 pm
The best rings are lightly breaded, with a thin crisp coating, just like the best fried sea food.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s, the Varsity rings were like that – very large rings, and delicious.
The ones they have now are smaller with more breading – you can’t distinguish between the breading and the rings. The heavy breading just holds more grease — !!!.– and just tastes like something from Captain D’s.
Senator
July 24th, 2012
9:42 pm
Jim ‘N Nicks BBQ hands down. Ted’s Montana grill is a close second.
Rick James
July 24th, 2012
9:42 pm
Ted’s and the Varsity
lori
July 24th, 2012
9:46 pm
Ormsby’s. Hands down.
cb
July 24th, 2012
9:46 pm
What is wrong with you people?? IHOP has the BEST rings around… Since Chilli’s stopped doing their rings and went with the bloomin onion – IHOP has taken the lead !! Good Job IHOP!
longduckdawg
July 24th, 2012
9:48 pm
THE VARSITY WITH A CHILLI STEAK & DAWG YUM.
It's not Atlanta
July 24th, 2012
10:00 pm
Gumlog Bar B Q, Lavonia Ga.
jadar
July 24th, 2012
10:10 pm
Pilgreens at Lake Dow in McDonough. Perfect everytime.
Matt
July 24th, 2012
10:12 pm
The onion rings at Crown and Rose in Marietta. Super huge and beer battered goodness!
bc
July 24th, 2012
10:18 pm
They’re all the same owner and recipes, but the onion rings at Tavern at Phipps/Joey D’s Oakroom/California Dreaming are really, really, really good. Never would have thought that bleu cheese dipping sauce would work, but it’s awesome.
Rew
July 24th, 2012
10:22 pm
You know who has decent rings? Martin’s – a great place for biscuits has rings which are a little sweet in a pancake like batter – but they are tasty!
Bob
July 24th, 2012
10:22 pm
C’mon folks! Get out and live a little – Head to Highland Tap. A-W-E-S-O-M-E
Southern Man
July 24th, 2012
10:24 pm
Haven’t been in a while so don’t know if they still have them but The Porter Beer Bar had some killer ones when they opened.
DJ
July 24th, 2012
10:26 pm
Fabulous Rings Here. You will be impressed !
http://www.alexiafoods.com/products/appetizers/onion-rings-panko-breaded
OTP
July 24th, 2012
10:27 pm
#1-Varsity, hands down
#2-Pilgreen’s
Nothing else comes close.
The best onion rings are from...
July 24th, 2012
10:31 pm
YEAH! Burger has delicious gluten-free onion rings. I can’t personally comment on their regular variety onion rings, but I know my kids and friends love them!! If you must eat gluten-free, try YEAH! Burger, you’ll love it because they have a lot of delicious options!! And for all you people who choose to eat gluten-free because you think it’s trendy or you will lose weight- you’re nuts!!
braves1234
July 24th, 2012
10:32 pm
Zesto has awesome rings. There fresh and great.
Not Frank Gordy
July 24th, 2012
10:33 pm
The Greasy V. YES!
KenBud
July 24th, 2012
10:41 pm
Barker’s Red Hots! Hands down ….
Nona
July 24th, 2012
10:46 pm
Barkers. Hand-dipped, cooked to order, not overbreaded and hands-down DELICIOUS!