Allatoona Grill, Inc. — Restaurant in Acworth

We had our Valentine’s Day dinner last night at the new Allatoona Grill. There were four of us for dinner.

Parking was a little awkward as you were forced to use valet even though my car was parked 5 feet from the entrance to the restaurant.

I ordered a dirty martini and Diana ordered an espresso martini. Both were OK but rather small. For appetizers we ordered the grilled spicy shrimp, the Ahi tuna, and the oysters Rockefeller. I thought we were off to a good start because the oysters Rockefeller were out of this world amazing, very good. The jumbo spicy shrimp were very large but they were not spicy, they were room temperature and one of them was mushy. The Ahi tuna appetizer was fantastic. My aunt ordered the grilled Caesar salad, which was amazing. The Caesar dressing was very very good.

For dinner, everyone ordered fillets, and I ordered the full size Hawaiian ribeye. The steaks looked good and were cooked exactly as requested. The problem is the quality of meat was nothing compared to the quality of meat you would find in a four star restaurant in Atlanta. And then we come to my Hawaiian ribeye. Honestly, my steak look like it had been boiled in hot water. There were no grill marks. There was no taste of it being grilled. It came sliced which I thought was strange. I was highly disappointed. It gets even crazier when it comes to the side dishes. We ordered the 1 pound baked potato thinking that it would be enough to feed at least two or three people. What they brought out was a small baking potato that you would buy Publix. It was laughable at best. For dessert I got the cheesecake and it was mushy and not very tasty. I’ve had better cheesecake at a gas station. For four people, drinks appetizers, entrées dessert our bill was $650 plus a 25% tip.

I knew the bill would be high, so I wasn’t surprised or upset in anyway. Diana and I often eat at Hal’s on old Ivey in Buckhead, Rathbun Steak in Inman Park, Atlanta, and Marcel on Northside Drive in Atlanta. We are used to fine dining and the prices that come with it. So in my mind I was, the entire time, comparing the Allatoona Grill to those three restaurants because the prices are comparable. There is no comparison. Hal’s is a 10 out of 10. Rathbun’s is a 10 out of 10. Marcel is a 10 out of 10 and the Allatoona Grill is a 4 out of 10.

No one was more disappointed than me. I was so excited to finally have a very nice restaurant close to our home, but that is not the case.

The fish tanks inside the restaurant for decoration are awkward looking and not attractive. The decor is cheap. The restroom had exposed wiring, and the fixtures were crooked.

The management team seemed out of place and very nervous throughout the night, running around the restaurant. The staff was nowhere near trained like you would expect, and find at a restaurant like Hal’s or Rathman steaks.

Being that it was Valentine’s Day the restaurant was not sold out. There were empty tables and only a few people at the bar. I hate to say this, as I know the hearts, blood, sweat and tears of the owners went into building and crafting this restaurant, but without making some MAJOR changes I can’t imagine they make it a year.

I pray they will be able to improve upon everything I mentioned to bring it up to a standard that would make me wanna ever eat there again. The interior of the restaurant would need to be redesigned with new lighting (dim,) new decor, and the removal of those God awful fish tanks. They would have to find new vendors or use the same vendors for their steaks, seafood, and other items as used by the other fine restaurants in Buckhead and Atlanta.

There is one thing I think they can do that would keep the restaurant open and flourishing. They need to stop trying to be something they are not. They need to cut their prices in half on everything they offer if they keep the quality stays the same as it was last night. Or they need to redesign the entire menu and bring it down a few notches and maybe model it after Longhorn or...

Came here for the 1st time with wife and friends, we were out kayaking on the lake and you can pull your 'yak up on the beach and walk right up. This place used to be Fish Camp which had mixed reviews and I didn't really like the old place.

This visit came on a Saturday and it wasn't very busy as you would expect for a lakeside restaurant but not many people know they are open yet.

They didn't have their liquor license yet so they allowed us to bring our own beers, which would be great if it could stay that way.

When we got inside the server (who turned out to also be the owner, we later found out) let us know that they were a new place and to expect a wait. Since we were able to bring our own beer it was not a problem. We ordered an appetizer of mac and cheese balls and I ordered a BBQ and slaw sandwich; the appetizer took about 45 minutes to come out and the entree took about an hour and a half.

The mac and cheese balls are deep fried and amazingly delicious. I don't know what all they use in the bread batter but it's delicious, and I am NOT a fan of mac and cheese.

The entree was the BBQ and slaw sandwich, and I hate to say so but it was really bad. The BBQ had no BBQ flavoring at all, it was just extremely greasy tasting, and the "slaw" was just some strands of cabbage.

I spoke with the server-owner about it and voiced my concerns and she took the sandwich off, and stated they are new and still working out the kinks, to which we replied we understood totally. Our friends had a shrimp basket and a prime rib sandwich which they loved. The prime rib sandwich is HUGE and apparently very good. The shrimp were medium sized and breaded and also good.

Prices are high for grill food but it's a lake place so that's expected. Staff was attentive and pleasant. I would normally give less than 3 stars for the food served but they're new so I'll give a 4 star for service in the hopes they'll get better in the kitchen and wait times.

Will definitely return to give them...

Me and a friend went kayaking today with our two dogs. I wanted to go somewhere that was dog friendly so that they didn't have to wait in the car. I was told when we arrived that they no longer allowed dogs up on the deck due to a bite incident previously. I was told that we could sit outside at the picnic tables. It took 20 minutes just to get a server to come and get our drink orders and another 10 to get our drinks. When she brought us our drinks we placed our appetizer orders. Another 10 minutes passed until she came back and then we placed our meal orders. It took over an hour to get our food! When it did arrive we did not get any sauces to go with our meal. We also had to ask for silverware AFTER getting our food, which was 2 plastic forks and 1 knife to share. Furthermore, the appetizers came at the same time the meal did. At this point it is dark outside and there is no sort of lighting at or around our table and I had to eat while holding my phone for light. We were not checked on frequently enough or reassured that we haven't been forgotten about. The price is a little high as well. I paid $34 for a drink, a shrimp basket and an order of fried pickles. I understand that it is under new ownership and I get there are kinks to be worked out. However, they should be upfront about the time it takes to get your food and put a candle or some light outside at the tables if you are sitting people there. It wouldn't of been dark if we had gotten our food in a timely manner. After we were done eating a manager came out and asked us if we wanted any light I replied no because we were getting ready to leave. Would of been nice earlier. I am thoroughly disappointed in our quality of service and the amount of time it took to get our food. The only reason they are getting 2 stars is because of the lake view and the good food. The shrimp basket and fried pickles were awesome! My friend also reported that the shrimp po boy and Mac and cheese balls...