Ria’s Bluebird, by the Oakland Cemetery in Grant Park, feels like a classic diner that was taken over by artsy SCAD students with a thing for colorful mosaics. Ria’s is rightly famous for their buttermilk pancakes, and there’s really nothing that disappoints here. Grab a seat at the counter and get the slow-cooked brisket with poached eggs or, our favorite, the country-fried tempeh, which is covered in a white pepper gravy and sits on a big biscuit with tomato slices.

The Breakfast Boys is not only a place to have a quintessential Atlanta brunch experience (mimosas, music, and mood), the food is also top notch. From the same team behind Virgil’s Gullah Kitchen & Bar, this brunch hangout with fantastic food and high energy is always packed, so book ahead, especially on weekends. When bites of crispy catfish and grits and tasty jerk chicken with moist sweet potato pancakes send signals to your pleasure receptors, it’s even harder to resist the groove.

We don’t need another excuse to go to JenChan’s in Cabbagetown since we’re down to eat pizza or Chinese food any day of the week. But their dim sum brunch gives us a reason anyway. The small interior dotted with Chinese lanterns hanging from the exposed rafter ceiling makes for a good spot to indulge in small plates with a group. It’s typically crowded with regulars looking to get another taste of the juicy osso bucco and creamy grits, or the tasty shumai that we usually order two of.

While it’s far easier to slide in without a wait during the weekday, the weekend scene at Grits & Eggs in Vinings should hold a place on your brunch bucket list. That’s because the diner usually has a live pianist on weekends to jazz up the place—crispy fried snapper and creamy grits paired with Songs in the Key of Life is the winning combo your weekend needs. If you don’t feel like breakfast, look at the meat-and-two menu for selections like ribeye, mac, and collards.

You may know Beetlecat in Inman Park for their nautical-themed decor and oyster and seafood selections. But real breakfast people know Beetlecat for their super chill weekend Donut Brunch, which features an exciting collection of tasty, over-the-top donuts. If and when the fish artwork and boat deck-like wood flooring put you in the mood for some seafood, try their famed lobster roll. But if you aren’t feeling seaworthy, opt for the spicy chicken sandwich with a sunny side up egg between donuts.

Be it breakfast or brunch, this laid-back Cascade cafe generally keeps a crowd. It’s not that we have a problem waiting for a seat along the bench or in one of the tables in the middle of the room. We’d just rather beat the social hour rush to our gulf shrimp and flounder over jalapeño grits. The same goes for the parsley potatoes. They're good enough to be a meal, but once they’re topped with sizzling steak, an egg, and parsley, the photogenic plate turns into something euphoric.

When Four Seasons Atlanta’s Park 75 revamped its Sunday brunch buffet, you could almost hear a collective sucking of the teeth around the city. Change? The nerve! The esteemed Midtown establishment with spot-on service isn’t altering its menu just for the sake of doing it, though. Fried chicken thighs and citrus-roasted Pacific corvina have been added to keep things fresh. And buffet stations (made-to-order omelets and red velvet waffles) are fanned across several rooms.

On the weekend, a velvet rope and line makes it feel like you’re waiting to get into a club where drinks are free before midnight, so arrive before 10am for your best chance of sliding right into a green velvet booth. With some of the best brunch offerings in town, Barney’s, near Grady, is kinda worth the wait. There’s a dish for everyone here, from favorites like their sweet 24 Karat Gold Pancakes to savory items like lamb and eggs or the regionally controversial fried catfish with spaghetti.

The General Muir serves New York classics, such as latkes, pastrami hash, and housemade bagels and lox, along with a delicatessen menu that’ll make you feel like you’re in a Seinfeld episode where everyone naps at the end. Since it’s right next to Emory, it’s always packed first thing in the morning, but this is one of the rare brunch spots that’s worth waiting while draining your phone battery on funny animal videos.

Sun In My Belly is an indoor/outdoor cafe in Kirkwood that works regardless of whether you wake up strangely early and want to beat the morning rush or decide to turn brunch into an afternoon activity (they’re open until 3pm daily). Find a seat on the awning-covered patio and order one of their Capri Sun cocktails while you look over the menu. Make sure to get some of their big housemade lavender biscuits to share and the PBLT, which comes loaded with pimento cheese and crispy honey bacon.

Why should brunch be a weekend-only perk? Open Wednesday through Sunday until 5pm, the all-day brunch bar maintains a steady crowd, so reservations are highly suggested. During the weekend, you’ll find the usual brunch folks, friend groups and families, but during the work week, there are plenty of WFH’ers along the bar dirtying up their laptop keyboards in between bites of tender short rib breakfast skillets or salmon croquettes that have a wee bit of kick.

If you’ve lived in Atlanta long enough, there's a good chance that you’ve celebrated a birthday dinner here, or won a dinner-for-two gift certificate from some random fundraiser that you were guilted into joining. But you may not have been to Canoe for brunch yet, so book a reservation ASAP. Start with their daily bread basket, filled with sticky buns, flavored scones, and three spreads du jour, which are often a mix of things like prickly pear jam, honey butter, and peanut butter cream cheese.

When the usual brunch pairings are no longer enough to persuade you from a fully sedentary weekend in bed, Oreatha’s in Cascade is the antidote to bring you back into the joys of breakfast dishes. The rum butter alone makes the muffins and bread basket worth the order and then there are starters like their panzanella salad, which is a fun Southern spin on the traditional bread salad, here with cornbread croutons and shredded collards.

There’s always a wait at Murphy’s in Virginia Highlands, but we will happily line up for their complimentary biscuits and muffins with seasonal jams. They also have a great wine selection, so you can sip a glass of Provence rosé while you ponder your life choices and scan the menu, which includes everything from pancakes to corned beef hash. Murphy's has housemade breads, the base for some really excellent sandwiches (like their Turkey Club) if you’re not in a breakfast mood.

With its wood paneling and long counter, Home Grown looks like a place your dad took you for breakfast when you were a kid and told you stories that started with, “Back in my day.” This 70s-style Reynoldstown diner serves Southern comfort food, like steak hash and a pimiento cheese sandwich on Texas toast, but if you want something green on your table, they have a few healthier sides that come straight from their garden out back too.

After an energetic morning on the BeltLine, you’ve probably mustered up an appetite for something more than smoothies and toast. Take your hunger to Folk Art. With vintage signs all over the brick interior and a massive menu, it’s a great choice for a casual brunch in Inman Park. There are a few essential picks, like their sweet potato waffle with fried chicken and sweet potato beignets, but we would and do gladly eat everything on the menu.

Started in 1993 in Atlanta, this brunch classic is now all over the Southeast but is still very much cherished by locals who flock to their favorite Flying Biscuit restaurant for their signature creamy grits, oatmeal pancakes, and of, course, their sugar-coated biscuits, which come with apple butter. Whether you’re a meat eater or vegan, looking for a light bite or something indulgent, there’s something for everyone at this quirky chain.