Hey Atlanta peeps, I’ll be in your fine city for a few days next month and have an evening free – any good spots you could recommend for solo dining? Aside from great food, decent wine list and dining at the bar would both be pluses.
Marcel, in Midtown, off of 14th St.
Best steaks in Atlanta - cooked over wood and finished off in a cast iron skillet with butter and herbs (French style). The dry aged bone-in Ribeye is amazing. They have great starters and plenty of other offerings beside steaks. Their Somm is very personable and knowledgeable. Bring your checkbook, because it ain’t cheap. Cool place, that ticks off all your boxes. The bar area will remind of NYC.
Miller Union is also quite good.
Where in Atlanta will you be, and any types of places you particularly like or dislike?
Atlas. You can dine at the bar but the restaurant is really nice.
Aria is nice too. You can dine at the bar.
Both have decent wine lists.
Wine lists are pretty hard to recommend. Only a very few have better than average lists.
Dave – thx for the rec.
Mike – good question, looks like my hotel is in the Midtown area. I’m not particularly picky about vibe but do appreciate somewhere that’s not overly “stuffy” (if that makes sense). Somewhere with small plates is always fun but since I’ll be by myself I’m also very open to anywhere that’s doing it right with their mains.
Don – no worries on a killer wine list, just looking for somewhere with a decent btg program and/or with bottles that are at least somewhat interesting. Cuisine is more important to me in this instance tho.
Should add that I’m also happy to meet up with anyone for dinner, especially if byob is cool in Atlanta, in which case I would ship some fun stuff down. Unfortunately, I’m only free on 7/11 so no flexibility on the date (started a thread in the offline forum as well).
Some ideas - (in no specific order and all over ATL, some easy to get into, some not) - also, there are a lot of cheap, ethnic spots that I didn’t list that are great.
Cooks & Soldiers - http://cooksandsoldiers.com/
Brush Sushi Izakaya - http://brushatl.com/
Atlas - http://atlasrestaurant.com/
UMI - http://umiatlanta.com/
Kimball House - http://www.kimball-house.com/
Watchmans - https://www.watchmansatl.com/
Ticonderoga Club - https://www.ticonderogaclub.com/
DAS BBQ - http://www.dasbbq.com/
Staplehouse - http://www.staplehouse.com/
8ARM - http://www.8armatl.com/
TOMO - http://www.tomorestaurant.com/
Miller Union - http://www.millerunion.com/site/
I took a customer to Rathbun and enjoyed it. It’s a short cab/Lyft/uber ride from the Mart. 112 Krog Street. You can hear yourself talk.
I think I’m tied up on 7/11, but I’ll let you know if that changes. Michael posted a good list. Some other options that aren’t too far from Midtown include:
Bread & Butterfly - small, a limited menu and well-chosen wine list - http://www.bread-and-butterfly.com
JCT Kitchen - http://www.jctkitchen.com
My current favorite is Staplehouse.
Creative, delicious, artful food; eclectic and interesting wine list.
And, as explained on their website, the money you spend there supports a terrific charitable organization, The Giving Kitchen.
But you absolutely cannot get a reservation for any date in July (the July book opened in early June, and was full within 30 minutes).
So why do I even bring it up? Because:
Walk-ins are always welcome on our covered patio and in Paper Crane Lounge, the upstairs cocktail bar at Staplehouse; offering an abbreviated dinner menu and craft beverage list.
Just noticed your comment on small plates. Cooks & Soldiers, which Michael listed, fills that bill (Basque-style tapas called ‘pinxtos’), as does its sister restaurant (which I like better) Bar Mercado (more traditional Spanish tapas).
Excellent stuff, thx guys!!!
Staplehouse’s website also says:
Party of 1
If you are interested in booking a reservation for a party of 1, please call us at 404-524-5005 and will be happy to assist you. Please note, we will not be able to help book a reservation for a party of 1 until our reservation release occurs.
The July release has occurred, so you may be able to book a solo spot.
bump
Mike’s advice paid off, I was successful in making a reservation at Staplehouse for a “party of 1” and it was a truly memorable experience. Mr. Fleming’s praise above captures the essence of Staplehouse; my only addition to his list of descriptors would be “alive” as every aspect of the restaurant has a certain vibrancy.
The meal consisted of 13 perfectly executed courses presented over roughly 2 hours, which seemed to fly by as though time didn’t exist. The presentation was beautiful, “artful” indeed but lacking pretension. Highlights for me included the most delicious tomato dish (and tomato, period) I’ve ever consumed, which was an heirloom tomato slice topped with walnut XO sauce (yes, walnut XO sauce), a few grape tomatoes & marigold – words cannot convey how wonderful that heirloom slice tomato tasted…and by no means am I much a fan of tomatoes to begin with. A dish of chanterelles over corn purée and accented with fresh herbs was sublime, as was the single bite opener of a crisped potato containing leek purée and sake bushi. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the warmed blue crab salad w/zucchini, it had the most incredible dill (yes, dill…) I’ve ever tasted. So fresh.
Small, but very nice BTG wine program as well…could tell right away that any/every selection would be “safe” after seeing the Labet Pinot Noir from his vines on Corsica. Ended up going with a glass of old vine Carignan from Chile made by a producer I’ve never heard of (Weon), was great. Also had a Merlot made from a vineyard just outside of St. Emilion, restored some faith there’s still some good from the Right Bank to be found stateside. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name…will email the restaurant to find out as it was so tasty I ended up having a refill (gotta love Uber…lol).
The staff was another highlight. Everyone was amazing. I don’t know what else to say aside from that, other than after meeting Jen on the way out, it became clear to me her ethos permeates throughout.
Anyway.
Again, much appreciate all the suggestions…hopefully next time I’m in Atlanta I’ll have enough free time to try some more!
Alex.
Glad you enjoyed Staplehouse.
It is a really great experience. Inventive.
Hope you have a safe trip home.
Don
Alex, glad you enjoyed your dining experience in Atlanta.
I will be returning to ATL for a conference in November and have had great times at Miller’s Union, the late/great Cakes and Ale (What happened there?), Bacchanalia… I had fun at Empire State South, but wasn’t overly impressed… So I ask, is it “Gun Show” all the way for fun/eclectic food? What else would you all recommend? I don’t know if I can score reservations for Staplehouse, but I put that on my list. Can you BYOB at either Gun Show or Staplehouse?
Thank you!
George