Okay, this is *my* specialty. If you Google my restaurant review website, it appears on the first page.
Here are my recommendations:
PRICEY RESTAURANTS:
My all-time favorite is Bud & Alley's. They just *know* what to do with fresh herbs and seafood. I was in heaven on my last visit with grilled fish, vegetables, and fresh rosemary. The pasta special was back to its awesome self with a rosemary-garlic broth and fresh seafood. However, sometimes the restaurant can really be disappointing - there seems to be a correlation between off nights and when the owner isn't there. On one visit I wondered what the h--- was that dollop of goat cheese on the pasta all about? I mean, it didn't relate.
Caf? 30-A is my husband's favorite. The menu is varied, and their martinis are killer!
We also like Caf? Tango, especially that nut-encrusted grouper dish.
We enjoy eating at the bar at Borago. I'm really picky about my Italian food because my daughter and I specialize in cooking Tuscan food after learning to love it on our trips to Italy. Borago actually measures up to our standards.
LESS-EXPENSIVE RESTAURANTS:
We adore Shades. We go there so much that it's embarrassing. My husband loves the fried grouper sandwich, and I adore the catch salad. The house dressing is awesome. I have been tempted many times to steal a bottle - LOL.
We also like Market Caf?. The hushpuppies are the best ever. My hairdresser who owns a salon in Buckhead and a house in Seacrest actually stops by Market Caf? to pick up hushpuppies on his way back to Atlanta.
Bruno's Pizza is so much better than any pizza I've ever had, except perhaps the thin-crusted pizza with microgreens at Floataway Caf? in Atlanta (but that's on a higher culinary plane). I get pizza by the slice there ($1 per slice), and I can have a nice lunch for $1-2 if I cheap out and drink water.
We really like Luna Del Mar because we have an obsession with Mexican food and they do a great job with it, but honestly that place is so noisy that it makes me feel like I'm about to have a seizure - I just can't tolerate it. If you go there, bring ear plugs.