Guston’s Grille & Tap — Restaurant in Acworth

Guston's sits at the north end of the Butler Creek Strip Mall on Cobb Parkway, which gives you parking in front of the restaurant as well as the side. It's a bar. With a restaurant. It's that simple. But it's a great bar and restaurant! The interior is as simple as you can get, and it works. Concrete floors, wood paneling which is all dinged up from the metal chairs running into them, and TV's lining all of the walls, which show EVERYTHING. From all sports, to news, to Mecum Auto Auctions for gearheads, there's something for everyone if you run out of conversation... You just get a really good vibe from this place when you walk in. My wife and I agreed - although we'd never been here before, we felt like we belonged there. The place was pretty full, but we were seated immediately. Our server was a young lady named Kelly. Not enough positive euphemisms to describe this lady. She was polite, upbeat, extremely helpful, and most importantly to me, SINCERE. When your server is being nice and it's obvious that he/she is just trying to get through their shift, it's a downer. We explained to Kelly that it was our 1st time their, and the helpfulness came right out. "Take your time with the menus, here's a list of today's specials, and if you'd like a recommendation, I personally think that the Fish & Chips are the best. Not just here, but better than anyone around. I'm going to grab your Cokes and be right back to see if you have any questions." SINCERITY. That was another thing - we never had to ask for a refill. Kelly had plenty of tables to take care of, but when our glasses hit the half-empty mark, here came another one on the table. The menu is laid out like most, plenty of items to choose from in an easy-to-follow format. Great choice of appetizers. Chili and French Onion Soup by the cup or bowl. Nachos in different choices, wings, you name it. Plenty of salads to choose from, too. The main menu was a battle because there was so much to choose from. Comfort foods like meatloaf and pot roast, burgers and wraps, of course, seafood, etc.

My wife got a side salad with the Fish and Chips, and immediately agreed with Kelly. Best fish she's had since we moved down here. I got a bowl of chili and the chicken tenders tossed in buffalo sauce, because I have no sense of self-control and absolutely no patience for bones anymore. Both were excellent. I'm almost done, I promise. While we were eating, this gentlemen comes up to our table and introduces himself. "Hi, I'm Brian, the manager here, and I do not recognize you two. First time?" Wow. Now maybe that doesn't impress you, but it sure as hell did us. Brian chatted us up, again sincerely, and finished his conversation with us with this - "First timers get free dessert, so save some space. After tonight, you two are regulars." Brian went on to explain the desserts available - Brownie Ala Mode, Cheesecake, or, his recommendation, Blackberry Cobbler. If you go, get the Cobbler. Trust me. This thing came in a full-sized salad bowl, and no room was wasted. After the 1st bite, I attacked it like a three year-old with terminal rage at Disneyworld. Insulin may have been warranted. For everything that we had, our check was $41 and change. You just can't argue with that. Needless to say, we waddled out to the car, made it home, and passed out. We're definitely not first-timers anymore, because we've found our new "regular" spot. BTW, Kelly got a 30% tip. I apologize for being so long-winded, but when I write a review, I try to give people the whole picture. Without putting them to sleep,...

Update 11/3/2023

I have tried to give this place every chance in the world, but at some point you just have to admit that the food here is about as exciting as watching paint dry in slow motion. The menu reads like someone Googled “average food” and stopped at the first result. The flavors are bland, predictable, and leave you wondering if the seasoning budget was cut to pay for the TVs.

During my last visit, I came in with my wife and nephew for lunch. Before I could even get bored by the flavorless plates around me, the manager stormed over looking like I had just insulted his houseplants. He has never greeted me before, not a hello, not a wave, nothing. Suddenly he knew exactly who I was and seemed personally offended that I had written honest feedback. It was uncomfortable enough that I skipped ordering food entirely. My appetite escaped out the door before I could.

While the bartenders here are great, they are working overtime to compensate for plates that taste like someone whispered the word “seasoning” over a fryer and called it a day. If cardboard had a flavor, it would be featured as a weekly special.

After years of spending money here, it is clear I am no longer welcome. That is fine. I will happily find a place where the food tries a little harder than a high schooler on senior skip day.

Two stars only because the staff behind the bar deserve medals. The food and management attitude deserve a long, quiet timeout.

Would not recommend unless you enjoy bland meals and awkward confrontations.

(Original Review 3 stars in May 2023)

We have been going to Guston’s for years. First of all, the staff, bartenders, wait staff, managers, and everyone else are awesome and almost like family at this point. The service is always excellent. The quality of the food has decreased over the years... very unfortunate. We used to come a few times a week. Now it might be once every few months.

They've also decided to take off some of the best things on the specials menu (smoked wings, The Gus sandwich, etc) and the specials menu is crazy repetitive and boring every week. I mean, how many weeks can you feature a Thiccums Wrap before you just add it to the regular menu.

There are just better food...

There must be no less than 25 restaurants in a 5 mile radius of Guston’s that we could have chosen to have dinner. We are so glad we choose Guston’s. It was our second visit there. The first time, I had the Williams burger and my wife had the Black and Bleu burger. We both agreed that they were fantastic. Huge is the only adjective to describe the size. You could tell the meat was fresh and not from frozen. For our second visit, my wife had the “Grilled Salmon Entrée”. Just as the menu description says, it was indeed grilled to perfection. I had the Whitening Fish. It’s not on their on-line menu, but on the menu that they have at the restaurant. We were both shocked at the generous portions that we both received. We could have easily split a dinner. That being said, we both had enough to take home to make another meal out off. I had my fish fried. The breading was crunchy, but not super thick. The fish was cooked perfectly; not too done yet very moist. Our salads were plenty full. Unlike most restaurants, they were served in chilled chinaware. My wife had their “Guston’s Salad” which featured a Gorgonzola Vinaigrette. The dressing was served warm which took the salad to a whole new level. I had their Caesar Salad. The dressing was crisp and fresh. It was a cold night out. So, as an appetizer, we had their “chili nachos”. Wow. The chili was great. Nachos were fresh. On our first visit, we had their blackberry pie for dessert. It was great. We were just too full to have dessert on our second visit. Very pleasant atmosphere. Not too loud. Music was great. The wait staff was phenomenal. Very attentive. Not overbearing, but we didn’t have to wait for anything. We thoroughly enjoyed out meal. We can’t wait for another excuse to visit...