Puma Yu's — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

I really enjoyed my experience here. Just a couple snags that kept me from rating 5 stars all around. I had an early reservation for 2 at 530. It was my first time there, so I was 5 minutes late (location is a little confusing, gps, and pull into the parking lot before you pass the restaurant, or you have to go around). They only had one other table with guests, but they sat us at a very small table in the middle of the room. My very tall friend was ducking and crouching so as not to be hit with the hanging decoration just above his head. It seemed strange to seat us at that table. The service was excellent otherwise. The food came quickly, and the drinks were amazing! Unfortunately, part of one of our dishes was served at room temperature, which was pretty obviously an error. I tried to be gracious about alerting them since this can be a huge health issue and pretty embarrassing. They got it remade extremely quickly, and it came back perfect. The food was very good, but I wasn't convinced it was worth $70 per person cost. They also auto grated, which felt weird since I always tip well (I am a restaurant manager). If that's something they always do, then ok, but I felt a bit insulted since I was very tactful about the error. In no way did the error impact my opinion of the restaurant other than being pleased to have it fixed so quickly. I guess being sat in an awkward area and then auto grated on a 2 person table just felt pretty snobby and judgmental. I think this place is probably amazing on specific nights for specific people. I might try again on a better night with a...

I'm so very happy that Athens is becoming more and more cosmopolitan and this restaurant is a great addition to the city's culture. This review is strictly regarding the food service and the dish that I received. My family and I were the second party in line as we waited for the restaurant to officially open. Within 4 minutes, all the tables inside were occupied. I was amazed. Another party was seated next to us and all was fine until they received their food order first even though we had placed ours before they did. I typically don't mind minor incidents like this but that table ordered the same food our table did. Ok, I'll get over it, I thought. Then the 3 people in my party received their orders shortly afterwards but mine didn't come until way after my brunch companions had finished their food.

The food: I may have ordered the wrong thing or it could be just an off day for the kitchen. The omelet I ordered was on the very dry side. And this was the order that came in way after my companions finished their food. Overall not a very good experience.

I hope that the restaurant take note of this because it really puts a bad taste in my mouth and makes me not want...

Puma Yu's treads a very fine line between comfortable/casual and classy/fancy and I think it actually nails the vibe very well. I don't think you'd look out of place in a T-Shirt and Shorts but can easily come in dressed in a tie and not look out of place. The drink menu is OUSTANDINGLY huge, it's essentially 4 times larger than the food menu and has some very interesting and unique flavors and picks. The season nature of the menu makes it more difficult to talk on the food as it changes. I will say everything tends to be somewhat spicy, you can ask for things on the side but just BASELINE the way the food is prepared/cooked, it's going to have kick.

Parking is very easy, the whole Rivet House complex is very pleasant to get into and out of.

So why not 5 stars? I think the food menu is just SMALL, there's not a lot of diversity, you essentially have ONE noodle dish, ONE fish dish, ONE curry. There is often going to be an interesting special like Fried Chicken or Flank Steak and again, I think the food is delicious, but it's nice to have options, especially if you're coming with a larger party. Pictures are from my most recent visit in...