Best Restaurants Open on Sunday in Atlanta 2026

Why a Sunday list matters in Atlanta

Atlanta has held a Michelin Guide since 2023, folded into the American South guide in late 2025, and its one-star rooms set the city’s ceiling: Bacchanalia, Atlas, Hayakawa, Lazy Betty and the omakase counters. The catch for a Sunday visitor is that these are exactly the kitchens that close at the weekend. Bacchanalia shuts on Sunday, the sushi counters take Sunday and Monday off, and the tasting-menu houses do the same. A diner expecting to book the best table in town on a Sunday night will reach a closed door and a recorded message. This is the single most useful thing to know about eating well here on a Sunday.

The rooms that stay open are the seven-day operators: Ford Fry’s seafood houses, the Buckhead Life group’s steak and Greek and French rooms, and the riverside institutions that run a Sunday brunch and a Sunday dinner both. The order below opens with the Buckhead and Westside dining rooms and closes with the long Vinings brunch on the Chattahoochee. A note on timing: Sunday in Atlanta is a two-part day, an early brunch and an early dinner, with most kitchens closing by ten. Hours are checked against each restaurant’s published schedule. For the wider week, start with the Atlanta dining guide.

The Sunday list

St. Cecilia

Coastal Italian · Buckhead, Atlanta · $70–110 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:00–22:00

Ford Fry’s St. Cecilia sits at 3455 Peachtree Road in Buckhead, a high-ceilinged coastal-Italian room that has been the city’s special-occasion booking since 2014. The crudo, the handmade pasta and the wood-roasted branzino are the order, with a meal landing around $70 to $110 a head. It opens Sunday for dinner from five to ten, one of the few upscale Buckhead rooms that does. Ask for a banquette under the skylights, and start with the oyster and crudo selection before the pasta.

The Optimist

Seafood · Westside, Atlanta · $55–95 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday, 15:00–22:00 (oyster bar from 15:00)

The Optimist is Ford Fry’s fish camp at 914 Howell Mill Road on the Westside, part raw bar, part dining room, with a roll-up garage door and a James Beard award behind it. The oysters, the lobster roll and the whole roasted fish are the reasons to come, and a meal runs about $55 to $95 a head. Sunday service starts at three in the afternoon and runs to ten, the oyster bar open the whole time. It is the relaxed Sunday pick, the one that works for a long afternoon at the bar or an early dinner in the room.

Chops Lobster Bar

Steakhouse · Buckhead, Atlanta · $90–160 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:30–21:00

Chops Lobster Bar at 70 West Paces Ferry Road is the Buckhead Life group’s grand steakhouse, a clubby upstairs room over the marble-and-tile Lobster Bar below. The dry-aged steaks and the lobster are the order, with a full dinner landing between $90 and $160 a head, the most expensive table on this list. It opens Sunday for dinner from 5:30 to nine. Book the upstairs Chops room for the steak and the booths, or the Lobster Bar downstairs for the seafood and the buzz.

Kyma

Greek seafood · Buckhead, Atlanta · $70–120 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:00–21:00

Kyma, also from Buckhead Life, sits at 3085 Piedmont Road and does whole Greek fish better than anywhere in the city. The catch is laid out on ice and sold by the pound, grilled simply over coals, with the spreads and the grilled octopus to start; a meal runs about $70 to $120 a head. It opens Sunday for dinner from five to nine. Order a whole fish for the table, a bottle of assyrtiko, and let the kitchen do the rest.

Bistro Niko

French · Buckhead, Atlanta · $55–90 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday brunch 11:30–14:30, dinner 15:00–21:00

Bistro Niko at 3344 Peachtree Road is Buckhead Life’s Parisian brasserie, all brass and mirror and a zinc bar, and Sunday is its day for live jazz brunch. The steak frites, the onion soup and the dessert soufflé are the order, with a meal landing around $55 to $90 a head. It runs Sunday brunch from 11:30 to 2:30 and rolls straight into dinner service until nine, so the room never really closes. Come for the jazz brunch and the people-watching, or the quieter early dinner.

Canoe

New American · Vinings, Atlanta · $55–90 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday brunch 10:30–14:30, dinner 17:30–21:30

Canoe sits on the banks of the Chattahoochee in Vinings, the prettiest Sunday table in metro Atlanta, with a garden running down to the river. The kitchen cooks a seasonal New American menu, strong on game and the wood grill, and a meal runs about $55 to $90 a head, less at brunch. Sunday is a full day here, brunch from 10:30 to 2:30 and dinner from 5:30 to 9:30. Book a terrace table weeks ahead for brunch, the most-requested seat in the city on a Sunday morning.

How to book a Sunday table in Atlanta

The first rule of an Atlanta Sunday is to skip the stars: Bacchanalia and the tasting counters are closed, so book a seven-day room instead. St. Cecilia and Chops Lobster Bar both take reservations and both reward a week’s notice for a Sunday dinner, the prime slot in Buckhead. The Optimist holds bar seats for walk-ins and is the easiest upscale Sunday table to land at short notice. Canoe fills its riverside terrace for Sunday brunch weeks ahead, so reserve early for the garden. Bistro Niko’s jazz brunch books up by Friday. For a solo Sunday, the oyster bar at The Optimist and the Lobster Bar counter at Chops are the friendliest seats and a fine solo-dining move. Hosting a group that cannot agree on a cuisine? Kyma’s whole-fish spread settles it for an Atlanta team dinner.

Frequently asked questions

Are any Michelin restaurants open on Sunday in Atlanta?

Almost none. Atlanta’s Michelin-starred rooms, including Bacchanalia and the omakase counters, close on Sunday to rest their teams, and Bacchanalia is dark Sunday outright. The starred tasting kitchens keep the strictest weekend closures in the city. For a serious Sunday meal, the Ford Fry seafood rooms and the Buckhead Life institutions on this list are the answer instead, several of them one notch below a star.

Is St. Cecilia open on Sunday in Atlanta?

Yes. St. Cecilia at 3455 Peachtree Road in Buckhead opens Sunday for dinner from 5pm to 10pm. Ford Fry’s coastal-Italian room is one of the few upscale Buckhead tables that trades on a Sunday, and a meal runs about $70 to $110 a head. Start with the crudo and oysters, move to the handmade pasta, and book a banquette a week ahead for a special-occasion Sunday.

Where can I get a good Sunday brunch in Atlanta?

Canoe on the Chattahoochee in Vinings is the city’s best upscale Sunday brunch, served 10:30 to 2:30 with a garden running down to the river; the terrace books weeks out. For something livelier, Bistro Niko in Buckhead runs a live-jazz brunch from 11:30. Both are full-service rooms rather than buffets, and both roll into dinner service the same day.

What is the best-value restaurant open Sunday in Atlanta?

The Optimist on the Westside. Ford Fry’s fish camp opens its oyster bar from 3pm on Sunday and runs to ten, with oysters, the lobster roll and a whole roasted fish landing around $55 to $95 a head, well below the Buckhead steak rooms. The raw bar takes walk-ins, so it is also the easiest upscale Sunday seat to grab at short notice.

Do I need a reservation for Sunday dinner in Atlanta?

For the dining rooms, yes. St. Cecilia, Chops Lobster Bar, Kyma and Canoe all fill on a Sunday and reward a week’s notice, with Canoe’s brunch terrace the hardest seat in the city. The Optimist’s oyster bar and the Lobster Bar counter at Chops both hold space for walk-ins, so a solo diner or a couple can usually find a bar seat without booking ahead.

Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule as of May 2026; confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.