These 5 GA Restaurants 'Define Dining,' New Top 100 Ranking Says

Five Georgia restaurants have been named to a ranking of 100 nationwide that “delight their communities and make them better.”

Resy, an online restaurant reservation service, said “The Resy 100” is a “curation of restaurants that thrill us, that serve exceptional food that alternately might be comforting or daring, traditional or completely new.”

“These are places that make us want to return again and again, and define the best of our dining culture today,” the company, which represents some 10,000 eateries nationwide, said with the release of the rankings.

“... They don’t have to be new,” the company said of the 100 restaurants on the list. “They don’t have to have a famous chef at the helm. They could be absolutely anywhere — as we’ve learned, a great meal can find you where you least expect it, whether you’ve traversed the country or just headed down the block. They are, simply, excellent and cherished. They delight their communities, and make them better.”

Restaurants from Georgia included in the ranking are:

The Grey Restaurant,109 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Savannah, No. 5. Of The Grey Restaurant, Resy said the “timeless” eatery generates dialogue about cultural interactions along the Georgia coast and about kitchen management. Some highlighted menu items include gazpacho, a Creole-infused mustard, a potato salad, oysters, seafood boudin, a field peas and okra stew and fish.

Talat Market, 112 Ormond St. SE, Atlanta, No. 17. Located in Atlanta’s Summerhill community, Thai cuisine merges with Georgia flavors at Talat, according to Resy. Featured items include peaches in a hamachi crudo, spiced peanuts and Gulf oysters.

Aria, 490 E. Paces Ferry Road NE, Atlanta, No. 42. Resy said Aria is a “fine-dining restaurant that never feels stuffy or trite. Menu items include a crab cake with Old Bay seasoning, coconut milk and okra or braised pork with chipotle jus and banana peppers.

Madeira Park, 640 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta,, No. 83. Resy found Madeira Park’s wine offerings to be notable. On the menu at Madeira Park is a leeks vinaigrette with anchovies, snapper with a celery-fennel remoulade and a bistro steak with a beet Bordelaise.

Lucian Books and Wine, 3005 Peachtree Road, Ste. 300, Atlanta, No. 91. Literature meets wine and French and new southern culinary cuisines at Lucian Books and Wine. Menu items are bison tartare with a confit egg and bonito aioli and risotto with sweet corn and winter truffle from Australia.