Bar Margot — Restaurant in Atlanta

Bar Margot, what happened?! What I remembered once before to be such a beautiful atmosphere during the holidays and a cozy place to go, has become a complete disappointment. The Bar Margot I remember from only a year or 2 ago was warm, welcoming and had such beautiful Christmas decor. The staff was professional and service was superior. Well I'm disappointed to say that this is not at all what I experienced this past weekend, less than a week from Christmas. There wasn't a single Christmas decoration, the overhead lights were so bright, the bartender (who wore street clothes) was completely uninterested and un-attentive and didn't have much knowledge on how to make simple drinks. The only thing that's remained the same is the very expensive cocktails and menu. Before, one wouldn't mind the price because of the service and atmosphere that came with it, but I'm sorry to say the quality of the experience now makes the price down right insulting ($20-30 cocktails). I came into the bar with a date looking to have a few drinks before our dinner reservation. We were told we could sit at the bar if it were free. I could tell right away that the atmosphere was off. Bright lights across the whole room, and not a single Christmas decoration to be see. No soft lounge type music (let alone Christmas music) and the staff were all wearing mismatched clothing. Nothing looked uniform. We sat at the end of the bar where directly in front of us was the bar sink and a counter with various empty liquor bottles. We could smell the back draft of the sink drain and had to stomach it the remainder of our visit. Awful. We ordered our drinks with the bartender, nothing complicated or overtly fancy, and then waited 15 minutes for him to begin making them because he was too occupied chatting with a couple on the opposite side of the bar. Mind you the bar was not crowded with customers nor was the rest of the room. My date finally got their drink after 20 minutes, and I then waited another 10 minutes for mine. Anyone working in service knows, you never deliver one party their food or drink and make the other wait. You deliver them together when they're both ready. We proceed to have our drinks, orded a second round and then requested our bill to leave. It took the bartender nearly 20 minutes to provide us our bill. Again the bar was not busy. Overall I have to say I am extremely disappointed. To be clear, it is the principle that the service and quality are equal to the price point. We spent $120 including tip on just 4 drinks. This is not the experience anyone should have for a $120 tab for 2 drinks each. I so hope that someone in management sees this review and makes dramatic changes. I will not recommend this bar to anyone...

I went to this bar yesterday around 4PM with a group of about 12 people. We were there for only about an hour to have a few drinks prior to going to a wedding in Atlanta. The bar/hotel itself was very nice, but the service was extremely slow. The bar itself was having a fairly slow late afternoon/early evening and there was maybe 30 people total there including our group. But our group didn't mind really because there was only 1-2 bartenders and we were jus conversating anyways. But it was taking 20+ mins just to get a beer (no food was ordered). Then the mixed drinks typically took even longer (the drinks were good, but nothing that should take 30+ mins at times).

Either way we were willing to look past all of this and didn't really mind, but when we went to check out I had noticed that the waitress had put an extra drink on my tab (I had 2 drinks, she chaged me for 3). So being in a large group and knowing this can happen, I politely went up to the waitress and informed her of it and in instead of being like "oh I'm sorry, let me correct this!" she came up with this whole story/conversation of what had happened and how I had ordered 3 drinks and that essentially I was wrong. At first, I was a little shocked with how the waitress just basically told me I was mistaken and that apparently I don't know the difference between 2 and 3. So I kind of argued with her for a few mins and went through the whole situation, but she was unwilling to listen and was not changing her mind. This lady made a much bigger deal about a $7 beer then there ever should have been.

Finally, I asked to speak to a manager because this lady was just being ridiculous. I literally explained the situation to the manager and he quickly took care of it without any thoughts or debate. He just laughed, rolled his eyes and said this stuff happens all the time and that he wasn't sure why the waitress just didn't take care of it. He was the only reason why the bar got a 1 star on my visit because he was professional and helpful.

Hopefully the waitress was just having a bad day, but overall our group was very unimpressed by the bar. I gave the waitress a $0 tip, but would have gave a tip to the manager. I will probably never go back unless I have to.

And just one final note... I am not one to do reviews because I know that reviews can hurt a business, but I was not happy about...

My husband surprised me by bringing me to Bar Margot on a Friday evening. Upon our arrival at The Four Seasons, we were greeted by friendly and quick valet service. As we walked into the restaurant, we were in awe of the stunning and hypnotizing atmosphere. Although this restaurant is inside of the beautiful Four Seasons, for us, Bar Margot stole the spotlight. The ambiance was sophisticated and cool with high quality and stylish decor. The DJ was impeccably dressed and we appreciated the diverse, upbeat selection and how he seemed to really vibe to each song he selected. After absolutely no wait, we were greeted by a courteous and professional host and hostess, one of which led us to our table (we had reservations). As we sat, we were greeted by several friendly servers and our Mixologist. We were in awe of how the staff went out of their way to ensure our dining experience was exceptional. Our meal consisted of multiple courses; each course was presented in a creative and aesthetically pleasing manner. The presentation of each dish was a true work of art. My favorite of the appetizers was the Crab and shrimp toast- it was incredibly delectable. I would seriously eat this dish every day if I could. For the main course, my husband raved about his rack of lamb and my salmon and risotto was absolutely mouthwatering. We have been to other similarly priced restaurants in Atlanta and left disappointed after spending so much and being dissatisfied with the quality, portions and taste of the food. This was not that experience- every dish at Bar Margot was satisfying and embodied the flavors described on the menu. The food was incredibly delicious and worth the cost. Now to our drinks. The drinks created by our mixologist, Nick, were, simply put- the best drinks we have ever had. We ordered a variety of drinks that night and each sip captured the various cocktails underlying essence perfectly - savory, sweet, refreshing and even spicy. We observed our servers and our mixologist interact with every customer as if they were the most important person in the room. Nick and the rest of the Bar Margot staff really made this night extremely special and memorable for us. The crowd was cool and relaxed. It was a truly great experience from the beginning to the end and we cannot...