We've been to all of these pubs at least twice. And the list does not include Brickstore...that gets a whole post all of its own.
The pub round-up of Atlanta in no order:
Avondale:
(Recommended) James Joyce- Good food (Joycean named entries warm the cockles of my heart), Smithwicks on tap, large patio, smoking in bar, touch games machine (crack!), decent service, nice venue. There was some live trad music in the past, but of course drama ensued as it often does with musicians so no more Irish music. High up on the list, especially for families, groups, or people who do not want a scene.
Buckhead:
Fado (RIP- to be reopened January 2008)- The only reason to go to Buckhead; the great food, best Guinness pour, and the Monday night session all make for great reasons to go. The parking, the idiots who think they can dance, and the surly hot staff is a reason to be annoyed - but I'll take it if it means I can drink a pint with a very very good grilled salmon sandwich while trying to keep up with the super fast tunes.
Cabbagetown:
97 Estoria- Mediocre food, but the atmosphere is fun and low-key most nights even if I do feel I don't meet the tattoo requirement. The beer selection is so-so, and the cool neighborhood has not gotten too big for its britches. They also have a DJ some nights with good non-invasive music, a smoking room, and I have been present at a PBR tattoo contest. Nice neighborhood pub, if it was my neighborhood I'd be there.
Decatur:
(Recommended) Thinking Man- The food is mediocre to good: the rounds and veggie burgers are good, whereas the guacamole is horrible. The specials can sometimes be hit or miss, and they do have plenty of vegetarian options. The beer selection is good for its size, the 'starving artist' rotating tap may be the only time you can get crap beer the rest of the taps are filled with the usual snooty beer suspects: Guinness, a hefeweizen, local beers, a cider, popular microbrews like Flying Dog or Dogfish Head, with seasonal selections. The bottled/canned beers are an even greater variety with Old Chub and Chimay next to Miller and Becks. The real reason we recommend this pub is the voerall 'vibe'. We would pull our seats up to the bar, and at Thinking Man we just felt welcome. The crowd is diverse as far as Decatur goes (not just hipsters or young families), the staff is pretty cool with just the right amount of cynicism at the odd person who orders a JagerBomb/Cosmotini/Irish car bomb. We like the odd drunken old guy who talks at the bar to us just as much as we like watching the moped mafia mess around with their bikes and hip haircuts.
Corner Pub- Moved from its previous location due to arson a few years ago, the new location in the spiffy East Decatur Station is clean and pretty. At first the beer selection was iffy on the bad side, but they have expanded after those first couple of visits. The food is good, better than many in the area with wings as standouts. The veggie fare is good, the veggie Cuban making me crave the real thing; and who can beat PB&J? I never felt terribly comfortable here: maybe between the trivia night, darts, one pool table, theater and lofts next door; Corner Pub tries to be too much. The vibe was just kinda odd, and while everything is really above average we just never felt home here.
The Angel- Overpriced, less than good food, and generally useless service are the reasons I always try to steer people away. Yes, it looks all cute on the inside, and it has a patio, and its in downtown Decatur. The beer selection is not very English for an English pub, the entrees look good on paper but do not follow through, and I have sat at the
bar for a good 15 min before someone even deigned to notice me in an empty pub. The music is also very hit or miss
Trackside- Cute, dingy, open crazy late, tables, smoky...Trackside is the closest thing to a dive bar in three zip codes. Do not ever eat the food unless your stomach is made of steel. The beer is your usual low to midbrow range, you can get Stella AND Bud. Sometimes the music can be crazy loud, but Trackside has cheap pool tables, karaoke, attitude, and late night drunk hospitality people. I think its awesome and I don't go nearly enough.
East Atlanta
The Earl- The Earl successfully manages to be a great indie music venue and a pub that you can feasibly hang out in when its not jam packed. The food is pretty good for a place that has one scary bathroom. The beer selection is fine, but not too high-brow. The scene can be anywhere from aging hipsters at the bar to hot young things showing off the newest retro-tee waiting for whatever side project of whomever related to some other local band to start playing. This place could easily be pretentious, and certainly many people are, but as a pub I'd totally haunt the bar stools if I lived near enough.
Gravity Pub- Peeling carpet, great jukebox, snarling staff, and decent beer. Apparently just now under new ownership, so I'm only talking about the handful of times I went in the past. I don't even think there was food before, so we'll have to see. I like the feel of this place, less showy than the Earl and you could actually sit down and talk most nights. I'll have to report back on the changes...
L5P:
Euclid Avenue Yacht Club- Dingy and small, this pub is still an institution with street cred that has withstood the gentrification onslaught thus far. I hypothesize that with L5Ps' cleaner image, it only has so much room for the 'unique' that used to be the standard. EAYC still fits the bill; not bad food for meat-eaters, decent beer, not much attitude from the scene; if I lived in the neighborhood I could definitely see this as my kind of place.
Brewhouse Cafe- This pub has three great things going for it: location is front of center for people watching in L5P, huge outdoor patio, and satellite TV for various games you may not be able to see with cable like the World Cup or rugby matches. The food is mediocre, the beer selection is slightly above average, and the crowd can be hit or miss: it may be full of drunken Emory students, soccer fans, or just gentrified yuppies from around the expensive block.
Oakhurst:
Universal Joint- When I lived in Oakhurst, I was here more often and it is a cool place but it just never really clicked. Very good veggie burger and good food overall, the beer selection is only ok, the scene is diverse and pretty chill with a good amount of dogs and kids due to the large patio.
