Delbar - Inman Park — Restaurant in Atlanta

Delbar is amazing! The food and drinks here are exceptional. This is undoubtedly the best Mediterranean spot for lunch/dinner I've been to, so far.

We came here on my birthday week, and ordered a table for three. Last visited: July 2023.

We had made a reservation and got seating inside. Initially, the place was packed at the time we came, as apparently Delbar is insanely popular. The decor/ambiance and seating indoors was antique and rather quaint, with dim recessed lighting that was bright but not too bright -- I decided I liked it as a whole.

For drinks, our table ordered: Chahar Bagh Daryush's Crown Chateau du Cedre Marcel Malbec

For food (app/entrees/dessert): Za'atar Fries Sabzi Polo Beet Carpaccio Chinjeh Dill Labneh w/ lamb & za'atar (add-on) Garlic Toum Seabass Baklava

I ordered the Chahar Bagh if memory serves correct, upon recommendation of waiter. It was just the right amount of sweet and a little sour, and would probably get it again.

All the food here was surprisingly excellent, lot of great and unique flavors, and fresh and top-notch ingredients. I struggle to point out the best dish, as it was all solid.

The highlights of the food: Beet Carpaccio — definitely get this as the app, & you'll thank me later. The beets are so well laid out, and they put what looks like spices and herbs over it, and drizzle it with oil and a sweetish sauce. Try it with the dollops of yogurt it comes peppered with for an elevated taste, but even without it, it tastes remarkable and unlike regular beets (due primarily to the magical sauce, I think), which is awesome. Our table couldn't get enough of these. The only downside is quantity, as there doesn't seem enough to go around! Dill Labneh, w/ the lamb add-on for extra — definitely get this as well, and with the lamb add-on to boot (assuming you're ok with meat). The yogurt is out of this world, for reals, and it pairs remarkably well with the lamb bits. Home run! Seabass — WOW, whatever you do definitely do not skip this! The sea bass (fish filet cubes) just tastes so incredibly smooth, like aged cheese left for years underwater over fast moving rapids. I'll agree that's a strange analogy, but you have to try it yourself to taste for yourself. It's soft, almost buttery, and very juicy, like steak but even more so. One bite and you're in heaven. It's literally chef's kiss, no joke! The one downside are the very small portions, doesn't seem to be a shareable size overall. Otherwise, incredible. Chinjeh — lamb kabob, which is pretty spot on. It's not as unique-tasting as the yogurt or Seabass, but it's traditional middle-eastern food, and it goes well with most anything, such as sauce or rice. I would say this or a similar kabob is worth it. Baklava — great dessert, highlight of traditional Turkish cuisine! It was a bit on the sweetish side and eventually became too runny with sweet sauce, but while it lasted it was great-tasting and managed to hit the spot. It helped that it was a complimentary dish (on the house) since it was my b-day week!

Overall, our group had a really great time at Delbar. The ambiance was spot on, the conversations were light-hearted and warm and convivial, and the dining experience and tasting was -- in a word -- exceptional.

The only downsides I can think of, are that portion sizes for food (at least the parts that matter, such as yogurt and meat) are on the lighter side, whereas the portions on the stuff that we didn’t really care overmuch about, such as rice and fries, are provided in abundance. We would’ve liked to see bigger portions for yogurt and meat, but again — this is not a deal-breaker by any means.

I'll admit I’ve not been to many Mediterranean spots before, but I would say Delbar is (or ought to be) a mainstay for many native Atlantans. It's well worth your time and money here, especially for any special occasions as it was for us!...

We have eaten at Delbar many times and really enjoyed it… I love Mediterranean food, and usually we are not disappointed. That being said, this was not one of those visits. We made a reservation at 2:30, and was promptly seated at 2:33… The host stand was very nice and accommodating, and it was a pleasant experience to start off with…. We were sat at a table close to the hostess stand and by the big window, unfortunately the chair I was in was very old and was saggy and I had to request a couple pillows just so I could sit up a bit. No problem… The host just got it for me right away… unfortunately it went all downhill from there… The Server never even came to greet us for about 12 minutes… eventually coming by and dropping off two bottles of water and saying I’ll be right back…she wasn’t. We had just commented on how nice the little flowers were on the table when a man came by with a big tray and was taking all the flowers off of tables whether you’re sitting there or not. Isn’t that just a bit weird?, can’t they wait till you’re up? anyway, our server finally came back around and took a drink order and then informed us that since our reservation was so late the kitchen was about to close and they needed to get the whole order in… so basically if you have a late reservation, you will not get the same level of service and detail as somebody else who gets an earlier reservation. so we gave her the appetizer order and the food order, We did not see her again for about 20 minutes… I eventually found a manager and asked him if he could see where our drinks were since it was already 3:15 and we haven’t had anything yet… he immediately apologized and within five minutes, we had our drinks, he came by and comped them saying that they took way too long. Then they brought us out the big breakfast platter that serves four people and is supposed to be served with bread, not to mention all of the rest of the food that we ordered, so much for being an appetizer , and also the bread never came with it and about five minutes later when our Server came back out, I asked her if it was supposed to come with bread and she said yes let me go get it, we never saw her again for about 10 minutes. Again, I had to ask a manager and he got us some bread right away… I don’t think you’re supposed to eat the spreads , butters and the cheeses with just a spoon… And as far as the food is concerned, I had the steak cooked, medium rare, and it was completely flavorless and cold… I would have sent it back if she had come back to check on us within a reasonable amount of time, but she did not. A couple things, if she is so busy, then she needs to ask for help and see if a manager can at least get drink orders for us instead of disappearing, we never even saw where she went because we looked around for in the restaurant and didn’t see her. Secondly, I saw a lot of managers walking around with headphones in, most with a sour look on their faces , and I pointed out to the manager that I see a lot of people moving, but nothing really happening… and I am very patient since I do work in the restaurant industry, but in this particular case it felt like we were treated as an afterthought or punished for having a late reservation. Why take the reservation so late if you’re just going to close the kitchen, as soon as the people are sat? And to finish up, as we’re about to leave, a guy came by and put a lighted votive on our table… Reaching across us to do so. Again, something that could’ve waited until we were up. Maybe it is a one off, or maybe it is their culture… But that being said the people in our group were not impressed and said they probably would not return if this was their first time. Complacency can kill...

The food is amazing but the service was astonishingly bad. Our bartenders were so inexplicably rude that our entire meal was comped by the manager, who I give credit to for his handling of the situation. We were a party of 3 females, aged 50. We were served one drink at a standing table. A younger and rambunctious coed party, having a very fun evening, cleared out of the bar area, offering for us to tag along with them. We took their vacated bar seats instead. The male and female bartender seemed rude from the start. They took our drink order with much irritation. I asked to order the spread that came with the lamb and was told, again with irritation, that I wasn’t being specific enough. The female bartender then recommended a large number of dishes. “I recommend the sea bass which would go well with your wine.” I explained we had eaten dinner and only needed a light snack. She asked if I wanted her to order what she thought we might like (kebabs , rice ) and I agreed, already understanding her intent to rack up a larger bill… but not too concerned by it. The food continues to arrive until we have 6 large dishes in front of the 3 of us. I explain to my surprised friends that I had okayed it. This is when we reminded the bartender of our drink order, assuming they got busy and forgot, and he tells us, with the most condescending attitude it was hard to believe, that they will not serve us alcohol because we had had enough. All three of us were completely shocked. We were not wasted. We were not obnoxious. We were 3 middle aged women sitting at a bar having a conversation in a normal tone with a TON of food in front of us that we did not intend to order. I’ve spent so much time in restaurants, and I have never been treated this way. I cannot understand what the reasons may have been for treating us with such disdain. The food is amazing, and the manager was also excellent, but my guests and I, who live in the neighborhood and were frequent visitors, will not be returning. I hope the service will be improved to match the caliber...