Lyla Lila sells itself on pasta, but the bar is the reason to come early and stay late. The lounge runs a horseshoe bar in the front room at 693 Peachtree Street, and that is the seat to ask for. Grade the place from that stool and it holds up.
This is a Craig Richards restaurant. Richards ran the kitchen at St. Cecilia before opening his own Midtown room with partner Bill Streck. The Michelin Guide lists Lyla Lila, and the James Beard Foundation named its drinks program a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.
That last nod is the tell. Few Atlanta restaurants get cited for the drinks first, and the cocktails earn it. The list comes from beverage manager Angela Guthmiller, and it reads like someone who actually drinks.
Order the Fists of Fury, a stirred build of rye, bénédictine, amaro, bitters, and a brandied cherry that lands like a Manhattan with an Italian accent. The Soul Vaccination is the wilder pour, duck fat washed bourbon cut with a beer reduction and bitters, and it works better than it should. Both run around $16, which is fair for this address.
The back bar is where the homework shows. Guthmiller's team pours unusual amari and vermouths that most Atlanta lists never touch, so ask what is open and trust the answer. Richards cleared the first level of the master sommelier program, and the wine list leans European, natural, and mostly organic or biodynamic. For wine drinkers, this is one of the strongest lists in the city.
The room splits in two. The dining room is quiet and grown up, white tablecloths and low light, the kind of place Atlanta Magazine called a serious destination. The front lounge is looser, and the horseshoe bar is where a solo drinker or a two-top should land.
You will want food, and the pasta is the move. The kitchen makes it in house and shifts the menu with the season, so the safe order is whatever pasta the bartender steers you toward with the second drink. Mains run $26 to $34, so treat this as a special-occasion bar, not a Tuesday habit.
The crowd skews older and spendier than the Midtown average, couples on date nights and industry people who came for the wine. Doors open at 5pm Sunday through Thursday and close at 10pm, with Friday and Saturday running to 11pm. Come at 5 for a quiet bar seat, or push past 8 when the lounge fills in.
Lyla Lila is for the date that needs to impress and the drinker who wants an amaro they cannot name. Skip it if you want a cheap round or a loud sports room, because neither is on offer. For more rooms in this lane, see our picks for Atlanta cocktail bars and the wider Midtown bar map.
Book the bar if the system lets you, because the dining room takes the reservations and the lounge fills on a walk-in basis. Pair Lyla Lila with a nightcap at one of the cocktail rooms below, or read our full guide to the best cocktail bars in Atlanta. Then come back for the wine.
Sources: Lyla Lila (official) · Atlanta Magazine · Michelin Guide · Resy · Yelp (n=340)
