Holeman and Finch — Restaurant in Atlanta

We dined at Holeman & Finch’s new Colony Square location, hoping to relive my partner and his mom’s fond memories of the original spot. Unfortunately, this visit was underwhelming.

The menu is overwhelmingly carb-heavy with little variety, making it difficult to find well-balanced options. Given the restaurant's wild game-inspired branding, it was surprising to see no game meat options—no rabbit, despite it being their mascot. We got:

Charcuterie & Country Ham – One of the stronger dishes, featuring four thinly sliced meats, including a flavorful bresaola. The accompaniments—lemon mustard, cornichons, honeycomb, and sourdough—paired well, and the portion was generous.

Welsh Rabbit – Essentially melted cheese on toast. While the thick brioche was nice, the cheese-worcestershire blend tasted flat and one-dimensional. It might work alongside a strong beer, but on its own, it felt heavy and uninspired.

Shrimp & Avocado Salad – The crisp lettuce and bitter radicchio could have been a bright contrast, but the entire salad was drowned in an overly acidic citrus vinaigrette. The avocado and shrimp made it filling, but the dressing overwhelmed everything.

Spaghetti Carbonara – A small, forgettable portion that lacked the hallmark qualities of carbonara. It had a creamy, buttery sauce but was missing the punch of black pepper and the depth of well-rendered guanciale. The spaghetti itself was bland and could have added more character to round out the dish.

Cheeseburger & Fries – This is what they’re known for, but it was unimpressive. It tasted nearly identical to their stadium version, although slightly more juicy and with fresher bread. The fries, however, were enjoyable, especially with the homemade ketchup, which leaned more on the sweet side.

Skillet Cornbread – The highlight of the meal. Served hot, with a perfect balance of crunch and softness. The sorghum and butter helped mellow the sweetness of the corn, and the portion was large enough for several people. Very well-executed.

The dessert menu was another disappointment. After a meal heavy on bread and starch, the only dessert options were similarly dense—sticky toffee pudding, bananas foster, and other rich choices. Something lighter, perhaps citrus-based or with bitter elements, would have helped balance the menu and aid digestion.

Beyond the food, the experience felt rushed. Appetizers, mains, and even the cornbread arrived nearly all at once, making it difficult to enjoy the meal at a comfortable pace.

Service felt more like basic order-taking rather than a thoughtful dining experience. The server made no effort to guide us through the menu, suggest items, or offer opinions. Despite us ordering multiple bread-based dishes, she didn’t steer us toward more varied options like oysters, bone marrow, or a lighter dish to balance the meal. This was a missed opportunity to enhance our experience and even upsell. While she was pleasant enough and checked in periodically, there was no real engagement until the overly enthusiastic farewell at the end—perhaps to make up for the lack of attentiveness earlier.

The restaurant leans heavily on alcohol pairing to complement its dishes, but the food doesn’t stand on its own. If you enjoy hearty, beer-friendly fare, this might work for you—but if you’re looking for a well-rounded, dynamic dining experience, I’d suggest looking elsewhere. My partner and his mom agreed: the quality, variety, and overall experience have declined significantly since the...

Holeman and Finch. Hmmmm. Still can't make up my mind about this place. I have been here a couple of times. The first time was a disaster. The server on my first visit was atrocious. It was as though someone took a frat house in the late 90's, turned it upside down, shook it and the server fell out of the frat house and into the restaurant (puka shell necklace and all.) Within a 3 minute period of going over the menu he referred to at least a dozen things as "the bomb". The first time I got their burger and it was really great. It was not the best burger I have ever had. However, it was high quality beef that was well seasoned and well executed. It was not good enough to make me want to come back just for the sake of the burger. The table I ate at the first time was so small that our drinks had to be set on the window sill. It was the smallest table I have ever sat at in my life. My elbows were furious. This brings me to my second visit. I sat on the bar side during this last visit on the weekend. The table against the wall was awkwardly shallow as well. Just an extra inch or two would have been amazing. I know it may sound like I am a furniture maker that is just critical of everyone elses tables, but I assure you I am not a furniture maker. If you visit and sit at one of the tables to eat, you will see what I am saying. We ordered the meatballs and house cured plate on our last visit. Two of the three cured meats were delicious. The 3rd was such an texturally atrocious abomination that I had trouble not getting sick. I did not want to say anything to my girlfriend because I wanted her to be able to form her own opinion independent of my own. This was a mistake. She placed the cured meat in her mouth and her eyes instantly watered from the gelatinous, chewy, slimy texture. Then her face turned red. She was on the verge of throwing up as well. There we sat next to one another summoning up our courage to just swallow without chewing or choking. We made it! It felt like the bite had lasted years. I had flashbacks of a bizarre foods episode with Andrew Zimmern and it dawned on me that I had just had lardo. It is not recommended. I would suggest making the fatback something that is not on the cured meat sampler or at least disclosing on the menu what the cured meat plate includes. The good news about the lardo is my dog loved it! The best news of the day.

The pork meatballs are a stand alone amazing dish that any other restaurant in the greater Atlanta area will have trouble accomplishing. The meatballs are juicy and the sauce is superb. The sauce is complex and manages a nice balance between sweet, savory, & with a hint of heat on the backend.

The servers and staff were great this time around. The best news about the service was I did not see the 90's frat guy in there this time around (he really ruined it the first time) The atmosphere will never be for everyone but it appeals to me personally. Edison bulbs, reclaimed wood, iron works, rock and roll. Overall it is worth the stop, especially if you enjoy a little culinary adventure with a strong backbone of well...

I went here w/a friend from Chicago. He and I have very similar tastes in food and eating out. He eats out a lot more than I do for business meals so he dines @the best places in every city he travels to. As a native nyer I've also been spoiled w/excellent food. H&F is a widely buzzed about gastropub so we tried it. They don't take reservations but for a Mon. night it was busy but we only waited 10 mins. The design of the place feels like a rustic small European butcher shop within the restaurant. A variety of meats hang inside glass chambers. They showcase the kitchen as well. While we were waiting we perused the signature cocktail menu which had a good variety. The wine menu is also good and compliments the all meat menu. For the appetizer the pimento cheese plate was recommended, it was good but nothing extraordinary. However what was out of this world were the following plates: chicken pate (the duck was out) and little neck clams. The pate was heavenly and creamy. Blended with the right flavors and on top was a sliver of apple cider flavored jam, we were Oooing & mmming- well I was OH MY God a couple of times. Possibly on par w/the When Harry Met Sally restaurant scene. The toasted pre buttered bread slices were a great base w/this dish. The little neck clams, my choice, had a surprisingly delicious broth we couldn't wrap our taste buds around. A light creamy broth with jalapeno peppers and hickory smoked bacon bits tantalized and piqued our taste buds. We asked about the ingredients and were surprised at the simplicity of the broth. Again the bread pairing was very good. We also tried the steak tartare b/c I like it @French places, this tartare was very different. Rather than the popular cool grassy citrusy and a slight tomato and onion taste, H&F's style is creamier almost like the pate but still chunky. And on top was a shredded grass like potato string topping. It was great but again very different. Lastly we also had the roasted corn with cilantro based mayo and the trout. The corn was flavorful and there was not too much mayo so I was happy. The trout was disappointing, it was mostly skin with little meat and was salty so you had to eat w/the corn bread so the flavors balance out. Overall, the food was great, service toward the end of the night was slow we had to flag down our server but overall they did a good job. The price is costly but given the fresh quality and creative dishes ahem- pate and the little neck clams, it's worth the foodgasm. Would I go...