South - Atlanta - Staying downtown and dining options

I will be in Atlanta for the first time in a very long time attending an event at the Georgia World Congress Center in November. I am staying at the Westin Peachtree and several others in my party will be at the Marriott Marquis.

Problem is that I am responsible for chosing the dining option for us but I am having a problem understanding the lay of the land in Atlanta. Since we will be in the downtown area, I was focusing on restaurants in that area. Sadly I am having a very hard time finding anything high-end (think business expense account) close by. The only real options I have found in downtown are Morton's and Ruth Chris. Are there other good high-end options in downtown or I am just missing something? I noticed that most of the better options are in Buckhead but that seems to require a 10-15 minute cab ride. Is there a better area I should be focusing on close to downtown or will we just have to deal with a cab ride to Buckhead every night?

What kind of food? Scene? I just moved to ATL from NYC but can probably help you out. Also, price range, etc.

Dave

What kind of food? Scene? Since I need to plan for 3 nights I was wanting to dine as follows:

1. Steakhouse night (will probably do Ruth Chris or Mortons)
2. Italian night
3. Seafood, Asian or Mexican night. Really pretty flexible!

All the places should be high-end (expense account) type of places with a nice atmosphere. We usually like to wear business casual clothing when we go out to eat so I really don't want a place that requires a suit and tie. Not too clubby/loungy would be good because a couple of people in our party are not what I would consider hip/trendy. Thanks in advance for your help!

I've always enjoyed going to the Gordon Biersch near downtown. It's a brewpub, so it's not anywhere near pretentious nor fancy, but people tend to dress nicely (except for my slacka$$ self that always wear jeans off-hours), the "scenery" is nice, the food is very decent and not pricey, and there are plenty of other bars/clubs for afterwards. Just a thought.

JP

i've been spending a lot of time in atlanta lately, and i'd love to see any recommendations (esp. for family friendly and local places; gordon biersch is a chain). i have tried a place called twist in one of the buckhead malls; i was very underwhelmed, but it's probably okay for someone wanting a trendy place to be seen and not that interested in the food. there's another place in the mall, called grapes i think, that touts itself as a wine bar but it's terrible - the wines are actually awful.

Hi. I just moved from Atlanta in March and the downtown area has been changing in the last few years ...food-wise (thanks to more people moving back in to the city). Downtown/Midtown really has tons of places to choose from now, so really should be no need at all to travel further on Peachtree to Buckhead.

This site might be of help:

http://www.atlanta.net/visitors/dining.html

Your search should include Midtown as well as Downtown, as it really is only a few blocks difference.

I recall that Pittypat's Porch was one of those restaurants I used when planning for dinner events.

Six Feet Under (Fish) has had great reviews.

Let me know if I can be of further help.

Since I need to plan for 3 nights I was wanting to dine as follows:

1. Steakhouse night (will probably do Ruth Chris or Mortons)
2. Italian night
3. Seafood, Asian or Mexican night. Really pretty flexible!

All the places should be high-end (expense account) type of places with a nice atmosphere. We usually like to wear business casual clothing when we go out to eat so I really don't want a place that requires a suit and tie. Not too clubby/loungy would be good because a couple of people in our party are not what I would consider hip/trendy. Thanks in advance for your help!


I would recommend Ray's in the City for your seafood night. It's on Peachtree street directly across the street from Hard Rock Cafe. No suit required, I really like the food and atmosphere there. I couldn't find their website, but here is the City Guide review page.

http://atlanta.citysearch.com/profile/40051273/?brand=smx_restaurant-nc

If you do decide to venture out of downtown I suggest the Virginia Highlands neighborhood vs. Buckhead. It's not that far from downtown and I can highly recommend a Thai restaurant there. It's called the Panita Thai Kitchen and the food is excellent there. I went there one evening with 10 people from work and all of them raved about how good the food was that night. Plus Virginia Highlands is a fun area to walk around in, there are many clubs and restaurants there. http://www.virginiahighland.com/attr_rest.html

Since I need to plan for 3 nights I was wanting to dine as follows:

1. Steakhouse night (will probably do Ruth Chris or Mortons)

Will you have access to transportation? If so I highly recommend Bones (http://www.bonesrestaurant.com/) which is four miles N of downtown ATL. The steaks are exceptional and they have a wine list that will not disappoint. Service is impeccable but not overbearing or stuffy. ^ ^

2. Italian night
3. Seafood, Asian or Mexican night. Really pretty flexible!

All the places should be high-end (expense account) type of places with a nice atmosphere. We usually like to wear business casual clothing when we go out to eat so I really don't want a place that requires a suit and tie. Not too clubby/loungy would be good because a couple of people in our party are not what I would consider hip/trendy. Thanks in advance for your help!

There are lots of excellent restaurants in Atlanta - nothing downtown that comes to mind. Midtown and Buckhead are where you're more likely to find excellent eats. Bacchanalia - http://www.starprovisions.com/ - is typical of the kind of restaurant I'm talking about. A little west of midtown And the kind of restaurant - local/seasonal/new southern that I would most recommend (you can eat at Morton's anywhere).

I'm not that familiar with Italian food in Atlanta - but I've eaten at Eno in midtown and it is very good.

BTW - traffic in Atlanta is pretty bad - and I wouldn't suggest Buckhead as a dinner destination because of that (and because there are plenty of good restaurants in Midtown).

I don't know what business casual means - but I'd suggest a jacket at most nice Atlanta restaurants (suits and ties not necessary in all except a few pretty formal places).

I guess I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for. Expensive - or high end food? They're not the same thing. Robyn