The best hotel restaurants in Atlanta

Calling Atlas a “hotel restaurant” is doing it a disservice as the Michelin-starred eatery stands on its own but just happens to be set inside the luxurious St. Regis hotel. With a dining room packed with fine art from one of the largest private art collections in the world, the top-tier experience starts as soon as you enter the door. Expect top-shelf wines and spirits, plus handmade pasta and Westholme Wagyu beef—not to mention unrivaled service. 

Named for the character in the Wes Anderson flick The Royal Tenenbaums, Bar Margot has long been a place for the culinary team to flex its creative muscles. The drink menu was imagined by some of Atlanta’s top bar professionals, Greg Best and Paul Calvert, who have launched countless beverage programs including for their bar, Ticonderoga Club. Food-wise, you’ll find equal care extended to the restaurant’s vegetarian dishes, like cashew hummus, as to its other other standout offerings, such as the bucket list-worthy classic burger. The new Brasserie Margot embraces all things French, from its French onion soup to its Boeuf Bourguignon.

Atlanta’s storied Candler Building was originally the office for namesake Asa Candler, who owned Coca-Cola before it was transformed into a hotel in 2019. The vaulted Beaux-Arts room that once held Central Bank and Trust is now By George, named after the building’s architect, George E. Murphy. This Southern restaurant features tables nestled under marble columns and floor-to-ceiling windows, offering diners stunning downtown views over a meal of North Carolina trout and shrimp and grits. 

When the Signia by Hilton opened in January 2024, it was one of the first new hotels to be built downtown in nearly 40 years. Naturally, it was important that the flagship restaurant, Capolinea, match the grandeur, opening just a few months later. The Italian restaurant comes from the word “terminus,” Atlanta’s original name. Diners can take in city views while enjoying a welcome glass of prosecco or housemade martinis like the Capolinea Martini, a well-balanced mixture of olive oil-washed vodka, Tanqueray Gin, vermouth and lemon twist. Menu highlights include ravioli with braised duck and halibut crudo, but be sure to save room for dessert, namely the classic panna cotta.

The vibe at Hartley is considerably more casual than some of the other hotel restaurants in town, but that doesn’t say anything about the quality. Located in the latest Atlanta Kimpton’s lobby, the restaurant is steps away from landmarks like the Woodruff Center for the Arts, making it a convenient stop before a concert or show. Top marks go to the steak frites with bottomless fries and grilled swordfish. The weekday specials are perfect for the working crowd, featuring  discounted appetizers. 

The Old Fourth Ward’s newest boutique hotel and social club, Forth, is home to IL Premio, a modern steakhouse with Italian influences like a largely European wine list, amaro-infused cocktails and housemade pasta. The menu has fresh selections from the land and sea, including Mediterranean sea bass and USDA Prime beef. The dining room looks out to Historic Fourth Ward Park and is inspired by Renaissance architecture. After your dinner, head up to Moonlight, the futuristic rooftop bar, for a nightcap. 

After a successful first operation in Arizona, Chef Scott Conant brought his Italian eatery, The Americano, to the InterContinental. Steak and seafood are on order, but it’s the handmade pasta that really shines, especially the tagliatelle bolognese topped in a creamy fonduta. The  cocktails embrace Italian classics like the smoked Negroni, with the Drunken Wifey being another favorite. For the Buckhead work crowd, the restaurant has a weekday “espresso lunch” and daily happy hour specials. 

It may be the oldest restaurant on this list, but there’s a reason it’s a classic. Polaris is the crown jewel of the Hyatt Regency, built by famed architect John Portman in 1967. The restaurant closed for 20 years but reopened to great fanfare in 2014. Guests reach the revolving blue-domed restaurant using the set of glass elevators straight out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Once inside, you can take in the views that change every 45 minutes as the dining room revolves, including the rooftop apiary that provides the restaurant with honey. Dine as the likes of Jim Morrison and Gladys Knight did before you with a Blue Dome, the signature chocolate dessert made in the shape of the building. 

With a name like Epicurean, it’s no surprise that culinary delights await inside this hotel. Reverence has a sleek industrial interior with a large kitchen-facing window, so you can watch the experts prepare your meal, behind the scenes. The menu pulls inspiration from around the globe, including South African-inspired peri peri kebabs and Spanish basque cheesecake. During the warmer months, enjoy a cocktail on the West Peachtree Street patio. Bonus? Get two free hours of validated parking. 

For much of its life, the Hotel Clermont was mostly a flophouse with an infamous basement strip club. But in 2018, the hotel was completely overhauled, renovated and reopened with a chic downstairs restaurant, called Tiny Lou’s, a nod to one of the club’s former dancers. Sit in cozy, velvet-lined booths as you chow down on duck confit and bouillabaisse, ideally paired with a shared order of the cornbread madeleines and multi-layer crepe cake.