This Rough Draft dining series will continue throughout 2025, highlighting restaurants in cities and neighborhoods within easy walking distance or a short bus ride from MARTA rail stations.
With a population of nearly 11,000 residents and its proximity to Buford Highway, Doraville is one of Metro Atlanta’s most culturally diverse communities. The small city’s digital welcome packet provided to new residents includes translations in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and Bengali, highlighting a handful of the communities that call Doraville home.
It’s also one of the fastest growing cities within Atlanta’s perimeter featuring seven parks, a public pool, recreational programs and events for adults and kids, and even its own geocaching game.
Similar to what’s taking place just two miles south in neighboring Chamblee, Doraville officials are working on a plan to develop a transit-oriented town center and entertainment district to include restaurants, retail, and offices.
This dining guide spotlights seven restaurants and the Super H Mart complex accessible from the Doraville MARTA rail station; the final stop on the Gold Line. All the restaurants listed are within a short walking distance or a quick bus ride from the station located on New Peachtree Road between Park and Central avenues. Connecting buses from Doraville MARTA station include the number 20, 25, 39, and 124, which travel to New Peachtree Road, Peachtree Boulevard, and Buford Highway.
Yokohama Sushi ($$)
5412-B Buford Highway
- Sushi; hand rolls; kushiyaki; lunch and dinner
- Walking: 7 minutes or .3 miles
For an all-in-one Japanese food experience, few restaurants along Buford Highway offer such an extensive menu that includes sushi, hand rolls, kushiyaki, ramen, tempura combos, and udon dishes.
What to eat: Tiger Crunchy (crab, shrimp tempura) or On the Bayou (spicy tuna, fried crawfish) rolls; traditional hand rolls; pork belly kushiyaki; omakase sashimi
What to drink: Sapporo; sake; Ramune
Han II Kwan ($-$$)
5458 Buford Highway
- Korean BBQ; Buford Highway institution; Michelin-recommended
- Walking: 8 minutes or .4 miles
Michelin-recommended Han Il Kwan is an iconic Korean barbecue restaurant on Buford Highway for KBBQ that feeds a crowd and all-you-can-eat options. Expect other Korean dishes, too, including bibimbap, haemul-pajeon (seafood pancake), soft tofu, and jajangmyeon (black bean noodles).
What to eat: AYCE barbecue; galbi; jajangmyeon.
What to drink: Cass (Korean lager)
El Rey Del Taco ($-$$)
5288 Buford Highway
- Mexican; margaritas; breakfast, lunch, dinner, late-night
- Walking: 14 minutes or .6 miles
- Bus 39 (Lindbergh Center Station): 2 stops, then 1 minute of walking
El Rey Del Taco feels like one of those places that’s woven into the very fabric of Buford Highway. The food is always solid, and the atmosphere is festive in a divey kind of way. It’s impossible to go wrong here, but if you’re undecided, tacos will do the job. El Rey Del Taco is also known for its late-night hours. Just wrap up the meal before the train and buses stop.
What to eat: Pastor tacos; squash blossom quesadilla
What to drink: Margarita; Tecate
MARTA Dining Guide: Brookhaven
Las Delicias de la Abuela ($-$$)
5600 Buford Highway
- Colombian; TVs for soccer; live music; breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Walking: 17 minutes or .8 miles
- Bus 20 (10b, 35) (Beaver Ruin): 2 stops, then 3 minutes of walking
Atlanta is no stranger to good Colombian food, and with its hefty selection of meats, generous portions, reasonable price points, and live music, this Buford Highway restaurant is among the best. Stop by in the morning for the Colombian breakfast of eggs, rice, sweet plantains, and an arepa.
What to eat: Skirt steak; pollo a la campesina; tres leches; Calentao Tradicional (Colombian breakfast)
What to drink: Blackberry juice; shot platter
The 2024 Michelin Guide to Atlanta
LanZhou Ramen ($-$$)
5231 Buford Highway
- Hand-pulled noodles; soup; dim sum; Michelin-recommended
- Walking: 17 minutes or .7 miles
- Bus 39: 3 stops, then 5 minutes of walking
LanZhou Ramen’s hand-pulled noodles are one of Atlanta’s most iconic dishes. Chef and owner Fun Li Zhang even caught the eyes of the James Beard Foundation and Michelin. The primary question at LanZhou is not whether to order the restaurant’s noodles, which come served as soup, stir-fried, and cold, but how to customize the noodles. There’s something extra special about the flat noodles. LanZhou Ramen offers other dishes beyond its famous noodles, including a selection of dim sum and a Chinese hamburger made from char siu pork.
What to eat: Roast duck or pork hand-pulled noodle soup; scallion pancake; Xinjiang stir-fried chicken; Chinese hamburger
Java Saga ($-$$)
5145 Buford Highway
- Taiwanese fried chicken; mild to spicy sandwiches and nuggets
- Walking: 20 minutes or .9 miles
- Bus 39: 4 stops, then 4 minutes of walking
What started as a food truck has since become one of the best places along Buford Highway for fried chicken. But unlike Southern fried yardbird, owner Alvin Sun’s Taiwanese-style fried chicken packs heat – and a lot of it. While there is a mild version of his fried chicken, Sun turns up the spicy dial with crypto (hot and numbing), octane (very hot), and predator (possibly too hot for some to handle).
What to eat: ABC (American Born Chinese) chicken sandwich with jalapeño American cheese, apple slaw, bread and butter pickles, and mango habanero sauce (spice level up to you); Diggity Dan Bing (Taiwanese-style crepe rolled and stuffed with eggs, cheese, and chives)
What to drink: Tiger latte made with black sugar caramel sauce
Mamak ($-$$)
5150 Buford Highway
- Malaysian food
- Walking: 20 minutes or .9 miles
- Bus 39: 4 stops, then of 4 minutes walking
There are plenty of incredible Malaysian dishes to try at this Asian Square institution, including the Hainanese chicken. But don’t skip other dishes at Mamak like the roti canai, chow kway teow (stir-fried noodles with shrimp and squid), and the pork congee with a century egg.
What to eat: Hainanese chicken; Rendang beef; all dishes mentioned above
What to drink: Lychee iced tea
This stretch of Buford Highway is also home to other popular restaurants like Xela Pan Cafe, Matcha Cafe Maiko, Sinaloense Pollo Asados, Super Mercado Chicago, Northern China Eatery, Bo Bo Garden, La Mei Zi, Kamayan ATL, Sweet Hut Bakery, and Ming’s BBQ.
Super H Mart complex ($-$$)
6035 Peachtree Road
- Multiple Asian restaurants, cafes, beverage and dessert shops
- Bus 25 (Brookhaven/Oglethorpe Station): 4 stops, then five minutes of walking
A quick bus ride on the number 25 from the Doraville MARTA station will drop you off in the middle of one of the best places to explore a variety of restaurants beyond Buford Highway. The Super H Mart complex on Peachtree Boulevard includes everything from Korean barbecue at Miss Gogi’s and Japanese pub dishes at Shoya Izakaya to Korean corn dogs at the Super H Mart food court and black boba shaved ice and other desserts at Meet Fresh.
What to eat and drink: Restaurant hop and explore!
