The Southern Gentleman — Restaurant in Atlanta

Deciding to take my sistie out for her birthday, TSG appeared in my Yelp search results. Exploring the images and the reviews that appeared I decided to checkout the website. After falling in love with the menu it was a green light. I clicked the link to make a reservation and was taken to Open Table. The process itself was simple, easy, and to the point. Once it was booked I was able to send the info to all those in my party as they could add it to their calendars.

As we decided to go on a Saturday at 2:15 pm, I called TSG the day before to ensure that when they closed at 3:00 pm we wouldn’t have to leave. As I anticipated, since we would be inside already, we didn’t have to depart while they switched over from brunch to lunch/dinner. The young lady who answered the phone was super pleasant, very vibrant, and understood my question. She provided first call resolution and further enhanced my excitement to experience TSG.

Finally Saturday was upon us and it was time to go. As TSG sits in the area with all the shops, parking wasn’t the easiest on the street, however, there is a valet option. TSG sits on the upper level so needless to say I was lost for a few minutes. 😂😂😂😂😂

Walking up to the restaurant, the scenery is gorgeous and the ambiance is immediately set. Beautiful clean lines, white drapes, open patio, glass front, I’m talking all of that and more. The space is infectious and truly draws you in.

I opened the door and was greeted by a hostess with a huge smile and pleasant demeanor. She welcomed me in and asked how many. Once I provided her my name she showed us to our seats and the TSG experience was in full go mode.

Mykieya approached our table and I was instantly amazed. Her smile, her warm introduction, her service first approach to taking our drink order, whew! Mykieya understands the art of providing stellar service which led to my astonishing experience.

Ok. Now! Hear me out. We have gone through the Pre-Arrival - Awesome. I just brought you on my journey of arriving - Awesome. By this time I am on a Happy Service High and I haven’t even ordered yet.

Speaking of ordering… Babeeeeeeeeeee!!! Hear ye, Hear ye! As if the service wasn’t enough, the nerve of management to hire a chef that literally knocked EVERY SINGLE DISH OUT OF THE PARK!!!!! I’m talking flavor, texture, blends and soul pleasing moments of pure bliss. Whew!

Let’s talk food:

For Appetizers, Mac & Cheese - Cheesy, Flavorful, Perfectly Done, WELL above any restaurant made Mac I have ever had. A truly homestyle, grandmother made experience. 🤤

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread - This secret dish was spot on. Sweet with notes of Savory and all moments of soft baked, well crafted goodness. 🤤

Deviled Eggs - OhEmGeeeeee. The Deviled portion (LoL) of these eggs was thick, creamy, well blended, well seasoned, and then… as if I wasn’t already in love. The gall of the chef to top it with crumbles of perfectly crisp baconnnnnnnnn. 🤤

Mj Drink, Sweet Tea - Hunni, the brew was Brewin and this tea hit the spot. Sweet. Southern. Stirred. Very Delicious. Very Demoure.

My Main Dish, Southern Fried Chicken - 🤦🏿‍♂️ Why did I order this???? This dish stole my entire heart. The pancake tasted like my mother was in back showing off with that cast iron skillet. Crispy edges, soft middle, thick, and huge. This pancake was a showstopper all by itself. However, hold on because in comes the Maple Syrup. Whoa! The syrup was thin and rich. The thinness of it allowed the pancake to soak it up even better. Forget the fact that the chicken was well seasoned, well battered, golden fried, southern seasoned, and best of all… The Bombbbbbbbbbbbbbb. Yes! Forget all that as the pancake had and still (4 days later) has me in a chokehold of love and yearn for another. 🤤

Every Single Thing I Tasted at TSG has a place in my foodie museum in my head. The portions are great. The pricing point is in line with the quality of the food. And who could forget the service.

Great Good. Great Ambiance. Great Service.

This was a TRUE DEFINITION of a 5...

Family Supper with great food in a great atmosphere - sit back and relax while you read this . . .

We had a lot of food as there were 4 of us.

BITES: *Cheddar Hushpuppies - okay, these hushpuppies are not your mama's or dada's hushpuppies, these were fluffy with a crisp and the avocado, jalapeno crema and honey were just yummy. I have no other word, but yummy.

*Deviled Eggs - what can I say, I love a deviled egg, but that pickled pearl onion was the cherry on top

*Tempura Fried Catfish - never had it before, but I will have it again and again and again, it was light, fresh, crispy, flaky, and just really good and the accompanied sauce was perfection. I could slip that dipping sauce with a straw - yes, that good and smooth.

*Pimento Cheese - the house chips were PERFECT, not a burnt one in the group, I loved the chips so much, we finished them before the pimento cheese. So, we did what any good person would do, we finished the pimento cheese with our spoons. Please do not judge me harshly, I was not the only person who used their spoon.

MAINS: (pictures attached)

*Mama Kat's Acadian-Style Gumbo - to be very clear about this dish, I want to go live with Mama Kat. There was a crispy duck confit and I died inside. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, so freaking divine. When I bite into the duck, I had to remember to breathe. I have never had duck this flavorful before and the skin was just - I can not describe the sensation of biting into that duck confit. And the greens, the rice, the sausage - just so ... no words.

*House Burger - the entire burger was consumed in less than 3 minutes - enough said.

*Buttermilk Fried Chicken - this ain't your ordinary fried chicken, this was Southern Gentleman fried chicken. And the entire plate was empty, I doubt they had to wash the dish because there was NOTHING left.

*Pecan-Crusted Red Fish- simply put, this dish was AMAZING! I did not know roasted butternut squash could taste like that, but it did!

SWEET: *Chocolate Gateau & *Griddle Semolina Cake - we decided to share the desserts, but almost got into a fight (not really) and we tried to outmaneuver the other person to get a spoonful. It truly looked like a The Matrix fight scene, but we did it quietly (kind of).

ENVIRONMENT & SERVERS: PERFECTION: The ladies serving us were sweet, lovely, kind, and knowledgeable. The environment was clean and modern, yet classic and southern. The music was also delightful. There were moments of just chewing and rocking our heads to the music. The restaurant is a delightful place for any reason in your life to take a meal. And when you walk in the "welcome mat" which is built into the floor says "YES MA'AM." Loooooooove it!

I will not even start with the drinks; I would be writing another paragraph about spirits and their smooth coolness. The Executive Chef (Paul) visited our table and he was gracious and kind. We could tell that he is very proud of his creations and willing to just keep creating more for us to enjoy. By the way, the gumbo is his mother's recipe and we are here for it!!!!!!!!!!!!! We can not wait to see what else he has in store for us all!!!!!!!!!

I will visit again and try everything else on the menu. I reeeeeeally want some more Tempura Fried Catfish.

In the end, I gladly and easily paid the bill with a hefty tip. Our server deserved it.

Visit this restaurant, you will...

Overall, my experience was mediocre at: The Southern Gentleman Restaurant. It was a little challenging to find it initially because there was another restaurant fused together in one space on the second floor - The Gypsy Kitchen.

The decor and ambiance was breathtaking! So many beautiful pieces of artwork and people flocking about. I'm not sure why the guests and employees of the restaurant kept staring me down. I felt uncomfortable while I was there. When I waved goodbye and said have a wonderful night to the front of the house lady, she just stared at me in a perplexed and paralyzed manner.

I was with my parents during the evening time on April 30, 2021. We sat at the bar the entire time. I ordered the House Burger and a glass of sweet tea with lemon. It took about 40 minutes for us to receive our food. It was pretty busy and seemed rather chaotic! My plate of food was scrumptious, however, the fries were too salty. A little bit goes a long way. The burger was extremely messy, but cooked beautifully. The sweet tea was perfectly balanced: not too sweet and not too bitter. The desserts are another story.

My parents ordered a berry tart with vanilla ice cream and a upside down cake with chocolate ice cream. The berry filled tart was scrumptious and satiating! The upside down cake was a complete disaster! There were too many flavors going on with the dish. The cake was atrociously dense. It had exquisite flavor, but it was not lite and airy. I'm not sure what was mixed in the chocolate ice cream but the flavors were too intense and just didn't pair well with the dish overall. I am all for creativity and being inventive but the dish needs to make sense. Frying mint leaves was unusual and unnecessary. Except for the cake and ice cream, most of the individual components were delicious on their own. It just wasn't cohesive for me.

Now here are my complaints about the service: I feel as though menus should be made available regardless of the pandemic. Everyone doesn't possess a cell phone or smartphone. Also, if you are going to be a bartender make sure you are not dropping cuss words every few moments around your guests. It seems rather unprofessional, in my opinion. I understand that it can be stressful serving so many people. However, there are better ways to cope or have fun. We were consistently updated on our food orders and our drinks were always replenished ; which is what I loved about my experience.

My parents didn't enjoy the food they ordered which is upsetting for me because I remembered seeing this featured on Atlanta Eats [The TV show]! This was my first time here at this location. I thought for sure that it would be a hit with them! Sadly that wasn't the case. I had to apologize to them for their experience and the food they ordered. I assumed that since I was in Buckhead that the experience would be more upscale and divine! Most likely, I won't be returning. Thank you for a somewhat...