< Guide to Athens

Sweet family-run Caribbean restaurant is a great reason to visit the dying mall food court, with lots of veggies. Fresh juices, tangy escovitch snapper, HOT hot sauce, excellent curry goat and macaroni and cheese.

Cookie dough specially formulated to be safe to eat raw, available in many flavors. Jittery Joe’s coffee, milkshakes (with cookie dough), ice cream sundaes and toppings. Some vegan, gluten-free and keto choices. Find the dough for sale around town.

ZZ & Simone's sister business is a wine bar first and foremost, but has expanded its food options to heartier stuff like baked ziti and meatballs. Wine and aperitifs over beer and shots, plus bowls of olives, pretty desserts, fancy toasts, etc. Occasional throwback pop-ups of the Chinese-American restaurant that preceded it in the space.

Longtime Athens favorite has a great patio popular with dogs and kids. Biscuits, French toast, continental breakfast, omelets, great sandwiches, quiche, soups, burgers (veggie and non), small but good selection of beer and wine. Baked goods galore, including for special order. Friday evening dinner service.

Upscale place with an emphasis on Gulf seafood, including a large, well-executed sushi menu. Land animals, too. Signature cocktails with sake or Japanese whiskey as well as standards. Big for date night.

Brought to you by an entrepreneur who runs food halls in Gainesville, Orlando and West Palm Beach, this new space in the second phase of the giant apartment complex should open fall 2025.

Locally-based small-batch chocolate shop offers truffles, chocolate bars, coffee bars and more, plus drinking chocolate, coffee, gelato, ice cream sandwiches, toffee, etc. Vegan options. Downtown location has big windows to watch the chocolate elves at work, or you can book a tour.

Something for everyone: brunchy-lunchy hot food made to order until 2 p.m., with lots of veggies; stuff in the fridge and freezer any other time, and lots of weekly specials, ranging all over the world in influences. Holiday special orders. Walkers, bikers and bus riders get a 5% discount. Great with dietary restrictions.

Hot bar inside grocery store includes veggie and vegan stuff, plus chicken, fish, soup and salad.

Go love on cats while enjoying some snacks and beverages. This partnership with the Georgia-based animal rescue organization Circle of Friends Animal Society serves Pawfee, yogurt purrfait, cake pops and a few other treats.

Refined and intelligent restaurant with a beauteous bar has an Italian focus to its food, with anitpasti, burrata, housemade pasta (can be gluten-free), risotto and more. Offerings change regularly. Nonalcoholic cocktails made with as much love as the boozy ones, plus nice wines.

Primarily biscuits, served all day, but not just traditional egg and cheese varieties. Nice ingredients like housemade pickles and jam. Lunch adds non-biscuit sandwiches and burgers plus specials and cocktails. Baked goods in a case at the counter, good coffee.

The tasting room for Figment Kombucha features its small-batch drinks made with high-quality local ingredients, available on tap, canned or by the growler (half or full), plus a rotating selection of snacks, nonalcoholic drinks and fermented goods. Specific flavors change regularly. Get a kombucha float with housemade sorbet for a grown-up treat.

Remains the gold standard for fine dining in Athens. The menu is Southern-ish but chef-driven and up to date, changing weekly depending on what’s in season. Wine list by James Beard nominee; unpretentious but smart cocktails; excellent after-dinner drinks. Look out for specials.

Mexican-accented Continental/fusion restaurant does a not inexpensive but very popular all-you-can-eat brunch, plus dinner with steaks, seafood, pasta, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, escargot, chicken in a roasted garlic mushroom cheese sauce and more along the same lines. Specials change weekly.

An Athens classic, open since 1989, that hasn't lost a step. Huge beer selection, general literary atmosphere (poetry nights!) and lots of cool things to look at. On the menu, you'll find smart takes on pub food with lots of vegetarian options (hot tofu as well as hot chicken, veggie burgers alongside the beef) plus actual greens and fresh ingredients. Soccer on the tv upstairs.

Raw, organic, cold-pressed and unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juices that are also delicious and pre-packaged for easy transporting.

Serious bang for your buck, with hefty portions of jerk chicken, oxtail, curry goat, barbecue ribs, salmon, spicy cabbage, spicy squash, rice and peas, fried plantains, mac and cheese, patties, super-sweet tea and cornbread, served with good cheer.

This kava bar serves a nonalcoholic beverage that's made to chill you out. Also has board games, video games and pool so you can hang out. It offers traditional kava (in several varieties), kava by the growler, herbal tea made from kava, boba and kava mixed into cocktails, plus the promise of no hangovers.

Athens' only Ethiopian restaurant serving what feels like a home-cooked meal. Beef, for sure, but also loads of vegan choices, all served with chewy, pancake-like injera bread. Ethiopian tea and coffee, plus cookies.

Grilled meats and veggies (lamb, chicken, kufta, gyros) and tons of vegetarian choices, like falafel, salads, dolmas, hummus and tabbouleh, all of which can be mixed and matched into good combos. Kids meals and business lunch specials. Baklava and other desserts.

This place always pleases, whether for date night or an upscale lunch. The menu is Spanish/Mediterranean-inspired, with lots of vegetables (try the "power lunch") and high-quality ingredients. Roasted chicken with za'atar, Portuguese custard tarts, pizzettes and a lot more. Great wine list and cocktails. Hosts occasional pop-ups from small operations.

Czech food and beer from some of the folks behind Hi-Lo, opening up in the Atlas Building in 2025.

Crepe-based restaurant by day (with savory and sweet options, plus non-pancake-based foods) turns into a busy bar by night with beer, wine and vodka-heavy cocktails.

Mediterranean street food franchise located in Wire Park with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Lexington Road location expected to open in 2025.

From meaty Jamaican food (oxtail, goat) to vegan plates, Rashe's covers it all: roti, coco bread, plantains, vegan and regular mac and cheese, fancy chocolates made in a collab with Condor. Food truck, too, and lots of community-driven activities.

Board-game café with plenty of food: hot and cold sandwiches, pizza made with pita, salads, cheese plates, bowls of salty and sweet snacks, kids menu, coffees, nonalcoholic cocktails. Games for rent or purchase, and drinks soft and hard.

English pub with a bitty kitchen does legit British food: housemade crisps, bangers and mash, shepherd's pie, curries. Also, good burgers (lamb and beef). Soccer on the telly. U.K. beers, dry ciders, craft brews, wine, whiskey and cocktails.

Longtime hip oyster bar, with a great selection that changes frequently. Also fun takes on seafood and more: scallop fried rice, scallion pancake, lobster roll, grilled cheese. Beer, wine, absinthe, sake, serious cocktails and frozen Negronis. Hire its mobile unit to shuck at your party.

Fresh flavors, low salt cooking and lots of vegetables in dishes like pasta with creamy basil arugula pesto or coconut macadamia crusted fish at this restaurant tucked away on Baxter Street. Gluten-free and dairy-free options.

Desi restaurant attached to and owned by Achachi Market focuses on South Indian take-out but does have some tables inside and out. Highlights include dosai and intense, delicious coffee, but the menu is large and worth exploring.

Big menu of Indian standards, from samosas and pakoras to poori, chat, tandoori and many vegetarian and vegan options. Get your entree made with veggies, paneer, tofu, chicken, lamb, goat, fish or shrimp. Lassis, chai and Indian tea, wine and beer.

Mediterranean quick-service franchise does gyros, entree-size salads and "feasts" (grilled veggies or protein, salad, side). Soups, baklava, daily specials, family take-home meals, hummus and spicy pimento cheese, too.

Halal quick-service does burgers, phillys, chicken tenders, pasta, steak with a baked potato, Thai fried rice with basil—a real cornucopia of possibilities. Also: wings, soft-serve ice cream, vegetable sides. Truly something for everyone.

Food truck park, bar and event space, opening fall 2025, from the folks behind Paloma Park.

Original location is in an old-timey grocery with high ceilings and a ton of outside seating under fairy lights. BYOB. Candy-colored "Deluxe" edition is in Watkinsville with cocktails, beer, wine and dance party bathrooms. Serves weekend brunch. Both serve amazing cheeseburgers, pork and tofu barbecue and veggie sides.