The Best Dips in Atlanta

Ordering a dip for the table may be the most underrated move in dining. Dips are perfect for sharing, they’re just the right amount of food, and they usually have some sort of cheese involved. We separated our dips into six categories – Beer Cheese, Queso, Buffalo Dip, Seafood Dip, Spinach and Artichoke, and Onion Dip – to identify the best dang dips in Atlanta no matter what you’re craving.

Beer Cheese category
Der Biergarten
The winner in our beer cheese category should have no excuse not to make an excellent beer cheese – it’s a German beer garden. Along with your enormous tankard of beer, you can order an equally large pretzel with Der Biergarten’s incredible, mouthwatering beer cheese. It’s tangy, smooth and the perfect complement to the salty, bready pretzel.

Honorable Mention: Tucker Brewing co
Tucker’s hometown brewery recently began offering food and the service has taken off – thanks in no small part to their delicious pretzel and beer cheese. They make their beer cheese with their Georgia Red Lager, and they suggest pairing it with Tucker Lager or their Southern Heaven Hefeweizen.

Queso Category
Superica
We get that it’s not exactly the queso you might expect. After all a queso fundido is not your classic white cheese and cream and jalapeños. Typically, it’s cheese, veggies, spices and meat broiled in a cast iron skillet for that ultra melty cheese experience. Superica’s queso fundido is the best in the City, with broiled chihuahua and Monterey Jack cheeses, salsa Cremona and warm tortillas on the side. Add rajas y hongos (Peppers and onions), Chorizo or shrimp to customize it the way you want to.

Honorable Mention: El Tesoro
This popular Edgewood Mexican spot has the A’s best outdoor eating area, a perfect place to split some spicy queso blanco with friends. At Tesoro, they take a slightly more authentic, elevated approach to Mexican cuisine, and you can expect to see those flavors in the queso itself. Plus, the chips are fried fresh in house and are hearty – the better to be able to hold in all that delicious queso.

Buffalo Chicken Dip Category
57th Fighter Group
57th Fighter Group is a popular restaurant for its unique location (at the runway of Peachtree Dekalb Airport) and its local history (they opened in 1981), but don’t sleep on the food. They’ve got great steaks, Southern favorites and the best Buffalo chicken dip you can find. They top it with blue cheese crumbles and serve it with tortilla chips.

Honorable Mention: Otter’s Chicken
We wanted to give a shout out to this scrappy local chain, which focuses on delicious tender boxes and wings. But the Buffalo Chicken Dip at Otter’s Chicken is next level. It’s that oozy-cheese version you know and love – perfect for covering the whole chip with dip. Order it as an individual or family size for your next party.

Seafood Dip Category
The Big Ketch – Shrimp and Crab dip
Folks in Buckhead know that The Big Ketch is one of the best seafood spots in the area, and the dip is no exception. With a focus on gulf seafood, they get delicious, fresh caught shrimp and crab broken down beautifully in a cheesy, mouthwatering dip. It’s served with Toasted Pita chips.

Honorable Mention: Marlow’s Tavern trout dip
This local multi unit restaurant group have found their success because they know how to deliver tavern and gastropub favorites that folks love any night of the week. The star of that menu, in our opinion, is the trout dip. The dish is so good, the AJC asked them for the recipe (https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/food–cooking/quality-fish-key-smoked-trout-dip-from-marlow-tavern/lIvAzTdFex31Y2rZ5Xh6HK/).

Spinach + Artichoke Dip Category
Atlanta Fish Market
Everyone knows Atlanta Fish Market just from its iconic Pharr Rd fish alone, along with the mouthwatering seafood dishes they’ve delivered to customers for years. But one of our favorite dishes there is a little more land than sea. The Spinach and Artichoke dip is ooey, gooey, perfect to share and served with warm tortilla chips.

Honorable Mention: Houston’s
Steak Shapiro would be quite upset with us if we didn’t mention his one true love in the world, Houston’s restaurants. The man is obsessed with their Spinach and artichoke dip – to the point where we had to console him when the Lenox location closed. But luckily for Steak (and the rest of us), there are plenty of Houston’s in the A to get that delicious dip.

Onion Dip Category
Lingering Shade
This Beltline oriented cocktail bar has a large drink menu and small food menu, but don’t sleep on the dynamite Caramelized Vidalia Onion Dip. Sourcing the best Visalia’s from the state, they’re slow cooked and caramelized for the perfect shareable dip. They also have a delicious Pimento Cheese Crab dip and Smoked Trout dip, but the Onion dip is number one for us.

Honorable Mention: Painted Duck
Duckpin bowling is something you don’t see very much of, but it’s rising in popularity thanks to this West Side hangout. In addition to the Duckpin bowling, the venue has a great ambiance, with live music on the weekends and a loaded cocktail bar. The menu is top notch as well, with our favorite dish being the Charred Onion dip with ruffles. They’ve also got a great spinach and artichoke dip, along with a smoked salmon dip.