We start, of course, with one of the great debates in Atlanta: in a city of amazing wings, whose are the best? Our fans’ answers were legion, but most landed went for the legend that is…the Local. A big ole standalone Southern dive bar northwest of downtown on Ponce De Leon, the Local’s been a not-so-secret Atlanta secret for a long time now. The wings here stand out amongst the competition because they are smoked AND wet, giving them a unique flavor combo. Important notes: you can’t order them to-go, and they tend to sell out. A sacred temple of wings you have to enter in order to experience. Hallelujah.

Fans recommend: Lemon Pepper Wings. Sun Dried Tomato BBQ Wings.

The other main entry for Atlanta’s best wings? JR Crickets. Another Atlanta icon, another dive bar, another set of lemon pepper wet wings that you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Where the Local smokes theirs, JR Cricket’s wings are fried - a subtle difference that will help define your own preference. JR Crickets has been slinging wings since 1982, but their lemon pepper wet secret wasn’t let out until the first season of Donald Glover’s “Atlanta,” when Paper Boi received a glowing box of them as an off-menu special. They are now very much on the menu.

Fans Recommend: Lemon pepper wet wings.

Back-to-back Roger Bennett favorites, we go from the most recommended wings to the most recommended breakfast in the ATL - Homegrown. Consistent, go-to hearty Southern breakfast classics done in an original way: biscuits, gravy, fried chicken, French toast, eggs, and OMG…the grits. Great staff, local ingredients, and generous portions in a retro house diner with tons of East Atlanta charm. Breakfast rolls right into an amazing lunch menu. Get either til 2 every day.

Fans recommend: Comfy Chicken Biscuit. Chicken and waffles. Grits.

Our fans’ favorite Atlanta pizza is a Napoletana spot in the heart of the city - Antico. Located right in Midtown, Antico is classic Neapolitan-style pizza cooked in wood-fired ovens that’s become one of the most recognized pizza places in Atlanta. It’s started to get national shoutouts as the major pizza representative of the city. They carry that torch with a simple, excellent menu of red pies, white pies, and calzones. That’s it, and that is all you need. The restaurant nails the atmosphere, too - not fancy, super simple, a great spot to enjoy some cheesy, saucy Napoletana pies.

Fans recommend: Diavola pizza. Lasagna pizza.

An authentic neighborhood Mexican taco and burrito joint, our fans’ next Atlanta must-go is El Tesoro. “The Treasure” opened in 2019 in Edgewood, on the east side of the city, with only 14 seats. Now it’s grown into a full outdoor taquería with a bar, a giant patio, and a kitchen that’s still run by a mother-daughter combo making family recipes. The menu is traditional Mexican with unique depth: tacos, burritos, mulitas, tamales, and rotating specials that make sure there’s always something new to try. Throw in an A+ cantina and coffee bar and El Tesoro can kind of do it all.

Fans recommend: Chicken tinga Burrito. All the tacos.

Fort Worth, Texas, barbecue with an Atlanta twist - Fox Bros BBQ is the city’s champion of smoked meats. What started as backyard cookouts in Brookhaven grew into catering and then a restaurant that opened on DeKalb Avenue in 2007. And it’s become an under-the-radar local gem. It’s your classic brisket-and-sides slow-smoked Texas BBQ, but with so much range. They do a BBQ brunch. They do tacos. They do a Frito pie. They’ll put crinkle-cut fries on your sandwich. And yes, they do lemon pepper wings, as they are legally obliged to - theirs are Buffalo lemon pepper, smoked and served dry. Truly excellent top to bottom.

Fans recommend: Famous burger. Smoked wings. Bucket egg and cheese biscuit.

Open since 1947, the iconic soul food destination Busy Bee Cafe is one of the most historically significant restaurants in Atlanta…and in the country. Founded by self-taught cook Lucy Jackson on what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, it became a gathering place during the Civil Rights Movement — MLK was a regular, as were John Lewis and Hosea Williams. And there’s good reason why: it serves some of the best soul food in a soul food city. Busy Bee has received a James Beard “America's Classics” distinction and multiple Michelin recognitions. The original Vine City location is currently takeout only, but, just in time for the big summer, their new full location is slated to open at Atlantic Station in June. Be there for the new beginning of an old legend.

Atlanta locals love Delbar, a self-described “love letter to Middle Eastern cuisine” in East Atlanta’s Inman Park. Opened in 2020, the food is authentic, family-recipe Persian with Turkish, Lebanese, and Iraqi influences. The dishes are built for sharing: spreads, meze, tahdig, grilled meats over charcoal. Michelin recognized it in their inaugural Atlanta guide. Our fans rec’d it a ton. And, because it’s in Atlanta, the place also gets a ton of sneaky love for its wings — theirs are char-grilled and marinated in citrus and za'atar. A legit entry into the ATL wings conversation.

Fans recommend: Bread and kubideh. Adas polo. Lubua polo. Wings.

Atlanta may be the king of dive bars with unbelievable food — our next spot is another banger, the Mexican cantina El Myr in Little Five Points. This local wonder has graffiti-covered walls, a legendary jukebox, and some of the best tacos and burritos in the whole city. Our fans specifically mentioned the margaritas multiple times. The only thing their website says is “FRIEND OF PARTY.” With a kitchen open til 12 on weekends and the bar til 2, this is absolutely your late-night spot.

Fans Recommend: Tacos. Burritos. Jalapeño margarita.

Another one of the handful of our recommendations that carry an Anthony Bourdain stamp of approval — Atlanta’s underground authentic Chinese king Northern China Eatery. Since 2008, locals have been making the jaunt north of the city on the Buford Highway to get to this tiny spot in the basement of an eyeglass shop. Helmed by a chef from Tianjin, serving handmade Northern Chinese dumplings, buns, and noodles at prices that make no sense. Soup dumplings are their lemon pepper wings. And they have some of the best. The original is up north, but a second location opened on the Eastside Beltline (intown) last year if you don’t want to leave the city proper.

Fans Recommend: Pan-fried pork buns. Soup dumplings. Crispy spicy beef with celery.

We’ll let them tell you…“Highland Tap Steak Cellar is Atlanta's premier subterranean hide-away.” That is correct: our fan’s next Atlanta recommendation is a below street-level speakeasy steak restaurant that has some of the best martinis in the city. Open since 1989, the Tap is a Virginia-Highland institution — hickory-grilled steaks, slow-roasted prime rib, and martinis served espresso or with chilled sidecars. The burgers are made from steak trimmings. They’ll do chicken pot pie for lunch. A truly great neighborhood steak restaurant. 

Fans recommend: Tap Oscar. Tap Martini. The Original Steakburger.

We’re throwing in an extra to our Atlanta XI in honor of La Roja. With Spain coming to Atlanta to play its first two group games this summer, our fans recommending the Iberian Pig as one of their favorites means it shall be included. Open since 2009 in Decatur Square, the Iberian Pig is a modern Spanish tapas restaurant. The menu is built for sharing: jamón, charcuterie, patatas bravas, croquetas, flatbreads, paella. And wine, of course. Atlanta’s submission for their own great version of Spanish food, awaiting la madre patria this summer.

Fans Recommend: Bacon-wrapped dates. Charcuterie board. Paella. Croquetas.

Our other top pregame spot is the craft beer bar to Wild Leap’s craft beer compound — Park Bar. A block from the stadium downtown, this beer-and-bourbon bar is the other local move before or after the game. 50+ bourbons, dozens of local beer on tap, and a restaurant-quality kitchen. A classic American bar in the perfect location. It’s going to be crowded around game times, so get there early…or really late. Ask for the 3-2-1: a triple pour of any spirit for the price of a double.

One of the great live music dive bars in Atlanta is a spot our fans would not let us miss: Northside Tavern in Midtown. A cinderblock building that’s stood its ground since the 1940s, this bar was originally a grocery store and gas station before becoming a beloved watering hole. In 1992, they decided to add music and complete the evolution. The result is one of the most cherished places in Atlanta and one of the great old-school blues bars of the South. Locals love it simply for the fact it’s the lone survivor in an area of the city that’s been torn down and built up around it. Live music seven nights a week, no cover Sunday through Thursday. Six-dollar PBR pounders. A guaranteed great night.

Three friends from Athens (Georgia, not Greece) opened this pub in Decatur in 1997 with a plan: no TVs, no neon, and no domestic lagers. 30 years later, Brick Store Pub is one of our local fan’s favorites and one of the best beer bars in the country. The cellar holds over 800 bottles, the upstairs Belgian Bar and Cave is its own little world, and the food is awesome. It helped change Georgia's beer laws in 2004, which opened the door for the state's entire craft beer scene. Get there early, find a seat, and let the staff guide you.

Fans recommend: Chicken pot pie. Braised short rib.

So far, we haven’t had a chance to point  you to one of Atlanta’s coolest neighborhoods - Little Five Points - so its premier dive bar is a crucial addition to our list. Euclid Avenue Yacht Club is a landlocked dive bar in L5P that has been committed to its maritime theme for over 30 years — a mounted marlin over the front room, sharks on the wall, mermaid in the corner. You’d be welcomed walking in with a captain’s hat on. One of the quirkiest and most beloved bars in the city that’s open for nautical nonsense until 3am on weekends. Oh, and of course it also has great wings.

We’re giving you an extra addition to our drink menu to get some Atlanta coffee in the mix — our most rec’d coffee break is at Academy Coffee ATL. An awesome little coffee spot tucked inside a Virginia-Highland butcher shop called Kinship in the northeast of the city. They take “a mixologist’s approach” to coffee and tea, with rotating roasters from around the world, unusual flavor pairings, and a constantly changing menu of new coffee and tea concoctions. You can taste the craftsmanship in everything you get. Come for some great coffee and pick up some quality meats on your way out.

A locally owned brewery named after a Mobb Deep lyric is absolutely going to make our list. Halfway Crooks Beer is an ATL-Belgian combo that’s been around the Summerhill neighborhood since 2019. The brewery imports hops directly from Belgium  — it’s the only brewery in the US that does. This is an awesome place to drink, and it’s close enough to be another great pregame option, but the big game projector setup is what secured it a spot on the WATCH list. Three spaces will all be ready to go — a cozy indoor bier café, an open-air rooftop bar, and the outdoor biergarten where the watch parties are.

Our fans’ top pregame recommendation? Wild Leap Brewery, right in Centennial Yards. Two levels and 15,000 sq feet with outdoor space and food trucks, all a short half-mile walk from the stadium. Location, space, food — every box is checked. And it also happens to also be one of Georgia’s best breweries. Originally founded in LaGrange, Georgia, about an hour south of Atlanta, Wild Leap was voted America's Best New Brewery in 2019. They do craft beers, sure, but they also do their own spirits. And they have awesome food. This is where everyone will be pregaming, but Wild Leap’s got the space to handle it. Drink here with the locals and then march to the matches with everyone.

Maybe our most obvious selection in the Guides, the place our fans helped us crown as the best soccer bar in America…the Brewhouse Cafe. You nominated 1,600 bars in our 2025 nationwide campaign. After 23,000 votes, Brewhouse was your winner. And for good reason. Open since 1997 in Little Five Points, Brewhouse was engineered to be the ideal place to support and enjoy the beautiful game. With 28 screens arranged perfectly around a big but intimate space, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. The atmosphere is elite. The walls are covered in soccer memorabilia from the community. It’s the home of Atlanta United, but really it’s the headquarters of soccer in the South. And just in time for this summer’s big event, their second location opens downtown in May, a short walk from the stadium.

Locals’ favorite classic soccer pub in Atlanta is Decatur Square’s O’Sullivan’s. They've got everything you want in a traditional Irish pub - the dark wood, the exposed brick, the golden brass taps - plus they throw in one of the best whiskey collections in the city with more than 350 bottles stashed behind the bar. As if that’s not enough: their traditional Irish food is all made from scratch. This is the spot for bangers and mash and shepherd’s pie. They lock in for big games with a great projector set up — if you home-base in Decatur for the World Cup (which is a great option), this is the place to watch the games or come back to after. A quick MARTA to and from the stadium.

The sports HQ of East Atlanta Village easily makes our Watch list - Midway Pub. A brick neighborhood drinkery with 36 draft beers, multiple projectors, and a massive string-lit patio that has become one of the best places to watch games in the city. They have the beers, they have the cocktails, they have the food (Smashburger? Yes. Wings? Yes.) and they know how to do it all for a big game. A great soccer bar and also one of our fans’ favorite Atlanta hidden gems - you’ll want to stay and hang with the locals when the games are done.

The city’s oldest Irish pub rounds out our Atlanta pub trio — the Limerick Junction Pub in Virginia Highland. Open since 1998, you can feel the history in every nook and cranny of this place. The bar itself was made from a wardrobe in an Irish manor house, the school benches in the windows are turn-of-the-century, and the murals on the walls are of the namesake Irish rail stop: Limerick Junction. Most importantly for those after Roger Bennett’s heart, this is your Atlanta Everton Supporters bar. Go down some pints and up the toffees.

The through-line in all of our ATL survey responses is the through-line in the city itself- the BeltLine. A 22-mile loop of trails, parks, and public art built on Atlanta's old railroad corridor, the BeltLine connects 45 ATL neighborhoods and runs through the heart of the city. It is truly one of the unique urban pathways in the entire country. The Eastside Trail - from Krog Street Market through Inman Park to Ponce City Market - is the most happening stretch,- lined with restaurants, breweries, and most of the public art in the largest free outdoor public art exhibition in the Southeast. This is easily the best way to see Atlanta and get between a ton of the places our fans’ recommended here.

The largest aquarium in the western hemisphere happens to be in downtown Atlanta, and no ATL rec list would be complete without it. The Georgia Aquarium has 11 million gallons of water, 12,000 sq feet of viewing windows, and over 100,000 animals from 500 different species. The centerpiece is the Ocean Voyager tank: 6.3 million gallons on its own, home to whale sharks and manta rays, with a 100-foot walk-through tunnel. This is the only aquarium outside Asia to house whale sharks. They also added a $100 million dollar shark expansion, “Predators of the Deep,” in 2020. It’s all next door to Centennial Olympic Park, a short walk from the stadium. A must-visit.

Atlanta has some iconic institutions, but none as important to the city - and the country - as the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Opened in 2014, the Center connects the history of civil rights in the U.S. to the ongoing global struggle for human rights. The museum honors Atlanta’s legacy as the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. and the headquarters of the American Civil Rights Movement. There are three permanent exhibitions: the Morehouse College MLK Collection, with King's personal papers and handwritten manuscripts, Rolls Down Like Water, an interactive walk-through of different parts of the Civil Rights Movement, and the Global Human Rights Gallery, connecting those struggles to the present. Located downtown next to the aquarium and close to the stadium.

Atlanta is an amazing music city, and a list like this can’t do it complete justice - but our fans made sure we snuck in a little piece of it with Criminal Records. This place describes itself as an “Indie record store celebrating 34+ years of sticking it to the man.” Exactly the energy you want from a record shop. Opened in 1991 in a tiny space next to Variety Playhouse, it’s considered one of the best independent record stores in the country. They co-founded Record Store Day here, the globally celebrated annual event widely credited with helping fuel the vinyl resurgence. Director Edgar Wright loved his visit here so much he wrote Criminal Records into the opening of the movie “Baby Driver.” And look at that — it’s right across the street from Brewhouse Cafe.

We hear about a bunch of great Atlanta bookstores, but none more than Little Shop of Stories in Decatur. Opened in 2005, Little Shop was primarily a children's bookstore that has since become one of the most beloved independent bookshops in the South. It’s got all the character an indie bookstore should have, highlighted by the floor that’s paved with over 400,000 pennies. The shop has been instrumental in the Decatur Book Festival, one of the largest book festivals in the country, and it holds author events with the likes of Neil Gaiman and Julie Andrews. If you have kids, or you used to be one, this is a great local shop to check out. It also happens to be steps from a couple other MiB recommendations: Brickstore Pub and O'Sullivan's, in Decatur Square.