Where to go in Atlanta after eating at Sun Dial?
March 24, 2007 5:40 AM   Subscribe

How would you spend 6 hours on a Saturday night in Atlanta without kids?

We will be in the Atlanta area on a Saturday night for our anniversary and we wanted to eat the Sun Dial revolving restaurant (I know this is "touristy," but my wife really wants to go). We have the sitter as late as we need.

We're still young and adventurous (to a degree), but we're not sure where to go after dinner. We're not very familiar with the city, so we don't want to waste a lot of time driving around.

I heard there are some great clubs in the Buckhead area. Where could we go easily from Sun Dial to find good drinks, dancing, fun crowd and good music?
posted by skunkspinner to Society & Culture (8 answers total)
 
The Sun Dial is a popular date place. Unfortunately, there are not many clubs nearby. You may want to see if anyone is playing at The Tabernacle or Philips Arena. They are both a couple of blocks away. If you want to hear live music, you could check out Smith's Olde Bar in Midtown. They have touring acts.

After Ray Lewis' posse killed two people during the Super Bowl a couple of years ago, a lot of the Buckhead clubs were closed (Thanks, Ray). Andrews Upstairs has live music, usually cover bands.

If you're staying at the Westin, you're right by Centennial Park, the new aquarium and the new World of Coke museum (opens in April, I think).

Skip Underground Atlanta. There is nothing there worth seeing.
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:28 AM on March 24, 2007


Creative Loafing is a good resource for finding liv music.
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:31 AM on March 24, 2007


Check into a hotel and take a nap?
posted by Sassyfras at 7:55 AM on March 24, 2007


Go see the Titanic Exhibition at the Civic center BEFORE you go to dinner. It is kind of romantic in some odd way. Plus, It is right around the corner from the Sun Dail. I am not sure how old you are as there are different club scenes for different age groups... with that said I might go over to the Prince of Wales or for something different, and more grown up, you could go to the lobby of the Ritz Carlton Buckhead. Just walk in, grab a table and have a cocktail- no reservation needed, everyone with a wallet is welcomed. They usually have a band playing big band music. There is a dance floor if you fell like dancing to that sort of music.
posted by bkeene12 at 12:49 PM on March 24, 2007


Second Smith's Olde Bar and the aquarium. I don't think CNN runs studio tours that late but it's pretty interesting. Maybe catch a show at the Fox theater? Agatha's mystery dinners are also fantastic.
posted by arimathea at 4:05 PM on March 24, 2007


Bazaar (lounge) and Churchill Grounds (jazz) are to the left and right of the Fox Theater.

For live music and dancing, Northside Tavern is great. Mudcat is playing on March 31. They are always fun.

All three of these are a short cab ride from the Sun Dial.
posted by Andy's Gross Wart at 7:49 PM on March 24, 2007


Agreed that Bazaar might be a good spot. it is next door to the Fox Theater (so you migh be able to sneak in to the lobby at least to look around at the place -- it's grand!) Bazaar has drinks and is very loungey. There is no dancefloor but people might bop around to the DJ who spins. Two other choices are Halo (6th and West Peachtree) and Django (495 Peachtree). Cover charges are probably $5 each. Or free maybe.

If you want a "real" danceclub, you should go to Crescent Street in Midtown. The granddaddy (and best IMO) of them is Eleven50. It's a converted 1920s theater. The clubs here will cost you $10-$20 (but your lady friend will almost certainly be free).

I'd recommend a cab from the Sundial. It is the easiest way to move around. It's $10(?) from downtown to midtown + $1 per person. You can leave a buck or two tip. They're not required to put on the meter for these trips.
posted by zpousman at 1:23 PM on March 26, 2007


I don't know how adventurous you really are. If you're really adventurous, you can do the Clermont Lounge. On Saturday nights, the Clermont transforms from its usual seediness to a more refined / ironic seediness (lots of Emory undergrads, whitefolks, yuppies, etc.). It's probably the best place to dance to Funk, 80s, and other great vinyl spun by the best in the business (Romeo Cologne! DJ Quassi!). Everybody dances. Drinks are cheap (and come in paper cups). $10 cover. Each.

Note: The Clermont Lounge is a strip club. So there will be dancers. But there's only a small stage (a single dancer at a time), and you can mostly ignore the strippers (except when getting drinks where the friendly waitstaff will ask you to tip the ladies. or else.)... It's fun. This is a 5 minute drive from the Sundial, and about 1,000 miles different. Perhaps your anniversary can span from the best that Atlanta has to offer, and the worst.
posted by zpousman at 1:32 PM on March 26, 2007


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