A close friend has asked for recommendations for a restaurant in Atlanta to take clients. He is an attorney and wine lover - has one of the best Burgundy palates I know. Any recommendations on a restaurant. My guess is that he will be downtown so I am thinking of the downtown or Buckhead kind of areas. Thanks.
Howard,
Two that come immediately to mind:
- Empire State South, in Midtown - http://www.empirestatesouth.com/ Good, eclectic list, including some interesting (albeit young) Burgundy selections.
- Aria, in Buckhead - http://www.aria-atl.com/food.html Not much Burgundy on the list, but very open to BYO.
Thanks Robert. You are always a good source for restaurants anywhere in the Southeast.
Aria’s excellent, Howard, I was hosted there myself. I also ate well at BLT Steakhouse, the restaurant in 4 Seasons hotel (superb food and prep) and Local 3 while visiting the Atlanta posse.
Park 75.
Top-notch, and a good choice if formal is what your friend is looking for.
I have no idea what the list is like - have always taken my own.
Aria is my favorite Clients will be happy
I took Robert Fleming’s advice 2 years ago and ate at Aria’s with clients. Fantastic, and there was some Ponsot on the wine list as I recall. The only negative was the entrance through the beaded curtain. Highly recommend.
Bringing this back up to the top because I have to take clients to dinner in ATL next week. We will all be near the airport, however, and google maps says Aria, which sounds perfect, is an hour or more away. That won’t work. So does anyone have a suggestion south of town or maybe in downtown?
Yep. The airport area is not exactly the hot spot for dining around Atlanta.
There are some spots nearer to downtown but the bulk of your best options are probably in the Buckhead area (or somewhere in between).
Do you have any initial criteria? Cuisine? Price range? Number of people?
Restaurant Eugene in Buckhead is superb. If he is still there, their maitre d`/somm is Juan Fernando Cortes who is excellent, knowledgable and super nice and ensures wine service with appropriate stemware is in tact. I went there with some of the more wine savvy people in Atlanta which made a statement in and of itself as to what the locals think of this place.
Although we took many bottles of our own, check out their wine list: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54ad51cde4b0b75815b3b3c2/t/56cdc6a9555986ceb1fb1419/1456326314506/Wine+List+2-24-16.pdf
Thanks. The group will probably be 8 or fewer (still figuring out who will be coming), and I have no reason to think any of them will are wine-savvy. This is a client dinner, so I want something nice (see how much you matter to us) but not extravagant (we aren’t bilking you to fund a lavish lifestyle). Aria looked like it hit the sweet spot, so something in that range, +/-, would be fine.
A few you can check out:
Cooks and Soldiers (definitely more social and plate sharing)
Kevin Rathbun Steak
La Grotta Ristorante Italiano
KR Steakbar
Kyma
Bistro Niko
Thanks folks. Still looking for something closer to the Airport. Malcolm, I would think the cuisine should be “safe” more than adventurous given that it is a client dinner.
Every place everyone has noted thus far is extremely safe from a customer dinner perspective. You cannot go wrong with any of them. I only ask cuisine because some people have very definite likes and dislikes, or allergies. I try to take as many such factors into account as possible.
Try as I might, I just cannot come up with any options near the airport that I would opt for were I hosting a customer dinner.
The closest place among the locations mentioned thus far is Kevin Rathbun Steak, about 12.5 miles or 30 minutes from the airport proper (adjust based on your hotel or location).
Definitely apropos for a customer dinner. Everything else is north of there.
These guys are actually in the international terminal at the airport ( I know, I know), but they serve some of the best food I’ve had in an airport, clubby atmosphere, decent wine list.
Ha!
I have not spent much time in the new terminal (and then only in a relatively small area). Ecco is one of those locations that would absolutely be good for a client dinner, but I was only aware of the mid-town location. I can’t speak to the international concourse spot your reference. If it matches the main location then it could well impress clients in both dinner AND one’s ability to ‘think out of the box’. After all, who thinks to entertain at the airport?
If all of your group can and you want to stay in Hartsfield then One Flew South in Terminal E is very good.
Very helpful! Thanks!
Now for a nominal honorarium arrangements for us to NOT crash the dinner can be made. 
There are many restaurants in Atlanta where one can enjoy a yummy nad delicious meal. Let me share some names of the restaurants with you.
Bone’s Restaurant
The Optimist
Chops Lobster Bar
South City Kitchen Midtown
Vortex Bar & Grill
Ray’s In the City