FAVORITE HANGOUTS
Cakes & Ale, 155 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-377-7994, cakesandalerestaurant.com.
Carroll Street Cafe, 208 Carroll St. S.E., Atlanta. 404-577-2700, carrollstreetcabbagetown.com.
Leon's Full Service, 131 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-687-0500, leonsfullservice.com.
The Midway Pub, 552 Flat Shoals Ave. S.E., Atlanta. 404-584-0335, themidwaypub.com.
Northside Tavern, 1058 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta. 404-874-8745, northsidetavern.com.
Octopus Bar, 560 Gresham Ave. S.E., Atlanta. 404-627-9911, octopusbaratl.com.
The Pinewood, 254 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-373-5507, pinewoodtr.com.
Treehouse Restaurant and Pub, 7 Kings Circle, Atlanta. 404-266-2732, treehouseatlanta.com.
Many of us have our “Cheers” bar. It’s the place we go where everyone knows our name and we’re comfortable in our skin. If you need a haunt where you can show your true colors, here are a few places that have served The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining team well. See you there. Just don’t take our seat.
When I want a gin and tonic, my go-to cocktail, I am perfectly content at Treehouse. I discovered this spot last fall, the day I wrote my first A1 story for the AJC. By the time I filed that article, I was ready for a drink. I left my apartment in a disheveled state: hair amiss, teeth unbrushed and who knows what clothes I threw on. Buckhead may be glitzy, but Treehouse is a neighborhood dive bar where no one cares what you look like. — LIGAYA FIGUERAS
My husband and I often stage spontaneous date nights by sneaking into the most popular spots in Decatur. No planning, no reservations, just a willingness to squeeze in at the bar or into a cozy little niche behind the hostess stand. That's our perch of choice at the Pinewood. And we've had many delicious dinners at the bars of Cakes & Ale and Leon's Full Service. We don't mind sipping our first cocktails standing as we wait for two stools to open up. That's just part of the bar dining package. — ELIZABETH LENHARD
As Atlanta's westside has become increasingly polished, Northside Tavern has remained the grimy blues bar it always has been. Maybe it even got a little dirtier. When I need to hide from the world of craft cocktails and artisanal everything, there's no better place than Northside in the late afternoon, where Wild Turkey is cheap and the pool tables are open. I hope it never changes. — WYATT WILLIAMS
Chef-beloved, Bourdain-approved and increasingly crowded with tourists, Octopus Bar is still the best, most unlikely late-night destination in Atlanta. But I like go early, preferably at 10:30 p.m., when it opens, and early in the week, like on a Wednesday. That's when it's easiest to grab a bar stool, ask the bartender to get creative, and settle in to savor the bold flavors of what chef-owners Angus Brown and Nhan Le call "punk rock fine dining." — BOB TOWNSEND
You'll often find my husband and me sitting outside Carroll Street Cafe having whiskey or a $3 Schlitz tallboy with a side of hummus for balance. This is a no-frills, no-pretense-allowed joint where the beers are cheap, the whiskey and wine flows, the staff is cool and the food is pure comfort. They might know my order by heart — the basil noodle bowl with chicken and Angel's Envy whiskey. Neat. — BETH MCKIBBEN
The Midway Pub is a raucous East Atlanta Village dive bar that feels like the next-generation Manuel's Tavern. It's got a strong lineup of local craft brews (including Scofflaw Brewing Co., though it's always sold out by the time I get there). The grub is good and cheap, even if the service is unpredictable. My friends swear by the chicken fingers, but I like to slide in for discreet late-night burgers and beer. — WENDELL BROCK
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