Fs/Tec Dining Guide: Eating Out In Atlanta

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 16, 1998 by Andy Battaglia

First, a selection of former Atlanta inductees into the Nation's Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame:

Bacchanalia

3125 Piedmont Road, Buckhead, (404) 365-0410. Recognized as one of Atlanta's favorites, Bacchanalia is known for unpretentious, high-quality fine dining. Located in a quaint former Buckhead residence, this 45-seater takes pride in serving its creative American cuisine to a clientele with only one thing in common: an undeniable love of food. Among chef-owners Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison's specialties are Gulf crab fritter with avocado, blood orange and Thai pepper essence, and pepper-and-thyme-cured Coleman Ranch beef tenderloin with Yukon Gold potato gratin and black trumpet mushroom reduction. Dinner only. Open Tues.-Sat.

The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton

3434 Peachtree Road, NE (Ritz-Canton Buckhead), (404) 237-2700. Grand. Elegant. Luxurious. Those are words batted about regularly in describing The Dining Room. The restaurant's 80 seats surrounded by museum-quality art provide a suitable environment for chef Joel Antunes' Thai-influenced French Mediterranean cuisine. Entrees include roast daurade with artichoke-asparagus risotto, Parmesan tuile and chicken jus as well as venison with quince, shallot confit and salsify in venison sauce. Dinner only. Closed Sundays.

Nikolai's Roof

255 Courtland St., (Atlanta Hilton & Towers downtown), (404) 221-6362. Offering a spectacular view of Atlanta, Nikolai's Roof is a thoroughly international locale, with German chef Johannes Klapdohr serving his continental French cuisine in an atmosphere based on a Russian motif. Bring your passport. Along with a wine list with 400 selections, specialties include an appetizer of warm pumpkin-sweet potato tart with autumn salad, glazed chestnuts, black truffles and passion fruit vinaigrette and, as an entree, beef tenderloin served on lavender polenta with glazed pearl onions, chanterelles and Madeira sauce. Dinner only.

Pano's & Paul's

1232 W. Paces Ferry Road, (W. Paces Shopping Ctr. Buckhead), (404) 261-3662. Opened by hospitality pioneers Pano Karatassos and Paul Albrecht in 1979, Pano's and Paul's is the flagship of the 10-unit Buckhead Life Restaurant Group and a grand flagship of Atlanta's fine-dining scene. Exceptional service and an exhaustive wine list accompany chef Peter Kaiser's Creative American cuisine with entrees like yellowfin grouper wrapped in crisp potatoes and spring leeks and batter-fried lobster tails. Dinner only. Closed Sundays.

And for some additional notable establishments:

Atlanta Fish Market

265 Pharr Road, Buckhead, (404) 262-3165. This 280-seat member of the omnipresent Buckhead Life Restaurant Group was designed to evoke a 1 920s-style Savannah railroad station. Except, of course, for the copper fish landmark, which is 65 feet tall. The menu comprises fresh seafood prepared in countless ways, including popular favorites like fried lobster tails and Asian-style rockfish. Dinner and Mon-Sat. lunch.

Babette's Cafe

471 N.Highland Ave., Virginia Highlands, (404) 523-9121. This cozy, romantic 75-seat cafe is decorated in a French farmhouse style, which provides a suitable home for its moderately priced European cuisine. Patrons dine among antiques and romance as they sample dishes like mussels steamed with strawberry and jalapeno peppers and beef tenderloin with Gorgonzola sauce and spicy onion rings. Dinner and Sunday brunch. Closed Mondays.

Bone's

3130 Piedmont Road NE, Buckhead, (404) 237-2663. Atlanta's original upscale steak house, the Liberty House Restaurant Group's Bone's is known for upscale steak houses' requisite clubby, masculine atmosphere catering to diners with both business-fueled and social agendas. Best known for the T-bone. Dinner and weekday lunch.

Brasserie Le Coze

3393 Peachtree Road, Buckhead, (404) 266-1440. A more casual cousin of owner Maguy Le Coze's New York outpost, Le Bernadin, this restaurant transforms its Lenox Square Mall location into a seemingly authentic French brasserie. Chef Jonathan Swank's cuisine packs the restaurant's 200 seats with diners craving specialties like mussels mariniere and coq au yin. Lunch and dinner. Closed Sundays.

Buckhead Diner

3073 Piedmont Road, Buckhead, (404) 262-3336. You won't find Alice or Flo at this diner; that's for sure. Instead, the Buckhead Diner is a longtime trendy hot spot for Atlanta's hip and hep alike. Another of Buckhead Life's holdings, the restaurant puts a upscale twist on the traditional diner concept with award-winning design and chef Tomas Lee's Modern American cuisine. Highlights include veal and wild mushroom meat loaf and homemade Maytag blue cheese potato chips. Lunch and dinner, except for Sunday, which features brunch all day and night.

Canoe

4199 Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead, (770) 432-2663. Boasting a rustic Town & Country atmosphere overlooking lush gardens and the Chatta-hoochee River, Canoe serves up chef Gary Mennie's contemporary American cuisine like sauteed grouper with shrimp succotash and Chinese-style duck in a plum wine lavender sauce. The former Buckhead Diner executive chef launched Canoe with George McKerrow, the founder of Atlanta-based LongHorn Steaks Inc. Dinner, weekday lunch and Sunday brunch.