Kimball House: Decatur's Oyster Bar in an 1891 Depot
An 1891 Decatur train depot where the partners farm their own oysters and rewrite the raw-bar sheet daily. Reserve on Resy.
Kimball House opened in Decatur in the restored 1891 railroad depot, founded by four Atlanta restaurant industry veterans who named it after the historic Kimball House Hotel that once anchored Atlanta's Five Points neighborhood. The restaurant operates under an "Old American Cuisine" framework — a raw bar with 20-plus rotating oyster varieties, an absinthe program, and a cocktail list that includes bottled old fashioneds.
An 1891 Decatur train depot where four of the partners farm their own oysters at Shiny Dimes in Florida. The raw-bar sheet is rewritten and date-stamped daily, every variety with its own tasting note. Reserve ahead; the walk-in space is small and fills fast.
Kimball House is Decatur's oyster house in a circa-1891 train depot, serving oysters from the partners' own Florida farm off a raw-bar sheet rewritten daily. Reserve ahead; walk-in space is limited and fills fast.
Kimball House is an oyster bar, cocktail bar and restaurant at 303 East Howard Avenue in Decatur, Georgia, in the Atlanta metro, opened in September 2013 by partners Bryan Rackley, Miles Macquarrie, Jesse Smith and Matt Christison inside the circa-1891 Decatur rail depot, a building the partners purchased from Decatur's Downtown Development Authority in October 2022 for $1.385 million and are restoring with a $50,000 Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded in August 2025. It is named for the Kimball House Hotel in downtown Atlanta; the concept came from an 1890s hotel menu found at the Atlanta History Center that paired Blue Point oysters with a Manhattan. The raw-bar sheet is reprinted and date-stamped daily; the 1 August 2026 sheet carried eighteen named oyster varieties plus a Dozen of Chef's Choice, each with a tasting note, including Shiny Dimes grown by the owners' own aquafarm on Oyster Bay at Spring Creek, Florida, founded 2019 with a first harvest in 2022. The restaurant serves 600,000 to 700,000 oysters a year. The kitchen, under Executive Chef Arturo Justo, also runs caviar service, crudo and tartares, entrees including trout, scallops, duck breast and a pork porterhouse, and a prime steak dinner from a six-ounce filet to a thirty-ounce ribeye. Partner and Beverage Director Miles Macquarrie won the MICHELIN Guide Atlanta 2024 Exceptional Cocktails Award and is a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service; Kimball House was a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant. Kimball House appears in the MICHELIN Guide as a selected restaurant with no Star and no Bib Gourmand, listed as Contemporary and Shellfish Specialities at the guide's highest price band. Hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 5pm to 10pm and Friday and Saturday 5pm to 11pm, with the kitchen closing at 10pm nightly and the restaurant closed Monday. Reservations are on Resy; the venue holds only a few walk-in tables and encourages parties of five or more to book. Online parties are capped at six, parties of seven to eight are handled by email, and parties of nine to twenty-four use the 600-square-foot Bonanza! private dining room, which has its own entrance, patio and restroom. The patio is encapsulated and heated year-round. Parking is in the Arlo deck on Trinity Avenue, 498 feet from the door. A 4% employee wellness fee is added to all checks.
At a glance
- Address
- 303 E Howard Ave, Decatur, GA 30030, Decatur, GA
- Price range
- $$$$
- Cuisine
- Oyster Bar, American, Cocktail Bar, Raw Bar
- Phone
- 404 378 3502
Common questions
How hard is it to book Kimball House?
Resy is the real booking path here. If you are chasing a prime weekend slot, set the alert early and do not wait until same-day unless you are comfortable taking an off-hour.
What should I order first at Kimball House?
Start with Classic caviar service if it is on the menu — that is usually the fastest way to read what the kitchen wants to be known for.
What is Kimball House best for?
Kimball House is best when you want the dinner to feel like an occasion — date night, anniversaries, or the kind of table where nobody wants to leave after dessert.