Ted's Montana Grill — Restaurant in Atlanta

I've eaten at several Ted's Montana Grills a number of times over the years and this one was by far my worst experience. My husband and I left America on a grand world traveling adventure ten years ago and our last big meal in the US was a bison steak at Ted's. We moved back to the States a week ago and we're in Atlanta for one day to pick up our cargo shipment. To our surprise there was a Ted's less than half a mile from the hotel! We knew we had to go there for dinner! We were excited. Ted's vegan our trip and now Ted's would finish our decade long trip around the world. From the moment we walked in the door things were not right. There was no one at the hostess stand for the first four minutes. When she finally arrived she didn't even look at us. She called a couple names on her list then began to walk away. I stopped her and asked her "excuse me, can we put our name on the list?" Then she replied "it's gonna be 25 minutes". I thought we'll, okay, can I put my name on the list? I got our name on the list and also made sure she didn't ignore the other people who had come in before us so had been waiting ignored longer than us. We sat down at the bar to have a drink while we waited. There was no friendly hello from the bartender just menus practically thrown at us then a what do you want? Oh but he was sure to tell us to settle up with him before going to our table. Now! Dinner! The time we were so excited about! I thought we were forgotten about. It was ten minutes before anyone came to the table. When the finally did once again there was no friendly hello just "do you know what you want?* We had two bison ribeyes medium rare. It took forever. The server did stop by to explain to us the managers were in the back cooking because they sent the staff home so no one would work overtime. My whole body went tense. I worked in food service long enough to know what to expect when a manager is doing the cooking. And sure enough that's what we got. My steak? Oh! It was cooked to perfection. It was divine. It was absolutely what I wanted. I think the only thing better than a good bison steak is a good horse steak. But my husband's? And remember, he ordered the exact same thing as me. His was overcooked. His was medium pushing medium well. I ended up feeling bad for him and giving him half of mine. I wasn't about to complain. No one in the restaurant seemed to be in a mood for that. The server did compliment me on my necklace and fashion sense....

It’s really sad how far Ted’s has fallen as a chain. I don’t know if it was Covid. (it seems to have all but ruined the restaurant industry as a whole) This location was always nice though. I believe at one point Ted himself even had a personal apartment above the restaurant here, and the company conducted their employee training from here as well. I had given up on Ted’s but decided to give the Lucki street location one last try. I arrived 5 minutes past the pickup time for my order. Went to the Togo station at the bar and stood there for maybe ten minutes with two other people ahead of me without someone so much as greeting us. The guy at the front of the line said he’d been there 10-15 minutes before I even arrived and no one had so much as greeted him yet. Finally a blonde lady I assumed was the bar tender came up and started to check him out. Someone yelled from the kitchen and she walked away yelling back at them completely unprofessionally. She finally came back and lo and behold she can’t find the poor gentleman’s order. After them going back and forth for a couple of minutes I decided to check my own order. I realized that I hadn’t pressed pay. So after already wasting 15-20 minutes of my time waiting for no reason, 25 minutes to drive to the restaurant, and had to pay for parking I decided it would be easier just to walk out and get food elsewhere than wait god knows how long for them to make the order from scratch. Ted’s main appeal was their level of service. The food has never been night and day better than other mediocre chains like Longhorn, but the service was always borderline fine dining level. Nowadays you’re more likely to get decent service at a Wendy’s than a Ted’s restaurant. Not to mention a Cheeseburger is over 20 dollars now. I’d rather just go to Bones or Chops or any other high quality restaurant and pay 25-30 dollars for a really good burger than get terrible service and slapped together food from Ted’s. I really hope you guys are able to turn it around because I have a lot of nostalgia for Ted’s, but I really think it’s too late. Too many corners have been cut it would take a complete overhaul to get back even remotely close to the quality Teds...

Ted’s Montana Grill

I’m writing this review as I speak. I sat at the end of the bar near the kitchen and I reiterate what the reviewer said a few weeks ago. It is really filthy, plates every where, phones out, fries just sitting in the fryer. Then I moved to the bar area seating when it opened up. Not sure which was worse - the kitchen or the bar. Hersheys syrup, blackberries, oranges and limes, citrus, lids, bottles…..ALL OVER THE PLACE. Not to mention a glass cup breaking behind there too. It’s not even busy on a Sunday at 7pm. I got seated at 640 and I still don’t have any food at 730 other than a beer I’ve finished a while ago. Still no water either. I had to ask for napkins too. No one is wiping down the bar countertop either. It’s sticky and full of finger grease marks and salt. I’d love to take photos but not going to put a camera in a workers face. There’s a non stop alarm going off and workers are just on their phones still lol. I’ve witnessed one lady come up to complain about cold fries. And another who complained about overcooked steak. Staff has no respect for people trying to eat in peace even though they’re just try to have fun. Loud people.

Food came out at 735. Not sure when they changed the oil but the fries are oily and soggy and so are these onion rings - pretty gross in all honesty. Bison burger is good and juicy. There’s been a burger sitting on the counter for 15 minutes and no know knew who it went to. Now the bartender comes up and says now she remembers and to throw it back on the grill. I feel bad for the guy next to me who it went to. Gross.

This place is 10000% Waffle House vibes and it’s making me cringe as I bite these soggy rings and fries. Loud, not organized, no attention to customers, banging pans, throwing stuff at each other. It’s like high school children at a playground. Really trashy environment. Please save yourself the trip and do...