The Pine Bar — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

First and foremost, The Pine decor, ambience, location and food presentation are fantastic but the flavor of most of the food (I ordered) left a lot to be desired.

I had the Crab Cakes to start with, and to be honest they were the best thing I had all night! They were HUGE! As in tons of crab meat and were nicely cooked with great flavor and crunch, even as they were incredibly thick. The peanut sauce under it added to the complexity of the flavor profile and concluded what was my favorite dish of the evening.

The bartender made me a delicious cocktail next, a mixture of Reposado Tequila, lime juice and soda water - my version of a margarita. She did a fantastic job making it and it tasted as if I'd made it myself.

Pimento Cheese Appetizer was next on the agenda, it had great A++++++ Presentation and a decent flavor profile. The sweetness of the balsamic reduction overpowered, what I thought the flavor of the pimento cheese should have taken mainstage, the namesake of the plate. Made for a fantastic picture though!!

My final dish of the evening was the Hand Rolled pasta special - Fusilli Pasta with Chicken, Okra and Butternut Squash and a Alfredo sauce to bring it together. While it sounded like it "Bursts with flavor" on the plate description from the waitress, It was very bland IMO.

I was a little late getting there and felt like the waitress rushed my dinner due to me being one of the lone patrons in the restaurant. I was probably asked at least 7-8 times was I ready to order and I like to take my time choosing which dish I'll have on the evening. I like to give every restaurant at least two tries because you never know what influenced the outcome of your dinner on any given night and I'll go back for lunch here in the near future to see if it was just me or a off night for the...

Tapas, wine, cheese, and a nice comfortable feel.

There's a nice variety of dishes along with some pretty interesting wines and good cocktails (and mocktails)

The dishes are flavorful with deep savory flavors and interesting mixes like bacon-wrapped dates.

All in all it is a great place for a date night or a social gathering. It feels like a place to have a good conversation over interesting food and wine.

I wouldn't go here to fill up on food, but rather have a great conversation about the food. Might be a good place for you single folks to bond a little!

It is not a bargain in terms of quantity of food or prices. But you get excellent service and high quality dishes.

We've been here several times and on this last visit We did note a few inconsistencies on the dishes. But nothing to be upset about.

Our server, Rachel, was excellent and attentive. It always helps to have a pleasant, cheerful person interacting with you as you select your choices.

We like this place so we will be back. But if you're expecting a speedy, inexpensive, plates overflowing with food kind of experience, keep looking. The food and wine is the experience here.

A couple of other notes. They have a nice outdoor seating area. We haven't used it. But in July in Athens you can sweat out more water than you can drink...

Parking is a challenge. They do have a lot in the back but it is often full and there are several restaurants lined up in this area. The parking lot is a lot like musical chairs in four-wheel drive. I suggest dropping people off and circling the block and parking on one of the side streets. Just don't park on a...

I had an enjoyable experience and the food is exciting, plus I don't want to hurt a small business, so I'm going to leave five stars. Also I want to stress that the value for your money here is seriously great. The execution, technique wise, on the main parts of the tapas is fantastic. The food is good, and you will not be disappointed eating at this establishment. If the owner reads this, here's some constructive feedback on the food: The sauces were properly seasoned, but the main parts of the dishes generally needed more salt. I bring secret salt with me and had to season nearly every dish myself. The aiolis are tasty, but pretty clearly crappy mayo combined with spices etc. Making this from scratch in house would go a long way The oil and vinegar served with the focaccia were pretty mediocre. There's seemingly no extra virgin olive oil in this kitchen, which would bring the quality up 10 fold (even mediocre cheap EVOO!). The balsamic tasted like sour grape juice. The hummus was good but again would have been elevated with EVOO instead of whatever neutral oil is used.

I want to emphasize that I will return- the food was good. But I think a few things could elevate...