These Georgia restaurants rank among the nation’s best. What makes them so special?
Two of the nation’s best restaurants are right here in Georgia, new rankings show.
Blue Ridge Grill and La Grotta Ristorante Italiano — both in the Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead — are customer favorites, helping them earn recognition among the 100 best places to enjoy a meal in the country, according to OpenTable.
To come up with the list, the restaurant reservation website said it studied more than 10.5 million reviews that verified users left at U.S. eateries in 2021.
“The result is a selection of spots across the country that constantly serve up creative dishes, unparalleled hospitality, and one-of-a-kind dining experiences for all occasions,” OpenTable said in its report, which was published last month and updated on Jan. 17.
Blue Ridge Grill and La Grotta were the only places in Georgia to earn spots on the nationwide list. The two restaurants boast 4.9 stars out of 5 on OpenTable.
On the Blue Ridge Grill page, some people who went to the restaurant last year said it was home to a welcoming staff and offered personal touches for groups celebrating special occasions.
“Long established as one of the ‘in spots’ for Atlanta’s movers and shakers, this cozy, sophisticated restaurant sets the standard for style in Buckhead,” the Blue Ridge Grill said on its website.
The restaurant uses local ingredients to make the dishes that it serves in a lodge-like location reminiscent of the Blue Ridge Mountains setting, according to OpenTable.
“Signature dishes include grilled Georgia Trout, iron skillet-seared mussels and hickory-grilled rib-eye,” the restaurant said. “Owners Susan DeRose and Richard Lewis fashioned Blue Ridge Grill as a testament to their Southern heritage.”
At nearby La Grotta restaurant, some customers turned to OpenTable last year to rave about risotto, veal and other Italian-inspired dishes. The business said it offers “fine dining in an intimate ambiance.”
“The menu specializes in Northern Italian cuisine with seasonal changes to reflect freshness of ingredients with a focus on locally grown produce,” according to OpenTable.
Despite the focus on Italian food, La Grotta said it has a global wine list. The restaurant started in 1978 and has workers who have been there for decades.
“La Grotta is tucked away in the heart of the Buckhead residential district and overlooks the lush gardens of the condo courtyard in which it is located,” OpenTable said. “La Grotta literally means ‘the cave’ in Italian and was named such for its cavernous and warm setting.”
This isn’t the only time restaurants in the Peach State have earned spots on a nationwide list.
Earlier in January, the business review website Yelp said four eateries in Atlanta and one in Augusta were named among its top 100 places to eat in the United States. That list weighed restaurant reviews and ratings, among other factors, McClatchy News reported.
This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 2:12 PM with the headline "These Georgia restaurants rank among the nation’s best. What makes them so special?."
