We try to keep this up to date as the experience at any restaurant can vary and new restaurants can open at any time, so please forgive if something has changed, if you have a bad experience or a great experience that is not mentioned, drop  us a line. This will help everyone, including folk who visit our site for these recommendations.

Also noted under our section featuring on the Lake dining, The best food at the Lake can be had at the Bleu Canoe Restaurant. It’s not much to look at from the outside, but they offer very good food and an open bar. You will need your car to get there. There is no access from the Lake. If friendly, your dog is welcome there!

Just south of this and still north of Clayton, in Rabun Gap, is Tomlin BBQ and Catering. Some folks rate it as being the best barbecue in the area. Word is that they make a “mean” banana pudding, always a crowd favorite!

There are numerous very good restaurants in Clayton, Georgia which include the Clayton Cafe, a favorite with local folks. Their adjoining shop offers nice wines and cheese. Across from the Clayton Cafe are the Fortify restaurants. The Fortify Kitchen and Bar is contemporary cuisine. It’s sister restaurant, Fortify Pi is more sandwich fare with Neapolitan style brick oven pizza. The latter offers a very nice selection of craft beers on draft.

The best burger in town,  without doubt, can be had at the Universal Joint!  It’s a fun place to sit outside when the weather is nice. Your dog is also welcome there!

Down off of Highway 441, The Rusty Bike Cafe gets the nod for the variety and tastiness of its cuisine. They also serve a great breakfast.  And, if you are in the mood for Mexican, the Manrique’s is nice surprise. It is located a couple of doors down from the Rusty Bike Cafe.

There are many other options to suit your mood. Check out the list of restaurants in Clayton, GA at Bing.

Just south of the Lake on Ga Hwy 197 is the town of Batesville, home of the Batesville General Store. Their advertising says that they have the “best biscuits in Batesville”. We would not doubt it. It’s a nice place to stop in the mornings or for lunch. We have often gone down there to get a bag full of sausage and country ham biscuits.

Helen, GA has a multitude of restaurants. We will try to bring these to you as we work our way through them. For now, our best experience was the Bodensee Restaurant that has an excellent German menu with food to go along with this and an adjoining Biergarten with a great variety of good German Biers. Viel Vergnügen!