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The Best Bars In Atlanta, According To The City’s Top Influencers

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Thirsty Atlanta visitors have well over 1,300 pubs, cocktail lounges, dive bars, and watering holes to choose from—a great variety or an overwhelming number, depending on your perspective. Instead of relying on Google reviews or Reddit threads to inform a night out in Georgia’s sprawling capital city, we asked four of Atlanta’s top influencers—Ayanna Bozeman (@ayannaalexiss), Alondra Priscilla (@alondrapriscilla), Ansley Earle (@ansleyearle), and Ena Tahirovic (@enatahirovic)—for their favorite spots to throw back a tipple. Below are their picks for the best bars in Atlanta, from towering rooftop lounges to laid-back speakeasies and heralded local haunts.

Bar Ana

Excelling in the art of mixology is one thing, but Bar Ana boldly bills itself as “Atlanta’s premiere, late-night 21+ dessert and cocktail bar.” The claim is backed by some serious bona fides—its co-owner is Claudia Martínez, a Venezuelan-American pastry chef whose globally inspired desserts have put her in 2026 James Beard Awards semifinals. While she previously garnered renown directing the pastry programs for other hot Atlanta reservations, Bar Ana is where you’ll find Martínez’s heart and soul—the name itself is an acronym for the names of her family members.

Cocktail To Try: Dirty Pineapple

Spaceman

Buckhead is arguably Atlanta’s most desirable neighborhood, and the crown jewel of its nightlife scene has to be Spaceman. Perched atop the affluent area’s tallest rooftop on the 15th floor of the Hyatt, this is Bozeman’s pick for the ultimate scenic nightcap. “Great cocktails with a cozy vibe,” she says, “perfect for winding down.”

Cocktail To Try: Spaceman’s Old Fashioned

Moonlight

The rooftop lounge of the Forth Hotel & Social Club in Atlanta’s beautifully preserved Historic Old Fourth Ward keeps the vintage vibes coming with 1970s-inspired decor—including a tiger-striped couch—a tightly curated list of earthy cocktails and light fare to fuel dance parties, plus a fun celestial theme that touches everything from the name to the drink selection. Timing is everything, as Moonlight welcomes guests on a first-come, first-served basis.

Cocktail To Try: High Fidelity

St. Regis Bar

Another staple of Buckhead’s bar scene, the St. Regis Hotel’s in-house watering hole has long served as an upscale spot for luminaries to unwind. As Earle says, “St. Regis Bar is an elevated and sceney spot with ambiance—a great place to grab a drink before dinner or post-dinner drinks before you go out for the night.”

Cocktail To Try: St. Regis G&T

Ranger Station

This lowkey speakeasy may self-describe as “a space where park rangers come after a long day to kick back and have a good time,” and the sheerly rustic wooden decor under warm lighting certainly exudes that atmosphere. But the description belies the popularity that came with being named one of America’s best bars by Esquire a couple years back—today, you’re strongly encouraged to make a reservation.

Cocktail To Try: Ranger’s Respite

Burle’s Bar

It may be pronounced “Burley’s,” but there’s nothing heavy-handed about this flora-filled refuge, which has been described as “a Zen garden, but with alcohol.” Fittingly, it’s located above The Victorian, an Old Fourth Ward plant shop in the trendy Ponce City Market occupying the space of a former Sears building.

Cocktail To Try: Martha My Dear

Dad’s Bar

Just surviving amid the revered milieu of Virginia Highland (aka VaHi) is no small feat. But Dad’s Bar has thrived its way to the top of many Atlanta citizens’ list of favorite bars by pairing a no-frills atmosphere with a commensurately simple menu comprised of beer, wine, few-ingredient classic cocktails, and American comfort food like pizza rolls, teriyaki wings, and a promiscuously named grilled cheese. “Dad’s is a laid-back vibe, but it’s lively with people,” says Earle. “I love going with groups of friends, and they offer a good variety of cocktails.”

Cocktail To Try: Espresso Martini

Block & Drum

Being named for a pair of percussion instruments, it’s no surprise that Bozeman says that this one-of-one hotspot’s music is “10 out of 10,” but the weekly live performances interspersed with rotating cultural programming are only part of Block and Drum’s appeal. Their rotating cocktails are made with botanic ingredients grown on an onsite hydroponic farm and house-distilled spirits created in a publicly viewable vacuum still, which reduces air pressure to lower the temperature required for distillation.

Cocktail To Try: Moonage Daydream

The Painted Park

Located in a once-abandoned 1890 Atlanta Pipe and Foundry Company terminal, Painted Park is a libation-fueled theme park with two interior bars, a dance floor, a floating DJ booth, a lower-level gaming parlor, two covered patios, and an underground tunnel that connects to an outdoor gazebo bar on Atlanta’s BeltLine trail system. “Painted Park offers a ton of indoor/outdoor seating, games, TVs—there’s just a lot of space to hang out with friends,” Earle says. And of course, “the drinks are also fantastic.”

Cocktail To Try: Pimm’s Cup

Rose & Rye

The Hotel Colee’s rooftop bar in Buckhead is accessible via an all-glass elevator that carries patrons 125 feet above the city’s skyline to an elegant space featuring a 66-foot-long art mural by local Atlanta artist Chris Veal and floor-to-ceiling fixtures. As the name suggests, Rose & Rye focuses on building its cocktails and light bites around fresh ingredients. Most impressively, the menu features a comprehensive selection of spirits—from bourbon and Japanese whisky to cognac and tequila—and even a short list of fine cigars.

Cocktail To Try: Smokey Paloma

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