Why Atlanta’s Famous Restaurants Are So Expensive and How to Try Them for Less

Why Atlanta’s Famous Restaurants Are So Expensive and How to Try Them for Less

Ever look at your bill at the end of a meal and wonder why it looks like an area code? Dining out is expensive and with inflation, it’s only gotten pricier.

According to a National Restaurant Association study, 97 percent of restaurant operators blame higher food costs for the rise in menu prices. Despite having access to a better and more competitive supply chain, restaurateurs are feeling the same pinch as home cooks, having to pay more for ingredients. Jared Hucks, chef and owner of the Alden in Sandy Springs, says those cooking with specialty ingredients and buying smaller quantities don’t benefit from the bulk discounts restaurants get on produce.

Then there’s the cost of labor. According to ZipRecruiter, the current average pay has increased for a restaurant worker in the U.S. to $17.11 an hour, with Atlanta workers at $16 an hour. The American minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Beyond the higher wages (well-deserved by the skilled staff members), there are recruiting, retaining, and trainings to consider. Regardless of the price, restaurant sales are up this year.

“Venues located in prime areas with high foot traffic or in upscale neighborhoods may have higher rental costs,” says Tal Baum of Carmel, Rina, Bellina Alimentari, and more, which further requires higher pricing to cover the expense.

Finally, as the saying goes, time is money, and artful presentations of food take both. Joey Ward, chef and owner of Georgia Boy and Southern Belle, says that the focus on presenting a tasting experience is akin to a performance, allowing guests to take their time and enjoy the show. Instead of rushing to turn tables, they take on fewer diners per evening and have less of an opportunity to make up their operating costs.

But don’t count out fine dining restaurants because of the sticker shock. Many of the city’s top spots offer opportunities to help Atlantans save while dining at their restaurants.

Here’s a high/low hacks list of how to get a taste of Atlanta’s most shooting-star chefs for less.

Bacchanalia / Star Provisions

The $125 tasting menu at James Beard Award-winner Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison’s Michelin-recognized flagship Bacchanalia is a bucket list experience for dining enthusiasts. But for a more everyday taste of their farm and kitchen, pop on over to the other side of the building during daylight hours.

Sunny, farm style-casual Star Provisions offers some of the best pastries, soups, sandwiches, boards, and bowls you can get in the city. Try the French omelet with fine herbs, brie, and aioli on a fresh baguette for breakfast ($12). For lunch, chow down on the hot Italian beef sandwich with braised short rib and pickled vegetables ($15), or the yellowfin confit tuna ($15), and the potato Gorgonzola pizza with caramelized onion, rosemary, and fig ($16).

Michelin-starred Bacchanalia shares the space with a much more affordable day time dining option, Star Provisions.

Lazy Betty / Humble Pie

The exquisite, Michelin star-awarded $205 (tip-inclusive) eight-course tasting menu at Ron Hsu and Aaron Philips’s Lazy Betty ranks among the best two to three hours spent eating. If you don’t have that much time or budget to commit, there are now two ways to check out the megastar duo’s menu. The first hack is to dine at the lounge from the a la carte bar menu — a new option with the new space, with items such as a foie gras doughnut ($25) or truffle agnolotti ($32). The second is to hit up Humble Pie, a restaurant that, like Lazy Betty, shows off technical expertise, local ingredients, and above all, imaginative flair.

Try the Nikki pizza with white truffle sauce, wild mushroom dip, arugula, and truffle butter dip ($28); the short rib ragu with cavatappi ($23); and the house salad with golden beets, fennel, dill hazelnut, and honey apple cider dressing ($16). Desserts such as a peanut butter pie with cookie crumb and raspberry gel ($12) by the Juniper Cafe (RIP) pastry team are always worth saving room for.

Humble Pie in West Midtown is from the same owners behind Michelin-starred Lazy Betty.

Little Sparrow or Marcel / Bar Blanc

While not without controversy (leadership at French-influenced steakhouse Marcel’s faced accusations of racism, sexual harassment, and safety violations at the establishment back in March), chef and restaurateur Ford Fry has major history in Atlanta. Marcel and companion Little Sparrow (both named for the passionate love affair between the fighter Marcel Cerdan and singer Édith Piaf) are some of his finest fine dining works, with price tags to match. But hidden in plain sight above Little Sparrow floats Bar Blanc, a French restaurant with indoor, outdoor, and lounge seating and a hyper-focused menu that gets right down to business.

The $49.50 per person steak frites is a permanent prix fixe that starts with a crusty baguette and house salad for the table, then moves on to steak with a brown butter bearnaise, and as many of Little Sparrow’s triple-fried, thick-cut, beef tallow-rich frites as diners can stomach.

“It was important to me that this feel easy and approachable,” says Fry.

Delbar Middle Eastern / Bibi Eatery

While the Inman Park and Alpharetta locations are distinctly different, going to either of Fares Kargar’s Delbar restaurants is transportive — the former is old-world cosmopolitan, intimate and buzzing, and the latter an enormous space that brings the sun, the flowers, and the grandeur of his family’s native Iran to Alpharetta. But if you’ve only got time and budget for a square of this menu’s cultural quilt, Bibi Eatery in Ponce City Market is a perfect solution.

“I’ve always believed that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the rich flavors of Iranian cuisine in a welcoming, approachable setting,” says Kargar. Try the yogurt-, saffron-, and onion-marinated hanger steak kebab with lentil and raisin rice ($20); the braised lamb and dill labneh sandwich with barberries ($17); or the falafel plate with spicy tahini and hummus ($11). Cool off with iced coconut chai ($7) or sharbat homemade soda, or treat yourself to an Azadi ($12), a refreshing gin drink with grapefruit, cardamon, and mint.

Snap Thai Fish House / Bangkok Thai

Lobster presides over Snap Thai Fish House — chef Pattie Lawlertratana’s fancy flagship rated among one of the best new restaurants to appear on Atlanta’s scene last year. You’ll find it in a Thai spin of a lobster roll and of lobster bisque, in pad thai, fried rice, sushi rolls, and even beside a wagyu beef burger.

If all of that sounds great but a little rich for your blood, head back to Lawlertratana’s roots: Bangkok Thai. This restaurant’s more casual, with an emphasis on the classic Thai and street food dishes of her upbringing in Thailand. Proudly “Atlanta’s original Thai restaurant since 1977,” it remains a great entry point to her exceptional expertise.

Try the Thai version of “lemon pepper wet” wings with sweet chile sauce ($14); the jeeb (tea rose dumplings with pork, $9), shrimp, and water chestnuts; the pad thai with both chicken and shrimp ($17); and the pla-khew-whan, white fish in green curry and coconut milk ($18).

Carmel / Rina

Carmel is restaurateur Tal Baum’s love letter to the sea with an upscale, trendy, and resort escape-feeling environment that commands the $14 to $62 price point you’d expect of its ambiance and quality.

Luckily, there are other ways to experience what’s close to her heart, especially now that Rina has expanded from Old Fourth Ward to Avalon, too. Try anything with falafel ($6 to $15), which bring back her grandma’s recipe from the now closed Falafel Nation; the chicken shawarma bowl with baba ghanoush, Israeli salad, harissa, and tahini ($17); and the peach sauce-marinated amba chicken ($19).

Carmel in Buckhead by Tal Baum.

Bonus Hacks

Featured recurring events include First Thursday at the Alden by chef Jared Hucks, which offers a five-course tasting for $125 versus the usual $175 seven-course price. For even less, Sunday Supper & Spins at celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson’s Marcus Bar & Grille lays out the buffet of Southern dreams, with roughly 20 items — including hits from the regular menu like peach barbecue ribs, Everything Wings, grilled salmon, and his famous fried chicken — for just $48 a person.

The $35 summer prix fixe menu at Double Zero offers three courses from a limited selection. The $35 multi-item brunch at Ford Fry and Drew Belline’s No. 246 starts with a whopping four appetizers for the table and follows with a list of super-sized brunch items, plus selections from its regular menu — and yes, that includes the exceptional chicken alla francese.