Hi Derek, Are you staying in the Galleria area? If so, Cumberland Mall is right across the highway and has several dining options. There is also a pedestrian bridge across the highway that allows access to the mall area w/o danger of traffic. Restaurants are as follows,

-The Cheesecake Factory
-PF Chang
-Maggiano's (Great Italian)
There's also a steak restaurant although I can't recall the name. There's also a Hooters and Copeland's nearby, depending on your accomodations they may have shuttle service to the restaurants. Hope this helps and enjoy your stay in ATL.

First rule about Atlanta is that a car is the best way to get around. The mass transit system here is worthless. The entire metro Atlanta area was built around cars and highways. If you are going to be here for more than a day or two, I highly recommend getting a rental car. Either that or you are going to spend a lot of money on cabs because everything is really spread out here.

The Galleria is about 10 miles northwest of Atlanta. That sounds close, but depending on the time of day that could much longer to get downtown that you would expect. There are quite a few restaurants around the Cumberland Mall area, which as QuickX5 said, is located just across the street from the Galleria. If you are looking for additional restaurants and pubs I would suggest going to Vinings. It is a nice, fairly upscale area with a few good restaurants and bars and is only a mile or two from the Galleria. Vinings would be an easy/cheap cab ride.

If you are looking for more excitement then you would probably want to go to Midtown or Buckhead, which are a little further from where you are staying and closer to Atlanta.

And I'm not sure I would recommend downtown at night, I've never found it to be very safe, personally

I love Buckhead and Midtown, both areas boast wonderful restaurants and shopping

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Yep, the only time I go to actual downtown Atlanta is for work, a sporting event, car show or something like that. Really, besides that and the aquarium, there is no reason to go there. Restaurants, shopping and nightlife are much better/safer in the above mentioned areas.

Yes, I'll be staying in the Galleria area.

I really appreciate the information.

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