Some of the best eating in metro Atlanta happens in strip malls. You pull off Buford Highway into a parking lot that looks like a hundred others, and inside there is a bowl of hand-pulled noodles, a Cuban sandwich pressed hot and flat, or a table piled with food meant to be eaten with your hands.
Buford Highway runs northeast out of the city through Brookhaven, Chamblee and Doraville, and the kitchens along it cook food from Vietnam, China, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, the Philippines, Cuba and plenty more. Locals call it BuHi. If you have never given it a full day, this is your sign.
How to plan your crawl
You cannot eat the whole road in one trip, so do not try. Pick three or four stops, split everything and pace yourself.
- Bring a crew. More people means more plates on the table and more bites for you.
- Look for the plaza, not the building. Many favorites sit inside shopping centers like Asian Square, so the sign out front may list a dozen businesses.
- Go early on weekends. The popular spots fill up fast around lunch.
- Carry a little cash just in case, especially for smaller counters and market stalls.
Start with something handheld
- Havana Sandwich Shop is a longtime stop for Cuban sandwiches near the Brookhaven end of the corridor.
- Quoc Huong Bánh Mì Fast Food, inside Asian Square, is a go-to for bánh mì.
- Lee’s Bakery is another bánh mì favorite if you want to compare and pick a side.
Noodles and dumplings
- Lanzhou Ramen is known for hand-pulled noodles in rich soups.
- Northern China Eatery brings soup dumplings, pork and chive dumplings and cumin lamb.
- Nam Phuong serves pho, plus sweet chile wings and shaking beef that keep regulars coming back.
Bring the whole table
- Kamayan ATL cooks Filipino food, including kamayan feasts made for sharing and eating with your hands.
- Best BBQ is a dim sum spot, despite the name. Think shumai, har gow and turnip cakes.
- Food Terminal has a long menu of Malaysian and Southeast Asian street food, which helps when your group cannot agree on anything.
Tacos and fire-grilled chicken
- El Rey del Taco has a taco list that runs from carne asada and al pastor to lengua.
- El Autentico Sinaloense Pollos Asados chars whole chickens on the grill, Sinaloa style, with green salsa on the side.
Slow down with coffee, then go shopping
Java Saga is a Taiwanese café known for its hot chicken sandwich and its coffee. It is a good place to sit for a minute before round two.
Then walk the aisles at the Buford Highway Farmers Market in Doraville, an international grocery where you can lose an hour among produce, sauces, noodles, snacks and a big seafood section. Grab a few things you have never cooked with and figure them out at home. And if your crew would rather have a seafood spread brought to the table for game day, Shrimp & Lobster Unlimited takes orders by phone or WhatsApp at (404) 314-2100.
Why this road is worth your time
Many of the restaurants on Buford Highway are small, independent businesses, and plenty of them have fed this city for years without much fanfare. When you spend a Saturday here, your money goes straight to the people cooking your food. You also get a reminder that Atlanta is bigger, and more interesting, than any one neighborhood.
Hours, menus and even locations change, so check with each restaurant directly before you head out.
Pick your first three stops, text your people and set a date. Then come back and tell us which bowl won.
