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The newly renamed Cé La Vie, which occupies the top floor of the luxurious Marina Bay Sands Hotel, is just as impressive from the outside as it is from the inside. One of the most notable structures of Singapore's skyline, the hotel's three towers are connected at the top by an enormous canoe-shaped topper—and a giant infinity pool which stretches across the expanse. There are different areas for pool-time, eating dinner, or drinking at their club, which draws a big crowd.

Located right in the middle of Beijing, Capital M is really all about the unrivaled view, including Tiananmen Square. You'll see brightly colored structures in the daytime, and buildings that are lit up on every tier at night. The menu is primarily European—on the weekends they offer tea and champagne.

The décor at Two Rooms Bar & Grill was put together by 8 Inc., a San Francisco-based design firm that only works on cool projects. Case in point, this rooftop Tokyo bar and restaurant, where you'll find a sleek bar and lounge area that can only be accessed by crossing a bridge over a water terrace (which is basically an infinity-pool extension of their patio space). It pulls from from Tokyo's fashion world in the evenings for cocktails overlooking the city, but the brunch menu is pretty great, too.

Gracing the rooftop of one of the Peninsula hotels, L'Oiseau Blanc (the White Bird) is named for a French plane that crashed over the Atlantic in 1927 during a transatlantic flight attempt. The restaurant's décor pays homage to the pilots, complete with a small-scale replica of the biplane that looks like it's flying off the terrace. Even if you're not a history buff, you'll appreciate the sweeping views of the Eiffel Tower and the excellent service.

With a now-iconic interior that's dripping in red velvet, Hôtel Costes is one of those spots that has perfected its aesthetic—which, of course, extends to the music. It can get dark and smoky inside, so head out to the enclosed terrace (you can still hear whatever the DJ is spinning inside), which is equally great for either an afternoon glass of wine or an after-dinner cocktail. Plus, the people-watching is always fabulous.

Besides hosting concerts, art exhibitions, and live performances, this ex-storage space turned squat cultural institution on the Canal Saint-Martin is also home to one of the area's best bars. On busy days, the local art crowd spills out onto the banks of the canal with beers and affordable cocktails from noon until...whenever.

Le Zyriab, part of a chain of Lebanese restaurants in France, is nothing fancy, but the stunning views from atop the Institut du Monde Arabe set this place apart for drinks overlooking the Seine and the Ile St. Louis. Aside from being inside one of the finest cultural institutions in Paris, it's also never too busy in the afternoons before dinner, making it a standby for getting the evening started over a couple of glasses of Lebanese wine, which is actually pretty good.

Located close to what was once Paris's red-light district, Hôtel Amour takes a deep bow to the neighborhood's tawdry past. Conceived by nightlife visionary André Saraiva (the force behind Le Baron), the black lacquered bar, brasserie, and outdoor terrace are as scene-y as you can get in Paris. Whether for a boozy Saturday brunch or dinner and drinks, the best seats in the house are outdoors, in the leafy courtyard dotted with vintage ’50s cafeteria tables. The brasserie is open late, and you can linger on for hours until it's time to hit the bar or a nightclub in nearby Pigalle.

This restaurant, bar, and nightclub—in an iconic rotunda built by Claude Nicolas Ledoux, the father of Neoclassical architecture—is also smack in the middle of one of the main alternative drags in Paris. Young Parisians flock here for dinner under the cupola and drinks all day in the verdant and colorful terrace garden right on the Place Stalingrad. When it gets late, you can always head back indoors to the Mini Club for some French disco.

This spot is named for the nineteenth-century painter Rosa Bonheur, the first woman to become an officer of the Legion of Honour, whose paintings of horses and cows grace the walls of the Louvre and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. While Bonheur used the then-wilds of the Bois de Boulogne to find animals to paint, this Rosa Bonheur is situated in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, a beautiful garden in the 19th. The emphasis here is on day-drinking, really, though it gets overly packed as the night wears on. It serves great appetizers, plus it's laid-back, unpretentious, and kid-friendly. Should you stay past 10 p.m., expect to follow the crowd onto the dance floor.

Sprawling across the top of the Docks en Seine (a mixed-use warehouse with a neon-green extruded glass roof that's impossible to miss), this newcomer from two Le Baron founders has packed in the crowds since opening day. There's no dress code at Nüba, the DJ booth is actually a beach hut, there's a resident food truck, and lawn chairs dot the landscape—though it is a well-turned-out scene, thanks in part to the fact that Docks en Seine hosts Paris's preëminent fashion school. While you can dance in the open air, the club stretches far inside, too.

Situated on the quay of the Docks en Seine—also home to Paris's fashion institute—Wanderlust is a bit more than just a club/bar/restaurant. Though a small part of the enterprise lives indoors, it primarily resides on the sprawling outdoor terrace which overlooks the Seine. Exposed pipes, neon lights, live music (DJs, generally), and a stylish crowd are all hallmarks of this much-buzzed-about destination.

Tucked away on an idyllic street in Islington, this pretty Georgian pub boasts a lot of outdoor space—a rarity in London. On summer evenings and weekends, the best spots in the house are in the front courtyard for beers and cocktails, and out back for classic pub fare in the wisteria covered courtyard. This being one of the most popular gastropubs in the area, dinner and Sunday roast reservations come in handy.

Ever since 2008, Frank's Cafe—a bar located on top of a parking garage in Peckham—has been the neighborhood's main hub for summertime drinking. It's fairly bare bones when it comes to drinks and presentation—cocktails are pretty standard and you dine at shared picnic tables—but the sunset views across South London make navigating the always crowded concrete rooftop worthwhile. There are a lot of good up-and-coming galleries in the area, too, including Hannah Barry and The Sunday Painter. This means that the best nights to head over are after the gallery openings, when many of the neighborhood's young artists and curators head out for a celebratory drink, and this installment of the pop-up's light, Mediterranean-inspired fare.

Selfridges may sometimes be a bit of a tourist trap, but the rooftop restaurant and bar always feels like a well-kept local's secret—it's hardly ever crowded, the casual English fare care of restaurateur Des McDonald is excellent, and the views over Mayfair's rooftops are striking. The theme of the rooftop changes seasonally as does the menu and the cocktails.

For those missing out on the Shoreditch House's private member's rooftop and pool next door, The Boundary Hotel comes to the rescue with a rooftop bar and restaurant that's open year-round, under a canopy of grape vines, no less. You'll also find a kitchen garden upstairs, along with an outdoor lounge that's set around a wood-burning chimney, ideal for a lazy afternoon in good weather. Being part of Terence Conran's empire guarantees that everything from the Mediterranean food, to the wicker furniture in the rooftop lounge, is in great taste.

On weekend afternoons, this warehouse bar and brewery is a haven for locals and young families who come for the wood fired thin-crust pizza served both indoors and canal-side. And, as the afternoon wears on, and the music turns up, the kids pizza parties get replaced by older groups of friends who come for the brewery's excellent beers, ales and local ciders. In other words, it's a pretty ideal place to while the afternoon away, in the sprawling, industrial space, drinking at the large communal tables both indoors and out. Open year-round, it's best in the summer, when you can take a leisurely walk down the canal until you reach the brewery.

Designed to look like an old-fashioned luxury European ship, this is a great (and affordable) place to stay. The rooms, like the Bunk Bed Cabins, are small, but they have everything you need—minus a huge price tag. Don’t expect a quiet stay: The lounge gets plenty of foot traffic when the bar opens, though you can always seek refuge at hotel’s popular restaurant.

The highlight at this swank hotel located right on McCarren Park is the saltwater swimming pool (you can rent pool passes for if you're not checking in), with full bar and snack service. Meanwhile, the complimentary bike rentals and rooftop lounge make McCarren Hotel & Pool a slice of vacation in the middle of bustling Billyburg.

Roberta’s has been warmly flourishing for years. Camouflaged by an industrial, kind of uninviting exterior, this gem of a spot offers a succinct menu includes a few wonderful pizzas, plus seasonal veggies and pasta dishes. There’s an indoor, primarily communal seating area where you can watch the pizza-making go down in the open kitchen. The vibe is casual and the ambiance always lively, as it routinely draws big crowds. While you can expect to wait, it’s a good place to have a drink.

From June through October, this oyster bar aboard the historic Sherman Zwicker schooner docks at Pier 25 in Tribeca. Under yellow and white stripe canopies, servers in appropriately nautical outfits distribute casual sea-side fare and cocktails from the built-in bar. During weekend days, it’s a fun lobster roll destination with kids, and in the evenings, thanks to a solid list of schooner-themed cocktails and oysters and small plates, it’s a pretty great night out. While the location is a bit remote, it’s still conveniently close to downtown—plus, how cool is it to eat on the water?

Gallow Green is actually the rooftop of the McKittrick Hotel. When you first walk in, you might expect a woodland nymph to pop out from behind one of the lush arches. The cozy garden vibe here is neither pretentious nor touristy, and the views of the city are some of the best. Their unusual cocktails keep with the theme, with names like Summer Coven and The Garden Shed.

Originally constructed in the ‘30s as an opulent apartment building (its design takes after the Gothic chateaus of the Loire Valley), the Chateau quickly morphed into a hotel. It has official historic landmark status for a million reasons: It’s played host to everyone in Hollywood (sadly, John Belushi died here), and despite an André Balazs re-do in the ‘90s, it still feels wonderfully old-world. Its popularity has never waned, to the extent that you generally can’t grab a bite or a drink here unless you’re checked-in, or meeting a guest. Images: Nikolas Koenig

Malibu Farm is our go-to restaurant for impressing out-of-towners, thanks to its sweeping views of the ocean in both directions (and even of Catalina Island on a clear day). Enjoying a zucchini pizza and white sangria on the porch while you watch surfers and stand-up paddleboarders on iconic Surfrider Beach? That's as California as it gets.

Preux & Proper is yet another newish addition to LA's growing downtown bar and restaurant scene. The New Orleans-inspired spot features an elegant but unstuffy interior: white walls and tile are grounded by dark floors and black leather stools and banquettes, and there are open-air patios on both floors. For an upscale, ladylike dining experience and fresh oysters (proper), sit upstairs. For a more rowdy bar scene and the opportunity to test their 6 separate frozen Daiquiri flavors (preux), stay on the first floor.

The just-opened E.P. & L.P. is excellent proof that you don't need an ocean view to have a magical rooftop experience in Los Angeles. While the downstairs restaurant, which serves Asian-inspired dishes, is certainly deserving of a spot on any "to try" list, any one of the bars (there are three, one inside the restaurant and two on the roof-top deck) is definitely the place to be. Upstairs, the décor feels very L.A., with a wood deck, neon chairs, and ample greenery to round out stunning views of the hills. Drink-wise, expect to find everything from traditional Pimm's cup to spiked boba tea.

When you daydream about moving to California and lounging in a beach house, the image you conjure probably looks something like the Bungalow. Its notable address on the corner of Wilshire and Ocean means that the west side hang-out has a solid view of the Pacific, with the décor to match—the shaded patio is dotted with hammocks, relaxed couches, and white-washed Adirondack chairs gathered around cozy fire pits. They also lay definitive claim to the best margarita in this part of town. Unfortunately, the secret's out about this spot, so the lines can get long on Fridays and Saturdays—we'd only recommend it for a weeknight or Sunday afternoon.

The menu at this hidden gem (it's quite literally hidden near a Home Depot in an unmarked building) remains exciting: gnocchi with maple bacon, steak tartare with fried capers and egg yolk, PB&J bread pudding. In the summer, they open up a garage door in the back of the building to an open-air astroturf patio; head to the back to play a game of ping pong while you wait for your meal. The private dining room here is legendary, too—tucked away near the entrance to the main dining room, it's a popular pick for the film and music crowd.

As the name suggests, you can come here for excellent chicken and fish, both fried to perfection and not at all greasy. But an emphasis on booze is to be expected from the guys that brought you Longman & Eagle. The bar stays open till 2am nightly (3am on Saturdays!) and serves craft cocktails and beer on tap, as well as a lethal Negroni slushy. They also make excellent use of the outdoor space (complete with freestanding bar and ping-pong tables) which functions as a patio in summer or an ice skating rink in the colder months.

Unlike so many of the city’s more popular watering holes, this indoor-outdoor Tex-Mex spot is bright, airy, and massive in size. It’s part of One Off Hospitality Group (Dove’s Luncheonette, Avec) and as evidenced by the deep tequila/beer/cocktail list and 2am closing time, values a good time above all. To balance out the copious amounts of booze, order tacos and lots of guacamole from the walk-up window—it's usually faster than waiter service.

Celeste is divided into several different floors, and while they all share the same elegant aesthetic, the rooftop garden is far and away our favorite. The intimate space is decorated with white Victorian couches and chairs, and the brick walls are softened with vines and planters. While the punchbowl is considered one of the city's best, we usually spring for one of two frozen drinks (an Electric Pisco Colada and a Nuclear Caipirinha) that you can only get on the roof.

This rooftop bar at the CANVAS Hotel—the latest in a crop of younger, hipper hotels—offers spectacular views of the city’s South Side. Come for sunset drinks by the pool or at the bar, take in the Dallas skyline, and make a meal of it, too, thanks to a menu of substantial snacks—hot dogs, tacos, salads, and the like.

HG SPLY CO. offers all the benefits of a healthy menu without any white-washed "healthy" restaurant aesthetic, making it the perfect place to take your boyfriend when he wants a beer and you're craving a green juice. Their paleo-inspired menu is light and clean yet substantial—favorites include the tex mex quinoa bowl, pulled pork nachos, and texas steak bowl. The fire pits, twinkle lights, and red picnic tables, plus the well-chosen beer list, make their rooftop a pretty perfect place to spend a long, drawn-out evening.

Beer is an important theme at the Rustic: In addition to their impressive list of Texas beers on draft and a seriously good beer-butt chicken, the bar's centerpiece is an American flag sculpture constructed from old beer cans. In the summer, their enormous outdoor patio (dotted with picnic tables and fire pits) plays host to country music bands and singers that play late into the evening. Their huge custom marquee sign completes the scene.

Come here for sustainable, organic, and healthy Mexican food. Their simple cocktail list offers a straightforward margarita and paloma, plus blue-bottle coffee for abstainers.

This is a local favorite for great margaritas (which should arguably be ordered only by the pitcher) and big sweeping views of the city. The vibe is cozy, and while there are ample heat lamps to keep you warm as the sun goes down, this place is really best for day drinking—get there early enough put in a brunch order.

With its central location along the Embarcadero in the Financial District, Americano is an easy spot for drinks after work. Their patio, where they often have live music, has a wide view of the bay, anchored by the Ferry Building on the left and the Bay Bridge on the right. The happy hour menu is blessedly simple, offering a cocktail, a wine, a beer, and a snack in their signature farm-to-table Italian style.

San Francisco's notoriously gloomy weather means pool parties aren't exactly abundant in the city. But on those rare days that call for a bikini, the poolside patio at Chambers Eat + Drink at the Phoenix is the place to be. The scene can get a little rowdy in the afternoon, so go early (the brunch is good).

The menu at this Chinese/Korean hybrid runs the gamut of Asian delicacies. There’s Korean tacos and steamed bao for lunch, ramen and braised mahi mahi for dinner, and a dim sum brunch on the weekends. Ingredients are sourced from local farmers who focus on quality and sustainability. The portions are large enough to encourage sharing and go perfectly with the restaurant’s communal vibe—massive tables, a well-stocked bar, and outdoor picnic tables.

This is one of those places that immediately transports you somewhere else: in the case, Austin, Texas. In addition to the endless patio outside, there's a stage for live music inside, and the décor is wonderfully Texan, with a big star behind the bar and a classic longhorn mount. If you're there for drinks, get the guacamole, queso, and a Vampire Weekend, their house horchata cocktail. They also have a location in Cabbagetown.

Bartaco also has a few locations in Connecticut, and you can definitely feel the beachy vibe when you walk inside: The patio is white-washed with blue cushions and accents, and the hanging pendants inside are made from woven baskets. The garage door separating the patio from the restaurant opens wide on warm evenings, when you can sit under the twinkle lights and order from their well-tended cocktail list (favorites are the margarita, the mojito, and a bold blend of chorizo spice, reposado, and mezcal called the CLT). If you're staying to eat, trays of guacamole, salsa, and an assortment of tacos take the stress out of ordering for a crowd.

We were sold on this place already for its patio—complete with a fire pit—and, fortunately, the food is fantastic, too. The cozy outdoor space here will make you want to cuddle up with a glass of rioja and order enough tapas to stick around for a while. While we like to go at night (aforementioned fire), we hear the brunch (there’s a bloody mary bar and a seriously good sangria) is just as great. There's an additional location in Knight Park, but this one's our favorite.

The Glenn building—which was built in 1923—sat vacant in one of downtown Atlanta’s most vibrant districts until the Legacy Property Group initiated a major remodel in the early 2000s and turned the building into one of the city’s first (and still one of its only) boutique hotels. The rooms are spacious, many with views of Centennial park, and in addition to a great restaurant and cozy living room bar for casual drinks, there’s a rooftop bar that gets a big crowd on weekends.

The St. Regis in Atlanta is situated in Buckhead, conveniently walking distance from Whole Foods—in case you want to pick up some snacks for the room (or forgotten toiletries). The hotel has a grand lobby with a soaring ceiling, crystal chandelier, impressive, winding staircases—with a tea room, meeting spaces, restaurant (Atlas is great), and bar spinning off of it. Suites here are grandly appointed, as can be expected, and really generous on space, with particularly luxurious powder rooms. Their 40,000-square foot “Pool Piazza” is flanked by inviting red-and-white striped lounge chairs—and transformed into an ice skating rink for a few months of winter fun.

A stone’s throw from the Fox Theater in Midtown, Stonehurst is a restored, 19th-century residence with six guestrooms. Rooms are surprisingly modern, done up in a neutral palette; some feature a working fireplace. The main wraparound porch is a highlight, particularly scenic given the Stonehurst’s perch on a tree-lined block, and the homemade pastries at breakfast are worth indulging in seconds.

This grand Buckhead Hotel was originally a Rosewood, but it’s been under the operation of Waldorf Astoria since 2018. You’ll find all the amenities you’d expect at a Waldorf Astoria, including great service and comfy beds, plus a cushy spa and a 60-foot indoor lap pool. While rooms on the building's exterior have gorgeous views of the city, the interior rooms look out onto a lovely courtyard garden—perfect for a stroll with your morning coffee.

Situated in Buckhead opposite Lenox Square (read: in close proximity to much of the city’s high-end shopping and fancier restaurants) the Whitley has a classic, grand lobby with gilded-frame paintings and dark wood. Upstairs, the guest rooms are light-filled and modern with mahogany floors, custom cabinetry, a walk-in shower and marble vanity. A wellness level, on the 9th floor, features decadent treatments like a honey and rose facial and a lavender body wrap. A rooftop, glass-encased Olympic-sized swimming pool is a great place to unwind in cooler months.

Aria has been around for fifteen-plus years, but its beautiful 2016 revamp by Atlanta firm Seiber Design has generated a lot of renewed interest. As ever, this is a white-tablecloth restaurant; there were a few bright oak tabletops added to the upstairs dining room, which is flanked by a leather banquette. The new bar, handsomely backed in dark wood panels, serves the full, seasonal dinner, and is a good option if you’re a pair without a reservation.

Inside the St. Regis is Southern-inspired Atlas, whose menu is overseen by Aria’s Chef Jerry Klaskala, and directed by Executive Chef Christopher Grossman, who cut his teeth at French Laundry. What’s great about Atlas, beyond the food, is their art collection: be it Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso, or works by local SCAD Atlanta students gracing the walls, it all adds beautifully to the experience.

Star Provisions is one of our favorite places to shop in Atlanta: There's really good home and kitchen goods, takeout counters (the peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich is a hit), plus all sorts of prepared and packaged foods. Bacchanalia, accessible through the back of the store, is one of Atlanta's best restaurants. It's the perfect solution if you're looking for a sit-down meal: The bar is gigantic and deep, where you can feast on items like crab fritters and celery root ravioli a la carte. Otherwise, it’s a five-course prix-fixe situation.

The highlight of Atlanta’s Four Seasons is the delightful Bar Margot. As the name suggests, the cocktail menu here is a real draw; house specialties include the Lady Victoria, a lemon-fresh vodka-rosemary concoction, plus a local-beer program. The restaurant does lunch and dinner with a number of snackable, shareable items on each menu (e.g. crab toast, burrata with pistachio butter, deviled eggs) in addition to their more substantial plates (lobster roll at lunch, lobster thermidor or chicken mattone at dinner). After midnight, they have a short-lived but appropriately satisfying late-night menu—think fried chicken sandwiches and house burgers dressed with charred onions.

Nautically themed, super-chic Beetlecat is part of Ford Fry’s Atlanta empire (Superica, St. Cecilia, Optimist, et al.). There’s a turquoise-seated bright oyster bar on the first level, and upstairs, a fun, 1970s vibe, complete with wood paneling and old-school leather couches. Prepare for a crowd and order the lobster roll.

While simply done, the Bocado stack—two patties with American cheese and house pickles—is arguably the best burger in Atlanta. The menu is rounded out with other sandwiches, soups, and salads at lunch; entrees like roasted chicken served with braised collards and seared trout with succotash at dinner, and some veg-friendly plates—but, again, the burger is really the star of the show.

BoccaLupo is an Inman Park Italian restaurant by Atlanta native chef Bruce Logue, who previously worked at Babbo in NYC. The pasta—from the daily risotto to pan-fried shells, twenty-yolk tagliatelle with wild mushrooms, and black spaghetti with hot sausage and red shrimp—is expertly done. For good-weather days, there’s casual porch seating that extends the interior’s slightly industrial feel with roll-up, glass garage doors. (Note that the restaurant is closed on Sunday and Monday.)

Right behind Beetlecat is the tiny, very Instagrammable, French-inspired bistro-café Bread & Butterfly, from the team behind the restaurant Cakes + Ale. Come for weekend brunch, or lunch during the week, and try the tomato soup, which comes with a fresh-baked, croissant-like pastry on top.

If you’re looking for amazing vegan and vegetarian food in Atlanta, look no further than Cafe Sunflower’s bright, unpretentious Peachtree Road location: The menu offers vegetarian takes on everything from pan-fried dumplings to lasagna to enchiladas. Their brunch menu includes fried “chicken” seitan waffles topped with mustard maple syrup and vegan whipped cream, pretty much guaranteeing any non-vegans present won’t have any gripes. Plus, in addition to their wine selection, there’s a rotating craft-beer menu.

The Colonnade is a total Atlanta fixture at this point—it made national news when the restaurant started taking credit cards for the first time in its nearly 100-year history back in 2014. An old building off a busy-ish thoroughfare, the décor’s nothing to write home about, but this is hands-down the place to come for great, old-school fried chicken.

Don’t let the hip, glossy subway tiled interior fool you: as far as delis are concerned, The General Muir is the real deal. You can expect some seriously good matzoh ball soup, sandwiches featuring the pastrami they cure and smoke in-house, and fresh, hand-rolled and kettle boiled bagels with proper schmear options like scallion horseradish and dill caper. While it's open for breakfast, dinner, and weekend brunch (all from a full-service dining room), we recommend it for lunch—there’s a separate counter service area where you can grab a great sandwich, plus bagels, salads, and pastries. Bonus: there's an espresso bar with locally roasted coffee and a full bar.

If you don’t know what to expect, Gunshow might just be the most surprising dining experience in Atlanta. Here, there’s no such thing as ordering from a menu; plates of food come out of the kitchen as soon as they’re ready, then get carted around to diners, dim-sum style. Rather than stick to a set repertoire, chef/owner Kevin Gillespie and his team get together weekly to brainstorm and divvy up a menu of dishes they’re into at the moment. There’s no affiliation to any one style or cuisine, so you might get braised beef short ribs one day, and Mexican-style peanut-crusted snapper the next. The challenge is not getting attached to any one dish—odds are, you won’t see it again the next time you come back. Also of note: The bustling open kitchen is within eyeshot of almost every table.

When Holeman & Finch first opened, you could only order their famous burgers (which most people say are the best in Atlanta) after 10pm, and you had to be quick about it—only twenty-four were served each evening. In response to overwhelming demand, the chef finally made them a regular menu fixture a few years ago. The burgers and the rest of their pub-inspired menu are best experienced from the cozy bar at the back of the space.

Occupying a cozy, wood-lined space right on the main square and Decatur, the Iberian Pig’s Spanish-inspired menu is neatly divided into cheese, charcuterie, and tapas, with a wine list that leans heavily on Spain, Chile, and Argentina to match. While they do the classics really well, we love their fusion dishes, like the pork-cheek tacos and their extra-flavorful macaroni-and-cheese with charcuterie.

An outpost of the longstanding uptown NYC French bistro (there’s also a Dallas location), Le Bilboquet is inside the retail center sometimes referred to here as The Shops Buckhead Atlanta. Come for the classics—moules-frites, beef tartare—served inside a bright dining room, and outside, on Le Bilboquet’s sidewalk patio, designed after a Parisian café.

Named for the vivacious French boxing champion Marcel Cerdan, Ford Fry’s take on a classic French brasserie has all the trappings: luxe red banquettes, white-tablecloth-ed booth seating, and a dramatically lit bar. The menu focuses on meticulously sourced, heavy-hitting steaks; in fact, Marcel is the only steakhouse in the city that exclusively serves hormone-free beef. A meal like this comes with a price tag to match, so we like it best for special occasions—or just stop by for a glass of wine and an order of frites, best enjoyed near the patio fireplace.

Occupying the old Miller Union Stockyards, this is one of Atlanta’s most celebrated restaurants—early on, they had a review in the New York Times and were finalists for a James Beard Award—but even the most cynical locals will tell you that the food lives up to the hype. Co-owners Neal McCarthy (the general manager and sommelier) and Steven Satterfield (the chef) have an extraordinary commitment to sustainability, so the menu changes daily, but you can always count on fresh vegetables, including the Southern vegetable plate, to be crowd-pleasers. The wine list, made up of exclusively organic and biodynamic bottles, is one of the city’s best.

Nestled in a strip mall on Buford Highway, Nam Phuong is a major local favorite for authentic Vietnamese food. Everything on the—huge—menu is fresh and well-prepared, but we’re partial to their specialty, the Ba Vi: a make-your-own-summer-rolls platter that comes with shrimp balls, grilled pork, and beef with a slew of veggies and sauces and rice-paper rolls (which you dip into a specialty holder before rolling, for stickiness). Kids love it.

Optimist’s dining room is actually separated into two distinct sections, divided by a nautical, blue-and-white striped curtain. In the traditional dining room, chef/owner Ford Fry serves a southern-inspired seafood menu featuring lobster rolls, peel-and-eat Georgia shrimp, and excellent hushpuppies. On the other side, a smaller oyster bar offers raw or roasted oysters (imported straight from the Alabama coast) and Fry’s signature punch. From there, you can also access the open-air turf patio, which has a few mini-golf holes and room for a live band.

Ria Pell, the original owner of this cozy neighborhood breakfast joint, was something of a local hero—not only for her insanely good pancakes, but for the diverse, welcoming community she created at the diner. When she suddenly passed away a few years ago, ownership of the restaurant transferred to long-time manager Julie Pender, who operates the place in honor of Pell’s memory, serving her famous pancake recipe unchanged. Lines can get long here on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but the wait is more than worth it.

An Inman Park staple since 1999, this is the kind of classic Italian restaurant every neighborhood should have. The wine menu is Italian through-and-through, and their most famous dish is actually a dessert: a Belgian-chocolate soup. For the main course, opt for the pastas and risottos, each of which can be ordered in a half-size so you don’t have to pick between favorites.

The first thing you’ll love about St. Cecilia is the décor: The restaurant is set in a lofty three-story space with tall ceilings and wide windows, with a lengthy (and stunning) marble bar that spans the length of the room. Behind the bar, liquor bottles, wine, books, and artfully placed knick-knacks are stacked library-style on tall, mirror-backed shelves, which have the effect of making the entire space seem even larger than it is. The menu skews coastal European with French and Mediterranean influences; star dishes include wood-grilled octopus, cacio e pepe, and a whole-roasted branzino.

One of the hottest restaurants to open in Atlanta in recent years, the idea for Staplehouse began in 2009 as a supper club run by the late chef Ryan Hidinger and his wife Jen. The couple initially played hosts to ten guests at their home every Sunday, and later, as many as two hundred came for a Labor Day backyard feast. Ryan, who was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer in 2012, passed away in 2014. A little less than two years later, Jen opened Staplehouse with her sister Kara and an incredibly talented chef, also named Ryan—last name Smith—and an outpouring of support (monetary and otherwise) from their community. The profits from the restaurant go to the nonprofit that the family established, called The Giving Kitchen, which helps Atlanta restaurant workers in the midst of unexpected crises. Make no mistake: This restaurant has an incredible story (which merits more space than it is getting here), and a wonderful family vibe. But served from any kitchen, the food here would deserve to be on any best-of-Atlanta list. Everything is meant to be shared, it’s all seasonal, and the dozen dinner dishes and several lunch options get changed up frequently. Book in advance (or try the eight-seat bar).

Come here for a cacio e pepe that rivals anything you’d get in Italian trattoria. It probably has something to do with the fact that chef Michael Patrick not only makes all his own pasta but he also sources his own meat from local farms and grows his own herbs. Those adept in the kitchen will be happy to know that many of the ingredients—the olive oil, the tuna, the dried pasta from a factory south of Naples, as well as meats and cheeses—are for sale in their adjacent storefront. Take note: Wooden tables and bare walls mean it gets noisy pretty fast.

Sun in My Belly, a catering company that also operates a brunch/dinner café out of the Kirkwood neighborhood, specializes in exactly the kind of dishes you’d hope from the name: “The Hangover” features a housemade biscuit with cheddar cheese, sausage, fried egg, avocado, potatoes, plus sriracha. The MLT sandwich is mozzarella with basil pesto on country bread. There’s tuna nicoise salad and fried chicken with mac ‘n’ cheese and collard greens—and so on.

Tucked into a quiet street of the Summerhill neighborhood, Talat Market is not-so-quietly serving up some of the best Thai in the South. (A James Beard nomination doesn’t hurt, either.) Every Friday afternoon, Chef Parnass Lim Savang snaps an Instagram of the menu, and people line-up around the block to add their name to a list posted on the door just as the restaurant opens at 6. Regulars will grab a six-pack or bottle of wine next door at Candler Market and hang out on the sidewalk. Inside, chef serves up his take on "Georgian Thai"—recreating traditional dishes from his childhood using ingredients from local farms like Woodland Gardens or Review Farms. Dishes change regularly, but often include crispy seafood pancakes, a five spice tofu stew, or red curry beef. Everything is meant to be shared. For dessert, don’t pass up the vanilla ice cream sandwich made with sweet sticky rice, which is as crazy good as it sounds.

Chef Fuyuhiko Ito’s Umi in Buckhead books weeks in advance—so plan a bit ahead for a dinner table here. The sushi is outstanding, as are the other carefully crafted Japanese dishes. The interior, done by ATL artist Todd Murphy, has cozy wood flooring matched by darker wood walls and sleek, minimalist tables and half-booths.

While they actually have a good menu (including brunch), Argosy is best known for what’s on tap: More than thirty of the best selections from small craft breweries in Europe and stateside. Accordingly, the enormous, beer-hall-style space is lined with long tables and benches, including a lengthy bar that spans the wall across from a few cozy seating areas. The Skeeball in the back is a major crowd-pleaser.

This sweet little juice bar, now three locations strong, first opened back in 2014 with a commitment to sourcing organic produce from local Georgia farmers and wholesalers. In addition to the requisite juices, smoothies, and elixirs, they have a small selection of solid food, including acai bowls, nori rolls, soups, and salads. Hard-core cleansers might want to try their pre-packaged juice cleanses and meal plans, served in their adorable (and signature) glass bottles.

If there was a goop HQ in Atlanta, we’d lobby for it to be next door to this place—their detox-friendly salads and wraps are exactly what we want to eat for lunch (plus the smoothies, acai bowls, and juices make it a morning staple, too). With a highly successful franchise program underway, outposts are basically taking over the city, though the original is in Inman Park.

Kimball House is the brainchild of four friends who originally worked together at Brick Store Pub and came across old menus from the historic (and, sadly, no longer standing) Kimball House Hotel featuring classic Manhattan cocktails and oysters. That menu—and the deep-dive into old-school dining traditions that ensued—became the inspiration for their own restaurant, which opened a few years ago. While the thorough oyster menu and its thoughtful tasting notes are an important part of the experience here, it’s the specialty cocktail program run by local bartending celebrity Miles Macquarrie that put it on our radar. If you’re lucky enough to stop by when he’s behind the bar, he’ll give you the history behind everything on the menu, including the exhaustive list of absinthes and the subtle differences between them.

Like a smaller version of Ponce City Market, Krog Street is filled with tiny purveyors selling everything from flowers, baked goods, and chocolate to ice cream, bbq, and locally brewed beer. It’s also home to some of our favorite restaurants in the city (notably, the Luminary and Superica). The entire operation is located just off the Beltline, so it’s easy to ride your bike here at all hours. P.S. Jane’s Bakeshop has great lattes.

The great thing about this certified dive bar on the West side (which has been open for more than forty years) is that they have live music seven nights a week. They specialize in blues and roots music, and any Atlanta music geek you ask will verify that they get some of the best acts in the city. Try to catch a Wednesday night, when Mudcat is on rotation—front man Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck is an important fixture in the town’s music scene, and worth the trek across town.

Located in the former Sears, Roebuck & Co building, Ponce City Market has flats and small apartments on the upper floors, and one of the city’s biggest food halls on the lower floors. Tenants run the gamut from a coffee bar, farmstand, and ice cream shop to full-fledged restaurants, and the entire operation is across the street from the generous green space of Fourth Ward Park and steps from the Beltline.

This is one of Atlanta’s oldest bars, complete with the neon signs and pool tables in the back. They have a pretty consistent lineup of live music, and it’s reliably rowdy (in a cozy, divey kind of way) on weekend nights. It’s also the place to be if you happen to be in town during an Alabama football game.

The menu here changes every day based on what’s in season (Jenny sources all her produce locally), and you’ll always find plenty of soups—warm in the winter, and chilled in the summer. The entire operation skews healthy, at there's never a time where you won't find both a gluten-free and vegan soup on the menu. They now have four locations (there's Blandtown, plus Brookhaven, Decatur, Buckhead), serving every major neighborhood.

In the same building as Bacchanalia, Star Provisions is Anne Quatrano’s specialty food market. There’s a counter where you can order coffee, baked goods, and specialty sandwiches to eat on the spot, but this place really shines as a specialty foods purveyor. Anne stocks house-cured charcuterie and aged meats in an enormous freezer, and gets fresh seafood delivered every day. You’ll find us near the cheese case, where there’s a selection of imports from all over the world (plus enormously knowledgeable staffers to help you sort through them all).

One-half of the powerhouse sartorial couple who has built a small clothing empire from a single boutique in Atlanta, former Glamour editor Ann Mashburn’s eponymous store is a quiet, curated oasis that feels like walking into a woman’s (massive) dream walk-in closet. The store experience is designed to be comfortable: you can have a drink and listen to some seriously good music while you peruse a selection that includes everything from Carven dresses to Jil Sander blouses to Ann Mashburn’s own line, which is full of well-made classics with slight southern feminine flair. And, of course, you’ll find the Sid Mashburn menswear counterpart right next door.

Billy Reid is a distinctly Southern designer, seamlessly working traditionally preppy elements (pastels, seersucker, lots of khaki and linen) into elegant, streamlined, and sometimes vintage-inspired silhouettes. In addition to his Atlanta location in Buckhead, he’s got shops across the country, including one in Charleston and two in New York—his White Provisions shop is everything you’d expect.

What began as co-founders Joshua Morgan and Brad Scoggins’s at-home experimentation with botanicals is now a full-blown line of organic, non-toxic products, which you can find at the Atlanta-based Little Barn Apothecary shop (as well as online). From their Charcoal + Aloe face cleanser to their hair texturizer to their body oils, each product is as uncomplicated as it is potent and effective.

Shop owner Kelley Knight's warm, positive vibe is imparted throughout her boutique—a modern metaphysical shop that focuses on ritual tools like crystals, candles, tarot decks, and apothecary items all intentionally crafted by female makers. In this light-filled space, located in the hip Ponce City Market, you can get a palm, tarot, or psychic reading, or, best yet, book a more in-depth spiritual counseling session with Knight herself (so worth it). If you're not in Atlanta but still looking for some spiritual goods, Kelley stocks mostly all of her curated assortment online.

Sid Mashburn, the eponymous store from Ann Mashburn’s husband, isn’t just one of the best men’s stores in Atlanta—it’s one of the best in the country. While the much-talked-about store experience is a comfortable hang (think Miles Davis records and a complimentary drink of choice), what’s even better is how much you can get done with just a short trip here: with a wide selection of stylish but classic well-made basics, stylists on hand, and full-service tailoring, it’d be easy to overhaul a guy’s wardrobe in the span of one painless afternoon. In addition to Mashburn’s second Atlanta location, you can find stores in Dallas, Houston, DC, and the Brentwood Country Mart.

At this boutique stationery store in Buckhead, you’ll find everything you’d expect to find in a store curated by designers and painters who are obsessed with typography, paper, and letterpress. While you can work with them to design personalized invitations and paper goods, they have an amazing (and varied) selection of gift cards and stationery along with Simply Put’s own custom line of goods. And, while you’re at it, you can peruse their gift selection, which includes Taschen books, hand-crafted decanters, candles, and soaps.

Located right next to the clothing store Peoples—where you can find a highly-curated selection of brands like Stella McCartney, Derek Lam, and Chloé—w.port is a small edit of goop-favorites like Demylee, Ulla, and Vince. It’s a great place to look for both wardrobe staples (like Mother jeans, cashmere sweaters, and chunky knits) and also cocktail dresses and handcrafted jewelry. A few parking spaces are conveniently located out front.

Aviary offers haircuts, massage, and waxing, but we like it best for the facials. Founder Amy Bransford uses a whole slew of goop-favorite products (Coola, Drunk Elephant), and the space features plenty of exposed brick and a gorgeous wooden wall installation. It’s worth it to spring for the microdermabrasion treatment.

Leigh teaches multiple kinds of yoga classes, both in private and at a few different yoga studios in Atlanta—you’ll find her at Yoga Samadhi a few times a week, plus Highland Yoga and Exhale Spa on Thursdays. For those who want to dig a little deeper, she also offers teacher trainings.

Nouvelle is our go-to nail place in Atlanta, in part because of the dreamy interior, which has exposed brick walls and a great little bar for manicures. You can add aromatherapy to any of their treatments for optimal relaxation, and they also do great nail art on request.

Owned by two ridiculously fit local trainers, Jeff Toney and Amy Selig, the workouts here are based on the Lagree Method, a pilates-based practice that uses a combination of cardio and strength training to get the posture and lengthening benefits of the former along with the calorie-burn and metabolism boost of the latter. Everything happens on a Megaformer, and since the room can only hold a few of them, the classes have the added benefit of always feeling super intimate and personalized.

Sugarcoat gets bonus points for their interiors, which are high-ceilinged and airy, with color-coordinated polish walls and poppy glass bulbs hung sculpturally from the ceiling. We also love their intense commitment to keeping everything clean—each new client gets a kit of nail files buffers, toe separators, and pumice stones to keep, as those products are never used on two different clients. They also have specially designed porcelain sinks with fresh running water, so bacteria from soaking tubs is never recirculated from one client to the next, and you never have to worry about the ick-factor that comes with regular soaking tubs. You can also find them in Virginia Highland and Vinings.

Trainer Tammy Stokes (who moved to Atlanta from LA) is all about full-body training, so you can expect her workouts to use medicine balls, free weights, and a custom-designed bench that she uses for core training. Tammy also does cleanses and nutrition support, for people who want a more holistic weight-loss program.

This local yoga studio is right on the edge of Midtown, bordering Buckhead, so it’s easy to get to from almost anywhere. The focus here is on power yoga, with classes, trainings, and workshops on the calendar almost every week (look for flow and strength classes with Rebecca, who’s our favorite instructor here).