The Forum Cocktail Co — Restaurant in Atlanta

Once they get their act together, this might be a very cool place. Food looked creative, tasty, and presentation was strong. Drinks were interesting but execution was wanting (one drink too sweet, another to watery). Atmosphere was beautiful. But the experience was a major let down for the following reasons.

I’d been tracking the opening for months, so I was glad to see the announcement of their launch. (Good social media game, fwiw.) I booked a table for six in the Midnight Room Speakeasy via Open Table and invited my neighbors to join us. When we showed up the trouble began. They said our reservation was in the main dining room (definitely not what I reserved, and I even quoted the disclaimer I had seen on the confirmation page that only bar food was served in the speakeasy). They said that was a seemingly a common glitch. One of the hosts said she’d keep an eye out for “no shows” and bring us back. She proceeded to avoid eye contact the rest of the night, including when she was filling shelves directly next to our table.

The room was full but not packed. Maybe 70% capacity. The server was inattentive. Maybe she was new. The drinks took 20-25 minutes to be made, despite a visible lack of orders. The drinks them came out one at a time rather than together, making for some awkward manners moments. Our table enjoyed the drinks, but had some comments: “A Sazerac without absinthe?” “This ice cube is cool, but it fills 90% of the glass” “This could be good, but it was shaken too long.” Two in our party asked to order straight whisky, which the server didn’t know how to do and said “no.”

When it came time to pay (note, we were still in the restaurant and never taken to the speakeasy), the server said she was not allowed to split the check by couple. So we gave her three credit cards which was seemingly not an issue. That was strange, being that it’s a new establishment… and it’s 2023.

The idea is cool. They’ve done a lot of work to foster an upscale, elite, fun vibe. But execution fell way short of expectations (and price level). I’ll likely be back to give them a second shot, but definitely in the...

Went to Forum Saturday night 9/30 around 1130P with a group of friends and must say the ambience, vibes, and overall design were AMAZING! Our server (name escapes me) was very attentive & friendly, cocktails were pretty good just a little pricey, but it is what to expect in the area so no problem.

While overall service was good & my experience was very positive to where I definitely would return, the host was not personable and lacked follow through.

We wanted to go to the speakeasy hidden gem called the Midnight room, but was unaware reservations had to made for this area. The server educated us for future visits so that we can maximize our time next visit and put her best foot forward to try to ask if we could gain entry, but was unsuccessful (THANK YOU..you were awesome).

The host however was very rude and told me directly that we don’t give special treatment and it didn’t matter what the occasion was - we were not looking to be treated differently, we just wanted to experience a NEW experience so that took me by surprise.

He then informed me that he would check with the owner and to give him 5 min. 15 min passed he didn’t even acknowledge us by simply saying he could not accommodate us w/o reservation, we just simply decided to leave after being there for about 1 1/2 hours.

ADVICE: Make a reservation for this hidden gem - it is definitely worth a visit! Owner: Speak to that host (white guy) about how to talk to guests, he is in a first impression area, wouldn’t want people to gain a negative perception of this AMAZING...

The two of us walked in without a reservation on a Thursday around 8pm. We were seated immediately as the dining room was only at 10% capacity. We asked to sit in the speakeasy but were told it was by reservation only and was all booked for the night. The decor was some of the nicest I’ve seen in Atlanta. It was also very cohesive with lots of attention to detail from the art and furniture to the bar. Even the dining room tables seems to fit. The service was excellent and food was good. The cocktails were delicious but tiny even by Atlanta standards.

My only issues were that:

1. The menu is limited. The burger, meatballs (round burgers), lobster roll/tails and mushroom sandwich seemed to be the only items that would constitute an actual entree. Everything else appeared to be glorified lunchables.
2. A 20% gratuity is automatically added to every check. If that’s the case then why not just include that in the prices listed? We still tipped on top of the added gratuity since our waiter was excellent and explained that the 20% is split amongst all the house staff.
3. Everything was overpriced - even by atlanta standards. The bread and butter ‘appetizer’ is five pieces of focaccia toast and a dab of butter ($10). One drink was 2.5oz of actual liquid with an ice cube that filled the entire glass ($17). The other drink was 3oz and similarly priced. Both were good though. I asked for a Jack and Coke later and was told that they ONLY serve Gentleman Jack. There’s a fine line between a luxury dining experience and getting fleeced...