The Best Local Restaurants In Athens, Georgia

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5&10 is a high-end restaurant specialising in fusion dishes inspired by Southern USA, French, Italian and Asian cuisines. Some nights have special themes, such as ramen night on a Tuesday and fried chicken dinners on a Sunday. The rest of the time there’s a diverse mix of tastes, flavors and dishes to choose between.

Mama’s Boy is always packed out with a loyal following of hungry clientele. This modern diner-style restaurant is open for breakfast, brunch and lunch every day, but unfortunately doesn’t serve dinner. Customers can choose a traditional breakfast of Georgia Peach French toast, biscuits and gravy, vegetable and egg scrambler, or salmon cakes Benedict, or they can opt for something more lunch-related such as a tofu stir fry, pork taco plate or ranch chicken sandwich.

The destination of choice for beer connoisseurs, the Trappeze Pub stocks over 200 bottled beers and has 30 on tap. Staff here can pour you a pint of some of the world’s rarest brews. The food on offer is classic pub grub, in keeping with Trappeze’s focus on beer culture.

Cali N Tito’s is a tiny ‘order-at-the-counter’ establishment with a few indoor tables and plenty of outdoor picnic space. Tasty appetizers include fried cassava and beef empanadas and for main course guests can choose between tacos, burritos, quesadillas, tamales and the lomo saltado. Wash it all down with a guanabana or a passionfruit juice for the real Latino dining experience.

Clocked! is a downtown Athens staple. Each burger is made fresh to order because Clocked! understands that nobody wants a limp, lukewarm patty with their fries. Even more importantly, only organic, natural ingredients are used in the recipes, and each of the burgers is made from 100 per cent, all-natural humanely raised beef that will never have been anywhere near a freezer.

The Last Resort Grill has reignited the spark in this nostalgic part of town. Opening for dinner service every night, the menu is full of freshly cooked, extremely tasty dishes, created using produce from select local vendors. The special of the day is always a winning choice, but there are many great options on the a la carte menu too.

Athens’ answer to the much-loved Florida seafood restaurants, the Square One Fish Company offers a variety of delicious fish and seafood dishes alongside excellent steaks, chicken and vegetarian options. Absolutely everything is made from scratch in the kitchen, from the breads to the sauces and desserts, and diners can either choose to watch the chefs at work in the open kitchen or they can relax in the bar area or cosy dining room. The oyster sampler, spiced crawfish and cracked conch are just three of the exquisite appetizers on offer. For main course, it’s the whole lane snapper, snow crabs’ legs and seared Atlantic salmon that always has diners’ mouths watering.