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1026 N Highland Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30306 33.7825 -84.3545

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Neighborhoods: Virginia Highland, Northeast, Northeast

HIGHLANDTAP.COM

Last updated 8.16.11

Category:

Restaurants, Neighborhood Bars, Bars & Pubs

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard

Bar & Pub Special Features:

Martinis

Restaurant Special Features:

Business Dining

Cuisine:

Hamburgers, Steakhouse

Bar & Club Special Features:

21 & Over, Specialty Cocktails, After Work

Smoking Permitted:

Yes

What People Are Saying About Highland Tap

Featured Review

Erin Behan

Contributor

In Short – Half steakhouse, half bar, all underground: There is no better vibe for a cellar-dwelling meat market turned late-night singles den. Classic chops and cocktails are carefully presented to dealing businessmen, while acros the room bar-goers mingle deep into the weekend hours. Clearly more about substance than style, the stony, dark encasing makes you feel like you're in a secret, no-frills club. The steaks at this Virginia Highland institution are what good steaks should be--simple. The lost art of prime rib still reigns here and the Tap steak sandwich is legendary. As the…

Editor's Tips

What to Drink:
While martinis are the specialty, the classic bloody marys--served with salted rim, lime, celery and a pepperoncini--will also put a smile on your face.
When to Go:
Arrive early for the Tap's weekend brunch, served from 11am to 3pm, and avoid the crowds.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. Good food and good prices, I like the location and decor and the staff is always really nice.
  2. It's location is great!
  3. Fun place and great beer, it is also next to allot of fun other restaurants so park and try them a.
  4. love the atmosphere of the bar and the people I met were very friendly.
  5. The atmosphere was great.
  6. Otherwise, the atmosphere is great and the steaks and hamburgers are tasty.
  7. We love the cozy vibe, being in the cellar of an old retail block, at the corner of Virginia and Highland.
  8. The atmosphere is fun.
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. This used to be my favorite bar when I was in college in downtown Atlanta.
  2. This is a good bar in the Highlands.
  3. I've been going to the Tap since 96, The service from Scottie, Mary and Chad is the best in town-not to mention the stiff drinks.
  4. Good beer; average food
  5. Fun place and great beer, it is also next to allot of fun other restaurants so park and try them a.
  6. Best neighborhood bar, great service, good bar food, AMAZING martinins.
  7. The heavy-handed pours go well into the good night, and the friendly bartenders behind the sunken bar do a swell job of getting to you in a hurry.
  8. The Tap has a large selection of great beers, but average, over-priced food.
  9. love the atmosphere of the bar and the people I met were very friendly.
  10. The drinks are good
food quality
80.0% positive
  1. Good beer; average food
  2. Best neighborhood bar, great service, good bar food, AMAZING martinins.
  3. The Tap has a large selection of great beers, but average, over-priced food.
  4. I'll be back for more delicious steaks and more enjoyable experiences.
  5. Great food, big portions, love it always.
  6. They onion rings are pretty good too.
  7. Every time I am in the Highlands I always stop by the Tap for their incredible escargot, crab dip and Bloody Marys!
  8. Also, the food and service has been wonderful on each visit.
  9. Good food and good prices, I like the location and decor and the staff is always really nice.
  10. Excellent Martinis and Manhattans, excellent steaks, excellent appetizers, and impeccable service.
  11. In the dining room, serious no-nonsense steaks have been pleasing three-martini businessmen for years - no doubt priming the belly for a night of hard booze to follow.
  12. Otherwise, the atmosphere is great and the steaks and hamburgers are tasty.
  13. The burger was good I think though.
  14. Their steaks are absolutely amazing!
  15. This meal was awful and we will never go back nor would we advise anyone else to!
  16. Amazing steak
  17. The poor cut of meat may have been because it was on a salad but the steak alone without dressing or salad was not good.
  18. their steak is unseasoned and it was a bad cut of meat.
  19. The service was from a very impersonal and lazy server who visited our table only once after we got our food and walked at an extremely slow pace!
  20. Highland Tap has great steaks!
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. The Tap has a large selection of great beers, but average, over-priced food.
return potential
50.0% positive
  1. This meal was awful and we will never go back nor would we advise anyone else to!
  2. I'll be back for more delicious steaks and more enjoyable experiences.
service
88.88999938964844% positive
  1. Good food and good prices, I like the location and decor and the staff is always really nice.
  2. The service was from a very impersonal and lazy server who visited our table only once after we got our food and walked at an extremely slow pace!
  3. love the atmosphere of the bar and the people I met were very friendly.
  4. Excellent Martinis and Manhattans, excellent steaks, excellent appetizers, and impeccable service.
  5. Best neighborhood bar, great service, good bar food, AMAZING martinins.
  6. The heavy-handed pours go well into the good night, and the friendly bartenders behind the sunken bar do a swell job of getting to you in a hurry.
  7. The service was excellent.
  8. I've been going to the Tap since 96, The service from Scottie, Mary and Chad is the best in town-not to mention the stiff drinks.
  9. Also, the food and service has been wonderful on each visit.
value
100.0% positive
  1. Good food and good prices, I like the location and decor and the staff is always really nice.
  2. Great food, big portions, love it always.
wait time
0.0% positive
  1. The service was from a very impersonal and lazy server who visited our table only once after we got our food and walked at an extremely slow pace!
1 Star Rating: Poor

11/20/10

Unexpectedly BAD

by Loveblue

Enter into a dark cave with the smell of old beer and cigarettes .....that was the ambience of this restaurant which charged very high prices for thin fatty steaks, uninteresting ,run of the mill bread, and knife cut salad.

I am shocked that people think this restaurant is good. Maybe in years gone by but the food was subpar for the high prices. The wine was served in glasses designed to survive the dishwasher . In a restaurant whose entrees are in the $25-$35 range, this is sad

I would NEVER recommend this restaurant.

3 Star Rating: Average

03/16/10

Subterranean Va-Hi Standard a Classic

by ryansims

Of the many bars that line North Highland Ave, Highland Tap seems to be the most unintentionally retro - harkening back images of 80s-era Atlanta denizens stepping down the stairs into a Cheers-like square wooden bar, or posting up in one of the booths lining the masoned walls. In the dining room, serious no-nonsense steaks have been pleasing three-martini businessmen for years - no doubt priming the belly for a night of hard booze to follow. The clientele here ranges from regulars to suburban visitors, slightly more mature than, say, Neighbors or Hand in Hand, but still very much on the prowl. The heavy-handed pours go well into the good night, and the friendly bartenders behind the sunken bar do a swell job of getting to you in a hurry.

  • Pros: Steaks, Stiff Drinks / Cougars a-plenty
  • Cons: Smoky
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

11/22/09

Sunday brunch!!

by little_girl

Service is always great and Chris makes the best blody marys this side of the mississippi!

  • Pros: Chris the bartender, food and great bloody marys
  • Cons: none
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

08/03/09

Amazing steak

by MissesWebb

I have visited highland tap on two occasions. Both times i had the filet and my husband had the strip. Their steaks are absolutely amazing!!! Cooked to perfection.

  • Pros: great steaks, atmosphere
  • Cons: parking
4 Star Rating: Recommended

03/19/09

Better second time

by halindsey

We've been here before, and didn't really care for a bunch of appetizers we'd ordered the first time (risotto baIIs is the only one I can remember). The burger was good I think though.

Last weekend, our second trip, we ordered mussels as an app, and they were delicious. How can little succulent morsels of seafood floating in a garlic cream sauce with buttery garlic bread to sop it all up not be good? I'm sure it's possible, but not here.

Next we had a steak salad and the prime rib (queen cut). I was expecting a little tiny cut, but this thing was huge. And awesome. And it was the perfect done-ness (med rare).

The salad wasn't anything special, but wasn't bad either. The steak on it was a little tough, but cooked perfectly.

I ordered a cosmo, which was $12. They bring it out in two parts: the martini glass filled with cosmoliciousness, and a brandy sniffer type glass filled with ice and another small bottle filled with more martini (so you can refill later). I think all together it prolly equals 1.5 martinis since the glass is really small.

Anyways, the prime rib was the star of the show, and we'll be back just for it (and beer next time perhaps?)

  • Pros: Really really really good prime rib, service good
  • Cons: Martinis a little pricy at $12 a pop

The Details on Highland Tap

Place Categories:

  • pleasing serious nononsense steaks
  • always great service
  • great atmosphere
  • good bar food
  • favorite neighborhood bar
  • great beer
  • cozy vibe
  • bad cut
  • friendly bartenders
  • big portions
  • awful meal
  • incredible bloody marys
  • great martini
  • tasty hamburgers
  • perfect doneness
  • always really nice good food
  • fails else
  • great location
  • pretty good rings
  • good drinks
  • good burger
  • more enjoyable experiences
  • love great food
  • extremely rich seafood risotto
  • love thoust
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