Indaco — Restaurant in Atlanta

i’m going to be very honest: the quality of the food did not align with the quality of the vibe and the service.

first impression obviously matters and this restaurant is in the same building as a blackrock and mckinsey office. immediately i knew i was in for a ride. the service i was met with was PHENOMENAL. more on this below

the first appetiser we got was the stracciatella and toast. this was amazing ! every ingredient built into each other with the only slight exception being the honey which was slightly heavier than necessary and resulted in it slightly dominating the other flavour profiles. otherwise a beautifully mild dish, perfect as the first stomach opener.

they gave us the endive and apple for free saying that it was a “gift” from the staff. unbelievable service, not sure what we did to deserve this free dish. this appetiser was slightly disappointing tho. it is just a salad. i can tell that the fig vinaigrette was supposed to balance out the blue cheese, but honestly it just ended up enhancing the sourness of the cheese rather than balance it out (because it’s ultimately a vinaigrette and not a fig jam). the hazelnut streusels were a nice crunchy sweeter addition which balanced out the dish but since there was only a few sprinkles of it, it wasn’t able to balance out the sourness by itself.

the first pasta we got was the ditalini nero. this was honestly a very well put together dish. the crispy ham, the shrimp, the infused pasta all complimented each other.

the second pasta was the spaghetti. this was a little confusing as i did not expect it to be predominantly spicy. i assumed, because of the use of sea urchin as the protein, this would a seafood-focused pasta. instead, i found that the urchins were used as a garnish and the spaghetti was just doused in chilli butter and various spices. none of the intricate flavours were coming out in this dish as the focus on the chillis flattened out the flavour profile as a whole. because of this, i was confused if the chillis added to the dish at all. i wish the more intricate spices could bloom a little more to give it that deeper flavour and oomph.

we were then given ANOTHER dish for free. this time it was the cauliflower and radicchio. honestly i couldn’t each much of this dish because it was slightly burnt. would love to give a review of its flavours but unfortunately the bitterness of the burnt parts meant i couldn’t give it a fair chance.

finally we ordered the dessert. we got the zeppole which is small doughnut balls. i meant they’re just doughnut balls, nothing particular to note here. very fluffy though.

we then got ANOTHER dish for free. this time it was the tiramisu. unfortunately, we were unlucky and they had just taken the tiramisu out of the cooler room so it didn’t have the chance to warm up a bit before it came to us. so we ate a half frozen tiramisu which was honestly not as bad as u might think. i liked the crunch of the ice HAHA. but overall, this tiramisu was pretty standard, but i feel like the cream they used could’ve been a little higher quality (or maybe i’m just used to new zealand cream) so honestly i can’t say for certain if it was just american standard cream that gives it this super heavy taste (the same feeling u might get from eating too much greasy food)

the host gave us her personal contact details and told us to contact them so that they can give us the “full red carpet experience” next time. not sure if they mistook us for celebrities but no complaints about the absolutely jawdroppingly amazing service from angel and macy!

they were also super attentive and asked for my opinion about each dish and i was so honoured and grateful....

Ah, Indaco, where the ambiance outshines the food and the warmth of the welcome depends entirely on whether or not you’re ordering alcohol. We arrived to be greeted like royalty—warm smiles, attentive service, all the charm of an upscale dining experience. That is, until we committed the cardinal sin of saying, “No, thank you” to the Prosecco and cocktail menu.

Daniel, our waiter, who up until that point seemed quite happy with our existence, quickly made it clear that our beverage choices were… disappointing. Nothing like a Diet Coke order to test a waiter’s poker face. Spoiler: Daniel doesn’t have one.

But onto the food, because, well, that’s the whole reason we came. We started with the meatball appetizer, which, despite arriving somewhat cold, was delicious.

Then came the star of the evening: the $45 mushroom risotto. I don’t know who thought serving risotto on a flat plate was a good idea, but I suspect that person hated science and the concept of heat retention. This “culinary masterpiece” which came recommended by Daniel was a thin, yellowish layer of rice, so rich with butter it could’ve been mistaken for a kids menu of buttered orzo. I couldn’t tell if it was actually cold or if the sheer ridiculousness of the plate design sapped all the heat from it the moment it hit the table. For $45, I expected risotto. What I got was an overpriced puddle of buttery regret.

Dessert came in the form of a cappuccino, which remained consistent with the nights theme of “all things cold”. It, too, was served cold and with enough foam to pass as a bubble bath.

Indaco is undeniably beautiful. The lighting, the decor, the ambiance—everything screams “gorgeous night out.” But unless they start serving the ambiance with value, I’ll be ordering my Diet Coke—and my $45 entree elsewhere.

P.s. Treat your non-drinking customers well. You don’t know why someone might not be drinking, and that doesn’t mean you’re not going to be tipped well just bc the bill isn’t loaded down...

The parking to the restaurant is tricky. There's a valet booth but you can park in the garage basement under the building that the restaurant is in. The restaurant will validate the garage parking ticket for the first 2 hours. Because the restaurant is tucked inside an office building and is not allowed to have sign outside so there was a small standing board in front of the building entrance, that is very easy to miss at night. Don't risk it and park in the Kroger parking lot, you might get towed.

When you enter the building, there's a sign inside the elevator to inform that Indaco is located on the "Office lobby level." You can also take the elevator from the parking garage. I didn't know this at the beginning, so I walk from the basement garage all the way back to building front. But when leaving, I took the elevator straight to the parking garage.

We went on a Monday night so there's plenty of seats available, though we did make a reservation. Our server, Destiny, is very attentive and friendly. She has good knowledge of the menu. She helps exchanging the side dish for me because the sauce is too spicy for my taste. The decor and ambience are modern and nice. We had:

Maine mussels: the mussels are very fresh Crispy oysters: flavorful seasoned and tasty Prosciutto & arugula pizza Pan seared sea bass: the fish is alright but the rest of the dish such as the fregula and cauliflower all taste very fishy. Crispy potatoes: the chili aioli is too spicy for me, and the potato is a bit salty.

There was no chocolate cake option, so I didn't order the dessert. But it was my birthday, so Destiny brought me a chocolate soft serve with a candle. It was on the house. That is considerate of the restaurant and staff for doing that. I had a really nice experience dine in here. Will come back to try other dishes. Highly...