When we talk about food trends, we’re not talking about those viral fads that come and go as quickly as they flare up on social media. (Remember “girl dinner” and Dubai chocolate everything in 2025?)

The food and restaurant trends we’re talking about have staying power and are scene-defining responses to the current economy or consumer dining and spending habits. Even climate change and life-altering events like the pandemic can cause substantial shifts in how and what we eat, as well as how restaurants regularly operate.

For 2026, the Rough Draft dining team has their eye on a handful of such food and service trends already emerging on the Atlanta restaurant scene.

Related links:
• Most anticipated restaurants of 2026
• Elise debuts at the Woodruff Arts Center

Restaurant dining table with French fries, seared tuna salad, Caesar salad, bread, olives, and white wine glasses at Elise in Atlanta.
Lunch returns to many restaurants in 2026, including a new version of the “power lunch.” (Photo by Sarra Sedghi)

Lunch is back

We told you last year that lunch was on the rise in 2025. Lunch is officially back in 2026 after a five-year hiatus from the Atlanta dining scene due to restaurants eliminating the service in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gone are the days of the power lunches, where suits populated dining rooms and the rattling thump of cold, hard plastic hitting the table meant the company was picking up the tab.

These days, lunchtime strategy sessions are a bit more low-key. Coffee shops, neighborhood cafes, and lively counter-service spots offer low-stress, casual environments in which to catch up with friends or talk shop with colleagues. Menus meet the chill vibes at lunch, with restaurants serving protein-rich, fiber-packed salads, combo meals that come with drinks, or French bistro-inspired brunch dishes, including decadent omelets with sides of dainty salad greens.

Friday and Saturday lunch have also become the new date nights, as people find ways to keep their budgets in check, while still indulging in the pleasures of dining out.

For a date-night-worthy lunch, try Elise at the Woodruff Arts Center, Lucian Books & Wine in Buckhead, the bar and lounge at any Rumi’s Kitchen location, or Madeira Park in Poncey-Highland. To rock it old school at lunch, it’s hard to go wrong with Joey D’s Oak Room in Dunwoody or the Highland Tap in Virginia-Highland. This spring, Chef Hudson Rouse will open Babygirl in East Lake, an all-day cafe serving breakfast and lunch. Kinship plans to do the same in Grant Park. 

Late-night dining returns

Just as lunch is enjoying a renaissance, late-night dining also appears to be returning. (The pandemic all but wiped out Atlanta’s thriving late-night scene.) There’s hope on the horizon, however, with new restaurants and bars kickstarting a late-night dining resurgence in Atlanta.

Bar Ana brought sexy vibes, good lighting, and stellar desserts and cocktails to the old El Bar space on Ponce at the end of 2025, complete with music from local DJs. Some Luck will open later this year in the former Highland Ballroom, serving dive bar cocktails, beer, and Thai bar food. Thankfully, Octopus Bar endures in East Atlanta Village for chef-driven dinners and cocktails, starting at 10 p.m. The last call for food and drinks here is 2:15 a.m. And long live late nights at Euclid Avenue Yacht Club in Little Five Points. 

Related link: Talat Market chefs opening a Thai bar in the former Highland Ballroom Lounge

Yuzu cheesecake with passion fruit sorbet. (Provided by Bar Ana/Claudia Martinez)
Yuzu cheesecake with passion fruit sorbet. (Provided by Bar Ana/Claudia Martinez)

Budget-friendly dining

Expect the budget-friendly food trends of 2025 to continue in 2026. Although, it’s not just meal deals on the rise at restaurants around Atlanta, but entire restaurants aimed at affordable dining. This includes for finer dining and omakase.

If you enjoy an omakase experience, but not the hefty price tag, check out 1678 Omakase in Brookhaven. A 12-course lunch costs $58. At dinner, 16 courses rings in at $78. The aforementioned Elise also features a five-course tasting menu at dinner for $95 per person. The team behind Michelin-starred Moju will open an intimate Japanese restaurant called Koshu Club in Buckhead this year, serving yoshoku dishes (think omurice, karaage, and tonkatsu), along with grilled Japanese seafood, meat, and vegetables. For us, Bovino After Dark in West End still rules the budget-friendly chefs counter experience. A five-course tasting with optional wine pairings is just $125 per person.  

Related links:
• Atlanta restaurants roll out budget-friendly menus
• Team behind Michelin-starred Mujo planning Japanese supper club

  1. The resurgence of South Downtown and its restaurant scene before and after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
  2. Maximalist, or less spartan, restaurant design. Let’s finally say goodbye to cavernous dining rooms with exposed ceilings and no sound absorption. 
  3. Small restaurants and markets like Season in Marietta, Communidad in the Old Fourth Ward, and From the Well in Roswell taking hold in metro Atlanta neighborhoods. Will 2026 see neighborhood restaurants like these becoming the darlings of the dining scene?
  4. Rebrands and pivots to refresh old brands. Piastra Italian Restaurant in Marietta will transform into a market and cafe called Asher & Rose Modern Grocers this winter. In Dunwoody, Vino Venue will sunset its restaurant to focus on its daily wine flights, culinary education and wine events, and retail sales. 

Beth McKibben serves as both Editor in Chief and Dining Editor for Rough Draft Atlanta. She was previously the editor of Eater Atlanta and has been covering food and drinks locally and nationally for over 14 years.