Beyond BuHi: 5 restaurants with global flavor elsewhere in metro Atlanta
In the six short years since I moved to Atlanta, I’ve witnessed the city’s rapid growth firsthand. The skyline has changed dramatically, and mixed-use developments seem to proliferate with the same sudden abundance as mushrooms in the North Georgia mountains.
One thing that’s remained constant, though, is the unassailable culinary reputation of Buford Highway. In the unofficial Atlanta crash course friends gave me when I arrived, I learned that this 8-mile corridor through Brookhaven, Chamblee, Doraville and beyond is where “real Atlantans” have always eaten, way before master-planned dining districts and food halls were even a thought.
In the absence of ethnic neighborhoods like a Chinatown, Little Italy, India Square or Little Havana, this stretch of state road holds the greatest concentration of immigrant-driven cuisine in Atlanta. It’s here that we’re able to dine at affordable, locally owned small businesses offering food made by folks who still have a toehold in their motherland.
But Buford Highway has been the worst-kept dining secret in Atlanta for decades. It’s become an institution, an essential piece of the region’s culinary heritage.
Respected organizations such as the Michelin Guide and the James Beard Foundation have recognized Buford Highway originals like Kamayan, Lanzhou Ramen and Food Terminal for their excellence on a national scale. Empires have spawned from those humble plazas, including the Food Terminal and Sweet Hut group and the expanding Northern China Eatery, which took its brand to the Atlanta Beltline’s popular Eastside Trail.
But the immigrant population is more tightly woven into the fabric of the metro area than this single international seam. The relative lack of barriers in metro Atlanta, both culturally and geographically, allows communities to blend in unique ways, helping create the city’s distinctive flavor.
All of which to say, while Buford Highway is a pillar of international food, it’s not the beginning or end of the immigrant influence on Atlanta’s dining scene. As we explore “Beyond BuHi,” you might not need to look much farther than your own backyard to find a great immigrant-run restaurant.
As Atlanta grows, so does immigrant influence
Atlanta’s steady, continued growth means the dining scene is constantly evolving.
The city is well-known as a hub for domestic transplants like me; a decade ago, statistics already showed that only about half metro Atlanta’s residents were born and raised here, while more than a third had moved to the area, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission, By the end of 2025, Atlanta ranked No. 10 among large metro areas with the most residents from other states.
The city’s expansive nature has also long made it a haven for refugees and immigrants — groups that have significantly contributed to our dining scene. As the 11th-largest metro-area immigrant population in the country, according to Welcoming Atlanta, this population pays more than $9 billion in taxes each year.
Just 10 miles east of downtown Atlanta, Clarkston is proud to be known as home of “The Most Diverse Square Mile in America,” where approximately 60 languages from more than 50 countries can be heard. More than 14% of the metro area’s total population moved from abroad. Within that group, nearly 700,000 Atlanta-area immigrants have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years, while a fitting 404,000 children have at least one immigrant parent, the city government reported.
That mature, multigenerational population has spread out, creating cultural enclaves from Midtown to Marietta and Roswell to Poncey-Highland. It has also attracted restaurateurs from other cities, some of whom specialize in “ethnic” cuisines presented in stylish ways that found success elsewhere.
Atlanta’s growth will continue to attract investment, immigrants and domestic transplants, creating more opportunities across the region for restaurants like the ones below.
Panaderia Y Pasteleria El Sol
Tucked around the corner of a Walmart shopping center, not far from Marietta’s iconic Big Chicken, this relative newcomer from owner Jorge Barahona — a native of Morelos, Mexico — is a taste of home for the Mexican diaspora.
The sparse, fluorescent-lit space puts all the attention on the floor-to-ceiling cases of freshly baked breads, pastries and sweet treats lining the long wall. The conchas here are remarkably plush and Barahona is proud of his specialty flavors, which include marzipan, cookies and cream, strawberry, pistachio, chocolate hazelnut and the Neapolitan ice cream-looking Duvalin, inspired by the puddinglike Mexican candy he loved growing up.
The shop is always quiet, but its air is always filled with the scent of fresh-baked bread, oversized Mexican cookies and other sweets. Barahona, his wife and team bake their products daily using “high-quality eggs and butter, and the best shortening to create the right balance,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the better to re-create flavors and textures familiar from Mexico.
The soft, moist bolillo rolls are especially popular, their recipe intentionally tweaked to “last a while” so that local families can stock up on great deals during holidays and loyalty days, where prices drop as low as $1 apiece for any baked good all day.
“We like to keep things affordable because we bake for the community,” Barahona said, which is why he focuses on traditional staples that are kept as homey as possible. This includes making warm masa tortillas every day, too, as well as familiar treats like bread pudding, flan and cornbread, along with special occasion goodies such as custom cakes.
270 Cobb Parkway SE, Marietta. 678-403-2208, instagram.com/panaderia.elsol1
Bey Mediterranean
“Mediterranean” has become a catch-all phrase for all corners of the Middle East, its meaning as a culinary category as diluted as “Asian.” It often refers to Persian cuisine, which Atlanta does sensationally well. However, in 2024, chef Marc Mansour put his home country of Lebanon front and center with the opening of Bey Mediterranean in Roswell.
“I had trained as a chef in Lebanon,” Mansour said, noting that he graduated as valedictorian. “But at the time, didn’t necessarily want to cook professionally. I wanted, rather, to understand the full scope of hospitality.”
To that end, he pursued an education in the U.S. in hotel and food service administration. A successful career followed, but he eventually realized he wanted to bring his version of the Levant to metro Atlanta.
For that, he took matters into his own hands — with help from his partner’s mother, whose expertise ensured the flavors and ingredients at Bey would honor the different regions of his home country. The result has been a “foundation of generational recipes and bold, unapologetic flavors that (are) Lebanese-first,” Mansour said.
Lebanese cooking is “built around bright acidity, olive oil, fresh herbs and mezze culture centered on sharing and hospitality,” Mansour explained. He distinguishes the style from Persian cooking, which he said features more saffron, slow braises and “a different balance of sweet and savory.”
These flavors are shared with style, with a coral and sage dining room softly lit by brass starburst chandeliers, a swanky beach club-style bar and seating in comfortable, freestanding booths that invite group dining.
Free garage parking lets you take your time over dishes that explode with flavor that hits in waves: lush baba ghanouj that collapses on the bite; bright and unique vegetable dishes like thick-cut tomatoes with aromatic sautéed dandelions and sweet crispy onions; firm and juicy meatballs in a sour cherry sauce.
The ultra-garlicky chicken taouk with a “cloud of toum” is unforgettable, but the menu holds many other wonderful learning opportunities: Lebanese stewlike moussaka (not to be confused with the Greek pasta dish); lamb shank with raisin and almond rice pilaf (very different from its Persian version); and delicate, summery shrimp manti (a contrast to Turkish, Armenian and Central Asian styles).
1035 Alpharetta St. Suite 1100, Roswell, 30075. 678-404-8793, beymediterranean.com
China Kitchen
As a New York native, I had the same initial reaction as chef and writer Candy Hom when she first looked for a local Chinatown: confusion and disappointment. Separately searching for the vibrant Asian cultural district we assumed existed, we each ended up in a Chamblee shopping plaza named Atlanta Chinatown.
The misleadingly named shopping center is home to China Kitchen, a food court stall that punches above its weight despite its humble appearance. The space feels like a dated facsimile of the glittering, bustling mega-food courts I’d grown accustomed to seeing crop up in Flushing, Queens, over the past decade. Storefronts with matching font and picture menus ring an open seating area with generic, floor-scraping chairs and tables.
But China Kitchen stands out; it’s a small family affair owned by Ian Gao, a native of Chengdu, who you may find behind the register or in front of the wok. There’s a good chance you’ll order from his wife or son and ask for their help decoding the photos they keep in a binder up front of their menu items.
Many dishes at this stall are based on family recipes or street foods common to his province, like mapo tofu and the malatang hot pot, which features a “hot and numbing” broth that takes hours to cook properly. Anything “dry” here is worth tasting, from Chongqing dry pot, brought to your table on a metal burner and loaded with veggies, to impeccable, heavily garlicked dry-fried green beans.
Many love his master dumplings, which swim in a pool of chili oil, but the menu does branch out of his region with other styles of dumplings, a Chinese homestyle version of Thai basil chicken and a sweet, fragrant rendition of eggplant with garlic sauce that is simply exceptional.
5385 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee, 30341. 678-860-2777, chinakitchengeorgia.com
Tio Lucho’s
For food followers in Atlanta and beyond, chef Arnaldo Castillo is hardly a hidden gem. A James Beard Award semifinalist, frequent regional food festival staple, eager teacher (his intimate Ceviche Sessions are regularly in high demand) and well-known for his generous spirit, Castillo’s star has steadily risen since he founded La Chingana, the pop-up that became Tio Lucho’s.
This casual, cozy spot is no local secret — it’s a bastion for immigrant food excellence.
“I came to the U.S. when I was around 6 years old, when we moved to be with my dad, who was working in kitchens around New York and New Jersey,” Castillo told the AJC. Just a few short years later, he arrived in Atlanta, specifically “by the corner of Buford Highway and Jimmy Carter (Boulevard), when my dad was hired to be the opening chef for Costa Verde,” Castillo said. At the Peruvian restaurant’s helm, many people knew Castillo’s father by an affectionate nickname: Tio Lucho.
Inspired by his father, Castillo has created his own distinctive style at Tio Lucho’s. The menu embraces the duality of his heritage and upbringing, both as Peruvian and American Southern, as well as Chifa cuisine, the wonderful blend of Chinese and Peruvian cooking. This, in turn, is influenced by his partnership with co-owner Howard Hsu.
Taste Chifa cuisine in Tio Lucho’s incredibly tender lomo saltado, Peruvian flavor in ceviche with local shrimp and snapper or Southern embellishments like rice peas and corn succotash with fried grouper. A new whole fish offering, which must be ordered 24 hours in advance, and the return of Hermanita, his roast chicken and Peruvian street food pop-up, are also convivial ways to experience Castillo’s interpretation of his unique upbringing. And of course, don’t miss the pisco cocktails.
675 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-343-0278, tioluchos.com
Himalayan Kitchen
Atlanta has become a hotbed for dumplings from around the world, including the Sichuan and Lebanese styles in this list, but look to Smyrna for another rare find: Tibetan momos.
Tucked into a tiny shopping center as neatly as a well-made dumpling, Himalayan Kitchen is just minutes away from Truist Park and Smyrna Market Village. There, Kalsang (who asked not to be identified with her last name) folds, steams and fries her overstuffed momos daily and serves them in an unironically retro dining room where casual seating stands on simple black-and-white-tiled floors. The space is colorful — festive prayer flags and mountain landscapes of her homeland of Tibet are everywhere — but the dishes are even more vibrant.
Vegetables feature heavily in wok-fired dishes like Tibetan-style chow mein and noodle soups that bring comfort during Atlanta’s chilling, humid winters. Flat thenthuk noodles in traditional soup are hand-pulled, adding more love to the hearty dish. Vegan options for chilis, sweet and sour dishes and momos abound, and all can be made spicy.
The fillings of each momo reflect Kalsang’s heritage — the country of her birth, India, and the influences of its neighboring countries. They range from beef ground in-house with spicy dipping sauce and butter curry chicken to a mix of fragrant vegetables that include onion, carrot, cabbage, cilantro, celery tofu, and garlic. They’re served simply steamed, coated in panko and fried or stir-fried with bell peppers, onions and spicy chili sauce.
Best of all, they’ll fill your belly with savory flavor and your heart with the knowledge of supporting an underrepresented refugee-owned small business right in our community.
1651 Roswell St. SE, Suite C, Smyrna, 30080. 678-217-4443. himalayankitchenatl.wordpress.com
Su-Jit Lin is a food and travel writer and a product of two generations of chefs; her entire childhood was spent in a restaurant kitchen. She writes from a celebratory lens, covering Atlanta’s diverse dining scene with appreciation for those who dream of feeding this city. As a daughter of immigrants herself, Beyond BuHi is a love letter to Atlanta’s uniquely unbounded immigrant influence, woven through the very fabric of every corner of this city as their food, techniques and traditions enrich our community.
