Gunshow — Restaurant in Atlanta

After all the great things said about Gunshow by friends and other reviewers my wife and I decided to go here on our anniversary. I was expecting to spend a lot of money on dinner, but also have a great experience. Unfortunately, I just spent a lot of money.

The food was hit or miss, but the good food is really good. The ambiance is busy and loud. I went on a Tuesday night at 8p at they were packed, even when we left around 9:30. My wife ended up getting earplugs from the car because the music was so loud that she was getting a headache. Still, we would have had a decent experience if it were not for the cooks and their really poor attitudes. Out of the 4+ cooks that came by the table asking if we wanted to sample said plate of food, only one did not treat us like an inconvenience. Normally I would not think anything of it, but almost everyone we came in contact with apart from our server, the host, one of 4+ cooks/food runners, and the management that came to speak to us after dinner treated us like an annoyance. They did not smile, they were rushed, and just generally felt unwelcome. One of the cooks talked down to my wife about not being open to trying new things, when in reality she had tried to foods he was offering and didn't like the texture. Another time we had said no to a plate but asked a question, but he acted offended that we didn't want his plate and walked off. We also asked for a couple of desserts to go but the chef refused to allow us to leave with the chocolate mousse because the ice cream would melt. I asked if they would just leave the ice cream off or put it in a little container, they said no to both and simply refused to let us do the mousse as a to-go order.

I would have given this one star because some of the food was really good but the level of service and the general unwelcomeness we felt overshadowed the entire experience. I added another star because the management made an effort to improve our experience and I appreciate that. We had no intention of complaining, but after our meal a manager came up and asked us about our experience. We were honest, and he asked if we wanted to call anyone out in particular. Instead, I pointed out the one person who we felt was actually trying and told them he did a great job. I told them we did not want anything, and would not have said anything if they did not ask. They ended up comping our...

The name of the restaurant fits the experience to a ‘t’ . I was not fully aware of what the experience entailed before coming, I just knew it was going to be epic… and I was right!! From the moment we took a step into the doors the show started!

The opening act: taking our jackets, a personalized menu (we were celebrating my birthday), and they set us up at the chef’s table where we got to see them cooking in the kitchen.

To set us up for the next act they explained how the chefs were going to bring out plates directly to our table in front of us, explain them, and then we had to decide if we wanted to try them on the spot.

Act 1 started out strong. It felt like rapid fire as they were constantly consistent with bringing out dishes. Not going to lie, it was a little overwhelming at first but once we got our bearings of the menu and just soaked it up- we were able to fully embrace it. We started out by trying a fabulous crab cornbread dish and the night continued with strong entrees. We did pass on some entrees but still felt very satisfied with our choices in the end and felt full too.

I guess you can call all the entrees an act in themselves too. Each of them were unique and like nothing else I have ever tried. I throughly enjoyed the quail, trout, and tuna. The other dishes we tried were good too, in the fact that I would have never expected to try anything like them. That was the case with the lobster soup, wagyu filet, and the beef tartar.

For the grand finale, dessert was presented on a platter and we picked what we wanted from them. We went with their classic banana pudding and Swiss roll. The banana pudding was FANTASTIC. So full of bananas and topped with a mound of meringue. The cake was interesting in flavors, but a good try.

All through out this epic show the ‘performers’ (service) were over the top out- of this world. It was a well oiled machine and you could tell everyone enjoyed their job. It was cool to talk to the chefs personally too! We were never without water and had a constant flow of clean plates and silverware.

For the encore they out did themselves. I asked for someone to take a picture of us. And they ended up getting the chefs to take a picture WITH us and gave us a Polaroid!

Hands down the most epic food show ever and I would highly...

I feel fortunate that having had the opportunity to dine a little over half a dozen times at Gunshow, I am constantly recommending this highly unique restaurant to only those friends, colleagues and acquaintances that are gourmands. As each and every time I have had the wonderful opportunity to dine at this establishment it was more dazzling than the last visit!

Gunshow is rebellious and truly one-of-a-kind in that young Chefs experiment and share their creations with diners. If you are fortunate to score a table facing the kitchen to watch the “show” in Gunshow you will be terribly impressed at the mastery of these Young Guns!

We were the first diners to arrive for the early seating on 23rd of December 2020 and I was observing how the place, especially the dining room was re-engineered for the safety of the patrons during the Covid-19 pandemic. Great care was taken to ensure that those dining were safe and secure in dining in an indoor yet very open environment.

Each dish was lovingly prepared and described like a soliloquy to my dining companion and myself. The poetry of their Prix Fixe meal is incomparable as no other restaurant in Atlanta, GA quite has this formula for a dining experience. Their website states, “Chef Kevin Gillespie’s restaurant Gunshow offers a bold, interactive take on the traditional dining experience. Dishes are presented to guests, at their tables, by the chef that prepared the dish.” And they do their best to uphold this stellar standard.

Each dish was more inventive and unique as the next. We embraced the “newness” of the flavours and the descriptions. And I so wanted to give them 5 out of 5 stars because the service was superb!

Alas, during our dinner experience, we were, greeted by a cockroach that fell on the arm of my dining companion during the third course. While a smaller than average roach, it certainly made an “entrance” as it were, and we did our best to not be so grossed out to leave. After all, I had been bragging about this restaurant for the weeks leading up to our, much coveted reservation. Luckily, the wait staff made quick haste of the little critter.

Would I return? Certainly. But maybe during a very cold month with...