Cat Cora’s — Restaurant in College Park

This particular restaurant is located in the Atlanta International Airport, across from Gate A26. Fortuitously, this is the gate my flight was scheduled to depart from... In THREE hours! The setup, design, and atmosphere drew me in; that, and the fact I was familiar with the Cat Cora name, from TV. White tables supported a stemmed wine glass at each setting, accompanied by heavy flatware wrapped in black, cloth napkins: a nice draw away from the busy airport fast food. We were seated by a hostess, and almost immediately approached by our delightful server, Assata. She greeted us with a smile, welcomed us, took our drink order, and was back within minutes to take our good order. Very polite, cordial, and quick on her feet. The food did take a bit to get to us, but I'm guessing there was a small problem in the kitchen, because we were apologized to, and told our food would soon be out, twice. However, I did not despair, because like I said, I wasn't expecting, "fast food." Assata refilled our drinks, and soon brought our dishes. They were nicely plated, but surpassed greatly by their taste. I had the Crab Mac-n-cheese, and my companion ordered the Spicy Tomato Soup, and Grilled Cheese. The grilled cheese bread was nicely toasted and crispy, without being greasy, and the avocado, and caramelized onions within, so positively accented the cheese itself. The soup was rich, with a bit of zing, but not enough to turn away someone not accustomed to spice. The Mac-n-cheese was very tasty. A rich, creamy, white cheese sauce, which incorporated the Crab flavor elegantly, without being overpowering. This seemed to be finished off in an oven or broiler, for it possessed a slight crisp to parts of the topping, without drying it out, or overdoing the caramelization. A neighbor nearby had ordered some bread or toast with his, and I was sorry I hadn't. He was able to get every last bit of the delicious cheese sauce. I highly recommend you try this place, when you are in the Atlanta airport, if you have the time. I spent a relaxing 40-45 mins in there. They also serve alcohol, if that...

I initially gave this place 5 stars due to what I mention initially. However, please see the update.

Working in the service industry is tough and I can’t even imagine how much tougher in an airport with people experiencing all sorts of chaos. I ate dinner here tonight as my flight was delayed and this staff is freaking amazing. Everybody was incredibly friendly and went out of their way to make you comfortable. At one point, a little boy at another table started crying loudly and the whole staff came together to make him smile and ease the situation. I was so impressed. Having traveled many times with small children, I know how stressful that can be. On top of great service, the food was pretty good, too (and they have a very decent wine list for an airport). They tag teamed an adorable, exhausted kiddo with absolute grace!

Update: all this said (it still pertains) when I went to check out I was charged far too much. When I asked for an itemized receipt my server was noticeably uncomfortable. He ended up crediting me back the initial charge and adjusting and recharging, but I think he thought I was buzzed up and wouldn’t notice. I did this on a debit, so we will see if the charge falls off. I don’t believe it was intentional…stuff happens and I’ve been there myself as a seasoned bartender and server, but it didn’t feel great. Not gonna lie. Never did get the itemized receipt but he did charge me for an extra glass of wine. I then read other low star reviews and many people have had the same complaint. I’m no stranger to the bullshit that gets pulled in the service industry. Taking people for their money is bad business and karma sucks....

Tonight, my elderly mom and dad found themselves stranded in the Atlanta airport after their connecting flight home was cancelled due to a storm in our area. They are inexperienced travelers and my mom has leukemia. They also were having issues with their cell phone as it was not allowing them to call out and they could only text. They sought help from the airline about what to do and where they could stay for the night and received none. They told me they were just going to sleep in the airport until they could fly out the next day. Luckily, they went into the Cat Cora restaurant and met the most beautiful server named Bureke. Bureke called me from her phone and explained that she wanted to help my parents. She gave me the name and numbers of three hotels that I could call. She said she would make sure my parents had a warm meal while I called to see if I could get them a place to stay and for me to be in touch with her. They indeed had a delicious meal and I was able to book them a room. Bureke called me to say that my parents were safely on their way to the hotel shuttle.

How can I thank this individual enough? I can start by leaving this review and urging everyone to take their weary selves into the Cat Cora Restaurant in the Atlanta international Airport and have yourselves a delicious meal. If you are lucky enough to have Bureke as your server, please tell her you read this review. Her genuine kindness and generous nature is exactly what my family and this...