Canton Street is the reason people drive to Roswell for dinner. Roughly six walkable blocks of restored 19th-century homes and storefronts, stacked with independent restaurants, cocktail bars, coffee houses and one of the highest concentrations of chef-owned kitchens in North Fulton. If you have already read The Ultimate Local’s Guide to Canton Street in Roswell Georgia, this guide goes deeper on one question: where should you actually eat?
Below is a block-by-block breakdown of the best restaurants on Canton Street in Roswell, GA, organized the way you walk the street rather than the way a search engine ranks them. Ratings and review counts are Google snapshots taken August 27, 2026, and menus and hours on Canton Street change often, so verify before you drive.
Understanding the Canton Street Dining District
Canton Street runs north from the Roswell Historic Square through the heart of the downtown district. Almost every restaurant on it occupies a converted house, cottage or small commercial building, which shapes the entire dining experience in three ways worth knowing before you go.
Rooms are small. Most Canton Street kitchens seat 40 to 90 people. That produces excellent service and terrible acoustics. Weekend nights in the smaller rooms get loud, and walk-in tables at 7:00 PM on a Saturday are a coin flip. Reservations matter more here than at a comparable suburban restaurant.
Patios are the real dining room. The porches, side yards and courtyards are what make the street work from March through November. Several restaurants have more outdoor seating than indoor, and dog-friendly patios are the norm rather than the exception.
The street is the amenity. People park once and move between three or four places in an evening: cocktails at one spot, dinner at another, ice cream or a nightcap on the walk back. Planning your night as a circuit rather than a single destination is how locals use Canton Street.
The district also has a rhythm. Alive in Roswell runs the third Thursday of each month from April through October, closing the street to cars and filling it with music and vendors. It is a great night to be on Canton Street and a difficult night to have a quiet dinner. Plan around it.
Canton Street Restaurants at a Glance
| Restaurant | Address | Category | Google Rating (Aug 2026) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table & Main | 1028 Canton St | Upscale Southern | 4.7 (1,701) | Fried chicken, special occasions |
| North End Kitchen & Bar | 1170 Canton St | New American | 4.7 (808) | Date night, patio and fire pit |
| Truth Be Told | 1104 Canton St | Tasting menu | 4.7 (144) | Fine dining, anniversaries |
| Osteria Mattone | 1095 Canton St | Italian | 4.6 (1,215) | Handmade pasta, Sunday brunch |
| Little Alley Steak | 955 Canton St | Steakhouse | 4.6 (1,303) | Dry-aged steaks, business dinners |
| Zest | 957 Canton St | Sushi and tapas | 4.6 (1,117) | Oysters, cocktails, small plates |
| 1920 Tavern | 948 Canton St | American | 4.5 (1,573) | Large menu, groups, brunch |
| Salt Factory Pub | 952 Canton St | Gastropub | 4.5 (946) | Mussels, casual dinner |
| Mac McGee | 936 Canton St | Irish pub | 4.5 (959) | Guinness, shepherd’s pie, matches |
| Roux on Canton | 946 Canton St | Cajun and oysters | 4.5 (1,010) | Sunday oysters, po’boys |
| Ipp’s Pastaria & Bar | 980 Canton St | Italian and pizza | 4.5 (725) | Family dinner, garlic rolls |
| Canton St. Social | 14 Elizabeth Way | Contemporary American | 4.5 (346) | Brunch, brick-oven pizza |
| Ceviche Taqueria | 963 Canton St | Mexican | 4.4 (1,024) | Margaritas, patio lunch |
| Loyal Tavern | 950 Canton St | Sports bar | 4.3 (522) | Game day, wings, late drinks |
| The Fickle Pickle | 1085 Canton St | Deli and cafe | 4.7 (736) | Lunch only, fried pickles |
| Gracious Plenty | 1164 Canton St | Breakfast and bakery | 4.7 (641) | Biscuits, weekend breakfast |
| Carlisle’s Pizza Tavern | 1132 Canton St | Pizza | 4.2 (346) | Thin crust, back deck |
| The Vick on Canton | 1182 Canton St | Cafe and music venue | 4.4 (356) | Coffee, live jazz, weekend bar |
Table reflects Google ratings and review counts as of August 27, 2026. Refresh before reshare.
The South End: 930 to 990 Canton Street
This is the densest and loudest stretch of the street, and the one most visitors picture when they think of Canton Street.
Little Alley Steak (955 Canton St) is the anchor. A serious steakhouse with dry-aged cuts, bone marrow butter, a strong wine list and a seafood tower that regularly shows up in photos of the room. It is the most expensive restaurant on the street alongside Truth Be Told, and it earns it on the beef. The recurring criticism in reviews is volume: the dining room runs loud on weekends, so ask for a corner or a patio table if conversation matters.
Zest (957 Canton St) sits directly beside it and does contemporary sushi, oysters and Asian-influenced small plates. The lychee martini and the scallop crudo come up over and over in reviews, and the patio puts you right on the sidewalk for people watching. Zest also participates in Roswell Restaurant Week, which is worth watching for if you want to sample the higher end of the street at a fixed price.
1920 Tavern (948 Canton St) is the workhorse. A large, well-executed American menu, fried green tomatoes that convert skeptics, Cajun alfredo, parmesan-crusted grouper and a real brunch. It has the broadest menu on the street, which makes it the safest pick for a group where nobody agrees on cuisine.
Salt Factory Pub (952 Canton St) does elevated pub food with a British lean: mussels, London broil, shepherd’s pie, salmon crispy rice. Small room, big volume on Friday nights.
Roux on Canton (946 Canton St) is the Cajun option. Pimento cheese fritters, blackened snapper tacos, lobster rolls and chargrilled oysters. Sunday dollar oysters are a Canton Street institution and the reason the small dining room fills fast on Sunday afternoons.
Mac McGee (936 Canton St) is the Irish pub, and a properly run one. Correctly poured Guinness, shepherd’s pie, and the room where people watch World Cup and Six Nations matches. Open until 12:30 AM Friday and Saturday, which makes it one of the later options downtown.
Loyal Tavern (950 Canton St) is the sports bar: brisket nachos, hand-dipped chicken fingers, fried pickles, and by several regulars’ accounts the best drink prices on the street. Open to 1:00 AM on weekends.
The Artillery Room @ Gate City (932 Canton St) is Gate City Brewing’s satellite bar, a newer addition with craft cocktails on tap, a rotating vodka and bourbon lineup and an oversized garage door that gives you patio feel with air conditioning. Beer selection lives at the main taproom around the corner on Magnolia, not here.
Ipp’s Pastaria & Bar (980 Canton St) covers Italian-American at family prices. Garlic rolls, eggplant parmesan, generous rigatoni portions, a good patio and Saturday drink specials.
Ceviche Taqueria & Margarita Bar (963 Canton St) handles Mexican with a coastal accent: ceviche flights with shrimp, mahi and scallop, shrimp poblano soup, burrito grande under mole. Small room, strong patio, and one of the lower price points on the street.
Roswell Provisions and Le Bistro (955 Canton St) is two businesses in one historic house. Downstairs is a cafe, cheese counter, wine shop and gift market. Upstairs, Le Bistro serves French dishes including croque madame and baked brie, with dinner service on Friday and Saturday only. The balcony is one of the better seats on the street.
Mid-Street: 1020 to 1105 Canton Street
Table & Main (1028 Canton St) is, by review volume and rating together, the most consistently praised restaurant on Canton Street. Upscale Southern in a renovated home, built around fried chicken that people drive across the metro for, plus a trout BLT, pork chop, seasonal vegetable plates and a dog-friendly front patio. It is independently owned and operated, and it shows in the service.
Osteria Mattone (1095 Canton St) is the Italian counterweight: handmade pasta, a warm room, free valet, and a Sunday brunch that includes a brunch pizza. Dinner only Monday through Saturday, with brunch and dinner service on Sunday.
Truth Be Told Cuisine & Cocktails (1104 Canton St) is the newest fine-dining entry and the most ambitious. Chef-driven tasting menu with wine pairings, valet parking, and farm sourcing woven into the service narrative. Reviewers put it in the conversation for best tasting menu in metro Atlanta. Dinner Tuesday through Saturday, plus Sunday midday service. Reserve well ahead.
The Fickle Pickle (1085 Canton St) is the lunch move. Order at the counter inside a historic home, take a number, eat inside or on the benches. Fried pickles with remoulade, the Southern Reuben, cookies. Open 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, closed Sunday, and packed at noon.
The North End: 1130 to 1210 Canton Street
The north end is quieter, more residential in feel, and where several of the street’s best breakfast and coffee options sit.
North End Kitchen & Bar (1170 Canton St) is the north end’s dinner destination. Modern Southern and New American plates, craft cocktails, a private room for parties, plus a patio with a fire pit. Dinner only, seven nights, 4:00 PM to 9:30 PM. Reviews consistently rate it among the best food on the street.
Gracious Plenty Bakery & Breakfast (1164 Canton St) is the breakfast answer. Biscuits and gravy, breakfast burritos, deviled eggs, hash browns that regulars rank above every other version in town, and a bakery case. Open 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, so check the day before you go.
Carlisle’s Pizza Tavern (1132 Canton St) does New York-style thin crust with a back deck built for game watching. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Reviews are more mixed than elsewhere on the street, mostly on staffing and service speed rather than the pizza.
The Vick on Canton (1182 Canton St) is a hybrid: coffee and breakfast on weekday mornings, live jazz around midday, and a full bar with late hours on Friday and Saturday. Shrimp and grits is the dish people mention most. Service has drawn some criticism during peak brunch, so go early.
Cafe Sparrow (1207 Canton St) sits at the far north end and holds a perfect 5.0 rating across more than 120 reviews, which is rare anywhere. Ambitious sandwiches, house coffee, a bright front room and a cozier back room. Open 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, closed Monday.
Just Off Canton Street
Four places sit a block or less off Canton and belong in any honest Canton Street dining guide.
Canton St. Social (14 Elizabeth Way) is a half block east, under ownership by Steve and Alison, serving small plates, brick-oven pizzas, Cajun chicken pasta, seared scallops and a design-your-own Bloody Mary brunch on Sunday. Covered patio, live music, and a non-alcoholic cocktail menu.
VIN25 (25 Plum Tree St) is the wine bar, tucked into a tree-shaded patio with a fire pit and string lighting. Small plates, hanger steak, cheese boards, and one of the best low-key patios downtown.
Gate City Brewing Company (43 Magnolia St) is Roswell’s hometown brewery, with the taproom down the stairs behind the building and a cocktail bar upstairs. Private events run in the back house.
Chelo (964 Alpharetta St) is Persian and Mediterranean, one block east, with valet parking, tahdig, kebabs and the house Chelo dip. It fills the gap Canton Street itself does not cover.
Coffee, Bakeries and Dessert
Crazy Love Coffee House (1088 Canton St, Suite 100) is the street’s anchor coffee shop, set in a historic home with a garden patio, a marketplace of local goods, and Rev Coffee Roasters beans. Waffles and bacon cheddar biscuits are the standouts. Closed Sunday.
Butter & Cream (1075 Canton St) handles ice cream from a converted house mid-street, open until 9:00 or 10:00 PM depending on the night. It is the natural last stop on a Canton Street walk.
Kellykakes (953 Canton St) does custom cakes and cupcakes from a small storefront in the south block.
Between Gracious Plenty, Cafe Sparrow, Crazy Love and The Vick, the north half of Canton Street has a stronger morning scene than most downtown districts in metro Atlanta of comparable size.
Where to Eat by Occasion
Anniversary or milestone dinner. Truth Be Told for a tasting menu, Little Alley Steak for a classic steakhouse night, North End Kitchen & Bar for something modern with a fire pit.
First date. Zest for oysters and cocktails, VIN25 for the patio, Osteria Mattone for pasta in a warm room.
Family with kids. Ipp’s Pastaria, Carlisle’s Pizza Tavern, Ceviche Taqueria. All three handle noise and short attention spans without anyone feeling out of place.
Group where nobody agrees. 1920 Tavern has the broadest menu. Canton St. Social and Salt Factory Pub are the next best options.
Weekend breakfast or brunch. Gracious Plenty for biscuits, Osteria Mattone for Sunday brunch, Canton St. Social for a Bloody Mary bar, The Vick for jazz.
Weekday lunch. The Fickle Pickle, Cafe Sparrow, Crazy Love, Roswell Provisions.
Late night. Loyal Tavern until 1:00 AM Friday and Saturday, Mac McGee until 12:30 AM, The Artillery Room until midnight on weekends.
Parking and Timing on Canton Street
Parking is the one friction point on an otherwise easy night out. On-street parking in the paid zone runs $2 per hour with a $16 daily maximum under the city’s pilot program, which is currently scheduled to run through December 31, 2026. Free options still exist, including the Southern Post deck a short walk south with roughly 600 spaces, and several lots behind the Canton Street buildings.
The practical advice: arrive before 6:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, or park once at the south end and walk. If you want to see current rates, free-versus-paid status by lot and a live demand projection before you leave the house, the Roswell Downtown Parking Wizard maps all ten downtown parking locations and flags Alive in Roswell nights automatically.
Hal’s “The Steakhouse” Is Coming to Canton Street
The biggest change coming to Canton Street dining is not a new independent concept. It is a Buckhead institution moving north. Hal’s “The Steakhouse,” open on Old Ivy Road since 1989 and one of the restaurants that made Buckhead a steakhouse neighborhood, is opening a downtown Roswell location in spring 2027, alongside a third Atlanta location at Spring Quarter in Midtown. The Roswell restaurant will sit at the corner of Canton Street and Elizabeth Way in the former Go With The Flow building at 4 Elizabeth Way, a few doors down from Little Alley Steak, and it will include a rooftop patio and valet parking. Owner Sammy Jimenez, who prioritized expansion after founder Hal Nowak’s retirement, called valet a deal-maker for diners traveling in to eat at the Roswell location. That is a meaningful signal for the district. Two high-end steakhouses within a hundred feet of each other, plus a rooftop patio on a street where nearly every patio is at ground level, changes what downtown Roswell can pull from Alpharetta, Sandy Springs and Buckhead on a Saturday night. It also puts more pressure on parking at the busiest corner of the street, which is worth watching as the city decides what happens after the current pilot ends.
How to Choose
If you have one dinner on Canton Street and want the safest excellent meal, go to Table & Main. If you want the most memorable one, book Truth Be Told two weeks out. If you are bringing a group, start at 1920 Tavern. If you are coming for the street itself rather than a specific restaurant, come on a weeknight, park at the south end, get oysters at Zest or Roux, walk north, and finish at Butter & Cream.
The thing that makes Canton Street work is not any single restaurant. It is that twenty independent kitchens are competing for the same six blocks of foot traffic, and the weak ones do not last. That is why the street’s average quality stays high even as the roster turns over.
Canton Street is Roswell’s dinner table. Pull up a chair.
