2 Best Restaurants in Central and North Georgia, Georgia

This cozy yet sophisticated restaurant put the Athens culinary scene on the map almost two decades ago with chef Hugh Acheson's inventive cuisine that blends European technique with down-home Southern cooking. Acheson, an Ottawa native, honed his culinary skills in classical French kitchens in Ontario and San Francisco before settling in Athens. His cooking has garnered numerous regional and national accolades, including a James Beard Award. Five and Ten’s seasonal menu draws from local sources and includes updated Southern classics such as pimento cheese with bacon marmalade; veal sweetbread with Red Mule grits custard and succotash; and Lowcountry Frogmore stew with shrimp, andouille sausage, potatoes, and corn in a tomato-leek broth.

With its warm exposed brick walls and folk art decor, this local favorite specializes in Southern-inspired, from-scratch cooking. Everything, from the salad dressings to the bread, is made in-house. The menu offers a variety of salads, sandwiches, and "Moon Specialties" like fried catfish and shrimp and grits. Dinner features a few more upscale options like rib-eye steak and seared yellowfin tuna. The Moon Roof upstairs and Dark Side of the Moon Bar next door feature live music and late-night bar bites, while the adjacent Honeymoon Bakery offers decadent desserts and homemade gelato.