The Attic — Restaurant in Clarkesville

So, we don't live in Clarkesville, but thought, while we're here in an errand, we'd relax, have a beer and a glass of wine, and have a late lunch/early dinner. We sat outside, which was great, since the humidity was not high (September 1st), and the sun was shining (being outside, understand you'll have to contend with traffic noise and flies - duh!).

We started with the fried green tomatoes ($7.95), which we're hot, fresh, and really tasty, especially with the BoomBoom sauce (spicy) (sorry, forgot to take a picture, but it looked great; I would add one more 'mater for that price, since we only got 5 slices and it makes it hard to share equally).

I asked for a cup if the lobster bisque, which the waitress suggested I have as my side (I was charged an extra $4.50, so next time I'll take the normally offered side, and order the bisque as an additional order to make economic sense). It was creamy, briny, and had a seafood flavor, as it should (I also added the BoomBoom sauce to kick it up a notch).

I had the Portabello Mushroom sandwich ($12), which came on a very fresh, brioche bun. The mushroom lacked impressive size, and the bun and lettuce really dominated. Unfortunate, methinks, since one would want the mushroom to be the star. Tasted good, when I got a bite, but the mushroom was present only 2/3 way through. 😞

My wife had the Simple Pasta ($15), that has penne noodles, chicken, basil, and some spices. It was dry, so we asked for olive oil. I tasted it, and felt it was hugely under-seasoned. Not the Italian way, for sure, and not worth the $15; $12 maybe.

I had a Dragon's Milk Stout in the bottle (11% ABV, so I only had one - driving) (one of my favorites). My wife had the Canyon Ridge chardonnay (a generous pour). Both were excellent! Both were $6.50.

Overall, everything was good. Will we make a special trip to come back... probably not, but I would like to try something else, to be fair, so, if in the area, will try again.

Our waitress was extremely attentive, friendly, and alert (she had a few tables). Her name was Tasha. Nice job!

Total was...

My wife and I ended up here for her birthday dinner as a result of the first choice having an excessive wait. The building is charming, the atmosphere is really nice, the service is superb, and the food is pretty good.

I had the Caesar salad, filet mignon and mashed sweet potatoes while my wife had the garden salad, a ribeye and a baked potato. We both considered the steaks to be about average, and certainly not worth the $49 and $42 respective prices.

The filet mignon was ordered medium rare, and it came out more as rare or undercooked. I probably should have sent it back, but didn't. The ribeye was ordered medium, and while cooked to request, was still a little tough, and a bit more fat than considered normal.

Somewhat surprisingly, there was a $2 upcharge for a baked potato. Srsly? At $42 you have to upcharge to replace mashed potatoes with a baked potato?

The Caesar salad was not a traditional type. A true Caesar salad is a green salad of romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with lemon juice (or lime juice), olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, garlic, Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper. While it had lettuce, Parmesan cheese, some type of dressing, and croutons of a sort, it lacked all the other ingredients.

I will say the bread that came out was excellent, worthy of comment even a day later. But the rest of the meal, meh, not so much.

We're willing to give it another try, although we'll forego any steak options, and maybe try one of the other dishes that sounded interesting.

I certainly don't mind paying for good food, but I do demand the quality reflect the price. For this meal, that just...

“Boom boom” sauce with fried green tomatoes steered us away from it and we tried the bread which we do NOT recommend. The balsamic used was so far from any real balsamic vinegar it wasn’t even funny. It was so watery that you couldn’t even get any because the viscosity of the cheap oil was so much higher than it.

Next came the lobster bisque, which can only be described as what might happen if you steeped crab shells in Campbell’s soup for a few hours. It had the unmistakable smell of something fishy—and not in a culinary sense. It arrived suspiciously fast (less than a minute after ordering), and not a shred of lobster or even a chunk of anything could be found in the bowl.

Then came the “French dip,” which was nothing short of a culinary crime. When we asked what was on it, the waitress (who was kind and helpful, to her credit) returned to inform us the kitchen had added queso alongside the provolone. Yes, queso—on a French dip. She thankfully brought a replacement without it, but the damage was done. The updated version was bland, forgettable, and frankly, something you’d expect to pay $1.50 for at a gas station. The accompanying au jus? Straight-up chicken stock from a box.

The one redeeming quality? The music was decent—at least something was thoughtfully curated.

The table next to us had a steak removed from the bill as it was overcooked and charred.

The Ruben was an atrocity. Do not recommend the restaurant. Not worth it.

The only reason for 1 star was...