Miss Lawrence’s Favorite Restaurants In Atlanta

For actor and singer Miss Lawrence, dining is really about one thing: community. It’s partly why Lawrence, who got his start on The Real Housewives of Atlanta , and is set to star in the Lee Daniels film The Deliverance alongside Oscar nominees Andra Day and Glenn Close this August, created the Plated Purpose project. The dinner and discussion nights are designed to bridge the gap between the LGBTQ and straight communities.

Community is also why he’s always down to gather friends for a good dinner at his favorite spots across the metro. Lawrence is just as comfortable eating BBQ in Fairburn as he is enjoying French Vietnamese food at a Buckhead restaurant that’s “bougie, honey.” His picks—which include a salmon egg roll, turkey wings with sweet glaze, and lobster bisque—show why he’s a true expert when it comes to the Atlanta food scene.

THE SPOTS

Gocha’s Breakfast Bar

“It’s my absolute favorite breakfast-slash- brunch spot, from the fried green tomatoes to the pancakes [and] the fried fish, which is so crispy and seasoned to perfection. And the customer service is always top tier. When you go in there, you feel community. You see people that remind you of your aunts, or remind you of your grandmother and grandfather. But you also see people, your kinfolk, that remind you of your little cousins or your little brothers or your sisters, and then the generation that they bred, so you see babies. It gives you a real sense of family and community, especially with the warm hospitality. It's a really feel-good place.”

Baltimore Crab & Seafood

“They have a lobster bisque that is just out of this world, and really, really good crab bites. The drinks are amazing. And the bartenders are just great. Again, that good southern hospitality. It feels good to go there. What's that old Cheers song? Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows their name? It's that feeling.”

The Busy Bee Cafe

“It’s an iconic staple in Atlanta . Everybody and their mama has been to Busy Bee. When dignitaries come to Atlanta, presidents, they always stop by Busy Bee. I definitely [get] the peach cobbler. They do really good baked beans. Their oven-baked ribs are really good as well. I think they bake and smoke them. I don't really know their preparation, but their ribs are good. I love their fried fish as well. Their dressing is really good. I like their collard greens, and I like their cornbread. But you know what I really love? Girl, this is gonna sound so hood. They make a fruit punch. They call it fruit punch, but honestly, it ain't nothing but red Kool-Aid. You have to get the red Kool-Aid. I always tell my girl Tamika, who works there, I always tell her, ‘Tamika, you know what to do.’ And honey, I get my red Kool-Aid, my fish, greens, dressing, cornbread, and a side of peach cobbler, and it is divine.”

Marcel

“When I'm wanting to go a little fancy, and let's say I have some business people in town, if I want a really good steak, one of my favorite places in Atlanta is Marcel. I think they have one of the best Caesar salads I've ever had. They prepare it right in front of you—you see them with the egg and everything.”

Access Restaurant & Lounge

“A lot of my friends like to smoke hookah. That's a big thing down here in Atlanta. I don't smoke hookah because I believe in preserving my skin and my beauty because I want to look the way that I look for a very long time. But I will go to Access Restaurant and Lounge in Mableton. They have the best salmon egg rolls ever. It's also one of those places where the owner will just sit there and drink with you and talk trash with you. The DJ is also always good.”

Apt4B

“Apartment 4B is very special to me because it's literally set up like an old-school apartment. Do you remember those floor model televisions with the wood around them? They have one of those inside the restaurant. They have all these displays of old, iconic Jet Magazine covers on the wall. There's a big picture of Bob Marley and Biggie Smalls. It feels really good, like you're literally in your apartment just celebrating Black culture. One of the best things on the menu are the turkey wings. They are crispy on the edge, but they have this honey glaze, or some type of sweet but slightly citrusy glaze over them, mixed with the savory taste of the actual turkey wing. I mean, it is crafted to perfection.”

Le Colonial

“I can go there for lunch, sit outside on the balcony, which is so beautiful. It's located in the Shops of Buckhead, which is kind of your bougie area. It's a bougie restaurant, honey. But I love the garlic noodles that they have there. They have these sesame garlic noodles that I'll get with the sticky ribs. Oh my God. When I tell you, it is heaven. And then if I go for dinner, I'll do the snapper with the fried rice. They have amazing cocktails as well…because their juices are freshly squeezed, so that's a little bit better than your traditional syrupy drinks.”

Tiki Thai

“When I tell you, the first time I went, I was like, ‘OK, this is a bit overwhelming.’ They bring you your food with all of these accouterments, like toys and all kinds of stuff. They may bring your entrée on a boat. It's very, very eccentric. But the food? Oh my goodness, the food is so good. The hospitality is so good. The owner, Dale, loves to pump you with shots. He's like, ‘Oh, you gotta take a shot.’ He's very hospitable. He knows a lot of his customers by name. When I'm in the mood for Thai food, I go there. I love the shrimp tempura as my appetizer, and I get the salt and pepper shrimp or the salt and pepper fish with the fried Thai rice as my entrée.”

Dirty Rascal

“It's an Italian restaurant, and it's downstairs in the Thompson Hotel. It's a beautiful restaurant. They are always very accommodating for large parties, and they do a really good brunch as well. Once we get done there, we can go upstairs to [ Tesserae ,] the rooftop of the hotel, and it is literally the most beautiful 360-degree view of Buckhead that I've ever seen. We go up there and have more cocktails and drinks. It's a great place to go if you're entertaining or hosting a group of people.”

The Original Mustard Seed BBQ

“A lot of times people have the sauce right, but then the ribs or the brisket might be tough. Their stuff is done to perfection. They have the best taste, a good balance of sweet and savory, and the smoke flavoring is just perfect. They get a 10 out of 10 from me. It's a bit of a ways from my house, but it's so good that I will go [to Fairburn]. I don't go that often, but maybe once a quarter, or something like that, and I load up. I get the brisket, the rib tips, the smoked sausage. Then when I get back on my side of town, my friends will come over to the house and have a whole BBQ moment.”

Kale Me Crazy Buckhead

“I’m on my fitness and health kick, which is an everyday struggle for some of us. I go in and out. When I'm feeling healthy, I go to Kale Me Crazy. They have the best acai bowl ever. And they also do a really, really good tuna salad. They use this kind of peanut vinaigrette dressing with it. So that's definitely one of my favorite spots when I'm wanting to eat light, especially if I'm preparing to work on a project and I can’t afford to be bloated and swollen in the face.”