Don’t Miss: Written in chalk above the bar, the cocktail menu shifts seasonally, but the Watermelon Man (a Negroni-esque tipple featuring the summertime fruit and basil), is a great example of how this new-school Inman Park haunt updates classics.
661 Auburn Ave NE, Ste 280, Atlanta
Brittany Wages
The James Room’s dark, sexy backroom lounge reveals itself through a convincingly simple lobby café front, past a door disguised as a bookshelf. You’re here for the vibrations, and perhaps the Beltline location plays a large part as well. But ultimately, the James Room is all about the people, Atlanta’s in-town movers and shakers, who show up stylishly for refined drinks, great music, and the requisite mingling and mixing.
Don’t Miss: Jungle birds, palomas and chili-oiled dirty martinis line the menu of classic cocktails, but consider the Until You See the Cross, essentially a premium spicy margarita but clarified with milk, adding silky sophistication.
99 Krog Street NE, Ste W, Atlanta
You always feel good leaving Ticon’, however you felt coming in notwithstanding. That’s because this supercool, charming cocktail den, dimly lit with string lights, was crafted by a group of partners that include beloved ATL bartenders Greg Best and Paul Calvert, before the “let’s open a ’70s-themed bar” craze hit ATL a few years ago. The crew here not only serves thoughtfully balanced drinks—including very reasonably priced wines as low as $12 per glass—but delivers outstanding hospitality worthy of a James Beard finalist.
Don’t Miss: There’s no way to go wrong with the cocktail menu, whether you’re into dry gin and sherry martinis or mint- and amaretto-kissed mai tais, but the power move is the Reserve Ticonderoga Cup, a fancier play on the bar’s regular $15 version of pineapple, lemon, and mint with cherry, cognac and aged rum. This “choice” variation upgrades your spirits, literally and figuratively, to VSOP and select levels, all over pebbled ice in a metallic vessel, for $8 more.
These hotels are the perfect home base while eating your way through the ATL.
931 Monroe Dr NE, Ste C-106, Atlanta
