Valenza Restaurant — Restaurant in Brookhaven

Not a great place for young professionals. My friend and I decided to try Valenza for the first time and will not be returning. On a positive note, the bartender was kind as well as the hostess. My main concern is with Stephen P, our server. He was nice for the first few minutes however that changed. He was extremely pushy about ordering drinks. I was with my friend, Desmond, who is a senior Director for a large firm here in Atlanta and a respected member of the Atlanta community. Desmond asked for a sample of one of the wines, Malbec. Stephen took a deep breathe and seemed irritated. He went as far as to say, "You know what Malbec taste like." I couldn't believe this. Desmond had to explain to Stephen the taste differences between some of the various Malbec's in order for him to understand why he wanted a sample. After returning with the samples, Desmond proceeded to order the wine. The server, Stephen, proceeded to ask for ID. Desmond did not have it with him but did have a picture of it. After serving both of us wine samples without ID, he refused to serve us full glasses. It is state law not to serve ANY alcohol without checking ID, not even samples. So why be so pushy about serving alcohol and then even serve samples just to turn around and refuse us alcohol? We understand the law, please don't break the law, serve samples and the refuse us. Just ask for ID in the beginning. We then decided to stay and we ordered the Salmon. Desmond requested his be well done. Stephen refused and stated, in his experience and the way that Italian's cook, medium would be fine. Desmond and I have been to Italy before and know how Italian's cook and better yet, Desmond knows how he like his fish cooked. Of course, the salmon was not cooked well however Stephen took 13min to return to the table and by that time half the salmon had been eaten as we were hungry. We didn't even want to complain as Stephen's personality was just harsh and stubborn. When eating out, the food is important, the customer service is as well. We would not recommend this place and will not...

Valenza is a nice, cozy restaurant in Downtown Brookhaven. It's in a beautiful area. The dark & moody ambiance of this establishment was incredible. Many people were dining there for a multitude of reasons: a family member showing off this restaurant to their loved ones visiting in town, business meetings, women at the bar having girls' night, date-night couples, people who chose to dine solo, a simple family dinner, etc. I observed it all while dining here. It proves that this spot is the go-to place for all that I mentioned and more.

Parking is free and easy. They also offer valet. The hostess sat us immediately. We arrived at this restaurant about 30 minutes before they closed, and they still accommodated my date & I. We also left about 30 minutes past their closing time. The establishment did not rush us out the door, although they close at 9p on Wednesdays. They encouraged us to take our time.

My Prosecco was thirst-quenching. I had 2 flutes of that. My date ordered 2 glasses of red wine, which tasted good. The waiter rattled off the restaurant's Wednesday night special, to which I ended up ordering the scallops. My scallop dinner was delectable. I'll definitely order again. I forgot the name of what my date ordered, but I did capture his meal in the photos/videos. What he ordered tasted amazing.

For dessert, I ordered the bread pudding, topped with chocolate ice cream. It was scrumptious. Last night was my first night dining here, and I'll definitely return. Before my date took me to this restaurant, he prefaced it by saying that whenever his family is in town, he takes them there. So just by him saying that, I knew I was in good hands by being treated to this restaurant.

So anyways, I enjoyed my experience here and can't wait for my next visit!!!

P.S. I wish I would have remembered our server's name to give him a shout-out, but he's captured in the video. He was attentive and checked on us frequently throughout our time dining inside. He is great at...

The food is very good as is the ambiance; my rating could have been a five were it not for a couple of things our waiter did that surprised me. First, when drink orders were taken, I simply asked for a scotch neat, presuming I would get the bar brand and pay $8-$10. When the bill arrived, I had been served a $38 high-end brand. Perhaps times have changed, and I'm too pedestrian for this "gentrified" and "high-end" restaurant. My experience with the hospitality industry has always been that the wait staff asks before serving one of their more expensive brands. Second, as we were in a group of four couples, we asked up front whether our bill could be individualized by couple, and were led to believe this would not be a problem. So...when the waiter announced as the bills were presented that he had not done this, we were caught by surprise and disappointed. Speculation around the table was the waiter was simply too lazy to fulfill what we had requested. It's more likely he was just too busy, I think. Couple the appearance of laziness with the appearance of pumping up the bill through my expensive drink, and I walked away from the restaurant sensing I did not need to return. I'm doubtful the owner knows this is going on in his or her establishment. I'd like to give the owner the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the waiter was simply following current norms for high-end restaurants; I don't know. Or perhaps the profit margins of restaurants are such that these tactics have become necessary, especially in a competitive market. Regardless, I don't think I'll be back, and I won't be recommending the restaurant to friends without warning them to be cautious and a bit skeptical about who serves their table. I'm sorry my review could not be entirely positive; many nice things can be said...