J. Alexander's Restaurant — Restaurant in Dunwoody

This would be a 5 start review, if not for the disrespectful General Manager. I came here with my friend by chance on Saturday 03/16/24, we where in the area near Perimeter Mall, she was at end of her fasting day for Ramadan & wanted something to eat. We were considering another venue at plaza location but noticed hidden in the leafs was J Alexanders.

I frequent the plaza often due to having a P.O. Box in building directly behind restaurant & never noticed it.

We decided to try it out, upon entry we walked in & this gentleman, who I initially thought was a chef/cook, walked passed us.

I said: "good afternoon" the gentleman looked directly at me gave me a "disappointed look" to what seem was my attire & turned his head to look the other way to avoid speaking. At that instant, I told my friend "this place not getting my money, this chef was rude".

However, I knew she was hungry because she fast all day & I couldn't let that punish her, because she was really interested.

I asked for table for 2 & was told reservations first & it would be 20 minutes, so we choose the bar.

I didn't want to get a full entree, because my first time here & ordered the fish sandwich of the day (which was Cajun Mahi) with fries & ordered an appetizer, the smoked salmon dip served chilled. Both were excellent 👌.

My friend was beyond satisfied with their veggies burger. Then the gentleman from earlier, came to side of bar to comp 2 glasses of wine to have a bottle sold, as he told bartenders.

My friend spoke to him, (thinking he did not hear us earlier) & he again gave this disgusting look on his face & ignored us, while kept talking to staff about the bottle that was to be sold for table.

I asked one bartender who is that gentleman? I was told, he was the general manager.

So apparently, the GM dresses as chef, at J Alexanders, & his smugness ruined the atmosphere.

I was going to say something but I didn't, due to the company I was with. So I didn't tell staff anything & said to my friend "I'll do a review online".

Another thing, that I thought was odd, the bartender who served us, although was great however at end, acted as if cash was contagious.

I paid for both meals & appetizer in advance on debit card (total of $53.00 + $15.00 tip). But wanted to make sure she got some cash same day. So, I tipped a total of $25.00. $10.00 cash & $15.00 charged with meal. But the bartender very slowly slid the receipt tray to edge, flipped the card tray over to drop the $10.00 behind bar, while looking at the "wrote in tip" part of receipt. (Just seen odd).

I paid nearly 49% gratuity because she was awesome, maybe it's J Alexander is a no cash place, I'll try & remember to look up rule book next time.

I will come back only after my encounter with the GM is forgotten & since the mid course food items were excellent 👌, next time, I'll get a main entree & will make reservations to dine in.

However that GM, needs to work on his people skills. I was dressed casual, but, who knows the reason for his rudeness & smugness, but I won't be back until I forget it.

Again, overall, very excellent food, great service.... BAD GM!

(This was edited for a few typos...some may still be here, but you get...

Updated second visit (posted January 2019)

Love eating here. Always gotta get a variety and not just one thing because I love so many things there. Salmon entree is always amazing, get couscous as a side, they're the best ever. French dip sandwich is also the best ever, add some gruyere swiss cheese to it, you won't regret it. Their horseradish sauce is amazing and made in house, and I don't even like horseradish. Mac n cheese is rich but really good. Got the rattlesnake pasta, again make sure to sub out the roasted sliced chicken and get it grilled and sliced!! Way better that way. Last but not least, the steak tacos are also delicious!! The pico is so good and not overwhelming oniony.

First visit:

French dip sandwich is the best I have ever had, add some Gruyere Swiss cheese to it there is no upcharge! Meat is so flavorful and the au jus is amazing. They make their own horseradish sauce, let me tell you I am not a huge fan of horseradish, but that sauce is amazing!! Mixes great with their spicy dijon mustard. Fries are always so yummy too, may want to get lightly salted because tend to be oversalted. We also had the club sandwich with Turkey and it is always delightful!!! Rattlesnake pasta is like a Cajun Alfredo basically. It comes with sliced chicken normally but we always sub it out for a grilled chicken breast that they slice. So much better than the sliced roasted chicken! Have to try it out! Last, but not least, THE COUSCOUS!!!! I love their couscous so much! They have a nice little kick of red pepper in them, I think they're cooked in a chicken stock, oh they are amazing. Topped with parmesan and have these nice little slivers of carrots, they add amazing texture to the couscous. Must have. Second visit: I had the salmon this time and OMG some of the best I've ever had. It has a really good template on the side also. Cooked perfectly. Of course I had to get the couscous again!!! For dessert: creme brulee and the chocolate cake. Let me tell you, this is my favorite creme brulee. It's topped with an assortment of berries, but the BEST part is the little bit of mascarpone they put on top. It is so delicious and adds this nice creamy and tart taste that contrasts perfectly with the creme brulee. The chocolate cake, it has the BEST vanilla ice cream I have ever had. I believe Humboldt is the brand. It is the creamiest and most tasteful vanilla ice cream I...

Summary: Today's experience was a disappointment on many levels, while this isn't typical and I feel a bit hypocritical for not posting some 5 start reviews for previous visits, I still have to go "all in" on this one. The hostess was borderline rude, actually .. just rude regarding not holding our reservation from November 3rd, 2017 (confirmed 3 times since). The Manager (I don't know his name - looked a bit like Harry Potter) was either unwilling or unable to engage and didn't take the time to even swing by the table to apologize for the situation. The food was adequate today, perhaps the frustration with stuffing 8 people in a booth soured the experience, but the usual 5 Star Calamari came in at a 3 and my hot sandwich was barely warm. Our Mac and Cheese for the table to share came after most of us were done eating so that is another failure on the day. As far as bright spots, Kimberly was her typical warm and engaging self and did everything she could do to offset the rain clouds of the rest of the experience. Kudos to her for caring more than everyone else combined. History: 7 years ago I moved to Atlanta to take over a Customer Support team and my new hire meal was here at J. Alexander's. Carrying on the tradition, I regularly book a table, the same 8 person table at J. Alexander's of Dunwoody and bring groups of my new hires here on a regular basis. There is only one good table for a party of this size to carry on the new hire tradition so we ALWAYS reserve and sit at the same table. At no point from booking, through final confirmation today was the expectation set that we would not have our normal table as it would have been very easy to reschedule the lunch for a different time that was more accommodating. Instead, we were shoe horned into an uncomfortable table with no regrets which was extremely disappointing considering our tenure and history with the restaurant and reservations in the past. I was and remain extremely disappointed by today's experience on many levels.

How I determined a 2 Star Rating. I started with 5 Stars, I took a star off for not holding the reservation, one for the hostess being rude, one for the Manager not engaging and one for the food not being delivered timely, hot and correctly. I added one back for Kimberly going above and beyond to help salvage...