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758 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30306 33.7739 -84.3621

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Neighborhoods: St. Charles/ Greenwood, Northeast, Northeast

LOCAL.COM

Last updated 8.16.11

Category:

Restaurants, Bars & Pubs, Neighborhood Bars, Bars & Clubs

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Bar & Pub Special Features:

Jukebox, Karaoke

Restaurant Special Features:

Brunch, Cheap Eats

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Local

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Scene – This popular Ponce destination is a neighborhood joint with an urban edge. Worn-in couches in the window are prime real estate, as is the small patio. Tables and booths outnumber the bar stools. Atmosphere comes in the form of lots of wood, a tin ceiling and old pictures of the neighborhood. An above-average jukebox includes everything from the Pixies to Rush. – – The Draw – Known for its cheap PBR tallboys and Wednesday night trivia, the Local also offers standard draft selections and a full bar. It has a respectable menu, which includes barbecue plates,…

Editor's Tips

Know Before You Go:
It's easy to miss the place. Going toward downtown on Ponce, turn right immediately before Marco's Pita.
When to Go:
The Local rarely gets crowded, except on Wednesdays. It's the area's favorite trivia destination.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “The food is good (try the pita pizza) and the service is fun.”
drinks
90.90999603271484% positive
  1. “With a good group of friends you will have an amazing experience in this low key, relaxed bar.”
  2. “The menu is decent (I like the burger a lot) and there's an impressive drink selection as well.”
  3. “This is by far the best bar in Atlanta.”
  4. “really like The Local good food good drinks and polite.”
  5. “The Local is friendly, atmospheric and inviting --everything a great neighborhood bar should be.”
  6. “Stick to be PBR or you will end up with a ridiculous bar tab, just like me.”
  7. “Friendly people, staff is great, good food, NO watered down drinks and Team Trivia is The best!”
  8. “The good bar food (fries, pizzas) and fairly cheap beer keep the crowd here happy.”
  9. “This is a great bar.”
  10. “Great bar food and good list of well priced beers.”
  11. “This is by far the best bar I've ever been to.”
food quality
90.4800033569336% positive
  1. “No this is not a trendy buckhead wannabe-just some good people and good food.”
  2. “You won't find better chopped BBQ in Atlanta in my opinion: the meat is fresh, you get a choice of 6 sauces, and the portions are generous.”
  3. “particularly like the half chicken, but the pork is very good as well.”
  4. “Also a decent salad and black bean burger.”
  5. “The menu is decent (I like the burger a lot) and there's an impressive drink selection as well.”
  6. “Atlanta is pretty poor on the BBQ-i personally like pulled pork sandwiches and, although they can't compete with slow roasted, hickory and oak smoked BBQ from N. Tennessee, it comes pretty damn close!”
  7. “This past weekend, after a terrible steak dinner with a visiting friend from NYC, I told him, let's go to Ponce, for the otherside look of Atlanta.”
  8. “Monday nights are unbeatable with live karaoke, great food, and a really hip environment.”
  9. “Friendly people, staff is great, good food, NO watered down drinks and Team Trivia is The best!”
  10. “Great bar food and good list of well priced beers.”
  11. “Good food.”
  12. “don't see what the fuss is about their french fries-they leave something to be desired in my book but they are prepared from fresh potatoes rather than frozen bags of spuds.”
  13. “My favorite are the lemon pepper chicken wings - huge pieces of meat, rolled in flavorful spices, smoked and flash fried so they're falling off the bone AND crispy.”
  14. “Grant is a master at his craft and the food is fantastic.”
  15. “The good bar food (fries, pizzas) and fairly cheap beer keep the crowd here happy.”
  16. “The fries are great with mayo!”
  17. “really like The Local good food good drinks and polite.”
  18. “The food is good (try the pita pizza) and the service is fun.”
  19. “don't care if they are healthy or not, these are great fries.”
  20. “The burgers are pretty good, but nothing to write home about.”
  21. “The sides are ample and tasty; I particularly like the fried zuchinni and the tater tots.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “The menu is decent (I like the burger a lot) and there's an impressive drink selection as well.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “great local place”
  2. “It's a great place to get away from the new "Buckhead" that the Highlands have become.”
service
92.30999946594238% positive
  1. “The crowd is friendly and the place lives up to the name”
  2. “Staff friendly.”
  3. “The regulars and bartenders are friendly and that really sets this place apart for me.”
  4. “The food is good (try the pita pizza) and the service is fun.”
  5. “Come and see the local, we use this place for club meetings everyweek and have never felt uncomfortable or had bad service.”
  6. “The staff is friendly, the ribs are great, and the jukebox rocks.”
  7. “Wait staff is friendly.”
  8. “The wait staff has been friendly, helpful and efficient every time I've been there.”
  9. “No this is not a trendy buckhead wannabe-just some good people and good food.”
  10. “Friendly people, staff is great, good food, NO watered down drinks and Team Trivia is The best!”
  11. “The service is excellent: they don't pester you, but they don't ignore you either.”
  12. “The Local is friendly, atmospheric and inviting --everything a great neighborhood bar should be.”
  13. “If you like your waitresses without tattoos, this may not be the place for you.”
value
100.0% positive
  1. “You won't find better chopped BBQ in Atlanta in my opinion: the meat is fresh, you get a choice of 6 sauces, and the portions are generous.”
  2. “The good bar food (fries, pizzas) and fairly cheap beer keep the crowd here happy.”
  3. “My favorite are the lemon pepper chicken wings - huge pieces of meat, rolled in flavorful spices, smoked and flash fried so they're falling off the bone AND crispy.”
wait time
0.0% positive
  1. “Atlanta is pretty poor on the BBQ-i personally like pulled pork sandwiches and, although they can't compete with slow roasted, hickory and oak smoked BBQ from N. Tennessee, it comes pretty damn close!”
4 Star Rating: Recommended

09/28/10

Yum beer

by ZoeyMoey

one of my favorite places for outdoor drinking. the porch is fantastic and the free popcorn isn't too bad! they recently changed their menu and I've tried all of the chicken sandwiches- go with the jerked chicken

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

06/30/10

Ponce Headquarters

by Mayor of Ponce

This hangout on the heartbeat of Ponce de Leon serves as a headquarters for tastemakers, hipsters, bike nerds, comic nerds, Emory nerds, and just any all around Poncey character. They tore the wall down that separated the back and main room, and the regulars acted as if they took Jeff Davis off Stone Mnt. But the place is much more an open space, and seemingly more open for Ponce outsiders to check out.

  • Pros: Let Grant from Hollis Gillespies stories make you a drink
  • Cons: outsiders may feel left out
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/05/10

Well named

by VAHI Resident

I really like this place. The deck is the place to be on a warm evening when the neighborhood gets interesting. The biggest surprise is how good the food is. The place comes off as a drinking establishment, but it is a really good restaurant as well. I'm a big Bar BQ fan, and they have really good Cue. I particularly like the half chicken, but the pork is very good as well. The sides are ample and tasty; I particularly like the fried zuchinni and the tater tots.

The wait staff has been friendly, helpful and efficient every time I've been there. If you like your waitresses without tattoos, this may not be the place for you.

Situated along Ponce de Leon Ave, you get a full dose of urban exposure in an interesting part of the city.

My only complaint is that I always sit outside on the deck, and so do all the smokers. I wish they would take their habit somewhere that I'm not eating.

  • Pros: Good food; friendly service; great deck
  • Cons: smokers on the deck
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

01/31/10

Best Chicken Wings in Atlanta

by EmilyDiffenena

Once you start going to the Local, it's sort of hard to stop. Steve, Grant and Kerri take such good care of you - why would you ever go anywhere else??

The most surprising thing about this Ponce de Leon staple is probably the food - order anything barbecue related and you will not be disappointed. My favorite are the lemon pepper chicken wings - huge pieces of meat, rolled in flavorful spices, smoked and flash fried so they're falling off the bone AND crispy. Miraculous!

The recently refurbished porch is great for big groups in the spring and summer, and the juke box can play any song you could ever want! (No seriously, it's an internet jukebox.)

  • Pros: Staff, music, barbecue
  • Cons: Smoky
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

11/18/08

Tater tots...

by slyfox99

I have no idea why, but they have the best tater tots of all time. Also a decent salad and black bean burger. It looks like such a dive I couldn't believe they even had vegetables on the menu. That being said, I wouldn't recommend it to Buckhead folks.

The Details on Local

Place Categories:

  • good bar food
  • friendly wait staff
  • great neighborhood bar
  • bad service
  • atmospheric local
  • like burger
  • good friendly people
  • great fries
  • good team trivia
  • particularly like tater tots
  • big group
  • here happy crowd
  • friendly regulars
  • good spot
  • favorite lemon pepper chicken wings
  • fresh potatoes
  • great tap
  • always great draft
  • great front porch
  • decent salad
  • great refurbished porch
  • good cheap beer
  • very good pork
  • great local place
  • good watered down drinks

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