Maybe it’s my ADD. Or how we’re all trying to maximize every experience these days. But I can’t stay at one restaurant for more than an hour or so anymore. My new habit? I call it restaurant hopping or cluster dining. And I want to make it a thing.
Instead of a two drink minimum, I’m a two drink maximum.
A few appetizers, two drinks and I’m out the door. Onto the next spot.
An ideal night for me lately has at least three to four stops. I think it’s because with evenings out of the house being few and far between during COVID, I enjoy trying to cram everything in to one trip out. I don’t know what else to call it except cluster dining. Or restaurant hopping.
How do you dine in a cluster? You pick a walkable part of town with a lot of great restaurants and bars clustered together so there’s no need to Uber or drive between stops. You can make reservations at two or three spots about an hour apart.
In Charleston, it’s King Street. When in Manhattan, I love FiDi or the Seaport. In Atlanta, I highly recommend Decatur, the Beltline, Inman Park or the Dresden Drive area of Brookhaven for proper restaurant hopping.
On to the next spot!
1. Decatur Dining Cluster
When we go out in Decatur, I love to mix the fine dining with some more dive spots. No surprise to anyone who has read this blog before. We’re five-star and dive bar on this site, baby.
I always try to start at Kimball House for chicken liver pate, oysters and caviar service. Also, their craft cocktails have landed them on so best of lists, it’s hard not to flock to them first. Then I head to the more casual neighborhood joint Brick Store Pub for incredible craft beers and butterbean hummus. Tittle Pop or pimento cheese are also sometimes on the agenda.
Then once the snacking and beer are over, it’s on to No. 246. Here, it’s time to get back to the higher end culinary pursuits to split a plate of Cacio e Pepe or Black spaghetti alla Puttanesca and have an extra dirty martini. A few steps away is usually the last spot of the night—Leon’s Full Service (every local’s fave) for any one of their high-end craft cocktails. Or, if we want to get divey again, we’ll go to The S.O.S. Tiki Bar for Mai Tais or the Kilauea served in festive island-inspired ceramic glasses. The bao buns and fried yucca at S.O.S. are always good for soaking up late night drinks.
2. Inman Park Dining Cluster
Last weekend we decided to hit one of our favorites: Ford Fry’s Beetlecat for an early dinner. Once we sat down, I just wanted to split a dozen of the oysters of the day and the fish collar entree with ginger scallion sauce. So good, y’all. I was on my second glass of wine when I told my husband, let’s jump over to Hampton + Hudson.
I was itching to keep moving. H+ H is decidedly more pub-like with a more casual, dressed down clientele than Beetlecat. Its patio and Bavarian pretzels were calling to me across the pavilion. Like I said, I think I have Restaurant ADD.
After a nice toddy, we shared the pretzel and then went to see what was happening at Barcelona Wine Bar a few steps away. Their whole patio vibe looked too good to pass up. Sitting by the big brick fireplace, I felt more like I was at après ski in Aspen or Big Sky, not in Atlanta.
Barcelona is an upscale tapas joint, so small bites are de rigueur here. For that reason, it feels like there’s little shame in getting only the roasted cauliflower with truffle and ricotta and then a small plate of blistered shishitos, a couple of glasses of your favorite spirit or beer and then moving on to the next spot. If you know my penchant for mixing high-end restaurants with dive bars, then you can guess what the last stop of the night was? The Albert. It’s a retro bar that never disappoints. either the spicy barbecued boiled peanuts or patty melt are the perfect ending to a wild night.
3. Brookhaven Dining Cluster
Valenza, Haven and Pour Kitchen + Bar are keeping dining classy and upscale in posh Brookhaven. But if you want more casual you can swing by Kaleidoscope, Verde Taqueria, Dixie Q barbecue or Grindhouse Killer Burgers, they’re in the mix as well. I love the walkable neighborhood feel of this area too.
Starting out at Valenza with polpo and frito misto and maybe a glass of Northern Italian wine is the most elegant way to begin the evening. Pop a few doors over to Haven for the most incredible plate of Southern Snacks & Vegetables and its signature—truffle and Parmesan potato hay.
Jump across the street, and you can get a wine flight and charcuteries board at Pour Kitchen + Bar. Their short rib ravioli is worth a stare. If you feel like grabbing something tasty but less fancy for late night, the pimento cheese at Kaleidoscope is dainty but out of this world. It’s only around the corner from Pour.
Here are a few of my favorite Atlanta restaurant hopping routes to follow:
So why dine this way? Why not stay in one spot all night and have multiple courses and drinks from one restaurant? This way you get to try one or two things from each spot, never get bored and pack in a lot in one outing. It keeps the conversation fresh. In a world where we can have it all, why not move around a bit?
If you have a favorite walkable restaurant cluster, maybe in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, or in another city, feel free to leave it below in the comments so I can check it out. Or share it at a later date.
