Skip to content

Ponce City Market: A Culinary Adventure on Every Floor

***Written by guest bloggers Henna Bakshi and Andy Leverett***

Ponce City Market has quickly become an Atlanta staple—the giant, block-sized building, once an abandoned Sears factory, now serves as the city’s hottest place for dining, shopping, and even living!

Andy and I love PCM (be cool like the locals and just call it PCM)—it’s an industrious carnival of culinary adventures! We’re here to offer you our favorite picks from each floor of the place.

THE FIRST FLOOR – Minero

Minero is PCM’s Mexican eatery and we have yet to have a better burrito in this city. Seriously. Minero knows how to season their ingredients oh-so-well, and pack them into a hearty burrito you’ll need both your hands to eat. Options of meat include charcoaled chicken, achiote pork and grilled steak. We’ve had all three kinds and each is a delicacy.

The best part of the Minero burrito is the freshly made tortilla, which is made from corn they grind in-house! You can definitely taste the difference in the first bite. Hit us up if you find a better burrito—we doubt it!

They have a fair selection of Mexican beers, clean margs and a la carte tacos, too. You’ll notice that a lot of the first-floor restaurants have wonderful outdoor seating, and so does Minero!

Burrito photo
Photo credit: Aakash Bakshi

Jia

This Szechuan-inspired restaurant does not hold back the heat! Not only can you can see it from a mile away because of the ornate red dragons that wrap around its entrance, but you can also smell the seductive spices in the air from further away. This is our favorite spot for when we have a Chinese food craving. The extensive menu boasts everything from brothy soups to shareable dumplings, dry fried banana & heartier portions of spicy beef served in a clay pot. One of our favorite dishes to get here is the dry fried eggplant, which is very much like eggplant fries but coated in their signature mixture of intoxicatingly sharp spices. The crunchy eggplant has a mushy center that plays well with the dry spices.

The entrees are ample and big enough to share (even though you won’t want to!)

Henna's Jia entree
Photo credit: Henna Bakshi

THE SECOND FLOOR – The Mercury

Swanky, swanky, swanky! We love this place! PCM describes The Mercury having a “mid-century cocktail culture” and we so agree. This is the perfect place for a craft martini at the bar. My favorites are what I like to call burn-your-eyebrows-off gin based cocktails, the Vesper and the classic French 75. Fancy this: you can also get tableside cocktails for four people! Tableside!

The Mercury’s food is a perfect accompaniment to their cocktails. Whether it’s their wagyu beef carpaccio for lunch, or wild mushroom ravioli for dinner, you’ll be sure to find something you love. Can we say tableside cocktails one more time?

Bar photo
Photo credit: Andy Leverett

THE ROOF –  9 Mile Station

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVf0YBWlRID/

Video Credit: @atlrooftops Instagram

Andy and I run @atlrooftops on Instagram (check out our top picks for this summer here) so you know this is our favorite floor of the building! 9 Mile Station is PCM’s own beer garden with access through Skyline Park. Their menu not only features an array of craft beers (duh) but some killer cocktails, too! The video shows the winking bartender making a classic old-fashioned, and their signature Rose All Day, a simple yet elegant concoction of vodka, luxardo, lemon, and Montand rosé. YUM!

The smoked trout salad with pearled barley (barley is all the craze these days) and crispy kale is a MUST. The dish is light and wonderfully refreshing with a hint of lemon–an unlikely treat. Most of their food items are meant for smaller bites and sharing. The crispy stuffed sweet peppers with crab and BBQ chicken and pork skewers are some of our other favorites. They’re perfectly snack-able dishes that go well with the drinks, all on a gorgeous rooftop overlooking the ATL skyline.

You must make $20/person reservations before you go up but you can use the money towards your food bill and also get free access to Skyline Park! It’s the perfect way to cap-off a PCM adventure. Sunsets, anyone?

Let us know if you’ve tried any of these places or have a favorite spot at PCM!

For more restaurants in Midtown, click here.

Restaurant Finder