Chitlins, grits and collard greens are available in Atlanta but they are not the norm. Atlanta dining ranges from haute cuisine to rustic roadside diners.

These small samples of restaurants are divided into five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The categories serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.

The restaurants below have been grouped in four different price categories:
$$$$ (over US$50)
$$$ (US$35 to US$50)
$$ (US$20 to US$35)
$ (under US$20)
These prices are for a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine or equivalent. Not included is the sales tax of 7%. Sometimes a gratuity (usually 15%) is added to the bill. If not, a tip of 15-20% for service is customary.

Bacchanalia
Chef owners Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison are so obsessed with freshness, they grow many of the ingredients on their own farm. Menu offerings focus on seasonal fruits and vegetables change with the season. The funky dining room is a rehabbed factory complex with high ceilings and yellow brick framing the former factory windows. Risottos, cheeses and homemade ice creams are mouth-watering. Star Provisions, the adjoining shop, offers many unusual food items.

1198 Howell Mill Road
Tel: (404) 365 0410.
Website: http://starprovisions.com
Price: $$$$

Nikolai's Roof
Grab your ermine tails and ascend to Nikolai's Roof at the top of the Hilton Atlanta. The button-fronted red-jacketed wait staff will make you feel like a Russian tsar or tsarina. Mirrors and floor to ceiling windows complete the Old-World ambience. Dinner is not a meal, but an event. Start with an icy, flavoured vodka and maybe caviar. Whatever your main course, it will be beautifully presented and luscious. Save room for the de rigueur soufflé as a finale.

Hilton Atlanta, 255 Courtland Street, Northeast
Tel: (404) 221 6362.
Website: www.nikolaisroof.com
Price: $$$ (Prix fixe eight-course tasting menu: $$$$)

Bone's
Bone's, the place for a power-lunch or dinner, is the quintessential steakhouse. It has a clubby atmosphere (with photos of the rich and shameless adorning every square inch of wall space) and is tastefully adorned with rich fabrics and dark woods. Good beef, good wine, fried onion rings, lobster bisque and a pecan pie close to perfection are the stars on the cholesterol-laden menu. Reservations are essential.

3130 Piedmont Road
Tel: (404) 237 2663.
Website: www.bonesrestaurant.com
Price: $$$$

Seeger's
Chef Guenter Seeger's passion for using fresh local products is so great, it is not unusual to find Georgia shrimp or fallow deer on his ever-changing menu. The unassuming bungalow with simple decor, in which the restaurant is housed, is quite contrary from exquisitely presented small plate portion. The 42-page wine list has a selection for every course or the prix fixe menu. Reservations are mandatory.

111 West Paces Ferry Road, Northwest
Tel: (404) 846 9779.
Website: www.seegers.com
Price: $$$$

Atlanta Fish Market
The huge fish sculpture over the entrance leaves no doubt about the cuisine. The bistro-styled restaurant, with tables and chairs packed cheek by jowl, is the place for oysters, crab cakes, gumbo and Hong Kong-styled steam bass. Service is fast but the place is often crowded, especially on weekends. Diners can enjoy their fish baked, steamed, broiled or even with an eye staring right back at them.

265 Pharr Road
Tel: (404) 262 3165.
Website: www.buckheadrestaurants.com
Price: $$$

Trois
A study of glass, stainless steel, wood and white with rounded walls and bar, Trois is on three levels, hence the name. Ultra chic and ultra trendy, it is where the ‘in' crowd comes for power lunches and romantic dinners. Executive Chef Jeremy Lieb creates a nouvelle cuisine menu dependent on fresh ingredients. Favourites include braised beef oxtail and monkfish osso bucco. Elegant presentation makes the dishes that much more appetising. Located close to Woodruff Arts Center and the future Atlanta Symphony site.
1180 Peachtree Street
Tel: (404) 815 3337.
Website: www.trois3.com/home.html
Price: $$$$

Buckhead Diner
Buckhead Diner's sleek steel structure is reminiscent of the 1940s and 1950s. The retro atmosphere pervades the frequently changing menu, which runs the gamut from homemade potato chips and meat loaf to seared yellow fin tuna. A very popular eatery, this is a prime place for people-watching and absolutely the best place to have dinner solo. Brunch is particularly popular on Sundays.

3073 Piedmont Road
Tel: (404) 262 3336.
Website: www.buckheadrestaurants.com
Price: $$

Nickiemoto's
Sushi and Asian fusion merge seamlessly in this sparkling modern establishment. Indoors, it is flashy and noisy with somewhat uncomfortable wooden booths but there is a nice outdoor patio. Diners rave about the top-grade sushi and steamed dumpling. Catfish with ginger and tuna rolled in a peppercorn crust are not to be missed. Those who would like some entertainment with their sushi should go on a Monday night for the geisha drag show. There is a branch in Buckhead, but this one has better service. Often crowded.

990 Piedmont Avenue
Tel: (404) 253 2010.
Website: www.nickiemotosmidtown.com
Price: $-$$

Vortex
Not exactly your average restaurant, this place has all sorts of things crawling up the walls and suspended from the ceiling - aeroplanes, skeletons on motorcycles and even the obligatory moose head. It is mostly a burger joint but salads, sandwiches, fish and chips baskets and bar appetisers are also on the changing menu. To wash down the food, the Vortex has a huge selection of beers and liquors. It appeals mostly to the funky set.

878 Peachtree Street
Tel: (404) 875 1667.
Website: www.thevortexbarandgrill.com
Price: $

Flying Biscuit
Fist-sized biscuits, black bean cakes, organic oatmeal pancakes and turkey meatloaf are staples at this eating place. Crowded and hectic, there is always a queue and no reservations are taken. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served Tuesdays to Sundays. Brunch is added to the menu on Saturday and Sunday.

Candler Park 1655 McLendon Avenue, Northeast
Tel: (404) 687 8888.
Website: www.flyingbiscuit.com
Price: $

Branch:
Midtown 1001 Piedmont Avenue
Tel: (404) 874 8887.

Mary Mac's Tea Room
This 'tea room' features authentic tastes of the Old South. First-time visitors get free cornbread and Pot Likker - turnip greens with broth and cornbread. Food is prepared the same way it was when this local favourite opened in 1945. Its many dining rooms are a rambling complex of adjoining buildings. Lunch and dinner.

224 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Northeast
Tel: (404) 876 1800.
Website: www.marymacs.com
Price: $-$$

Silver Skillet
Sleep as late as you want. Breakfast is served all day here and it seems to come straight from the 1950s. This is Southern cooking workman-style - collard greens with cornbread, chicken-fried steaks with green beans dredged in ham drippings, and, of course, grits. Grease and salt are free and served in copious amounts. For the occasional blow-out, the Silver Skillet is downright fun and tasty. No dinner.

200 14th Street
Tel: (404) 874 1388.
Website: www.thesilverskillet.com
Price: $

Oakwood Café
You wouldn't think to go here unless you were shopping for produce at the Atlanta State Farmers Market. It is worth it to hop a cab from the airport (it is just behind it) to this very basic looking, family-owned restaurant, especially if you like southern cooking - fried pork and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Desserts are made from scratch and the peach cobbler should not be missed.

16 Forest Parkway, Forest Park (by the Atlanta State Farmers Market)
Tel: (404) 214 5660.
Price: $