12 Exciting Places To Eat & Drink In Atlanta This Halloween

Now that things have semi-settled into jacket weather, we finally have our minds right for the run-up to Halloween. These events run the gamut from beer fests and parades to magic shows, and they all share that costumes-and-candy-are-cool-for-everyone sorta energy we fully support. Whether you just recycled your Bridgerton Experience costume or you've been eagerly waiting all year to walk into a Spider-Man multiverse moment, the time is now.

THE SPOTS

PCM Halloween

The panoramic city view from the top of Ponce City Market is a big reason to head here any time of year, but on Oct. 29, when the witching hour comes (okay, 5pm), the outdoor space will morph into Halloween on the Roof, a costume-filled, DJ-powered, Jell-O-devouring playground for grown folks who are dead set on making this a Halloween they’ll never forget (or maybe they will depending on the strength of drinks).

Little Five Points Halloween Festival and Parade

Every day kinda feels like Halloween in our lovably eclectic L5, but we’re finally in peak cosplaying-while-drinking-beer season. Head to L5 on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 for a family-friendly celebration with an artists market, food trucks, and performances at the L5 Community Center. On Sunday, throw on your Vecna duds and start bar-hopping well before the parade of floats and costumed characters starts heading down Moreland Ave. at 2pm. Visit the website for more details.

Halloween at The Battery

Going to The Battery is far less scary now that the Phillies-Braves series massacre is all done. But the food and entertainment complex is still a little hair-raising with a bunch of Halloween programming, including pumpkin decorating (Oct. 23. at Terrapin Taproom), a haunted house party (Oct. 28 at the Ph’East food hall), an adults-only Stranger Things-themed party (Oct. 28 at Live!), and scariest of all: the fight-night screening of Jake Paul versus Anderson Silva (Oct. 29 at Live!). Visit the Battery site for more details.

Halloween in the Highlands

If you’ve mastered the delicate art of drinking in your full dragon costume, then head to Halloween in the Highlands on Saturday, Oct. 29, where you’re guaranteed to find a Targaryen bodying a chalice or two. Ticketed admission gets you entry into 10 Virginia Highland bars and restaurants, complimentary shots, live entertainment, and access to drink and food specials. With a $500 reward for the costume contest, there’s an extra bit of incentive to put some actual effort into your lewk this year. 

photo credit: Andrew Thomas Lee

Lazy Betty Halloween Party

If you’ve spent your last few Halloweens pathetically standing by the door to hand out candy to fewer and fewer trick-or-treating kids—many of whom don’t even wear costumes anymore—it’s time for a change. Lazy Betty’s open bar already sounds like a good time, and they’re also promising a live DJ, dance floor, food stations, and a costume contest at their adults-only Halloween party on the 31st. Reserve your tickets here.

Magic & Mixology at Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta

We feel like Gandalf whenever we magically score a reservation to Four Seasons’s usually sold-out Sunday brunch. But on Oct. 29, all the mystery will center around Magic & Mixology, a first-time, adults-only event at the swanky address consisting of a Bar Margot-hosted cocktail-making class while illusionist Chris Moorman performs sleight-of-hand tricks. Purchase tickets through this link before they disappear.

Mambo Zombi

This newly opened Day of the Dead-inspired bar is located above Georgia Beer Garden off Edgewood. We’re into the skull-abundant decor, but the bathroom stuffed with dolls is especially creepy after watching the endless showings of Chucky or Annabelle movies on TNT. Grab a cocktail or a beer Thursday through Saturday from 6pm and on Sundays starting at noon. Check their Instagram for additional details.

photo credit: Southern Belle Farms

Southern Belle Farm

If you’ve never seen a little piglet running at a full sprint, we highly recommend swinging by Southern Belle's barn to see the pig races as well as the goat and horse petting zoo. We’re pretty sure you can’t shoot a corn cannon at Kroger, so Wednesdays to Sundays in fall, head to Belle’s to pick up pumpkins, “accidentally” lose your kids in their four-acre corn maze, and make up for it with the giant slide and hay rides.  Most importantly, they have food options like corn dogs the size of your leg, which come in clutch after you’ve worked up an appetite (and washed your hands). We also recommend stopping by their country market to take home a few homemade fried pies, jars of jams and jellies, and pickled peaches. 

Spook-Easy at Chattahoochee Food Works

"All spirits are welcome" at Spook-Easy, the Halloween-themed pop up bar at Chattahoochee Food Works, located behind Center Bar. On Thursdays through Sundays in October, you can hit the bar after 5pm and then stick around and try one of the food stalls at CFW (we think the giant cookies from Monster Cravings definitely deserve the moment).

Stone Mountain Park’s Pumpkin Festival

No stranger to family holiday shenanigans, Stone Mountain transforms into a giant fall-themed playground from mid-September until late October. Your little ones can ride the Scenic Railroad, play miniature golf, and join a pumpkin pie-eating contest, but we’d bet an order of Stone Mountain’s fried Oreos that they’ll be even more excited after dark seeing the costumed characters, glowing parade, and something being billed as the world’s largest pumpkin light show.

Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Great Pumpkin-Carving Festival and Fest-of-Ale

This Midtown beauty showcases its vibrant foliage in spring and bright lights during the winter holidays, but our favorite time of year might be Halloween. Not only is the Botanical Garden having serious flora fun on Oct. 27 with its fall fest (carving contest, chili cook-off, floral tutorials, and more), but with the month-long Fest-of-Ale, the garden draws grown-ups with wreath-building demos, live music, and a selection of seasonal craft pours.

Georgia Aquarium’s Halloween Events

Ok, we were genuinely scared that time we dropped our wallet in the aquarium parking lot. What’s much less frightening? The aquarium’s Halloween-themed scavenger hunts this month. Afterwards, find your way to the art displays and to the café for themed goodies. And we’re pretty sure that Sips Under the Sea: Halloween, an after-hours cocktail party with gallery access and a live DJ taking place on Oct. 28, won’t cause goosebumps, either. Really, the only time you’ll shiver on your visit is when you see the gift shop prices. Hit their website for more details.