Le Bon Nosh — Restaurant in Atlanta

Le Bon Nosh has been on my partner and I’s go to list, as we drive by it frequently and became almost instantly attracted to its aesthetic. When we finally arrived, we were even more impressed by the beauty of this restaurant, it’s absolutely gorgeous inside, but unfortunately the energy of the staff could not match that in the slightest.

We arrived around 8pm on 8/7/24 to a mostly empty restaurant ( 3-4 tables occupied including the outside patio), where we were quickly acknowledged (not greeted) by the host/bartender? Not sure what her official title is, but she made it clear she wasn’t interested in seating us. She asked if we had reservations and when we didn’t she became more visibly annoyed by our presence. She quickly sat us down inside, nearly throwing our menus on the table, never asking our preference in sitting outside or indoors. At this point, I felt uncomfortable and definitely unwelcome, I wanted to just get up and leave, as the restaurant inside was cold and stale in more ways than one.. My partner politely asked once she finally returned if it’d be possible to seat us outside, which she replied she’d have to see if that were possible.

She returned, once again, extremely hostile and told us our table outside is ready, I thanked her kindly and received no response. She sat us down and walked away as quickly as she possibly could, not asking if we needed water or anything ( at this point we’ve been in the restaurant over 10 minutes). I didn’t get our server’s name, but she was the only staff member to make our experience enjoyable. She was personable and knowledgeable about the menu. Before I get into the details of our meal, I must also point out the coldness of who I believe must’ve been the manager on duty. When we walked in the empty restaurant she’d look at us and look away as if she was avoiding contact by any means necessary, it was just really weird and made us feel very uncomfortable. I personally have worked in fine dining for many years and have never experienced something like this, especially from upper management.

However, I must say, the food was pretty good. We started with the caviar and chips which was a very unique and fun appetizer. For entrees I had the Steak Au Poivre and my date had the Spaghetti Bolognese. My steak wasn’t the most flavorful, but it was cooked perfectly; my partner enjoyed his entree as well. Dessert was definitely the highlight of our meal. We indulged in the date cake, chocolate cake, and dolce leche gelato, which were all phenomenal! So our compliments go solely to our waitress and the kitchen staff. I ordered the same cocktail 3 different times throughout our meal, and each time the drink tasted differently, so maybe this just isn’t the place to go if you’re looking for a Hugo spritz and friendly service. I hope the team at Le Bon Nosh can grow with this review, as it has potential to truly be great! Maybe other guests have been made to feel more welcome and appreciated, but we definitely weren’t, and that sucks after spending over...

I dined at this venue at night and for brunch. This venue is very different during the day and at night. At night, it appears to be posh, sexy, and it is dimly lit. There is typical waiter service, where you order from a menu and a waiter serves your table. You may dine at the bar, as well. However, during the day it is like a regular cafe where you buy food and bring it to your own table. Servers clear your table and bring foods that have to be prepared. I met up with a college friend at the bar. I wanted a cappuccino but there is not a barista in the evening, only a bar. So, I settled for a coffee flavored martini - while I am not a drinker, that martini did not disappoint!! I was ecstatic that this restaurant does not serve basic bottled water, like Perrier or San Pellegrino. Instead, they carried my favorite Italian brand of bottled water "Acqua Panna." The raw oysters were refreshing. The cooked muscles were great because they were not leathery/chewy, instead the texture was smooth and easy to chew and digest. The Italian ice cream (I forgot the name, but it wasn't gelato) was delicious. Trust the bartender's recommendations. I had a great meal and experience during my first visit in part because of her recommendations. I met up with another friend for Sunday brunch. I was not as impressed with this restaurant for brunch. While the servers did a great job of balancing the high quantity of people, I was not impressed by the food or ambiance. I ordered a glass of orange juice and a croissant. The OJ was not natural as it did not contain pulp or any other characteristic of natural or cold pressed orange juice! I was shocked and disappointed, especially since it is located across the street from Whole Foods, which carries fresh OJ. I mean, if the venue wants to be fancy, then they should go all the way. The croissant was okay...it just didn't taste as buttery and crisp as I am used to. Also, I didn't like that people could bring their pets to the patio. I felt uncomfortable with people walking past me with pets wiggling about in their arms (dogs are not meant to be carried, tbh) and dog hair flying into the air and past/on my table. I would not dine here for lunch, again as a result of the lack of hygiene and natural OJ. However, I would return for dinner or a drink/hors d'oeuvres. Another downside was that I was at LeBon Nosh for maybe slightly over an hour and I had to pay 8 dollars for parking. I did not see any signs indicating parking validation. The venue should work on getting parking validation for clients if not for free parking, then half price. My experience was not worth the price of the food plus 8 dollars for parking on a Sunday! Overall, I recommend for evening dining service but not for brunch. The close proximity of animals to diners and food; the lack of natural OJ; and the absence of parking validations (or absence of signs that indicated such a service exists) turned me off and made the venue...

ETA: The owner reached out personally and informed me that our server had actually mistakenly charged us for someone else’s meal, hence why the final bill made it look like we were bring charged per person. Sadly a mistake that cost a bit, but I really appreciate the apology and the offer to send us a gift card to come dine again.

I really do hate that our dining experience ended with such a big miss here that I feel like could've been avoided with a simple menu rewording or clarification.

My husband and I came for a fancy date night and decided we were going to splurge a bit and order multiple of the recommended appetizers to start, drinks, and the ribeye for two for dinner. The mushroom toast app and the prawns were delicious. Our server was kind, personable, and so helpful. She even let us know they had rare white truffle for a few days, so we decided to splurge and add that to the steak. They have an amazing wine selection and she helped us both with selections that were super pleasing to our pallets. The ribeye was cooked well, but the fat certainly had room to be rendered down a bit more. Overall it was good, but not the best steak we've ever had. Honestly I would’ve eaten the mushrooms and prawns all night long and been super satisfied.

When it came time for the check we were quite surprised to find out that the "ribeye for two" priced at $78 on the menu was actually $78/per person and $156 total. We felt hoodwinked and deceived as it was never written anywhere or communicated that was a per person price. If it had of been $20, maybe even $30 more we wouldn't have been so upset, but an additional $80 on a bill where we were already splurging in other areas was unpalatable. We didn't make a fuss, paid and left but certainly to say were quite disappointed and won't be back. I strongly recommend the restaurant to publish this info clearly so people know what to expect and not feel highway robbed like we did. Sadly it put a damper on our whole evening and I'll try to get over it soon but won't be recommending just on the basis of lack of...