Best Restaurants Along the New Atlanta Streetcar Route
April 28,2016
Now that the long-in-the-works Downtown streetcar is a reality, it provides a great way to get around some of Atlanta's neighborhoods. Winding from Centennial Olympic Park to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, the 2.7-mile loop serves 12 stops and provides visitors and residents alike a new way of interacting with the city. Scroll through the slides below to see how you can eat and drink your way through the area — all bars and restaurants are within a quarter mile, or about three blocks, of the streetcar stops.
Drinks Before:
Start your night at the Sundial's bar (pictured above), where a view of Atlanta from the famously rotating restaurant will help plot your trip from above. Head downstairs and walk over to Centennial Olympic Park. Pop into Park Bar and choose from one of their many bourbons or beers on tap, then hop onto the streetcar at the Centennial stop near the Tabernacle.
First Course:
Take the streetcar two stops down to Woodruff Park, then get off and walk two blocks for a drink and a small bite at SkyLounge, the rooftop bar above the Glenn Hotel. Head back to the streetcar and two more stops down Edgewood Avenue. Follow the track of the streetcar two more blocks to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market (pictured above) and stroll through a dazzling array of local culinary treats. Panbury's Double Crust Pies, for instance, offers globally inspired turnovers, while Sweet Auburn BBQ — the original spot that grew into a both a full-service restaurant in Poncey-Highland and a roving food truck — has its original stall. Grindhouse Killer Burgers was also born here and still operates a food stall. After a bite, either walk east under the 75-85 Connector to the next stop, or head back to the stop where you started.
Second Course:
Take the streetcar until it turns off Edgewood Avenue. Get off in front of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King preached. Then walk around the corner to the intersection of Edgewood and Boulevard and head into The Sound Table for terrific cocktails and a meal of small shareable plates — don't miss the cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. After the feast and before the restaurant makes its nightly transition to dance club, head across the street to Sister Louisa's / Church for a drink at one of the city's more unique bars — it's loaded with irreverent folk art as well as crowds.
Last Call:
If you're still up for another round, backtrack down Edgewood to Noni's, an Italian-inspired bar known for its young crowd and weekend dance party. Make your way back onto the streetcar. (It runs until 11 PM during the week and 1 AM on weekends.) Ride back to the heart of Downtown, making your final stop at the Peachtree Center MARTA station. From here you can either head back to your hotel, take the train home or head into Alma Cocina (pictured above) across the street, if they're still open, for a Mexican-inspired dessert. Or hey, why not keep the night going and wrap up the way you started? Make one final visit two blocks north to the Polaris, Atlanta's other rotating restaurant, for a quick dessert or nightcap high atop the Hyatt Regency for one final view of the city.