Home » Bartending News » Where To Drink: Strolling Through Atlanta’s Vastly Underrated Bar Landscape
By Rich Manning
Sponsored By Real del Valle Tequila
This is part of an ongoing series exploring the bar scenes in cities around the country. The series is sponsored by Real de Valle Tequila, a farmer-owned, small-batch brand focused on simply making good tequila the right way.
Atlanta’s cocktail scene flies under the radar at such a low frequency, it’s practically subterranean. This may look slightly strange to an outsider. After all, Georgia’s state capital anchors a large metropolitan area of about 6.5 million residents and is home to a crucial transportation hub. Theoretically, these metrics alone would draw eyeballs onto the scene like a tractor beam. Yet while some Atlanta bars have indeed earned some national plaudits over the years, the spotlight doesn’t really shine all that brightly compared to other regions their size. Then again, such attention isn’t really needed around these parts.
The Atlanta bar community tends to be nonplussed about their lack of national status, and they use this to their advantage. Rather than making overt efforts to thrust the city into the national spotlight, they seem more interested in curating a scene that’s authentic to Atlanta’s reputation as a lively multicultural small community masquerading as a massive metropolis. It’s unapologetically its own thing, and this is the very element that makes a tour of Atlanta’s cocktail bars so worthwhile and compelling.
The greater Atlanta region is a large area, and its sheer size may make bar-hopping a daunting proposition. The following bars can serve as tentpoles for your planning. While each provides great examples of Atlanta’s vibe, they present this energy in slightly different ways.
Kimball House
Photo By Andrew Thomas Lee
Standing just outside of Atlanta in the suburb of Decatur is the region’s most iconic food and drink establishment, if not its most important one. Kimball House’s very existence is somewhat of a love letter to the city’s storied past. The building used to be a train depot in the early 1900s, and the venue derives its name from the historic (and sadly long gone) Kimball House Hotel, a massive property that took up an entire city block when it was built in 1870. This history, and the history of Atlanta in general, is treated at the modern Kimball House with proper reverence without any of the ironic kitsch that tends to grasp for cheap nostalgia. This brilliant approach provides the perfect atmosphere to build a serious seasonally-based cocktail program which honors the potential expectations of the customer while gently nudging them toward unanticipated expressions of complexity and flavor builds. The best way to visit Kimball House if you’re a cocktail nerd is to reserve a bar seat and show up hungry and ready to indulge in a few hours of unbridled elegance and joy. If you’re looking to treat yourself, pay special attention to their menu’s “For Your Consideration” section and its roster of vintage and special release spirits.
Barrel Proof
If you think you’ve heard the name Barrel Proof before, it’s because you probably have. This bar in the West Midtown neighborhood is indeed an offshoot of the terrific New Orleans whiskey bar of the same name. Like the OG venue, it has an impressive back bar chock full of whiskey bottles — this one boasts around 300, and that’s allegedly a capped number because they claimed to have stopped counting. That’s where the comparisons end. This bar is completely Atlanta-fied: Sleek and slightly brooding with pops of neon radiating from corners. It’s also in a shopping mall, which is an inherently quirky locale for a space equipped with so much brown liquor. Don’t let the outdoor environment throw you off: Stepping inside instantly immerses you into a warm, welcoming atmosphere akin to a stand-alone neighborhood bar. It’s the perfect place for enjoying a dram of your favorite bourbon or a properly made house Old Fashioned.
Jojo’s Beloved Cocktail Lounge
Sequestered inside a compact food hall in the Midtown district, the entrance to Jojo’s Beloved Cocktail Lounge may take a minute to find. (The trick is looking for the neon yellow sun on the wall). It’s a quest worth completing, because Jojo’s is unequivocally Atlanta’s grooviest cocktail joint. Festooned with dramatically high, softly lit archways that juxtapose against dark dramatic reds, the venue brilliantly radiates late ‘70s disco and early ‘80s glam vibes in a respectful, fun, and ever-so-slightly seedy manner. The well-crafted drinks are made with modern sensibilities, but the menu never fully strays from throwback motifs: In other words, don’t be surprised to see a cocktail made with Galliano, sloe gin, or blue curacao, and don’t be shocked to find out it’s delicious. In the back of Jojo’s is The Roselight Room, a modest dance floor that lays down vinyl beats and further enhances the ambience. Heads-up: Jojo’s is a reservations only spot unless you plan to boogie down.
Close Company
Located in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, Close Company boasts impressive bones. Its parent company, Gin & Luck, is the hospitality group behind the Death & Co. properties. But don’t expect dark and moody here: The brightly lit space takes the best parts of a lively bar and a chill lounge and fuses them together to create a singular experience. You can easily come here to pre-game before a night of shenanigans or drop by for a post-club wind down and still feel like you’re in the right place. Of course, you can also simply come here to soak in the ambience and enjoy a killer drink, from riffs on classics like an aquavit gimlet to adventurous beverages combining bourbon, corn, and pepper jelly. Close Company has iterations in Nashville and Las Vegas, and they don’t hide this fact — their website slogan is “Your New Favorite Chain Bar.” Rest assured, it doesn’t feel like a chain. It feels like Atlanta.
Dad’s
When a bar is named Dad’s, you’d expect nothing less than an easygoing bar with friendly, neighborhood vibes. This bar on the outskirts of Atlanta’s Inman Park neighborhood delivers on this promise in overabundance. Dim-but-not-too-dim lighting, taxidermy, vintage bric-a-brac, and an Astroturfed patio create a slightly retro homespun atmosphere that is unfussy and impeccably parent-coded, particularly if you swing by early when they’re playing older tunes. (This doesn’t make the joint stodgy by any means — the place gets turnt when the younger demo shows up). Dad’s combination of cocktails and comfort food keeps things chill, and the drinks menu is chock full of proper approachable classics. The menu also contains an Easter egg for astute bar nerds: Their Romeo’s Chocolate Negroni is a nod to Romeo’s in New York City’s East Village, which is appropriate since one of Dad’s owners also has an ownership stake in that venue.
Little Spirit
Photo credit of Zorzi Creative
If you’re hanging out on the bustling main drag of Atlanta’s Inman Park neighborhood during the day, you’re liable to walk right past Little Spirit without paying any notice. It’s a different case at night. Energy emanates through the venue’s nondescript door during the evening, drawing attention to itself in an effortless manner. Stepping inside provides an electric juxtaposition from the venue’s surroundings. The casual elegance of the block’s bevy of boutiques and bistros gets swapped by rollicking no-frills neighborhood essence filtered through dim red lighting and overseen by portraits of rock and hip-hop icons reimagined as patron saints. The music motif flows through Little Spirit’s menu, as you’re liable to find fab cocktails referencing an eclectic group of talent like Prince, The Runaways, Boston, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The drinks’ approachability extends Little Spirits’ feel rather well, to the point where re-entering the neighborhood after your visit may feel a little jarring.
Bar ANA
Bar ANA describes itself as a dessert and cocktail bar, which buries the lede a little bit. This modestly elegant venue in Atlanta’s Poncey-Highland neighborhood has some serious street cred. Bar ANA’s Co-Owner and Executive Pastry Chef Claudia Martinez has several James Beard nominations under her belt, including two semi-finalists nods. Her last semi-finalist nomination came in 2026 for her work here, so it goes without saying you need to get your dessert on when you come through. Naturally, the cocktail program here is carefully designed to complement the treats. They work well as pairings because the drinks incorporate ingredients like green bell pepper and pineapple brine, producing complex libations that counteract sweet notes instead of doubling up on them. The drinks also work brilliantly on their own as well, but why would you want to do just that?
Photos BY Andrew Thomas Lee
Octopus Bar
Here this loud and clear: If you don’t close at least one night at Octopus Bar, you did not understand the Atlanta bar assignment. Located in the East Atlanta Village neighborhood, it’s pretty much Atlanta’s ultimate industry bar.. It opens at 10:30 PM and does so with a full kitchen. We’re not talking pretzels and glizzies, either: You can roll in here and order a dozen oysters, a bowl of ramen with pork belly, or a finger-licking plate of salt and pepper shrimp to go with your bottle of beer, shot of whiskey, or Sazerac. It’s a no-nonsense, dive-y neighborhood joint positioned as a fever dream. Protip: when you go here, make sure you double-check your GPS and you punch in the name Octopus Bar and not Octopus Kitchen. The latter is a clubby hookah joint that’s about as opposite in vibe as you can possibly get, and it’s not an uncommon occurrence to wind up in the wrong place by mistake.