Bacchanalia — Restaurant in Atlanta

Bacchanalia is a monument to the dated yuppie culture of years past. The space, the food, and the exorbant costs.

Upon entry, you are in a very dark and linear space, reminiscent of an abandoned industrial site. It reeks of pretentiousness and arrogance while simultaneously feeling cold and uninviting.

But I'm all about one thing - the food... why else are we coming to fine dining establishments?

I went for the $125 prix fixe - a four course meal where you can choose from any of the dishes on the menu for a set price. But before I go into the dishes.. just know you should expect a LOT of bread and sweets to accompany your dining experience, which is never a good sign in my experience.

The first thing you are served is complimentary airy biscuit type bread with a subtle sweet butter. This was overall flavorless, with the texture of dry cardboard.

Then comes the first amuse. An array of flavorless crackers and such. Again, really nothing there taste-wise and just another attempt to add something to the experience.

After that comes the two first course dishes I ordered (I did order an additional one on top on the prix fixe starter)

First up was the foie gras terrine with toasted brioche and blackberry jam. Foie Gras was good quality, and this was pretty standard... and also more bread. The popcorn on top of the foie gras was not good and didn't fit the dish and the blackberries were not fresh. 7/10

I also ordered the white asparagus with a cornmeal type tart. It was okay, again no standout flavors and was somewhat bland. 5/10

Then guess what.. more bread. A large serving of standard Sourdough with some butter and I can't recall the other sauce but it was similar to hummus. The bread tastes like something you buy from whole foods, not the best quality. They want you to get filled up off empty carbs. 3/10

Now comes the main. I ordered the dry aged ny strip.. which by now I should know better than to order the steak at establishments like this. You are given about 4 oz of pretty much standard tasting steak. I asked mid rare but it was pretty much rare... again, should've known better by asking for medium. It was paired with some deep fried potato horseradish monstrosity, which was dripping with grease. Some little grilled onions in there too. Very disappointing for the most expensive item on the menu. 2/10

Next comes the goat yogurt with beets and shallot. This was refreshingly tasty after all the bread and grease. The yogurt was tart and flavorful and the beets paired well with it as a meaty veggie. The shallots and lime added to the dish in a synergetic way as well. 7/10

Complimentary macaroon featuring flavors of watermelon and mint. Decent. 5/10

And finally I had the souffle with raspberry and cream. This was good... standard souffle. No standout flavors or anything, just a sweet treat. 6/10

And they give you some more sweets afterwards, a Madeline cookie, raspberry candy, and dark chocolate bite. Tasted like what you can get from Starbucks.

Overall, an extremely lackluster experience from top to bottom. Total bill for all this came out to $200 including tip... what a joke. Plenty of places with higher quality foods in larger quantities for half the price.

The bartender Camren was great and indulged in bits of conversation with me, so that was one positive.. but the rest is an entirely forgettable experience. If you are looking for a high-quality dining experience, don't bother coming here as it is an echo of a time when this was considered fine dining... 30 years ago. Extremely mid experience. Food is just not good. The place honestly needs to get reconsidered for its michelin star status.

Bacchanalia is a bust. Flavorless from start to finish. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I'll catch you...

Disappointing doesn't even begin to describe my experience at Bacchanalia. I was left feeling confused. Since Michilin came through Atlanta, my girlfriend and I have set out to try every recommended restaurant on the list. Bacchanalia was our first one star experience, and also the first one star restaurant I have ever gone to. Expectations were extremely high, as they should be when you attend such an esteemed restaurant.

The biggest problem, of course, was the food. It was a mixed bag. Some dishes, like the Crab Fritter or Nantucket Scallops or Oysters, were excellent. Other dishes, like the Souffle or Smoked Ricotta or NY Strip or Meyer Lemon, ranged from mediocre to just kinda bad. I'm not sure grapefruit belongs in a Souffle, and the ice cream that came with it was equally as bitter. The bread service was just plain bread, butter, and a decent hummus that almost saved it. The supplemental potatoes were... just roasted potatoes with the most insignificant pinch of salt.

The atmosphere was great but the service was kind of strange. I felt like everyone working there was literally instructed to talk as quietly as possible. I had to lean way in to the waiter to even hear a word he was saying. It sort of felt like we didn't belong there, and that feeling was exacerbated when we started laughing at just how bad the experience was compared to what we were expecting. It was a bit torturous to wait for our final dishes.

With Bacchanalia, I think we have a failure of concept. In a youtube video from 8 years ago, (probably former?) Head Chef Ivan Brehm says "we've always been very particular about treating products without much prejudice" and "when you do that, you're able to make really quality food without adding too much stuff, too much powders, too much gimmicks." It's not a surprise to me then to see negative reviews lamenting the lacking nature of the food. Turns out, treating different foods with prejudice is a good idea. I wish they had a bit more prejudice against the potato enough to add some extra salt or any other "powder" that would add to the flavor of the potato. Maybe other people go to restaurants like these to get the very best version of the most basic and organic flavors, but I found out last night that that's just not my thing.

And of course there's the Michilin star earned last year. Any complaint can be brushed off with a "you just don't get it" or worse, "you don't understand what fine dining is about." Obviously these are imagined but I don't think the experience I had yesterday was unintentional. I've become even more curious to try the other starred restaurants in Atlanta to compare. I have a feeling, and it's just a feeling, that they will be far superior and much closer to what I expected when I walked through the door at Bacchanalia. Other reviewers say as much.

At the end of the night, we were brought a small piece of cake with "Happy Anniversary" written in I think like a chocolate drizzle across the plate. The cake was mediocre and it wasn't our anniversary. I'm pretty sure I didn't tick that box on the Resy, so they either just assumed it was, got confused, or were playing a joke. A dumb final touch to a dumb meal. Pretentious as pretentious can be. It's supposed to taste bitter,...

Bacchanalia is a restaurant that needs no introduction to any Atlantan. In recent years the city has seen an improvement in the food scene overall and excitingly an increase in fine dining and tasting menus. Bacchanalia however has always been at the forefront of this endeavor and been doing it since 1993. The restaurant is brainchild of Anne Quatrano and husband Clifford Harrison. Both have impressive backgrounds and accolades that are included but not limited to a James Beard award and Food and Wine best new chefs recognition. Their experience shaped into interest in American cuisine with locally sourced ingredients (albeit from their very own farm), a concept that was well before its time in popular farm to table places of today. Their menu rotates with the season and for our fall evening flavors revolved around root vegetables, earthy spices and deeply savory protein. The culinary team is led by executive chef Jonathan Kallini. Kallini has a foundation in hospitality and pastries but most impressive on his resume are stents at Noma and French Laundry. Both of which are bucket list destinations personally but Ill take a by proxy experience for the time being. The menu was a four course pre fixe style with about five options within each section. The theme and flavors were appropriate for the cooling temperatures and dry air. We started old school with sweetbreads and foie gras. One thing Bacchanalia does really well is impress but also widely approachable. Think simplicity but also high execution. These dishes could be enjoyed by most anyone coming out to celebrate a special occasion and not necessarily to be overtly adventurous. Options and descriptions were familiar and also somehow tasted brand new. These flavors came out and were presented perfectly layered through ingredients, skill and experience. The classic seared foie was savory and when paired with figs and Sauternes like wine (Chenin Blanc, Domaine Richou, Chauvigne) I could have died in that moment. This is what wine pairings were made for and here you have the choice to accompany as many or little dishes as you want which is refreshing from the typical all or nothing approach. A standout of the night was a lamb main course with root vegetable puree. Here the quality of the meat created a sauce from within itself and could have been the most tender beef ever but was elevated with novel flavors and showcased what the protein is capable of when prepared correctly. I also respected a third course cheese option. I can only imagine the behind the scene legwork necessary to make this available but after trying the parmesan I can see it was well worth the efforts. This dish had the cheese prepared two different ways with rolled oats and balsamic glaze in what reminded me of Massimo Bottura at Osteria Francescana (thank you Chef's Table). Is this a desert or is this something else? I like to think it is sometimes the confusion itself which delights the most. I could not have been more delighted to indulge and celebrate a special occasion. It felt great to be out at Bacchanalia and many thanks to them for reminding me of how great it feels to...