The Vortex Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Atlanta

They are very clear with written warnings everywhere to check to-go orders before leaving. My fault. I checked the food, but not the ticket. The food looked like garbage, but at a glance looked like correct garbage. I’ve never had a wrong order, and being one of five patrons in the restaurant, I didn’t think there was any reason to believe my order would be wrong. It’s wrong, and I guess I should have taste tested it. They weren’t busy. This wasn’t a mix up. He just put in my order wrong (with 3 whole guests to attend to at the bar - swamped? Not at all), and given 15 years of mostly good but always declining experiences, I grabbed my bag, took a peek, and left. In that decade and a half, the place has gone down hill. The “fine print” is now everywhere. Rather than a fun lil local bar with awesome burgers, now the menus, the website, the walls are just covered in disclaimers that amount to a middle finger and “sit on this and spin.” It used to be cool that they set a couple rules, expected people to act like they have sense, show some respect. Now it just comes across as one of those restaurants you attend to be treated like $#!+ as a gag. Except it isn’t a gag. The service is just actually bad because they can get away with acting like you ruined their day by trying to spend money at this establishment. The food isn’t great. And the atmosphere kinda sucks cuz every few feet there’s some piece of signage to remind the guests/customers that THEY are the imposition, the problem, and not welcome. It’s so disappointing to see a big piece of Atlanta culture just suck a little more each year. And by choice. There’s been many small incidents, but this is the one that finally broke me. There was practically no one there. No reason to get the order wrong, no special order, no allergies. They just don’t care. RIP. I guess all this place is good for now is ripping off tourists. Cuz it ain’t for food. Plenty of places to drink. And it’s not a joint to go if you don’t enjoy feeling like you’re...

As an Atlanta native, I don’t think I’ll be returning here. From the moment my two friends (both Black men) and I (a Black woman) walked in, we felt targeted and unwelcome. We were the only Black patrons in the restaurant, and based on how we were treated compared to others, it’s hard not to question the underlying issue.

We walked in proudly wearing our University of Florida Gators shirts, celebrating their NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship win the night before. We only came for a quick celebratory shot—nothing more.

There were bar stools tucked under the counter—clearly signaling that they weren’t available—so we didn’t try to sit. I pulled out my phone to scan the QR code near the bar, and before we were greeted or asked what we needed, the bartender immediately said, “Guys, you can’t sit there.” We hadn’t even attempted to sit—just reading the menu. After I explained that, he finally handed us a cocktail menu.

We ordered shots and then decided to sit at a table near the hostess stand. Instead of guiding us or offering help, the hostess just said, “That’s reserved,” with no further direction. We asked if there was outdoor seating, and she vaguely pointed to the back door.

We stepped outside and were unsure where to go until other customers kindly told us we could head upstairs and sit anywhere. We chose the closest open table to take our shots and were seated for about 10 minutes. As we were getting ready to leave, the hostess came upstairs—this time walking another party up and checking on them (none of that effort was made for us). Then she approached us and said, “This table is reserved for parties of 6 or more.” Mind you, it was 5:30 on a Tuesday and the place was far from full.

If seating was restricted, why wasn’t that explained up front? Why didn’t the hostess do what any hostess should—help us find appropriate seating? The lack of basic courtesy, hospitality, and consistency—combined with us being the only Black patrons—made the entire experience feel...

This is a place that you go to once everything else is closed. The food is pretty good but the service is hit or miss. There are times when I haven’t even been asked for id at all, and other times where the “security” is checking. The last time I went my friend had lost her wallet and he wouldn’t accept a picture. We know of their policy and were fine with it at first. We stepped into the corner to look up another bar to go to. Until the guy stepped away from the front and literally about 6-7 people came in and sat down at the bar and tables without being checked. My friend and I decided to sit down and I already had a feeling that the security would come and say something to us and he literally did come up to us at the bar telling my friend that she can’t sit down inside the restaurant because she didn’t have her physical id. He wouldn’t even let her order food to go. Then when my friend asked why he’s trying to get her to leave when he quite literally let in about 7 other patrons without even ASKING to see their id, he says “well they’ve been here before”. Once we respond that we’ve also been there before because we literally have, he responds “well they look of age”. They were literally in the same age range as my friend and she’s in her late 20s. I’m a server & bartender myself and the age at which you can NOT ask for id because a person looks of age is literally when someone has wrinkles and grey hair, which none of those patrons did. We decided to just leave and eat somewhere else. Of course we understand the policy of showing id, but it was clearly just a classic case of discrimination if only some people are expected to adhere to the policy while others are not. I’m sure you can assume what color my friend was and what color the other patrons were who didn’t even get asked for their id. Not to mention sometimes there will be a nice and attentive bartender, sometimes you’ll sit for 10-15 minutes before anyone even gives you a...