3 GA Gems Among 30 New Restaurants To Try, Garden and Gun Says

If you have an infinity for Bavarian flavors, swimmingly good seafood or golden fried chicken, your palate may be pleased at three Georgia restaurants that have been named among Garden and Gun's 30 new restaurants to try now in the South.

The South Carolina-based magazine said it analyzed restaurants that opened in 2023 or later in the region for its August-September list, which also consists of work from contributors.

Garden and Gun said some of the eateries honored "are fancy, some just plain fun, but all make a compelling case that the South’s culinary landscape has never been richer."

In Georgia, it was German and modern Alpine-inspired dishes that Atlanta's Avize on the regional list. Avize, located at 956 Brady Ave. NW, was co-founded by Chef Karl Gorline and Sommelier Taurean Philpott.

Want to know what the dining experience at Avize is like? Garden and Gun contributor John Kessler has the answer.

"A rye cocktail flavored with pine and maple arrives in its own decanter atop a glass holding a gorgeous piece of hand-cut ice, and every guest starts the meal with a tremulous custard served in an eggshell," Kessler wrote. "Gorline’s showstopper entree is a Rohan duck that’s dry-aged for two weeks, cold-smoked over botanical hay, then roasted and served with a classic sauce bigarade. The cooking here is playful but also fierce—not unlike the enormous taxidermied mountain goat that stands sentry over the dining room."

Other menu items include tiramisu, creme brulee, a dandelion salad, pastrami-spiced beet carpaccio, frog legs, fermented carrot bolognese, wagyu, fallow deer and Norwegian halibut. Caviar and cheese service is also available.

At Saint Bibiana in Savannah, Italian cuisine is supreme. Located at Hotel Bardo, 700 Drayton St., Garden and Gun contributor only known as HR noted the eatery's fresh fish in their review of Saint Bibiana.

"The coastal Italian restaurant, on the grounds of the fetching Hotel Bardo overlooking Forsyth Park, finds new expression in stout wedges of local amberjack anointed with lemon oil," HR wrote. "Post-crudo, themes of seafood and citrus recur as transportive meals saunter along in summery fashion. Grilled octopus gives way to hand-sculpted cavatelli with spicy ’nduja, followed by whole branzino abloom with blistered heirloom tomatoes. Dessert? Lemon olive oil cake, of course, accompanied by an amaro chosen from an impressively broad list."

Customers can also order baked goat cheese polenta for brunch or Iberian flat iron steak for dinner. The menu also features ingredients such as sauteed spinach, fig steak sauce, greek yogurt, taleggio and white truffle.

Saint Bibiana offers classes at its cooking school, catering and private dining.

Fried chicken spots can be found practically on every corner in metro Atlanta; however, Garden and Gun honored Mothers Best Fried Chicken in Decatur.

The Church Street restaurant may be clucking with mouth-watering flavor, but it was the scenery that grabbed the attention of Garden and Gun contributor JTE.

"A glossy of Colonel Sanders, scribbled with devil ears, a forked tail, and low-key profanity, hangs on the wall at Ean Camperlengo’s shoebox café, on the back end of Decatur Square," JTE wrote. "Behind the counter, a Nintendo setup promises free Super Mario games, and a frozen drink machine swirls with Irish coffee. Inspired by Popeyes, Publix and corner gas stations, Camperlengo wanted to create his perfect bird, developing an elaborate spice brine that reaches to the bone. Dredged in buttermilk and hot sauce, tossed in seasoned flour and plunged in deep oil, thighs and drumsticks turn hyper-crunchy and get dusted with more spices. Crinkle cuts, fried in that same oil, pick up a blast of umami. Collard green coleslaw cools down the wild ride."

Louisiana-style red beans and spice rice, a fried chicken breast sandwich with mom sauce on Georgia toast, jumbo tenders and various cocktails are showcased at Mothers Best. The mom sauce is smoky and sweet, and the bummer sauce is a habanero garlic hot sauce, according to the company website.

If you will be traveling soon, you may want to check out other restaurants in the South that made the list:

• Acamaya in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Albertine in Charlotte, North Carolina
• Tuk Tuk Snack Shop in Lexington, Kentucky
• Judith in Sewanee, Tennessee
• Pulito Osteria in Jackson, Mississippi
• Abstrakt Filipino Essence in Jacksonville Beach, Florida
• Lost Letter in Richmond, Virginia
• Good Hot Fish in Asheville, North Carolina
• Dōgon in Washington, D.C.
• Salud in Birmingham, Alabama

See the full list via Garden and Gun.