Nikolai's Roof — Restaurant in Atlanta

UPDATE

My partner and I gave the restaurant a second try after speaking with the manager. To our delight, the service and meal was on point.

Our server was very friendly and attentive. He gave us some history on the restaurant and taught us some phrases in Russian as he is fluent in the language. He really curated the 4 Diamond dining experience and we didn't have to ask for a single thing. Everything was timed perfectly and the server articulately explained each dish as it was placed in front of us. The food was served and cleared in the proper directions and the table was removed of crumbs as necessary.

Our server Vasil, the manager Daniel and the Chef Stephanie are all to be commended for an excellent dining experience! 4 Diamond = 4 Hour Nightmare Dinner

I chose to celebrate my partner's birthday here with a group of our closest friends over the weekend and I do not believe any of us will be going back. From previously having worked at a AAA 4 Diamond Award winning restaurant, I will say that Nikolais Roof was not worthy of any such award Saturday evening.

When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed and shown to our table. We were all very excited to check this place out and enjoy a birthday celebration. Things started off slow as we waited around 10 minutes to order a couple bottles of prosecco. We didn't mind as were still waiting for the last couple of guests to arrive. We had two servers for our party, but they seemed to both be a little pre-occupied elsewhere as we did not see them during much of the 4 hours we spent there. We had to ask for water refills a few different times and we only had the chance to order one cocktail for dinner.

When the food arrived, there were a couple of temperature flaws and an order correction. All were taken care of except for one of our guests that complained about her steak being a little overdone and not so tender. The server took the steak into the kitchen and then brought it back to the table and told our guest that it was just the lighting in the dining room and that when he took it into the kitchen, he was able to see that it was "cooked correctly" and left her to eat the steak anyway. Very disappointing. The food for most of the group was outstanding. Dessert came and none of our guests were offered any coffee or asked if anything else was needed.

When it was time for the bill, one of the servers came out and asked if the check would be on one or separate. I asked if he could just divide it into a few separate checks as a few of us could pay together. He actually groaned and stated it would be more work, but they could do it. From that point to when we actually received out bills, 45 minutes had passed! One of our guests is a diamond-level Hilton Honors member and went to find a manager so we could get our bills. Even after being alerted to issues with our table, the manager NEVER came to the table during our 4 hour visit. After our guest spoke to the manager, he never even came back out from behind the server Isle. I paid for three of our guests and when my receipts were given back to me after my payment was processed, I notice the charge was now over $400 and another guests meal was charged to my card. Didn't want to spend another 30 minutes for bill processing so I didn't say anything. One of our guests was charged for an extra glass of wine and that took another 20 minutes before the manager stated he couldn't figure out how to remove it from the bill and just let us leave. The entire process with our bills took an hour and a half and just completely ruined the whole rest of the night.

This was our first time dining here and it ended up turning into one of the worst experiences any of us have had. The manager offered our one guest a "sorry" and that was it. I am hugely disappointed with how we were treated and the extremely poor level of service we received for this special occasion. Shame on the manager especially for not working to make anything right or even stopping by the table to say hello or wish my partner a...

Full review from start to finish. My fiancé set a reservation for 8:45 Friday night to be seated by a window for our anniversary. I’m very picky about time so I always make sure we show up early even with a reservation. We got there at 8:40 and we were immediately sat by a very nice host but In the middle of the Restaurant away from the windows because there was no available seats. It whatever, we’ll live. Initially the server was at our table within 3 or so minutes to take our drink order. She brought us back water and left us with the wine menu. Nothing to bad yet. She came back for my wine order and was pretty persistent that my fiancé show his I.d. Even though he said he wouldn’t be drinking anything . Okay, maybe it s because I got a bottle. That’s slightly reasonable. He did have to go all the way out to the car because he didn’t have his I.d. . Annoying but hey, understandable. When she did take my drink order after he came back with his I.d. She immediately walked away even though we were ready to order. This is where things slow down.... a lot. She did not come to take out food order until 9:23 .... nobody wants to wait over 40 minutes to place an order. When my fiancé was ordering he had one question about the desert but she immediately cut him off mid sentence to say what she recommended . It would have been nice to at least have let him finish his sentence. At this point she didn’t say anything directly rude to us she just seemed irritated about having to deal with us. Maybe because were young or she was having a bad night? I honestly don’t know. This mood seemed to cling to her the rest of the time we were there . We both got the 5 course meal. Each meal was honestly delicious and some of the best food I ve had in Atlanta. I have absolutely no complaints for the kitchen. They were amazing. We received our third course around 10 and were a little tired of the mood that we were receiving. We asked for the rest to go and the check. She said she would have to ask her manager if they can give food to go. If I payed for the food and it’s not a buffet why would I not be able to take it to go? My fiancé had my cards in his pocket and handed it to her. She did eventually come back with the food in boxes and kind of snarkaly threw the check book down in front of me instead of just handing it back to my fiancé. Um I appreciate my card back but why the need to say my full name and put the book directly in front of me instead of just giving it back to him or placing it back on the table anywhere? They did come out with a little cake saying happy anniversary that I appreciated and thought was cute . So again, thank you to the kitchen. However, for a place with this price point I expect the servers to be a little better. I served and bartended for ten years btw. I started at 12 in my family owned bar so trust when I say I’m not being harsh. The three stars is because the kitchen deserves 5 and everything...

My husband and I have lived in Atlanta a long time, and were downtown for a convention. This same weekend represented 10 years together, and we sought a nice place to celebrate. We are thrilled we picked Nikolai's Roof. My parents used to go more than 30 years ago, and my mom had enjoyed it then. We walked there from our hotel and arrived about 10 minutes early for our 7:30 reservation on a Friday night. We were seated immediately, and our server, Vassil, showed up right away. He explained how the menu worked (3, 4 or 5 courses and the different price points, or a la carte), and at my request, described the flavor-infused vodkas for my husband. We each ordered a four course meal, and my husband requested a peach vodka.

We really appreciated that Vassil described each of the vodka's so my husband could choose what would suit him best. The peach vodka was really lovely - tasted sweet, which he enjoys. We both ordered the piroshki for the first course, and they were terrific. For the second course, I got the scallops and my husband got the cured salmon. We loved the scallops! The salmon was not entirely to my taste, as I'm not a big fan of cured meats, but my husband liked it (not as much as my scallops though). For entrees, I got the beef tenderloin and he got the grouper - both were amazing. Vassil recommended the tenderloin medium rare, and I can't imagine why anyone would get it any other way, and it was perfect. The grouper was so good too! I would probably order it if it were available whenever "next time" occurs.

While we were awaiting the dessert course and coffee, Vassil asked if we were celebrating anything special, and I mentioned we were celebrating a 10th anniversary. He said he didn't see it on the reservation, and I replied I didn't see a place to enter it on the OpenTable app. I didn't think much about it after that, but then he brought out "complimentary chef's cookies". Cookies don't sound like a big deal, but these were pretty amazing cookies. After that came dessert - I got the chocolate souffle, which came with creme fraiche and chocolate sauce. I loved it. My husband got the chocolate symphony bar, which was also incredibly good. The coffee was strong, but tasted great without being bitter.

After all this, we were expecting the check, but Vassil brought out two mini-bread puddings on a plate with Happy Anniversary written in chocolate sauce. It was so lovely and a delightful surprise.

We were stuffed. Vassil was great - he was attentive and pleasant without interrupting us all the time. Plus he had a pretty constant look of amusement on his face, which in turn amused me. On top of all this, we got to watch a marriage proposal happen at another table, AND we got to sit side by side looking at a 120 degree view of the skyline. We were thrilled with the experience...