Harold's Chicken & Ice Bar — Restaurant in Stonecrest

Born and reared 46yr in ChiSouthside, I'm always on the lookout for hometown food. Not just chitown dogs and pizza puff. Staples like Harolds Chicken and hopefully Portillos one day 🤤 Whoever decided to have the entrance on an angle was genius. The outside the color is very simple and elegant. I knew the inside has got to be banging!!. I was not wrong. Y'ALL know the piece that JJ painted shown in opening credits of Good Times??. Chicago artist Earnie Barnes! I'm excited now 😁 I'll get to the food soon... I was greeted by two of the ladies of the wait staff. Niama show me to my table but failed to inform and wait staff that I was there.The decor was very modern and classy. Beautiful spirits line the walls And I would like to talk about the blue glass to keep vibes clean in the establishment . The bathroom, 3 stall one handicap accessable, were well maintained did not have any paper towel but did have a nice air hand dryer. Beautiful well stocked bar in the rear. $25 hookahs specials cuz it's still Atl-ish. The music was still very loud like on Edgewood but more space so I didn't have to yell as loud. They were playing a mix of trap music and r& b.The seating in center nearest the wall across from DJ booth(yes DJ on some days😁)bar had the tables which had the patent leather booth on one side,,don't wear shorts and sit there😊. Mine didn't stick too bad, and chair on the other side of table . It was a very hot day the temperature was very comfortable in there The first bar area restaurant was almost filled with casually dressed men and a few women sprinkled here and there. If I had to guess I would say the average age was between 40 and 70. I'm in that middle and was digging the vibes. I was shown to my table however because they were doing a shift change I didn't receive a server. Once I got the attention of someone just walking past after I've sat there for a while I was told that no one knew who my server was. Two servers were there looking puzzled and then one of the, Tiara, volunteered but she didn't look too happy about it. The rest of her service was lack luster and I kinda felt like a nuisance to her. There was another server I believe his name is Hershel whose hair was braided going back in a ponytail. He stepped right in when I needed help when Tiara was busy. I really appreciate him. That could have gone much smoother with better communication during shift change. The Art in there😍 The huge picture with a woman with a ice necklace and a bar metal going through it. That was genius. The floating box lighting very artistic. A lot of thought has gone into the design of the restaurant. Now for the food review. The short version.. the chicken was delicious and tasted like home. the fries were very "ok".The mild sauce was good but a little different that what I remembered. The macaroni was also good however it was a lot of thick cheese on top but not much within the noodles. The greens look beautiful but lacked tenderness and flavor. The jerk egg rolls were not horrible but not great I will not get them again. The portions were a very nice size and prices wasn't bad at all!! Ms Tarryn and the team, did a great job. Oh yes there was a gentleman with a beard that I believe was a manager because he spoke to a group of women & joked around with them a little. They were seated in the center. A Party of about 5 however ignored anyone that was dinning solo. He even brought them their food. He could benefit from some additional customers service training. All in all I would absolutely recommend this sisters establishment and return with family/friends. I now know what area to sit on, what time to come, and what to try on menu next. I might mess around and get a...

Taking in account that it was opening weekend I will try and make this review as gracious as possible. Me and a few friends ( party of 5) visited the new Harold’s on panola. After being faithful customers to the location on Old National we decided to see what the new location was offering. As we arrived we were greeted by a guy and older lady stating that it was valet only. Now one major problem in the Atlanta food scene is parking and establishments that charge for parking with a parking lot . . . well you get the point. I just want to state that WE DID NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH PAYING TO PARK. Upon walking in you can tell that ambiance and decor was the main focus for this location. Before we were seated we were told it is a wait on the kitchen (2 of us in this friend group have been servers with 5 plus years experience combined) we agreed to still be seated and totally took that into consideration. Like I stated before we are faithful customers to the other locations so we stick to our original orders everytime. We were greeted by our server Tori and we were ready to order or atleast but in the apps / entrees and drinks since we knew the kitchen was behind. We all got a round of waters and waited for the drinks in SILENCE. If you know Harold’s you know it is known for giving a vibe! But this. . . I digress. Since we knew the food would take a min we ordered a hookah about 15 mins after placing our orders. Around 30 mins later apps came out. A little confused cause no drinks came out we weren’t to concerned cause we had some food at the table. About 10 mins later 3/5 of the entrees came out ( fried combos) and again we were okay with was going on but again no drinks just food. The waitress then bring the hookah and we express that we are still waiting on drinks, a wrap and another fried combo order and we wanted to place a Togo order. About 5 mins later drinks came and then 5 more mins the the last two orders came. And then the Togo orders. Though out this entire experience frustration levels were mixed between us but we thought hard about it being opening weekend and didn’t wanna be “that group”. As I stated before we have some years in restaurants and having TOAST is system I’m worked with for years. But clearly the staff may need training to the basic functions. Service as a whole was the worst but time-management and communication gets you a long way in this industry and we only saw our service when we placed our orders when we dropped off drinks and we were ready to pay. I’ve known Harold’s to be a good neighborhood bar with good music / food / and drinks and great hookah and a good night out to matter what. But clearly we can see where the money was spent and it wasn’t to bring the Harold’s vibe to the east side. The food as a whole was a 2/10 unseasoned chicken and fries, cold salmon wrap. Drink were a 5/10. Decor 8/10....

So boom….

Me and my wife wanted to try Harold’s since it’s near our home and we wanted to have lunch together before I traveled out of town on business.

We get there and the ambience is impressive. We were greeted by a young lady who asked if we wanted to sit at a table or at the bar. We elected to sit at the bar since the restaurant was relax empty at this time. After sitting at the bar for 15 minutes without out existence being acknowledged, I went to the the front of the restaurant and requested a table. Soon after being seated we ordered our drinks. I ordered bottled water and my wife had a coke and an alcoholic beverage. We ordered our food; I ordered the shrimp and chicken with red beans and she ordered the grilled chicken with yellow rice and macaroni and cheese. We sat for 30 minutes without seeing our waitress. When we did see her again she advised that my order was up but they were waiting on my wife’s to be plated. Another 20 minutes goes by…. At this point I’m frustrated about the wait because I did not expect to spend my entire afternoon waiting on food. My waitress is again nowhere to be found. I go up to the bar and ask to get the check for my wife’s drink so we can leave as I have somewhere to be in less than 30 min. I’m told that our food is almost ready and that they will pack it to go. 15 minutes later the food comes out and it’s obvious they took someone else’s order and threw it in a to go plate. I try to support black owned businesses so I don’t complain, I get the check, pay, and leave.

I would expect that if there is an issue with the kitchen that someone in a managerial capacity would come speak and apologize for the inconvenience. Especially considering I’m spending almost $100 on lunch. But no, I don’t even think I saw a manager my entire time there.

Long story less long, we finally get home and try the food. Big mid. I mean with a capital MID. Red beans weren’t soaked and tasted like they were cooked by someone who hated beans all their life. The chicken and catfish had absolutely NO flavor. The fries had no salt and were under cooked. The grilled chicken was edible. Like jail food. Sustenance only. Worst $83 I ever spent on food in my entire life. Then the audacity to force service charges and processing fees on the check I’m literally flabbergasted at the audacity of this establishment. Black owned restaurants need to do better. This is why it’s so difficult to support yall. You give subpar service, overcharge for everything, and don’t even appreciate the people who are attempting to support you.

Needless to say I will NEVER and I mean NEVERR patronize this establishment again and I will make sure everyone I know and love knows how poor this location is ran. Only Harold’s I’m acknowledging is the one on Old Nat. This one is butt. Proceed at...