Located on Cobb Parkway near the Big Chicken, Marietta Diner has been the OTP spot for no-frills diner food since 1995. The Greek diner includes an impressively large menu that offers all-day and all-night breakfast dishes, grilled cheese sandwiches, gyros, patty melts, and plates of fried chicken and fried catfish. Open 24/7.

It’s hard to find an Atlanta neighborhood or area suburb without a Waffle House these days. This Atlanta-based restaurant institution is where to head any time of day for smothered, covered, and scattered hash browns, waffles, and hot coffee paired with some seriously amazing people watching; especially into the wee hours of the morning. While some people might say the South doesn’t have any true diners, they might be eating those words after dining at a Waffle House. Some locations are no longer open 24 hours. Check individual restaurants for current hours.

In business since 1956 along 14th Street in Home Park, the Silver Skillet serves a classic Southern diner breakfast with exactly zero frills. The restaurant is typically packed in the mornings with city dwellers, college students, and nearby office workers and hotel guests, regardless of the day of the week. Open Monday - Friday, 6:30 a.m to 2 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This Southern diner with a presidential theme has been serving up breakfast and lunch dishes and Greek fare at the same location on Peachtree Road in Buckhead since 1948. Order everything from the White House breakfast, which comes with two eggs, bacon, sausage, or country ham, and choice of pancakes or French toast to the Olympic omelet stuffed with spinach, tomatoes, peppers, and onions, mushrooms, and feta cheese, meaty gyros, patty melts, chicken biscuits, and meatloaf. Open daily until 2:30 p.m.

While not referred to as a diner, Ria’s Bluebird on Memorial Drive in Grant Park is definitely just that, but with a Southern accent and much more eclectic decor and regulars. Come here for the best caramelized banana pancakes in town, an eggy early bird special, or biscuits and gravy during breakfast. Stop by for lunch for a patty melt, grilled pimento cheese sandwich, or a tempeh Reuben. The coffee never stops flowing at Ria’s. Prepare to wait for a seat on the weekends. Open Thursday - Monday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

With its retro diner decor and affordable breakfast fare, this cash-only spot on Ponce has been serving bottomless coffee and one of the best biscuits in Atlanta since 1994. Look for hearty breakfast dishes at Java Jive like the Sante Fe scramble with spicy chorizo sausage, red peppers, onions, potatoes, cheddar, and salsa. It comes with a choice of biscuit or toast. Get the biscuit. Or order challah French toast, a big ol’ pecan waffle, or the Greek omelet with spinach, feta cheese, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Cash only. Expect a wait on the weekends. Open Tuesday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

While owners chef Kevin Clark and Lisa Spooner don’t really bill their Reynoldstown restaurant as a diner, everything about the interior, the menu, and the characters who frequent this Southern breakfast and lunch spot certainly help it lean hard into that diner vibe. Much of the menu stays well within the $10 to $15 range. There’s even a Blue Collar plate special at lunch — a “value-sized portion” with cornbread and a drink. But the most popular dish is by far the comfy chicken biscuit. Home Grown’s fried chicken biscuit is smothered in a sausage-heavy sawmill gravy, and is one of the many reasons to visit this Reynoldstown neighborhood staple. Open Wednesday - Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Majestic on Ponce de Leon Avenue has been serving up comfort food since 1929. The restaurant was open 24/7 prior to the pandemic, but it still offers strong coffee paired with diner classics on the menu starting early in the morning. Head in for steak and eggs, biscuits and gravy, grilled cheese and fries, gooey patty melts, and the Ponce dog piled high with chili, cheese, and onions. It’s a popular stop for locals and tourists alike seeking a little bit of Southern comfort wrapped in classic diner vibes. Open daily 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

While its downtown Atlanta counterpart is better known, Metro Cafe Diner in Stone Mountain is the more underrated of the two, and with better food. This is where to head for everything from eggy breakfast plates, club sandwiches, and gyros to classic burgers, baby back ribs, and thick squares of lasagna or a mountain of nachos throughout the day. Folks will also find Greek fare, including moussaka and spanakopita, as well as country fried steak and Southern fried chicken here. Make sure to order a slice of cake for dessert from the display case. Stone Mountain location open until 11 p.m., Sunday - Thursday; until 12 a.m., Friday and Saturday. Downtown Atlanta location closes at 3 a.m. and reopens at 6 a.m.