The James Room — Restaurant in Atlanta

My friend and I decided to have a drink at the outdoor cafe tables before a salon appt down the Beltline. The tables were cute, with good distancing - why not? Well, a casual drink turned into a headache and revealed major customer service issues that no one tried to fix to our satisfaction.

We love wine and know a fair bit about it. We often ask questions about wine lists - typical at restaurants and bars. We asked about the sole prosecco - is it dry, sweet, etc? Waitress said she didn't know; she was new. That's the first disappointment - usually servers have knowledge of the menu to help customers. I ordered a glass of chenin blanc; my friend chose prosecco, despite unanswered questions.

We were the only table outside; maybe 1-2 people were inside, yet the drinks took a loonnnng time. When 10 min passed, my friend went inside to inquire about our drinks. She was told they were coming - but also was asked, what did we have again? She repeated our simple order. Drinks arrived, after several min more. Problem: The prosecco was NOT cold. The glass seemingly was chilled, but the actual bubbly was NOT proper temperature. She went inside to tell them. She was asked if she'd like something else - she asked if anything was cold. She was told matter-of-factly: "Everything I have is the same temperature." So my friend came back outside to pull up the menu and try to pick before our appt! Waitress reappeared and tried to make recs - a chardonnay, but she knew nothing about it, whether it was aged in oak or steel etc. Friend changed gears and went w/only glass that seemed promising, a Prisoner Unshackled cab, $17 - pricier than the $11 Mirabello prosecco

We asked for the check; we feared missing our appt as this stretched on. Check came; we were charged for the pricier glass, even though that was ordered only b/c of trouble. My friend told the waitress we were disappointed, detailing issues with various servers over 2 simple drinks, the wait, drink temp, and now charged the higher price. Waitress apologized nicely, profusely. Then someone ELSE came out to apologize and say she hoped we'd give them another chance, sometime. ANOTHER person came out to apologize! This person said b/c the James had just started brunch, cava was the new drink - and that's what was chilled, not prosecco, which had been only on ice and not in fridge. Yet, as we told her, cava wasn't on the menu, nor was it ever offered. Had it been, we'd have jumped. The waitress reappeared, having realized she FORGOT WATERS we ordered 25 minutes ago. Thanks but no thanks.

Many people had come over, yet none offered anything to make it right, beyond apologies. No glass was comped. No plate of bites sent. No invitation to come back for complimentary drinks another day. Nada.

Our waitress returned, again. At this point, it was a comical parade of people approaching us over 2 glasses of wine and waters. She said that if we would have another glass, it'd be on the house. I explained (again) we had an appt at the salon in a mere four minutes - what time were they open until? Perhaps we could come back later, I said. She replied, "uh, I think 5." Well, it was 4:25. That wasn't going to happen, and I explained that. She just kinda shrugged and walked away. Again, no invitation to return at another time for those drinks. Then I saw on the door that the place was allegedly open until 10 p.m. Sundays. Very strange, and I now see other reviews that say the place basically closes whenever it wants. Perhaps don't advertise a closing time on the door, then?

After our nail appt, we did have another drink - at Hawkers, just a couple storefronts away. We had a friendly bartender, and enjoyed the wine list there. The sauv blanc was lovely - and cold! When I left there to walk back to my bike outside the James, I noticed that, after 5:30 p.m., the place was clearly still open. I guess they really just didn't want us to return!

We go out a lot, and of course problems happen everywhere; the way an establishment handles it is its true test. The James Room failed that...

I’ve been stewing about this for a couple of days now, and have decided to leave this mostly negative review. My wife and I took our adult daughter and two of her friends from college to The James Room on a not-busy Friday night (Sept. 27, 2024). The venue is cozy and cool, the menu unsurprising but perfectly fine. Our server, whom I will not name, was pleasant and chatty. She struggled a bit with the electronic order pad (more on this shortly). The trouble started when the drinks came out. After our server placed two of the five drinks on the table, the serving tray became unbalanced and the server dumped the remaining drinks on my lap, soaking my lower shirt and pants legs. No glass broke, thankfully, but it was a huge mess. Clean-up began and I charitably dad-joked “drinks are on me!” The server muttered, “No, they’re on me.” There were apologies, to which we all (some of us having been servers at some point in our lives) said, “it’s okay; these things happen.” The food arrived as clean-up progressed. Drinks were re-made and served. In fairness, these were all quite good — To Be or Not to Be, Spring Fling, Lost in Translation, Last Word, and an Averna on ice for drinks; Broccolini (somewhat tough), Wild Mushroom Flatbread, Chicken Wings, and Harissa Shrimp for eats. No visit from a manager.

Later, when I asked for the check, our server presented the total, by showing me the sum on her electronic pad: $211. I did a silent double-take. Not an itemized list, just a total. I did some quick mental math, and realized we were being charged for everything. She muttered something about waiving her tip. I handed her my card. She processed it and printed out a receipt. We left.

I don’t know how these things are typically handled, but I had expected to at least have my drink comped, if not some other drinks comped. Oh — they still charged their 20% “service fee” that is NOT part of the tip, a terrible new practice by some restaurants in these post-COVID, inflationary times. We left, feeling like we’d been Charlie Browned by the experience. To add insult to injury, when I looked closer at the itemized receipt when I got home, we had been charged for two Last Words. We were only served one (two, if you include the one I wore home on my pants). I hate being confrontational, but AITA for thinking that I would have been right to request something besides the tip to be waived? To my mind, it would have been better customer service to comp at least part of the food and drink, and let ME decide if I wanted to leave a tip or not (I would have, BTW). When a server makes an error, is it the venue’s responsibility to make it right, or the server’s? As it is, we will not be recommending The James Room because of how this situation was so poorly handled. James...

I’ve been to the James room twice before and always had a great time. Music, service, atmosphere, food and drinks are always good. I attempted to meet my sisters there on Saturday July 13th to celebrate my sister’s birthday. I tend to dress on the casual side (cargo pants, joggers, tennis shoes, etc ) and this has never been a problem before. The last time I was there I had on a gray sleeveless bodysuit, camo cargo pants and airmax. They have a a sign saying “proper attire required” but no actual list of what they consider that to be. On Friday, I was wearing a tight, long sleeve bodysuit, black jogger style pants, gold and black Nikes with gold accessories. There was a door person that clearly lacks power in their real life so they act as the czar of the podium they stand behind. When I walked up, I greeted them and said that I was meeting my sisters and I think they’re at the bar. They didn’t greet me back; instead looked me up and down then said “I have to see if there’s room but considering what you’re wearing it may not be room for you.” I replied “wait are you saying y’all are at capacity or is my outfit a problem?” She replied “both” and walked in to “see if there was room for me”. 1. My sisters were saving a seat at the bar for me. 2. While I was waiting, a woman in cargo pants walked out, a man with a short sleeved hoodie, baseball cap and ripped jeans on walked out and a man wearing jorts walked out. the door person came back and said “their table is full and because of what you’re wearing I can’t let you in.” Confused, I replied “my sisters are at the bar and that woman literally just left out of there in cargo pants” and pointed to the woman that was now standing outside the front door. The door person then says “well, it’s not necessarily the style of what you’re wearing but they’re big and baggy on you.” In what world are satin finished joggers and a second skin bodysuit too casual but jorts aren’t?? Apparently, it wasn’t a personal attack on me at least because as I was preparing to leave, she got into an argument with a group that had been waiting to be let in since before I got there. And if you are going to enforce a standard… maybe you should make sure you’re...