The Expat — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

My husband and I have been to the Expat twice now. Both experiences were really fantastic. We are extremely choosy with our restaurants and Athens offers limited choices for those that enjoy locally sourced and well put together meals. The first time we went, we were there for dinner. We started with the small charcuterie. Everything was very tasty. Then I had a hanger steak which was to die for. I even ate the asparagus and I don’t like asparagus! I had to keep my husband from stealing my steak. I can’t remember what he had but he really enjoyed it as well.

Then I took him there for Father’s Day brunch. This place has the tastiest Bloody Mary I have had in the town without a doubt. We had the Prie Fixe menu. The pastries came and were all delicious and very large in portion. Then we had our mains and by the time dessert rolled around I thought I was going to explode.

Is this a restaurant with huge portions? No. Which I love. It’s a restaurant designed to allow you to sample multiple different dishes. I have left this restaurant absolutely stuffed both times. I think people that have left here hungry may not be used to finer dining experiences with smaller portions and want to just stuff their faces with greasy burgers. As for what other people have said about price, I find this place very reasonable and much better in quality than other similarly priced restaurants in town. It is cheaper than Heirloom. I took my husband to the National once and cannot get him to go back. He seriously disliked it (and I am not a huge fan). As for 5&10, it is better than they are as well. We are headed back tonight for Sunday dinner and bringing fiends. Athens can’t support high quality fine dining because there are just not enough people in this town to appreciate that quality. This place is a gem and I hope it sticks around for...

Update May - 2019 I originally gave the expat a three star review. I went here a few times when they first opened and had underwhelming experiences. That being said, whatever new restaurant kinks there were, they have been fully worked out. This has become a go-to spot for my wife and I. The food is fantastic, service is great and the cocktails are also top notch. I'm glad I decided to give it another change and I'd recommend this to anyone who loves great food and nice ambiance.

Original Review - Cocktails were solid, ambiance was nice. The service was great for Athens but middle of the road for anywhere else. The food was really mediocre. Nothing was really bad, but nothing was really good either. If the meal cost half as much as it did this would likely be a four star review. We went to Donna Changs afterwards as we were still hungry and rounded out the evening nicely. Should’ve started out there.

Edit: Owner responded that they're pricey because they use locally sourced quality ingredients. I would definitely believe that, but how you put them together matters. Some of the dishes would've just benefitted from a pinch of salt. But seriously go eat a meal at 5 & 10, The National, Homemade, or Donna Changs. You'll pay the same and get a way better meal. Athens is also home to James Beard award winning chef's/restaurants....

I was so excited to check out the new restaurant that replaced 2 story. We did not have reservations but there were open tables inside. The atmosphere was very loud primarily because there were hard surfaces all around with nothing to absorb the sound. It did not help that we were seated in the middle of the room, but with the music that was playing it was difficult to hear the person across from you. We ordered an appetizer and were trying to decide between a small or large charcuterie board. There were 3 of us eating and the waiter said the small would be plenty if we were ordering additional food. When it arrived we all laughed at how little was actually on the board. It was tasty but it might have been enough for one of us. Unfortunately it was a sign of things to come. We all ordered the hanger steak and when it arrived we all looked at each other with a “are you kidding me right now” look. If the steaks were 6oz that would be generous. . Again the food was tasty but the portions were a joke. We dropped $120 and left hungry. We honestly were driving home and pulled through cookout to get something to eat. (No lie) One star for value and atmosphere. 3 stars for taste. Don’t...