Blue — Restaurant in Atlanta

I visited this place on October 27, 2023. Let's start with the Atmosphere's beautiful light fixtures, bar, and music, and the vibe was set visually. Now for the service Our waiter was fabulous, and I had No problem with him except that I had to wait for my food after everyone else came out on time. It just took a little while for him to be aware of the situation. One of our guests out of the group raved about the lamb chops. So, when I finally received them, I went straight for them. The lamb chops were cooked to perfection. Now, as for the sides, I had the mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach. After one bite of the mashed potatoes, I tasted nothing but salt! It was highly salty, as well as the spinach; they both had the same flavoring. So, there weren't any levels to the entrée. We all purchased alcoholic beverages. I bought a lemon drop with gin. It came with a sugar rim. With one sip, you could instantly tell it was concentrated lemon juice. My drink was also half full; all I can say is that it was a terrible cocktail! I'm motioning for the waiter to come over and explain my dislike and disappointment in the cocktail. He responded respectfully that I would have to speak with the manager; the manager finally came over and said that he could not take the drink off the bill, being that Georgia laws state all alcoholic beverage sales are final. I'm not from Georgia, so I wasn't aware. They offered to make me another drink. I declined at least four times by the fifth time. I said fine, and they finally returned my drink. The sugar rim slid all over the side of the glass. The glass came back super wet, sticky, and sloppy. The drink was also, again, half full. I explained this to the manager. Hey, the presentation wasn't the best, and my glass was half full, he said, and I quote, "There's no pleasing you". Who says that to a paying customer? Our bill came out over $400. For me, that was just terrible service and response as a manager. My partner and I, who work hard for our money, will never spend a dollar here again! The manager needs to learn some business etiquette. (FYI, the gratuity is already included) I Would have still tipped my waiter; as far as this business goes, they didn't deserve our funds. Do...

Generally, when I write a bad review, it stays that way, but this review has a happy ending. I've been to this establishment a couple of times. I have enjoyed the food, music, and the people, but this particular night was different. The line was wrapped around the building. It took us about 20 minutes to get in, and it was extremely cold. The place was lit! Once in, there was no place to sit so we stood by the bar, where an RSVP sign was. Ordering over $200 worth of drinks, one of the employees told us we could sit down. Later, after ordering an additional $100+ worth of drinks this lady comes out of nowhere screaming, "Get up! Y'all can't sit here!" We tried to explain but she was so rude. She was too busy yelling & wouldn't even listen, screaming, "I don't care! Get up, now!" She even went as far as to tell the other bartenders not to serve us. I asked one of the other bartenders for a drink, he said, "My manager told me no." I couldn't believe it. We had spent almost $500 in less than an hour to be treated this way?? To add insult to injury, we moved only for the seats to remain empty?? An employee told us to go talk to Ozzy & thank goodness we did. He made things right! He was apologetic, sympathetic, and showed the kind of hospitality missing in today's society. After the female manager made us get up, he allowed us to sit at the place we were originally sat. He gave us a bottle of champagne AND the birthday girl got a cake. The night ended on a high note. This place has good food, great service, and the atmosphere is truly amazing! Unfortunately, the old saying, "one bad apple spoils the bunch" has never been more true. Other than this one bad apple with the most nastiest attitude, I would recommend going here. I could go on about the female managers attitude, salty looks, rolling of eyes, but I don't want our one bad experience with her to reflect anyone's decision to go. I thank Ozzy, and the rest of the staff, for being truly amazing and making what could have been a disastrous night, completely wonderful. Blu has a DJ, TVs, delicious Mediterranean food & hookahs....

As with nearly all the bars in Buckhead they go from good to bad in a very short time. I went there this weekend (7-20-2019) and have never been treated so rudely by a Hostess. The art of the Food and Bev., Industry is to make your patrons feel welcome, and to always go the extra mile. Especially if you want to make tips. When I walked in I asked for a table outside (mind you there were nearly 15 people currently seated) to which I was told “Sorry we’re not serving outside”? Puzzled I asked what does that mean? And she said “I don’t understand what part of we’re not serving outside you’re not understanding”. Floored by her poor attitude I went to the bar (as we were waiting on some friends to arrive) and ordered two drinks then proceeded to sit outdoors. I then took a second run (still waiting on our friends) and again asked to please have one of the staff members wipe-off the table and bring over some cushions for the outside furniture. Again she said that’s not possible ... even though there were two tables currently set up with cushions, a waitress openly serving and hookahs all fired up. It wasn’t until my friend arrived and offered (to take care of her) that she became relatively interested to make it all happen. Additionally, the outside area is infested with cockroaches, and the majority of the patrons are absolute thugs. For example, as you walk in you’re frisked by security (which is not necessarily a bad thing) but when you combine their security to then notice two Atlanta PD squad cars parked on the street it’s a clear indiction you’re not in a good place. Simply put, Istanblue has acquired the “plague”. And it’s truly unfortunate as at one time it was a pretty cool place to frequent. But in its current state of affairs it will fail to attract the right clients... that have the real discretionary income to keep the venue opened for...