Blind Willie's — Restaurant in Atlanta

Blind Willie's is a small venue with a dance floor too close to the tables , tables too close together and a sound engineer that doesn't understand the facility. The only soft surface in the entire venue is the human body. There are to many tables. Customers have to stand and leave their table to let other people access their table. At 120 db above ambient the music was unpleasant . That's not to say that the band was bad but the volume to high to hear the color and quality of music being played. The food was typical bar quality fairly priced with reasonable serving size. The entry fee or cover charge while reasonable is cash only. The parking lot is the big cash cow. It's a scam if ever there was one. The lot is pay to park. Your phone is your meter. They boot the most expensive cars on the lot first time they police the lot. If you actually return before your legal expiration time you have to pay to expedite the removal of the inhibitor. When we provided evidence of legal parking they still want to be paid. They would except cash on arrival. They claim that we recorded our tag or telephone number incorrectly. Neither was true. They send text confirmation of legal parking and your required exit time. They claimed there was no record of payment or my phone number. This persisted until my legal time expired. Now they wanted late fees in addition to the removal fee. It's a hustle. Park at your own peril. Go, no go!!!! My advice is find another venue or park on the street. If you decide to go Take sound...

This place really is a hidden gem in Atlanta. It's big enough that you can fit in enough people without feeling cramped but small enough that you still feel like you're in this underground dive bar. The atmosphere is eclectic with lots of New Orleans/Mardi Gras decorations. They do serve a limited food menu of mostly Cajun/Louisianian cuisine (think Cajun Catfish, Cajun Wings, Red Beans and Rice (EXCELLENT!), Jambalaya, Gumbo, Sweet Potato fries) and cheap drinks (Sweetwater, Anita, Yuengling on Draft, plenty others in bottles plus wines, ciders - I saw one woman with a martini glass but didn't see that on the menu). The music was excellent and not too loud to enjoy. We were there on a Wednesday night and it was busy although not crowded. I notice several group of 6 or more. Most like to sit and enjoy the music but a few were dancing. There are stools at the bar but there is still room for you to go up and order. Overall a very nice musical experience in the heart of Atlanta. (FYI there is a paid parking lot across the street (cattacorner really). $5 for 2 hours cash or card with Wells Fargo ATM on site.)

Addendum: two people lit up cigarettes toward the end of our evening and completely ruined the night. I can't stand places that allow smoking (you should not subject all your customers to the perils of cigarette smoke against their will - it was not known that this was a smoking establishment) and therefore I downgrade my rating...

DO NOT GIVE YOUR CREDIT CARD FOR A TAB! We have been patrons of Blind Willies for many years - always enjoyed the live music, and loved the environment. My husband and I went Sunday, 2/25/2023, which was the first time since the COVID shutdown. Against my better judgment, Hailey, the server, said she needed my credit card to run a tab. Sure, that's normal. What's not normal is that when I was ready to close my tab, Hailey said she had 'mistakenly' given my credit card to someone else and she still had theirs. I'm fuming because I, obviously, made a mistake and trusted her. We exchanged numbers in case the other people returned to get their card. I froze my card and the next afternoon, someone in Morrow, GA tried to get $100 on my card at the Sam's Club. Wouldn't it be interesting if Hailey lives in or near Morrow? Needless to say, I have not heard from her and cannot get anyone to answer the phone even when they are supposed to be open. Can't send an email either because there's a "glitch" on their website. It has left a very bad taste in my mouth. Other than that, the music was great but get there early because for the $20 cover charge, you will be...