Elliott Street

This is another one of those special Atlanta secrets. I love this pub in every way. Seriously, Elliott Street hasn’t been exploited by shitty Buckhead urbanites or high-maintenance midtown crowds. It’s tucked away in the historic Castleberry Hill neighborhood with nothing around the pub itself except a perfect view of the Atlanta skyline and the sounds of highway traffic rushing by. It’s a secluded little bar in the middle of the city, so kick ass.

From outside the place looks like a tiny little shithole with American beer paraphernalia pouring from almost every orifice. As you walk in through the screen door you’ll see about eight seats at the L-shaped bar. You will also notice there are no drafts behind the bar. Sometimes near the front door is a kegerator with a stack of plastic cups and a chalk board. The self-service beer station: write your initials down and keep your own tally on the honor system. This beer is usually something real shitty like Red Dog or some other similar swill, but how awesome is this.

Mike, one of the two brothers that own the joint, told me there’s about 124 16 oz. beers in a keg and he sells somewhere around 180 beers per keg. People are so honest when they’re drunk! The bottle selection is small but well thought out; they have a perfect mix of beers no matter what you’re into. They also have normal spirit and wine list too. There’s a jukebox – I usually fucking hate internet jukeboxes – but most of the time it’s their iPod playing. Which has tons of good tunes, and I’ve even had my own iPod plugged in and they let me listen to some random punk shit.

Hungry? You order from the bar. Even once sat at a table outside, you still order from the bar. They have killer sandwiches, straight up Boar’s Head deli sandwiches, and they are good. Hot or cold you can’t go wrong. It takes a second once you’ve ordered, and it comes out at different times than the people you’re with, but you wait with respect because you understand perfection takes time. Now I understand that it’s basically just meat between two pieces of bread, but it’s made with love, and these men know how to eat. There’s also something about the thick deli paper your sandwich is housed in, it’s like buying something you’ve wanted for so long and the packaging is just as cool as thing inside.

I’ve seen a lot of cool things at this place: offensive burlesque shows in the basement, bike dudes by the twenties chilling outside on fixies ripping shit up, photographers, fireworks, burning hog legs, molten cast iron, golf balls, lots of women, hot rods, motorcycles, you name it. The brothers shut down everyday from 2 to 5 for a mid-afternoon joint and siesta. They are also closed on Sundays and Mondays, except during football season – think they BBQ and project the games on the side of the building. This place is cool, let’s keep it that way.

Elliott Street Pub
51 Elliott Street Southwest
Atlanta, GA 30313-1301
(404) 523-2174

Photo Credit: Tim Song