ATLGuide
The Best Restaurants In Poncey-Highland
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
Poncey-Highland straddles the line of Virginia-Highland and Ponce de Leon Avenue. And while it’s smaller than most ATL neighborhoods, this tiny community contains an impressive variety of restaurants, including an historic diner that’s been here before the city had traffic lights, a BBQ joint with pimento cheese wontons, and a hidden tasting menu experience where you can eat dessert off of cake beaters.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Cameren Rogers
Southern Belle (from the same team as Georgia Boy) is a place every Atlantan should check out at least once. It sits next door to the Plaza Theatre and has a charming dining space that looks like a setting to some old-school film playing at the nearby theater. But if classic is the design genre, things get avant-garde in the kitchen with fun Southern fusions like the chicken and peanut waffles with a sweet nuoc cham syrup. Most of the menu is optimal for sharing—get the excellent mussels drenched in a hearty Indian butter chicken sauce and served with soft garlic naan. And an old Delta drink cart makes the rounds whipping up tableside cocktails, proving this borderline fine dining experience doesn’t take things too seriously.
photo credit: Cameren Rogers
Georgia Boy is the best restaurant in Poncey-Highland. And while we’d love to eat here every day, the hefty price tag ($255 per person) and lengthy dinner experience means we save this spot for special occasions. They combine a lavish tasting menu with a playful ambiance, where the food is phenomenal, but above all fun. Private curtains and a hidden door inside Southern Belle open to reveal your front row seat to a kitchen full of tweezer-wielding chefs plating dishes with surgical precision. The blind menu always changes, but expect creative dishes that'll let you lick dessert batter off beaters and indulge in sweet potato slices topped with bacon-flavored cotton candy that melts on your tongue. Even somewhat traditional plates like buttery cinnamon raisin toast offer a Willy Wonka-esque magic as it sits on a glass box that looks like a pond surface with wafting fog.
photo credit: Sarah Newman
The retro feel and stellar comfort food of this 1920s-era diner still remains in place a century after opening. The smell and sounds of sizzling bacon are the first things that greet you after walking through the Majestic’s glass door entrance. Regulars hunched on red stools at the open kitchen counter watch as cooks crack egg after egg into well-worn pans. It’s no longer the late-night haven it used to be pre-pandemic, but the breakfast- and lunch-only spot has kept most of their menu intact. Get the juicy, cheesy patty melt, which is good anytime of day. But plan to go early if you want a taste of their incredibly fluffy biscuits slathered with gravy and chopped up sausage bits—they sell out fast.
In the ATLien bylaws, every neighborhood must have a good BBQ joint. And for Poncey-Highland, it’s Sweet Auburn BBQ. They meld Southern favorites with Asian flavors in a rustic, wood-paneled dining room that features plenty of metal pigs. We come here for creamy pimento cheese wontons and smoked meats with so much flavor we usually skip the sauce (the brisket and pulled pork are tops). Fun fusion combos like the spicy Crying Tiger Brisket Sandwich and their taco plate with a strong slaw game help cement this inventive BBQ joint as more than just a neighborhood favorite. We even consider it one of the best BBQ spots in the entire city. And the noisy dining room that’s regularly packed during lunch and dinner proves it.
photo credit: Tabia S. Lisenbee-Parker
We don’t mind the lack of elbow room at this Fishmonger location because the tiny, 12-seat seafood joint mimics the step-off-the-street feel of a coastal fish market. And their excellent seafood dishes, like their catch-of-the-day special and daily ceviche prepared fresh to order, could rival any sea town’s best market stall or counter-service shack. Try the blackened grouper sandwich encased in a spicy char and the creamy seafood chowder, which are easily the best things on the menu.
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
The menu at this pop-up-turned-colorful-Poncey-Highland-space is inspired by the chef’s childhood in coastal Peru. And after tearing into Tio Lucho’s full-flavor seafood-based dishes like Tiradito, Pulpo Anticuchero, and ceviche, we can see why the chef wanted to bring a piece of the coast to Atlanta. The seafood isn’t the only standout here. The Lomo Saltado is our favorite thing on the menu since it combines thick-cut fries with tender beef chunks and gravy. The food is consistently great and the prices won’t break the bank, so come on a date to sip piscos or with a multigen crew, where you can order a bunch of things to pass around the table.
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
Manuel's Tavern is a reliable neighborhood hangout for beer and decent bar food. And as another historic Poncey site, it feels like stepping into a nostalgic time capsule with polaroids of old employees and a mish-mash of old-timey Atlanta memorabilia on the walls. With two massive dining rooms, it’s never hard to find a seat and there’s plenty of bar food options on the menu to keep everyone happy. Make sure to order the sweet and spicy Terry-style wings and the massive, classic McCloskey Cheese Burger, named after a long-time employee. Swing by, grab a beer, and bask in this bar from another era.
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
Soul Vegetarian has been a long-cherished staple in the neighborhood and is our area go-to when we want a plant-based meal. Soul Veg veterans look past the slightly underwhelming dining area with bright green plastic chairs and an old refrigerator display case. And new visitors should too, because the always consistent plant-based food doesn’t need to undergo any type of revamp—it’s among the best in the city. The vegan mac and cheese stays creamy and the Garvey Burger made of wheat roast and served on a wheat sesame seed bun is as good as their OG West End location.
photo credit: Sarah Newman
This dive bar right next to the Plaza Theatre has become an institution for cheap beers and good food. Dinky chandeliers hanging above the high top tables are more about funny aesthetics than practical lighting—you’ll barely notice how lived-in the bar feels thanks to the dimness in here. People usually spill outside of the tiny interior to the sidewalk, and with a space so small, serving food seems like it would be too chaotic. But thankfully you don’t need a lot of arm space to eat most of The Righteous Room’s bar bites. Most of the menu is solid, especially their hot dog—we get it slathered in melted cheese and chili. But we mainly come to Righteous for their selection of under-$3 beers.
photo credit: Jinya Ramen Bar
This ramen shop located behind The Plaza Theatre does a good job of disguising its franchise roots. Huge metal cube lighting fixtures, exposed brick walls with anime-style paintings, and upside-down plant boxes hanging from the ceiling make Jinya feel (dare we say) just like part of the neighborhood. Alternating black and red bowls lining the open kitchen counter set the stage for what they’re best at and why you should be here—ramen. Get the spicy chicken ramen for broth that’ll clear your sinuses. And while you’re at it, snag a jinya bun stuffed with pork cashu and drizzled with their special house made tangy sauce.
