4th & Swift

Recommends

chz8

Joined 4 years ago

Wonderful place. When I made the reservation I mentioned that my wife and I were celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary and I arranged to have flowers brought to our table. This may have set a special tone, but the result made for an unusually rewarding evening. We were seated immediately, treated graciously and with good humor by the waitstaff, and Chef Swift came out to introduce himself. Most importantly, the food was wonderful. My wife and I shared "small plates" of a sauteed brussell sprout and apple salad and a melt-in-your-mouth chicken liver dish, and for the entree we had seared scallops, which were among the best I have ever tasted. I do not usually wax eloquent over restaurants, but this was an unusual experience.

Doesn't Recommend

ebt25

Joined 4 years ago

Horribly disappointing for the price. I don't have a problem paying $70/head for dinner, or fish entrees priced in the $25-35 range --- I think Atlanta needs more upscale dining. What I do have a problem with is paying that much for dinner and getting bad food. My wife and I tried 4th & Swift last night, and were thoroughly disappointed. I had a salad (nothing special, but impossible to screw up) and a bass dish, which was greasy and over salted, on a bed of overcooked risotto. My wife had a soup with a milk base, which was way overcooked (boiled milk=curdled milk) and a fish dish that was also just...not good.

Very disappointed overall. We won't be back.

Doesn't Recommend

kc09

Joined 4 years ago

terrible - do not waste your money. I visited 4th and Swift for a birthday dinner, and was incredibly disappointed in the entire visit. While waiting 15 mins on our server to bring drinks, we were not offered bread and we had to ask for it twice before we received it much later. When our meals arrived, only one person's food was actually hot - the rest of us were served lukewarm to cold food despite the fact that we waited quite awhile to eat. There were problems with inattentiveness and the server never brought back the leftovers she promised to box up, leaving me responsible for going back to the restaurant to remind her that I had food. For the $300 we spent on the meal, I left feeling cheated. When I contacted the restaurant afterwards, they offered nothing to resolve it.

Doesn't Recommend

fromagelover

Joined 7 years ago

Food is marginal. Atmosphere is nice. Food was unimpressive. Butternut squash soup had no flavor, octopus salad was not much better. There are certain foods that gives you an indication of the overall menu. (e.g. many times if the salad is n ice and fresh with good flavor, likely the menu will indicate the same as fresh ingredients are used ) For me, fries are one of these indicator foods. I was most disappointed with the fries. It's a fundamental item for a chef. it's a basic side that should be done correctly no matter how terrible the menu may be. (take lessons from Rathbuns! They make GREAT fries) To top it off, my friend ordered a ribeye, medium. It came out rare. They took it back once, it came back about the same. The second time, it came back well done. Keep in mind, this steak is served sliced, not whole. To remake this steak properly, a new piece should have been cooked to correct temperature, rested to preserve the juices, then sliced. The kitchen simply recooked the sliced pieces. That and the fries were deal breakers. Come on! Steak and fries are basic dishes a chef should have mastered. If I want an "okay" steak, save your money and go to Outback. I give them some credit as they did not charge for the steak.

Recommends

neatomosquito

Joined 8 years ago

I enjoyed this place...keep reading. Interesting input from fellow reviewers. Here's my take on it. We went on New Year's Eve with a reservation at 6:30 for 4. I make it a point to be off the street early on NY Eve. Anywho, their advertising was clear that there were seating times and other restrictions. OK, I can work with you...no problem. What I did have a problem with was a young lady who called to confirm our reservation and also informed me that we were expected to vacate our table by 8:30. Supposedly they were turning people away at the door for reservations etc... Gee, can't tell you how welcoming that is. I'm not one to malinger but a party of 4 in two hours with a 5 course meal could be tough. I was all ready to cancel but cooler heads prevailed and suggested that we go 15 minutes earlier to assure us adequate time. Thank goodness we did since we used up every minute. OK, so now we're finished with what ticked me off. What I did like was the service. It was excellent. The 5 course meal choices were very good and the matching wine courses were delightful. Was it outstanding-run home to tell mama kind of cooking? No. Was it very competant and a good value? Very definitely. However, my acid test has become one question. Would I go there again before I try a different highly rated restaurant in ATL? Answer....nope....I'm going to keep tasting and testing new stuff.

Recommends

atlgirlie

Joined 6 years ago

Best Food I've Had in Atlanta in a Long Time. Service was generally good but not perfect, but the food was great. The warm cheese mini-biscuits were delish, and I ordered 2 small plates for my entree. The artisanal cheese in both my dishes was great. I had the endive & frisee salad (with blue cheese, dried cherries, and sherry vinaigrette), and the lamb shoulder-ricotta cheese-mushroom "lasagna". Both dishes were great, especially the lamb. Nice halfway-decently priced wine list, as well, though cocktails will hurt your wallet at $12 to $14 each. Ouch! Loud atmosphere made it hard to hear the server, but a conversation could be carried on at the table. They need to reprint the drink and desert menus, as the toner had scratched off 1/3 of the offerings. But the food is really good, hence the high rating.

Recommends

julie_loves

Joined 6 years ago

No wonder it's Top 10 in Atlanta!. I'm a big Atlanta foodie, so I am always on the look out for the latest and greatest in the city. 4th & Swift had always been on my "list" after seeing it show up in my searches over and over again, but I'd never had an occasion to go until recently. My experience was FANTASTIC! I went with a small group of girl friends, but this place is easily fit for intimate dates, small groups, and even larger parties. The food is absolutely phenomenal; they have a daily Chef's menu, as well as a consistent seasonal menu. Mostly seafood items however, so that's not to your liking you may want to reconsider. Great wine selection, but limited in signature cocktails. Service was wonderful: not overly snooty but casual, gregarious, and comfortable. Lots of parking, valet also available. HIGHLY recommended!

Doesn't Recommend

ARedd

Joined 5 years ago

Great atomsphere, thats about it. Maybe my expectations were high because of the other reviews I read but after going to this restaurant I would not go back. The atomsphere was nice. The start of the evening was nice, the server seemed very knowledgable about the food and the seasonal menu, which is what I would expect from this type of restaurant.

Then, they brought me the wrong drink, which is fine stuff like that happens. But when they brought me my new drink it still was incorrect. They brought my date the wrong meal, which in their defense, they did correct the mistake very quickly. The thing that really bothered me was that our server disappeared for about 20 mins. We wanted to order another bottle of wine for our table while we were finishing up our meals but she never returned. Then when all of our glasses were empty, instead of asking us if we would like another bottle they just took our glasses away. It made me feel like they wanted us to leave so when they finally brought us our check we just paid and left and when to Intermezzo for desert.

I really could not recommend this place to anyone I know especially with all the other great restaurants in the Atlanta area.

Recommends

lfsivadl

Joined 9 years ago

Business-class restaurant, First-class price. I liked this restaurant. The food was great, but I thought it was expensive for the meal offered. A glass of wine, for instance, is $9-11, which is a bit high in my opinion. Entree's are in the mid to upper $20's.

The entrance looks like the back door. In fact, nearly every one of my party of 10 walked past the door and around the building before entering. A clearly visible sign might be in order here.

The ambiance is nice, but the lighting could be warmer. I didn't like the fluorescent up-lighting on the walls... too brash. The dining room is a bit noisy... we found ourselves having to raise our voices to talk. Every few minutes, someone new would enter and a cold wind would barrel through the restaurant. I thought they could have used a small wall near the door to block the wind.

The owner came out and asked us how everything was, which was nice of him. Again, the food was very good. The service was also very good, but not particularly outstanding.

Finally, silverware has never been on my radar before at a restaurant. The silverware at 4th & Swift is beautiful but annoying. Due to it's unique geometry, it constantly slides off your plate or bowl, falling onto the table or into your food. It was happening to everyone at our table. I'm sure it was selected based on it's appearance and not its function. If I were the owner and had the means, I'd replace it at my first opportunity.

Overall, a nice place to try. I'd compare this place to Repast, but Repast is simply a better experience.

Recommends

JonathanBaker

Joined 5 years ago

2008 Restaurant of the Year. We had a lot of good restaurants open in Atlanta this year. From gastropub perfection at Holeman and Finch to Asian street-eats at Spice Market--foodies certainly didn't suffer in '08. Gotta hand it to Jay Swift for giving us a classic though. Being outstanding and simple is... to me... the golden standard and Swift hits the nail on the head. Decor is elegant without being stuffy, the menu is interesting yet comforting, and the service is hip yet respectful. Even through the tough economic times, this one's worth the splurge.