Nara Cuisine & Lounge — Restaurant in Johns Creek

A LONG READ BUT A HONEST REVIEW:

I have visited NARA 4 times now, each time inviting new friends, family; spending $500-$650 each time and always have been let down, either by slow service, lack of organization, dirty glasses with lipstick on it....etc. Last night for Valentines dinner, was the final straw. I made the reservation online, one week prior. Next day I called to call confirm and they could not find my reservation. I ended up creating a new reservation and was told to expect a text to confirm. Several days later, still no text, decided to call once again to double check, I spoke to "Adam". He also had trouble finding my reservation but at last he located it... then he asked me if I wanted to reserve for the rooftop. I said "oh sure, if it is available now, I would like that." Then he said "oh, no sorry, not available".... ok. We showed up 15 mins early, and went to check in with the hostess. There was no greeting, not a hello. There were other people/groups standing around the hostess stand, so we assumed she was busy, plus we were early. People came by, went, were promptly seated- even people who came after us- we were STILL standing around waiting to be acknowledged by the hostess.... Finally, we checked in after 12 minutes of standing in one place, and were told there is a special Valentine's dinner menu, "it is $60/person and it is a 2 hour maximum dine in time". Incredibly off-putting! I asked the hostess if the menu was mandatory or optional, a bit confused since I had called in twice, spoken to someone twice, checked the website- ZERO mention of a special mandatory Valentine menu. I mean, we are all dressed up, already there, waiting to be seated, without a plan B, so the menu being not optional and NOT PRE-DISCLOSED felt pretty forceful. We said its fine I guess, not really left with any choice, and hostess asked if we wanted the roof top seating instead. Again, I said "if it is available, please, yes". Manager (I assume) came by swiftly, spoke quickly and quietly to the hostess, again not even a greeting, a smile, a look our direction, before walking away. The hostess then said follow me, and we followed her to an inside table.... no rooftop for us (again) I guess, LOL. Drinks took roughly 40 minutes to be served, crazy over charge on sparkling water (not priced on menu), charge for extra 4 pieces of bread. I would not be surprised if the air we breathed wasn't charged extra at that point. The special Valentine menu was mediocre, not lots of choices, especially the salad which was bland, and small for two people. Our entrees came out right after they had served our salad, and still had not un-served our empty appetizer plates- so kind of a dysfunctional and not well thought out moment for an establishment that is aiming to be luxurious. On another note: On my third visit, to NARA, I reserved seating for the rooftop, for my college graduation get-together. Upon arrival, the hostess told me my table on the rooftop is no longer available, and we would be seated downstairs outside. I was disappointed and surprised because no one informed me of this change, prior to my arrival. Hostess then answered: "It was a manager's decision in the last hour, he seated THIRTY (not 1, no 2, not 3, THIRTY) extra people on the rooftop for a private high school graduation (So I am assuming ZERO profit made on drinks that night). Spent my evening watching high schoolers galloping up and down the stairs to the bathroom to takes selfies, not a care about the restaurant or their grad party. Meanwhile, my special night and event was ruined and left feeling less important. Two stars because the food is good. I don't believe its employee's fault, they just need more guidance and training. I believe managers at NARA do as they please, move customers around as they please, do not communicate expectations or procedures to staff and are not grateful for their customers. After 4 bad experiences, I believe managers appeal and cater to their own crowd of customers, do not believe every paying person is...

In short, way too expensive for what you get and it just keeps getting more and more expensive each time I visit. Have been there three times and will definitely NOT be back for the third reason I mentioned below. Here is my honest opinion about this place.

1. We got there at 7 pm and asked them if we can sit outside on their rooftop. They acted like they don’t have no space and they are completely booked for the rooftop. However, they were KIND enough to do us a favor and let us sit on rooftop. When we got up there, only one of the tables were taken beside us (a couple sitting there) and by the time we left (9 pm) only one or two of their tables were occupied. So I just don’t get why they were acting like they were super busy and completely booked.

2. Their food is very good, that’s why I give them two stars, but way too expensive for what you get. You can get the same exact dishes at their competitors within a few miles for half of Nara’s prices. Their hookah is $35, but they charge $15 for a refill (which we did not have any). Overall, think of spending around $150-200 easily for two people getting 2 of their most basic dishes (Salmon fish $35 and Beef Koobideh Kabab $22) + No drinks + hookah $35 + couple of tea (they force you to get a teapot which is $25).

3. They charge you 20% mandatory gratitude (another $25). On the bottom of the receipt it is written that 20% gratitude will be added to any parties of 6 or more, all rooftop tables and the tables with hookahs. So our server came couple of times (the first time he took the order and the second time he just brought them) and only checked if we were ok or not (not that he really cared). He really did not provide us any service. However, I was charged around 25 dollars for the service I never received or barely received which is definitely not accepted. That means the server can do whatever knowing he will still get 20% tip.

Here is my message to the owner:

I gave you two stars and I do not want to defame your business by any means. I understand your place is nice, and I also get the reason why you keep the prices high (to attract certain type of customers), but the fact that you charge 20% tip and your prices are already too expensive and not reasonable compared to your competitors in the area will discourage people like me who live nearby and go to hookah places a lot to come there and will make us go somewhere else. Not that we don’t like you or your place and do not want to support you, but we just think that we can get the same exact things for half the price at other places. So when you’re pricing your items, please put yourself in your customer’s shoes and see if you would be willing to pay $150 for an average dinner of two at a...

We first thought of trying out this restaurant on Mother’s Day, but ended up reaching late. A few days later, we celebrated our anniversary and our brilliant 11 year old who was impressed with Nara when she took a peek on Mother’s Day, suggested that we dine there. We immediately called and booked a table.

When we went in, the staff were courteous and accommodated our requests, to start with, situate us at a table of our choice. We’ve been to Persian restaurants before and knew exactly what we wanted, so we went ahead and ordered the Kashke Badenmjan, Falafel and lentil soup to start with. There was also the amazing palate cleanser plate on the house. We also ordered the grilled salmon kabab, chicken koobideh, and lamb kabob.

Let me tell you this - we assumed that the portions would be small like Rumi’s. We were so wrong! As a family that has been to Rumi’s several times due to the lack of more options, we were pleasantly surprised! The food, needless to say, was perfectly seasoned, perfect amount of salt, juicy meats, and the Nara’s special rice - totally delicious! My wife requested some spicy condiments as an accompaniment, and they brought us this wonderful, delicious green chili lemon dip, that paired fantastically with all our dishes !

The portions were huge compared to Rumi’s. The taste and flavour profile were exquisite! The Kashke Badenmjan, which we have ordered at other places often, was delicious - the best we’ve had so far !

We also ordered drinks, and were later told that the lemonade is freshly squeezed everyday - this passed the test of my 11 year old and she confirmed that this was the best mint lemonade she has ever had!

Over all, if we could rate this place a 10 we surely would! We are definitely going there again.

Mohammed, the host and manager, was very gracious and friendly and treated us nicely, constantly checking on us. We had a long conversation with him and complemented him on how amazing each dish tasted. That’s when he pointed out that none of his tables had the condiment/salt pepper dispensers , as they are a 100% confident of how great their dishes taste!

They were a little understaffed, and we noticed that they were all helping each other and waited on all tables together to help manage clients efficiently.

This place would be a must-visit with large groups, and our honest feedback is that this is way more value for money and tastier...