Brassica — Restaurant in Atlanta

I never write reviews but I had a VERY disappointing time at Waldorf Astoria Brassica during afternoon tea, and felt compelled to share my experience.

First, I made a reservation for a bachelorette celebration and the restaurant called an hour prior to confirm that we were still coming. Despite the confirmation call, things seemed a bit chaotic when we got there. They walked us to the tea room but then asked us to leave the room while they finished setting up our table - what was the point of the confirmation call if they weren't ready?

We initially sat in the ballroom area and asked if we could sit near the windows. However, we were told those tables were reserved for others. Later, we noticed other guests being offered those seats so...did they leave those seats for people who looked like they could pay (for reference, we all look quite young)?

The servers didn't make things better. When we sat down, we asked for sparkling water. A different server came and mentioned that we didn't pre-pay for the tea service, so they would have to start a tab.

Then another server came and mentioned yet again that we didn't specify the tea tier selection and asked which tier we would like. I want to stress that there were no such instructions on OpenTable. The only tier we could select on OpenTable was the Peacock tier, but our party consisted of two people that did not drink alcohol, so it didn't make sense to book this for the entire party. They could have just asked us which tier selection we wanted rather than mentioning the pre-pay part because it felt like they were judging us for not prepaying. They didn't even offer us menus and assumed we already knew what we wanted.

The food was another letdown – everything was far too sweet, the bread was disappointingly stale, and the scones weren't warm. The macarons crumbled when picked up - it seemed like these were premade much earlier and left out for a while before bringing them to us. For an establishment such as the Waldorf Astoria, I expected better quality. In comparison to other establishments such as the Mandarin Oriental or the Plaza, this experience fell short of expectations.

On top of all that, there were some questionable differences in how guests were treated. This made me wonder if there might be bias based on race or age, which is...

EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCE. Attended the Christmas Day five-course tasting menu, cost $175 per person (paid upfront during the reservation). It was a complete disappointment from start to finish.

First, our reservation was for 7:00 PM. We arrived promptly at 6:55, only to be told by the front desk hostess lady—who didn’t even bother to greet us—that our table wasn’t ready. We ended up WAITING 32 MINUTES past our reservation time with no explanation or apology offered.

What is the point of making a reservation if it isn’t honored?

Having dined at many upscale restaurants in Atlanta, I have never experienced such poor service.

When we inquired about the delay, a staff member simply stated they were “preparing the tables,” with no acknowledgment of the inconvenience.

Once seated, the poor service continued. A server lady in red silently brought the first dish, Truffle Potato Pavé, without any explanation or even basic introduction. Just silently placed in front of us and left. It felt unprofessional and unwelcoming.

As for the food, the portions were shockingly SMALL and the flavors UNDERWHELMING.

Truffle Potato Pavé was bland, Smoked Swordfish was bland and flavorless, and the Wagyu was mediocre. Both the fish and the Wagyu were served cold.

The only enjoyable element was the duck in the Duck Salad, but even that dish was flawed—the greens in the salad were not fresh. And the portion size was still far too small to feel satisfying.

For a total of five dishes, the $175-per-person price tag was outrageous considering the poor quality of both the food and the service.

We left the restaurant hungry, frustrated, and disappointed.

This experience was NOT worth the price, the time, or the frustration. CANNOT recommend...

This high-end restaurant is located inside of the Waldorf Astoria and is stunningly well-apportioned from the moment you walk in. The entirety of your surroundings in this opulent building are designed and arranged to be visually appealing, classy and unique. The staff is very professional, formal yet friendly, efficient and attentive. Our server was absolutely excellent and made us feel right at home by describing the menu items, providing interesting bits of conversation and really being present with us, positively contributing to our experience. The prices are about what you would expect from any Atlanta high-end restaurant, however, the food is anything but. There was a fantastic selection of top shelf cocktails and quality wines. I recommend an old-fashioned made with Angel's Envy (or two). First they bring out the bread, the focaccia was delicious, but what really stole the show were the bite-sized, pimento cheese filled rolls. For starters, we had the corn bisque which was perfectly seasoned and had sauteed shrimp with excellent flavor. For the main course, we ordered the shareable rack of venison cooked medium rare. It came out cooked perfectly with crispy, roasted brussel sprouts, all of which was so good, I may have forgotten to chew. We also split a plate of beef poutine, which was probably fantastic, But trying to follow that venison is a tall task. They have excellent premium coffee drinks as well, my two lattes were very high quality. I am not a fan of tarts, but this one seemed to be high quality, and my dinner companion ate it right up. So overall, everything was very high quality and extremely satisfying. The menu options were unique and creative and prepared expertly. I highly recommend this restaurant. Visited...