Ria's Bluebird...Best Pancakes in Atlanta!!!

Recently, I discovered the best pancakes in Atlanta at Ria's Bluebird (riasbluebird.com). By discover, I mean that a friend told me about it and I trusted her food judgement. I went two consecutive Saturdays just to check that these were the best pancakes I've had since arriving in the ATL way back in 1987. Pancakes are always on the menu, however they also have a specialty pancake each week...like the blueberry pancakes that I had. What made these pancakes the best was the fact that they were very light and served hot. The pancakes had just the right amount of juicy blueberries throughout. The second time I went I had the pecan pancakes (in photo) and these were nicely done as well. Pancakes come with warm maple syrup. Most pancakes served at restaurants are very heavy and sometimes can be a little uncooked. It also seems that restaurants have a hard time serving hot pancakes although it is generally understood that it doesn't take long for pancakes to get cold.

Ria's Bluebird is located in the Grant Park section of Atlanta. If you approach the restaurant from either end of Memorial Drive you may question whether or not a really good restaurant exists along this particular stretch of Memorial Drive. It is an area in need of development. However, I always find that the most interesting restaurants are found in unlikely places. It is located across the street from the Historic Oakland Cemetery. This cemetery is so historic that it dates back to 1850, has its own website and walking tours. To the rear of the restaurant are the beautiful, historic homes characteristic of Grant Park.

Ria's opens each day at 8 am. Both times, I visited on a Saturday around 9:30 am. There was a line waiting outside and the wait was about 15 minutes. There are two areas for seating. The front of the restaurant is the best. The back of the restaurant was a little drafty but tolerable. Be prepared to do some parallel parking along the side of the restaurant. As with most intown restaurants, there is limited restaurant parking. The website isn't always current but has some interesting videos on it.