Who makes Atlanta’s best biscuit?
You can learn a lot from a biscuit in a few seconds.
It’s immediately obvious if it’s going to be a brick or a nice, airy gem. Break it open, and you’ll be faced with fluffy layers or a tight, dense crumb. One bite is all you need to tell if the flavor is spot on or 50 shades of bland.
Biscuits are a part of the rhythm of Atlanta. They show up with fried chicken, under eggs, drowned in gravy or eaten plain in a parking lot while the car is still running. (Is that just me?)
Of course, everyone has a favorite spot. But instead of arguing about where to go, the AJC Food and Dining team shared a list of Atlanta’s highest-rated biscuits on our Instagram (@ajcdining). Then we had readers vote on which six should face off in a blind taste test.
Then 11 hungry AJC journalists gathered around a table with a giant spread of plain biscuits. They had one goal: find the best of the best.
What makes a great biscuit?
Start with your hands. A good biscuit has a little weight to it without feeling heavy. Press the top and it should give slightly, then push back just a bit. Too soft and it falls apart faster than a reality show housewife. Too firm and your jaw starts to feel tight before you even take a bite.
Break it open instead of cutting it. The inside should be steaming hot. Sometimes you’ll see layers you can pull apart. Sometimes it will have a soft, even crumb that holds together cleanly. Both can work.
What matters more is texture. It should feel buttery, airy and tender, not dry, dense or gummy. There should be a little resistance when you bite in, followed by a pillowy give.
Flavor should show up right away. You should taste the fat, whether that’s butter or something else, along with a little salt and, in many cases, a slight tang from buttermilk. It should feel complete on its own, like a 50-year-old divorcé. (That’s definitely just me.)
Do biscuits have to have layers?
Layered biscuits get a lot of attention, and for good reason. When they’re done well, you can pull them apart into soft sheets, each one carrying a bit of richness from the fat worked into the dough. That texture comes from repeatedly folding the dough, which builds those layers before the biscuit even hits the oven.
But that’s not the only way to make a good biscuit.
Some lean more toward a softer, cakier interior. These biscuits don’t have defined layers. Instead, they have a fine, even crumb that feels plush and tender. You see this style in drop biscuits and cream biscuits.
A cakey biscuit can be just as satisfying. It should still feel light, still hold together, still carry flavor all the way through.
What doesn’t work is a biscuit that entirely loses its structure. If it eats like plain bread or breaks apart before you even get it to your mouth, it missed the mark.
Atlanta’s best biscuit contenders
We kept it simple.
Every biscuit was tasted plain and blind. No butter, no jam, nothing to cover up flaws or boost a weak bite. Just flour, fat, and whatever skill went into making it.
Because the tasting was held at the AJC’s Midtown offices, we kept the field of contenders within the Perimeter. We started with 11 spots that consistently show up with high ratings in reviews across the city, then handed the list off to readers. On Instagram (@ajcdining), you voted on which six should make the final table.
These are the biscuits that made the cut:
- Atlanta Breakfast Club
- Bomb Biscuit
- Buttermilk Kitchen
- Finca to Filter
- Pastries A Go Go
- Sugar Loaf
Only one would come out on top.
How Atlanta’s most popular biscuits stacked up
There was a wide range across our giant kitchen table. Some biscuits looked great but didn’t carry much flavor. Others tasted good but the texture was off, either too crispy or too soft. A few stood out right away, both in the way they broke open and how they ate.
The ones that rose to the top had balance. They held together when you picked them up, opened easily and had enough flavor to keep you interested through the whole bite. Tasting them plain ensured there was nothing to hide behind.
The winner of Atlanta’s Best Biscuit
After working through the full group, one biscuit pulled ahead of the rest.
Sugar Loaf took the top spot with 7 out of 11 votes.
It stood tall with great structure to its crumb. The crust had a slight bite before giving way to an airy interior loaded with buttery, slightly tangy notes. It felt right from the first touch and stayed consistent throughout.
Buttermilk Kitchen followed with two votes, with a softer crumb that still held its own.
Bomb Biscuit and Atlanta Breakfast Club each picked up one vote.
Pastries A Go Go and Finca to Filter rounded out the list, though neither received a vote.
The bottom line: Atlanta is not short on biscuits. You can find a good one in just about every corner of the city. Put them side by side, though, and the difference shows up fast.
Some biscuits look great, then fall flat after a bite. Some have the flavor but miss the texture. A few hold it all together from start to finish.
The ones that stood out felt right the whole way through. The dough was handled with care. The bake was on point. The flavor stayed with you instead of dropping off.
We bought a half dozen from each spot. By the end of the morning, only one bag was empty: our winner, Sugar Loaf.
Proving that while most biscuits are good, the great ones don’t stick around for long.
About the Author
Monti Carlo is the AJC's Senior Editor of Food & Dining and a Telly Award-winning TV host, cookbook author and special events chef. She covers culinary culture, spotlighting the people redefining Southern food today. Her cookbook, Spanglish, a love letter to bicultural Puerto Rican cooking, publishes May 19, 2026. Email her at monti.carlo@ajc.com
