About Atlanta Explored
Why Atlanta Explored exists, who it serves and how our editors build each ranking of the restaurants, home services, doctors and shops Atlantans rely on.
Atlanta, up close
Atlanta is a city you have to explore to understand. Seen from I-285 or the Downtown Connector, it can look like nothing but highways and glass towers. Step off and you find something else entirely: a tree canopy so dense the city is known as a city in a forest, the Beltline stitching old rail corridors into a path through a string of neighborhoods, and a food scene that runs from soul food institutions to the Korean, Vietnamese and Mexican kitchens of Buford Highway.
Why Explored
The name is the method. Atlanta's best businesses are rarely the ones with the biggest signs or the most prominent corners. They are the family auto shop in Lakewood that has kept the same customers for decades, the dentist in Morningside every neighbor seems to recommend, the barbershop on the Westside where Saturday mornings are a social event.
What you'll find here
Sixteen categories in all, covering everything from food, health and home services to auto repair, attorneys, real estate agents, pet care and tech support. No list mixes trades: a meat-and-three is set against other meat-and-threes and an HVAC company against other HVAC companies.
Our process
Research for every category reaches well beyond Midtown and Buckhead. What earns a business its place is a track record that holds up over years. We confirm where it is, how to reach it and when it's open, and we leave out anything merely average. Rankings get a fresh look on a set schedule, and reader tips are checked as they arrive.
Who reads Atlanta Explored
Longtime Atlantans looking for a second opinion. Transplants who moved for a job and still don't know which side of town has the best tire shop. Students at Georgia Tech, Georgia State and the Atlanta University Center finding their way around. Visitors in town for a game or a conference who want to eat well.
For the businesses we feature
If your business appears in our rankings, you can claim it through our For Businesses page and fill in photos, hours and the details customers ask about most.