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Atlanta food halls: Visiting Politan Row at Colony Square

The Politan Row food hall features a central bar with surrounding food offerings and soft seating. Chris Hunt for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Chris Hunt

Credit: Chris Hunt

The Politan Row food hall features a central bar with surrounding food offerings and soft seating. Chris Hunt for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Nestled in the center of Midtown’s Colony Square, Politan Row offers a soulful restaurant lineup with a stylish, modern veneer.

Once you find your way from the color-coded parking deck, up the escalators and across the open-air, artificial turf courtyard, you’ll arrive at a food hall that could be confused with a swanky lounge. A glittering bar sits below a spectacular ceiling featuring LED lights and varnished, natural wood.

Among the food stalls around the bar are some familiar names, including Tandoori Pizza & Wing Co. (from the team behind Bhojanic) and Federal Burger (from chef Shaun Doty). Newcomers like Zaddy’s and Pretty Little Tacos, both started during pandemic-stricken 2020, represent the food hall’s investment in new talent.

At Zaddy’s, which specializes in gargantuan sub sandwiches, the “baby” size is much larger than a foot-long Subway sandwich or a large Publix sub. The next size up, a “classic,” actually is the size of a baby.

Tandoori Pizza & Wing Co. serves a classic tandoori chicken pizza. Wendell Brock for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Wendell Brock

icon to expand image

Credit: Wendell Brock

All that size is backed up with big flavor, too. The smoked turkey — featuring smoky meat from Pam’s Magic Cauldron, spicy jerk mayo and sweet roasted tomatoes — is the least boring turkey sandwich around.

In the hall’s opposite corner, Tandoori packs a heavily spiced punch of its own. The chicken tikka classic pizza tickles all the right places on the palate, satisfying cravings for both pizza and Indian food at the same time — a difficult trick to pull off.

You can get oxtail birria tacos at Pretty Little Tacos. Chris Hunt for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Chris Hunt

icon to expand image

Credit: Chris Hunt

Pretty Little Tacos specializes in birria, and the tacos there are as Instagramable as the environment itself.

Politan Row’s sleek, monochromatic decor doesn’t quite matching the lively food stalls it houses, but the food hall threads the needle, a bit like Midtown itself: corporate and businesslike on the surface, yet brimming with culture, diversity and community.

1197 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 404-228-7941, atlanta.politanrow.com

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