Fortify Kitchen and Bar — Restaurant in Clayton

UPDATE -- June 2023. Three years later the consistency of service and cuisine warrants a new round of accolades. Jack and his top-notch team continue to earn A+++++.

UPDATE --JULY 2020 BACK TO HALF CAPACITY...FOR NOW

Well, fingers were crossed that the ‘new normal’ had arrived; but alas, COVID and a statewide spike sent the restaurant sector back to 50% capacity. Good news/bad news: Good news – places such as Fortify can remain open and provide the best in (distancing) ambience and cuisine. Bad news: Bottom line once again imperiled…but then nothing is more important than staff and customer safety. Co-owners Jack and Jamie did not hesitate, going back to half-scale with tables positioned per protocols. Wait staff, always of the “yes…now what was your question?” anticipatory, friendly mentality, maintained appropriate masking. For us – duly masked entering and exiting - it was a reprise of the pork osso bucco and airline chicken. And the highlight of the night – More than ¾ of the patrons were young people dining before their respective school proms. Nice to see young men and women dressed “to the nines” (showing my age); added a touch of youthful panache to the evening. Jack, Jamie and Team…our fingers stay crossed…COVID is a master adversary…but with your commitment to safety first, and our commitment to support you and your restaurant colleagues all the way…we will OVERCOME.

UPDATE... JUNE 2020 AMDIST COVID DEMON

As if we all needed a “let’s have dinner out” deep breath, exhaled, Fortify provided a wonderful, protocols-followed..ambience, cuisine, courtesy and consistency as if the COVID evil had never invaded. But it did, and after about a 9-week dining indoors closure Jack and Jamie reopened, restarted..and most importantly RETAINED all that is good about Fortify. We returned as soon as being informed of the reopening, masked upon entering (facial coverings DO help keep the devil at bay for now), greeted by Jeremey and the reunion felt like a huge “welcome back going both ways.” Our usual table 12 had been modified (per 50% capacity and social distancing) to table “6”. We were welcomed by our server, Avril (hint-- soft A as in Ah-vril) masked but ever cheerful and ready to explain the specials of the evening. I reconnected to a fave chicken dish (airline style) and my wife to her grits bowl (note - the Andouille within retains a special kick). Amidst the culinary comeback it was great to re-up with co-owner Jack, who acknowledged the past few months…challenging. But his attitude, and that of the entire serving and back of house team, exuded a combination of relief to be reopened for indoor dining with a renewed commitment to be what Fortify has been…and based on our reentry…is poised to be again – The Finest Casually Classy Dining Experience in Northeast Georgia. Soooo glad to be back, Jack and Jamie and Team.

We have been happy regulars for about four years, but last Saturday was the first time we moved from our fave Table 12 to the back room to accommodate our party of five. Had never been in the back of Jack and Jamie’s place and upon arriving was most pleasantly pleased with the setting. Plenty of room, sort of tucked away, décor to match the mountain territory and as usual a robust, focused on menu savvy, friendliness and customer-first credo waitstaff. (Extra compliment to Joey.) Fortify had been on annual, two-week hiatus and we were not the only ones lined up to welcome them – and to be welcomed back - as soon as Jack opened the door at 5pm. Our menu choices ranged from the totally vegetarian to totally beefed up filet; and beverage orders from pilsners to white and red wines to several of Fortify’s mixed drink specials. How many thumbs up can we give? At minimum the ten the five of us have. Food, drinks, atmosphere, service, camaraderie accented by conviviality all blended to make another memorable evening even more so. Jack and Jamie have THE formula for an outstanding restaurant. We will be at table 12 more often than ever in 2019. Welcome back,...

I CAN NOT rave enough about this restaurant and am so mad that I didn't see this place until a recent trip! As a non-local that frequents the N. GA mountains, I like to try new places, but I am also painfully loyal to the places up here that I love, as I don't get to patron these businesses often. But, I decided to expand the horizons, and I absolutely found another place I will add to my list of faves for the area!!

First, the atmosphere was a fun but relaxed, lowkey vibe, the place felt so comfortable, and the rustic chic decor was so cute!

The service was excellent, truly exemplary! Our waitress, Kristin, was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and gave us the true low-down on menu items. We appreciated her honesty and recommendations, as well as her attentive service! Do yourself a favor, request Kristin as your waitress!! AND if you are lucky, their superb bartender, Tyler, will be working! He made the best Moscow Mule I have ever had!! Plus, we tried the Starry Night off the menu, which was a SOLID choice! It tasted like a spiked fruit punch, SO delicious! I am so glad we had the fortune of receiving service from these two. I don't doubt the other staff strive to provide excellent service like these two.

Now, what you've all be waiting (or skimming) for, THE FOOD 😝 WELL, it had me repeating "this is so good" throughout the meal in a way I have NEVER experienced. Seriously, I couldn't stop raving about the food while I was eating, even planned to call my mom after to tell her we must add this place to our restaurant rolodex for our vacations up here! The flavors were everything I didn't know I needed in my life and am elated to have found. It all started with the drinks and bread service. Now, this bread service comes with thin breadsticks and bread slices, in addition to arguably the best spreads for bread (and I am very picky with what I put on my bread, I tend to eat it naked). I don't remember exactly all that was in the spreads, but the reddish-orange one was a hummus and the speckled was a duck butter with chives. I never could've thought that I would love those and recommend them so easily. Then, we had our appetizers, which I rank as the top 3 appetizers, if not the best, that I have ever had in my life. I was blown away by the savory flavors that exploded in my mouth, I was speechless (believe it!)!! Stay with me here, if you leave Fortify without trying the gouda fritters, you didn't go to Fortify and you surely missed out on the most creamy, cheesy, perfectly crunchy, and tasty ball of joy (and you should be ashamed of yourself)!! I think I might dream of these gouda fritters for the rest of my life. They were simply put, sensational. From first bite, I wanted a lifetime supply, ugh, SO GOOD!!! And you add the pork belly?? Now, you're sailing. The pork belly was incredible! Judge for yourself, but I would be surprised if this app didn't rank high for you! Then, came dinner, which we were already amped to try based off experience with appetizers. My bestie had the duck, which she said was great and she enjoyed trying bread pudding in a way she has not before. I had the burger with homemade fries, which was perfectly cooked and puts many burgers to shame! I sincerely look forward to returning to try dessert, which we were fall too full for last night. The homemade ice cream flavors piqued our interests, so we will likely be back before our trip ends!

All that to say, I am a certified Fortify fan now! I...

This was our first time meeting at Fortify and we are looking forward to going back. Unfortunately the meal did not start off very well. We ordered the crab dip appetizer and when we received the dish, there was some type of plastic part in the dish. It was very small and it first I thought it was a highly caramelized piece of the dish, then I picked it up and thought it was somehow a small part of the small cast iron pan that it was served in, and upon closer inspection it was a small plastic part from something in the kitchen. Fortunately neither of us bit down on it, if so I think we would have chipped a tooth. We alerted our server, he took the piece to the kitchen, and we asked each other if they would do anything about it. We had read a lot of reviews about the restaurant and in my mind I thought if it was as good as the reviews indicated, we would not have to say anything to the management about the issue. As everyone knows, at many places management refuses to take responsibility for mistakes such as this. Fortunately within a few minutes the manager came out to our table, apologized, and told us that our meal would be on the house for the mistake. I felt that the way the issue was handled was professional, the manager did not try to negotiate with us and somehow shirk responsibility. This pleased both of us very much.

In about 5 minutes the manager returned with a fresh crab dip, and asked if we needed anything else. At this point I asked for additional lemon, because when I received my iced tea with lemon I noticed that the lemons were particularly aromatic and smelled like real lemons which is very different for most restaurants that we eat in. Now I have no idea if the lemons there are specially sourced for fortify, I doubt it, but that fresh lemon smell and taste made me much more inclined to not walk out of the restaurant, and to give the food a try.

I highly recommend the crab dip as an appetizer and I also highly recommend getting a few extra slices of lemon for the dip, it really adds a great finishing touch. I did wonder why the restaurant did not include lemon with the dip.

Our entrees were the burger and the meatloaf. We chose brussel sprouts, collard greens, and potato salad as our sides. The food was delicious and well-prepared. Both of us are looking forward to going back for dinner. I will say this about the burger, I feel that just like the crab dip it needs another taste dimension, preferably some type of sweet jam, such as a blackberry jam to add a note of sweetness.

The restaurant is clean, the bathrooms are clean, the dining is slow-paced so that you can enjoy your meal, and we did not feel rushed. Again the best thing is that there was no stress involved with the crab dip incident. By the way we left a large tip for the waiter, it wasn't his fault, and as I said earlier we will...