Rathbun's

Three things at which great restaurants excel: food, service, and ambience. Rathbun’s has excellent ambience, a nice modern/industrial design in ... more

I can echo everything that the reviewer below me had to say. The food was fantastic (though not the be all end all meal that I've ever had), but our service was mind numbingly terrible. It took 20 minutes to get our drinks and they sat unfilled for large portions of our dinner. We had to practically wrangle our waitress down to get her to take our order and then felt hurried when ordering for fear that she would leave to ""give us a few more minutes"" and we'd never see her again. She was uninspired when asked about the food and gave no thought our questions about what wines we should order. With food this legendary in Atlanta, I would expect nothing less of the service. What we got was nothing more that I could get at any restaurant that charges 1/3 as much (of course the food wouldn't be up to par, but that's the point!). Pros: The food, of course! Cons: The service! more

We arrive about 10 minutes before our reservation and were told our table wasn't ready yet so we could have a seat at the bar. Ha! It was literally impossible to walk or stand without touching someone, let alone sit and have a drink. Well we are finally seated, 20 minutes after our reservation. A manager or somebody comes by and tells us we'll be getting free eggplant chips for our wait. I was impressed with that and it did soothe my frazzled mood a little. Enter the snooty, early twenty-something waitress. She did not introduce herself, didn't welcome us, didn't discuss specials with us, and generally seemed irritated that we were there. We had several questions about the menu, but she didn't seem to eager to check on us so after a few minutes we flagged down another waiter who looked like a deer in the headlights so we let it go. Finally our darling waitress returns and we place our order. My boyfriend asked a question about the side dish of one of the menu items and her response was ""to me, the meal is really about the fish, not the side dish."" We thought that was a laughably unprofessional response for a restaurant of that caliber but let it go. So cut to the food: the appetizer (beef tartare) was pretty good, my boyfriend's fish wasn't very impressive, and my duck was absolutely delicious. So it wasn't a horrible experience or anything but certainly didn't live up to our expectations. I liked the atmosphere and the food was good (or mine was anyway), but they have really got to get it together as far as honoring reservations and hiring a professional and competent staff. I can't imagine that anyone who had our waitress would want to return. Pros: decent food, cool atmosphere Cons: had to wait in a crowded bar 30 min despite reservations, horrible waitress more

We went here for our 9th anniversary and we amazed at the delicious food and the great service. The menu is very creative. more

this was the best one!! It may be the best restaurant I've ever been to, in fact. Not only was the service impeccable, my medium rare cooked steak was the most wonderful thing I've ever tasted. All the dishes were seasoned well, no salt or pepper shakers necessary. Moreover, we were the only table outside, on a Tuesday. Often times servers neglect those tables but someone constantly had their eye on us, just in case we needed anything. The bone marrow was one of a kind, and amazing - as was the peanut butter banana cream pie. and to top it all off, the valet was complimentary. more

Our foursome went there to celebrate a graduation and had a wonderful time. The service was without exception professional, but still friendly and interactive. Our server's suggestions turned out to be outstanding, but of course so was everything else. Two of the small plates were exceptional - the softshell crab and the roasted marrow bones. All four of the entrees were quite good, but I recommend the elk chops. One of the steak dishes had the best side of the four - creamed roasted corn. We were pretty full, but the dessert sampler was shared by us and gave everyone just enough to cap off a perfect meal. The peanut butter banana pie and ginger cream brulee were our favorites. Pros: Exceptional food and service Cons: Neighborhood is a little scary more

Everything about this place is what I look for in a great restaurant. While the food is fine dining, it is not stuffy at all. The prices are very reasonable for the quality. The waiter we had was extremely helpful, and everything he suggested was great. Definitely dont miss the raw beef with smoked salt, and the cabbage carbonara. But you really cant go wrong here. Dinner for two, 3 small plates, 2 main courses, 2 deserts, with a $44 bottle of wine was $180 with tip (and yes we had leftovers). Pros: Great food and wine list. Great service. Cons: located in a dingy warehouse district more

It is always the highlight of an Atlanta adventure to get to go to Rathbun's. There is an electricity about this place that makes for an awesome dining experience. Whether you desire a light fare, or are famished and in the mood for a mega meal, Kevin's got your taste buds bubbling! The corn may be a side dish, but I plan my meal around this delicous concoction, creamy and roasted and deliciously delectable every time! And whatever your entree, fresh fish, lamb or beef, be prepared to be gastrinomically glorified! Yummm, yummmmmmm, yummmmm! But don't stop there. My husband craves the banana peanut butter pie, but I taste the foursome platter of deserts and am not disappointed. Not only is the food divine, but the service is decidedly the best in the city. They are pleasant, helpful, and timely. Pros: atmosphere and awesome food Cons: reservations necessary more

This is the first time I've been motivated enough to actually leave a review on this site or any other. My girlfriend and I visited Rathbun's last Saterday night after making reservations four days in advance. The first available time was at 10pm and we arrived 10 mins early. The hostess seemed annoyed at our presence when we first arrived, and despite the four empty tables we saw from the time we arrived, it took almost thirty minutes after our reservation time for us to be reluctantly seated. The small plates were good, but not great. We ordered the calamari and a raw plate of mozerella and sundried tomatoes. The kitchen lost our order and it took over an hour to recieve our meals. I ordered the braised brisket which was so tough and bland i actually sent it back.(Which is the first time I've ever done so) My date ordered the scallops which weren't bad but certainly not something to talk about. The manager came over afterwards and personally apologized and even comped the check which I do admire, but I will not be going back. I hate when a place gets some buzz around town and feels as if they no longer need to focus on service or quality, and that is my perception of Rathbun's. more

Ok, special occasion, called a week ahead to get a reservation for sat night, 9:30 PM. Birthday party of 4. We ran 10 mins late and called at 9:20 to say we were within 5-10 mins, they said no problem. Got there at 9:40, they said well, we gave you table away since you were late so now there's going to be a bit of a wait. OK fine, we went to Krog bar (overrated) to have a drink. I checked back 30 mins later, nothing avail. Another 30 mins, nothing. At 10:45 I asked if we were going to be seated. The manager explained that we lost our table since we were 10 MINS LATE. I explained that its ridiculous to ""lose"" a reservation when we were only a few mins late and should have been seated next. Evidentatly, if you are late you can forget it. We dine out at nice places weekly and Ihave never encountered this nonsense exept for here. Even after explaining the special occasion, I got a blank stare in return. Thanks for the great service Rathbuns-we'll take our $200 a weekend dining business elsewhere! Pros: leaving.... Cons: Better not be late people!!! more

We returned to Rathbun's for our 8th time over the course of the last several years the restaurant has been open. The bread was stale, the food below mediocre. The scallop special was served fried with jicama slaw. You couldn't taste anything but that it was fried. The oyster special was also fried, same lack of flavor. Delicious fresh crabmeat was served in an ovebearing cream sauce, in a tart. Again, could barely taste the fresh crabmeat. We've never been impressed by Rathbun's, but keep going back, thinking we're missing something due to all of the publicity. Once again, we were disappointed. Go to Wisteria or Repast, trust me... Pros: can go in wo/ reservations between 6pm and 7pm and sit at the bar for dinner, a nice in town space Cons: food lacks inspiration, creativity, and taste. Simply mediocre or below. more

I certainly enjoyed dining at Rathbun's. The atmosphere is upscale casual and service was outstanding. At that point, I thought my filet was the best in Atlanta but Rathbun Steak has since opened. more

Kevin Rathbun, pastry chef Kirk Parks, and co-owner Cliff Bramble continue to assemble an excellent staff that offers hands down one of the best dining experiences in Atlanta. The food and service are consistent and the menu offers enough options to appeal to a wide range of tastes. Kirk Parks' desserts are the best in the city. At this point, the same can't be said for the newer Kevin Rathbun Steak restaurant. There are still some glitches to be worked out there in both food consistency and service. more

The food is the best in Atlanta... the service is not. Servers were not professional and not very knowledgeable... ... especially about wine. Wish Kevin would fix that. Pros: Great food Cons: poor service more

Really good atmosphere. Everything was delicious. It would have gotten 5 stars if my dessert were a tad... more

Really good atmosphere. Everything was delicious. It would have gotten 5 stars if my dessert were a tad warmer. more

This restaurant is totally unassuming from the outside, hip and cool on the inside. The menu caused my... more

This restaurant is totally unassuming from the outside, hip and cool on the inside. The menu caused my whole group a major headache in that we want... more

We got there at prime time on Friday night without a reservation hoping to snag a bar table. We got very lucky! Service was great and everything we ordered was wonderful. 100% recommended. more

We visited Rathbun's on our one year anniversary. Our waitress was formidable, but obviously in a hurry. We ordered our drinks, and the waitress stopped by three times in the course of 1o minutes asking if we were ready to order. We felt like we were immediately being rushed. This feeling continued for the remainder of our meal. We decided on two raw plates, a special of heirloom tomatoes, peaches with manchego and a balsamic drizzle which was fantastic, the other a raw beef which has little beef but a lot of oil and parmesan which was fantastic as well, just not what we expected. We did get a small plate: the scallops, described as ""salt and pepper."" We expected seared scallops with a salt and pepper crust, but they were fried with breading. They were spicy however, and loving heat, decided they were fine. We ended up ordering two specials: 1) A 24 oz. porterhouse we ordered medium rare that had an over-cooked NY strip and an undercooked filet 2) a wild salmon plate that was not worth pondering. The champagne we started with and the wine we enter into dinner with (an Oregon pinot) were excellent. After dinner, I kept looking around for our server in anticipation of a dessert sampler and dessert wines. Instead, we were surprised by her bringing a complimentary dessert with ""Happy Anniversary"" written in chocolate. The dessert was great and we felt appreciative of the gesture, and we were happy that it was well suited to the both of us. However, it felt clear that this was a bit of a cue to hurry and wrap it up. We thanked her afterwards and took our cue to exit. I will say she offered us the full dessert menu after the fact. Given the choice, we would have completed our meal with a few desserts and an after dinner drink. End of the day, we would have spent the extra thirty dollars to go back to Bacchanalia, where we were treated like kings and queens, got good service, did not feel rushed to make way for the next patrons, and left with a full dining experience. more