Allora — Restaurant in Atlanta

Largely disappointing. This is not Italian food in the least. We started with the scallops and risotto; the scallops were cooked nicely but the was a slightly unpleasant fishy taste to the entire dish. Our entrees were the salmon with crispy fingerlings potato, charred broccoli, and spicy cajun sauce, and the cauliflower steak with Candied pecans, feta, rustic sweet potato, and chimichurri. The salmon was ordered medium but came out well done. There were baby yellow potatoes but no fingerling potatoes. There was what appeared to be flash fried brocolini but no charred broccoli. The brocolini was the best thing on the plate, although every item was slightly over salted including the brocolini. The salmon was cooked in too much oil and the non-spicy "cajun"sauce was heavy, intensely overly rich, and was slathered on it. The sauce overpowered the entire dish with a singular flavor that leaves you wanting something fresh on the plate. The flavors just lacked any acidity or brightness and there was an overall lack of cohesiveness to it. The cauliflower steak was just an unevenly cut chunk of half cooked, under seasoned, cauliflower. The sweet potatoes were the best part of the dish. I didn't notice any Candied pecans and there was no chimichurri. Instead, there were pickled onions and a puddle of barely reduced balsamic vinegar. The balsamic was excessive and just didn't fit the dish as a whole. We also ordered the bourbon pineapple upside-down cake and took it to go. I love pineapple upside down cake and I love bourbon... We threw this away after a couple bites each. It just looks like mashed yellow cake with pineapple on it, and it tastes like mashed yellow cake with pineapple on it plus a random shot of bourbon right in the middle. We came here to check out the dining options (disappointing), the ambiance (a little too loud for the type of restaurant they claim to be), the service (an EXTREMELY slow kitchen) and the space (lackluster and not well thought it) for our engagement dinner party. We left knowing we'd never be back and certainly wouldn't celebrate our...

Allora ATL takes modern Italian cuisine to the next level! I cannot picture a better location for it than in Atlantic Station. The restaurant compliments its neighboring hotel quite well. The front door is gigantic yet light to pull open. Walking inside takes you to an alternate universe. The interior décor was just right. Warm and welcoming.

Our server, Mariah, was friendly and made the experience great. As soon as we were seated, I was ready to eat. The menu is definitely unique. You won't find many if any of these items around town. My colleague decided to go with the Spinach Salad. This was not a typical salad. It included seared salmon, toasted quinoa, blueberries, feta cheese, toasted seeds and honey vinaigrette. Delightful! It came out looking like perfection in a bowl.

I was going to be good and stay on track with a salad. However, that did not occur. The Shrimp Campanelle was calling my name. How could I resist? Beautiful shrimp, leeks, tarragon, preserved lemon in an amazing butter sauce. This was the best decision I've made all week! The flavors were outstanding and mostly because they use fresh ingredients. I can tell the difference when an eatery uses something from a can versus fresh from a market. It makes a world of difference.

No meal is complete without dessert. The olive oil cake knew my first and last name. I could not leave without diving into it. This is not your average cake. The cake was served warm and accompanied by a scoop of honey gelato. I was satisfied. I wasn't over easy.

I reminisced about the array of flavors I experienced on this day on the ride back. I haven't been this impressed with a local spot in a while. I am a critic so if things are not right, I let them know. I applaud Allora ATL for creating a unique upscale atmosphere for guests. The food is exceptional. They would have to be my favorite dine in Italian restaurant in Atlanta. Be sure to visit them this weekend. Why? Because Ash Said...

I made a decision to come to Lobby during Midtown Restaurant week based on what seemed to be a pretty decent three course meal offering. I had a dinner reservation for a party of 4 people on a Saturday at 7:30pm. Upon arrival to the restaurant my party was quickly seated and about 5 mins later we had someone come over to bring us water. After that, the experience became TERRIBLE!! We sat for 15 minutes waiting on a waiter to come over and greet our table and take our order. One of the people in my party had to go flag down a waiter to come take our order. After placing our order the waiter returned to the table 20 mins later stating that he had made a mistake and didn't put our orders into the kitchen because he lost the "receipt paper" he had written our order on but he would take our order AGAIN and have the kitchen expedite our food. I am not sure what "expedite" meant to him but we sat there another 35 mins and not so much as an appetizer or the Ginger Ale that a person in my party ordered appeared on the table. Needless to say we ended up leaving after spending an hour waiting for food and no clear communication from the waiter or hostess on how much longer it would take for the kitchen to be able to get us any of our food. The restaurant was not packed so I could not understand the struggle to bring out a salad for an appetizer. Due to the terrible service and lack of communication on when to expect our food our party decided to leave and patronize...