Overstory Rooftop Bar — Restaurant in Duluth

My husband and I recently visited this establishment and were genuinely impressed by the ambiance and atmosphere—an element of your space that is undeniably well-curated and inviting. We were casually yet appropriately dressed, having just taken our children out for some summer fun, and wanted to grab a drink and a quick bite to eat. While the setting met expectations, the overall service experience fell significantly short of what one would anticipate from a venue of this caliber.

Upon arrival, we were not greeted, leaving us to navigate the space on our own. We eventually wandered into what we later learned was a reservation-only area, and it was only at that point that a staff member acknowledged us to inquire about a reservation. We were then directed to place our order at the bar and enjoy the outdoor seating area. Once at the bar, we once again experienced a lack of engagement—neither bartender offered a greeting. The male bartender, in particular, appeared disengaged and visibly disinterested, which set an unfortunate tone. Fortunately, the female bartender eventually assisted us, though even that interaction lacked warmth.

We ordered drinks and food, and while the beverage quality was quite good—well-crafted and appropriately strong—we were not given any clear instruction regarding food service even after we notified her that we would be dining outside. After moving outside, my husband had to return inside to follow up. He received assistance from a different female staff member, whose attentiveness he appreciated. The outdoor space was aesthetically pleasing, and we enjoyed the setting, but throughout our stay, no staff member followed up to check on our food, ask if we needed anything further, or confirm our satisfaction.

We ordered the Wagyu Burger and the Asado. Both were flavorful and well-executed; however, finding a strand of hair wrapped in my chimichurri was deeply off-putting and understandably cut our experience short. To make matters worse, the checkout process was mishandled. We had to seek out the bartender who initially served us in order to pay. With service this terrible it would have been incredibly easy for us to have walked out without paying at all which is terrible. The bill we received initially seemed incorrect—lower than expected—so we informed the staff. A new charge was then processed without confirming the revised total with us, and this second amount was inaccurate, including an extra drink we never ordered. We had to speak to the male bartender again to void the charge and run the correct transaction, which required managerial assistance.

While my husband and I are well off now, we both worked in the service industry in our younger years. We are typically generous and enthusiastic tippers, recognizing the high demands and low compensation of hospitality work. However, based on this experience, we tipped $10 on a $90 check—far less than our norm but still more than was deserved. We left and dined elsewhere.

If we choose to return, we will certainly make a reservation in advance. Although all guests should receive the same level of attention, it appears that those with reservations are given preferential treatment. That said, we will likely limit our order to drinks only.

I noticed a lot of reviews on many different platforms citing very similar experiences dated back to 2024. The manager responds with an apology, however, it’s highly disappointing that I’m writing this mid 2025 and the same issues have yet to be corrected. I highly encourage this establishment to take heed to the constructive criticism and fix the issues guests are...

As everyone has mentioned before by other countless reviews; this place has so much potential to be something great for Gwinnett. This type of ambiance and setting has been missing in Gwinnett and I have been excited to finally check out Overstory in Duluth.

But wanted to wait a bit since many reviews seem to have the same sentiment when it comes to service and food being subpar. And I get it…it’s still very new and still working out all the kinks.

So I thought to also add a review with the intentions of it being constructive criticism.

1st. Parking is super easy

2nd. Ambiance of the main lobby downstairs very upscale and gets you in the mood especially if you’re on a date, it impresses. 😉

3rd. When finally getting to the rooftop level, once again very upscale and have beautiful views, still shocked to see this in Gwinnett lol. Hostess unlike everyone else was fine no complaints.

4th. The food…needs a lot of work. A lot of the food was bland or really forgettable. And I get it, usually at these “higher-end” places portions are smaller. We ordered every thing on the menu when it came to the small dishes and I wanted to like it so bad but it was either cold or bland…if I had to benchmark some really good places around Metro Atlanta: Delbar and Rubi’s (although different foods) kill it when it’s comes serving phenomenal food. If those were a 9 out of 10 when it comes to purely taste…Overstory would be at a 2 or 3. Really needs an overhaul in either chef or recipes!

5th. The drinks…also were really bad. Espresso Martini wow…tasted awful. Watered down and just not it. My table ordered around 3/4 of the cocktails on the menu and the one with rhubarb also tasted very bad…tasted like cough medicine. The drink menu needs a whole overhaul and revisions.

6th. Can’t recall my server’s name but service was slightly below average, would’ve been nice if she was more attentive. We had to remind her several times where are drinks were…she kept forgetting. If you’re going to have this upscale vibe the server’s need to step it up.

Also random side note…we were handed paper menus for both drink and food; obviously had been re used and was ridden of food stain and drink stains on it. Maybe have laminated menus to avoid that? It was just an off putting first impression right when you sit down to see brown stains and grease stains all over the menu😂

All in all I’d give Overstory another chance if I was informed they updated and improved both drink and food menu. As I said before place has a lot of potential but really missed the mark for me...

My brother, sister-in law and I were truly excited to visit Overstory in Gwinnett last night on 9/7. We were looking forward to an evening of family fun with spectacular views.

Upon arrival to the hostess desk, we were immediately greeted with rudeness by the female hostess - who seemed annoyed that we arrived and interrupted her discussion with two other male associates. After several moments with no acknowledgement, she finally looked up to say nastily - “We don’t accept walk -in’s.” Attempting to redirect the energy, my brother politely spoke and said we have a reservation and then we were asked under what name. I then stepped up to provide my full name. She first said there was no reservation under that name. I told her that our reservation was for 10pm and we received notification at 10:08pm via text that the table was ready and we pressed 1 to indicate that we were indeed on the way. She said “oh well we don’t hold reservations past 15mins so that’s it” It was 10:17pm. My brother took over and acknowledged that we were a few minutes late as we got caught in the traffic jam by the hotel due to the concert. She abruptly cut him off with another “oh well” this time with a shrug and roll eye stating that’s policy and that the restaurant was at capacity. One of the males suggested that she call upstairs to see if they could accommodate us which she did, again with an attitude.

We then proceeded to walk into an elevator. There was another group who entered at the same time and there was a loud disrespectful shouting to that group. Asking them where they were going. They stated that they were staying in the hotel and flashed a keycard. We were then asked to get out of the elevator while the other group was chastised.

When we arrived to the rooftop we were shouted at, then again asked for reservation name. I said “hello, your colleague downstairs called and just sent us up. Who did she speak to?” I explained to someone upstairs that the experience thus far was lackluster and instead of offering an apology, we were told “it’s been a hectic day”. Also, there were several empty seats - clearly not at capacity.

The only and true stars of the night was Ms. Anika and Tiffany, our waitress who showed a genuine concern to recover the poor experience received. The two of them are stars and I would personally hire them.

The woman at the downstairs at the hostess stand needs to be removed immediately because if ppl continue to experience her as the first face of the venue that is not only deplorable but a poor reflection of a...