Rathbun's Restaurant

12/08/08

super slow, super crowded, super loud

by carolina00 at Citysearch

I brought my out of town boyfriend here for a date on Saturday night (12-06-08). This was our first time visiting Rathbuns and I will never go back. We made a reservation for 9:15 on a saturday night and planned our whole night around it. When we got there the place was extremely crowded, so much so that you couldn't move around in the bar. It was freezing cold every time someone opened the door and our table was 45 minutes late! The hostesses were extremely rude, and kept telling us there were 3 or 4 tables ahead of us. What's the point of a reservation then!? The bartender and waitress were both very nice. They offered us free drinks but we were so hungry we didn't want them! We finally got our food around 10:45 and it was really good. Unfortunately the place was so loud I couldn't hear anything my boyfriend was saying and we were sandwhiched in between 2 other tables. We had to move our table so the lady next to us could get out and leave. It was truly pathetic! Do not go here for a romantic date!!!!!!!!

11/21/09

YUM!

by creids at Citysearch

Excellent service and friendly bar staff. This continues to be one of my all time favorites in this city!

• Pros: Great Steaks!
• Cons: None

07/24/09

Up to Snuff

by bkeene12 at Citysearch

Great food here. You should go. My son had the Cowboy Rib Eye. It was the best tasting steak I have ever sampled. The piece of meat had an unique flavor all it own- not sure what is was but it was delicious. Everything that came to the table was great.

Everyone who worked there had a smile and were quite friendly. The manager went out of his way to make the evening a good time for all. The tables are bunched up a bit but I guess if they weren't half of the people trying to get a reservation would be out of luck. Parking was easy. Location was off the beaten path.

• Pros: Incredible Flavors
• Cons: Loud when sober (festive after a drink or two)

07/11/09

salt ruined the taste of the food

by daniel1111 at Citysearch

Over-salted food ruined our appetite. Sorry, we do not recommend this overrated restaurant!

• Pros: interesting location
• Cons: salty food

04/24/09

Excellent

by igo2girl at Citysearch

By far one of the best places I have ever eaten at! The atmosphere is romantic, the menu is exquisite, and the service is 5 star!! Worth making a reservation! Staff is knowledgeable and friendly! Cannot wait to go back! Great for first date, a night on the town, or celebration!! Chef, is highly decorated, and was one of the few that beat Bobby Flay on Food Networks, Iron Chef America!!!!

• Pros: Service, Prices, Presentation
• Cons: Need Reservations!

02/15/09

Best Valentine's Ever at Rathbun's

by womandiner7777 at Citysearch

Had dinner at Rathbun's on Valentine's night. I can say several things, but this sums up everything....AWESOME!

There was a set menu and it was great. We started with an amuse and then went onto the halibut appetizer. We also had a field green salad, and two glasses of champagne. The server was excellent, the entree of a beef medallions was even better. Chef Kevin stopped by our table and we told him how great it was. We also had a terrific white chocolate mousse dessert.

I would highly recommend this restaurant to anybody.

• Pros: Best dinner ever
• Cons: the place was packed

02/14/09

GREAT food. Inexperienced, poorly trained staff.

by JME2K3 at Citysearch

It truly makes me sad to be writing this sort of review because of a Valentine's Day dinner. We were expecting WOW and we got everyhting short of that. Let me start by saying that the food was WONDERFUL. I had Fois Gras that was easily the best I've had in years. An amazingly well prepared steak and two great cocktails. The service is my issue, and nothing else. We had a 10:00pm reservation and arrived at around 9:40. We were sat IMMEDIATELY which was wonderful. We were greeted by a young man that asked us if we'd like to start with bottled water or tap, we asked for tap which was promptly served. As he poured our waters he explained that the nights menu was Fixed Price, which we knew ahead of time upon making our reservation. We were asked to make a selection from each category; appetizer, salad/soup, side, entree, and dessert. Our waitress came by a few minutes later and abruptly asked us if we had any questions or if we were ready to order. We asked if we could order our desserts at the end of the meal and were given a funny face and a snicker. "I don't know, I want to make sure we don't run out" was her response. So we ordered all courses then. I also ordered a Manhattan, and also told her which glass of wine I'd like with dinner. Jump ahead 5 minutes: the closest occupied table gets apps, not there's but OURS. they explain to the SAME server that they are not theirs as they still hold their menus.... she takes them FROM their table and SETS THEM ON OURS! I was absolutely astonished. I could clearly see that the occupants next to us did not touch the food, but for $100/person are YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!? That is SO low class. From there our meal was FAIRLY normal. I received my Manhattan 15 minutes after ordering it, only after asking a different server to check on it for me (he was great). Our food was wonderful, our server through the whole night though seemed extremely disconnected and impersonal. I am sad to say, but I do not think I will be going back.

12/01/08

One of the best restaurants in town.

by phjordan72 at Citysearch

This was the first restaurant that I ever tried in Atlanta back when my fiance was trying to sell me on living in ATL. Since moving here, we have eaten out 100's of times, but Rathbun's remains one of my top spots. Everything on the menu rocks and the vibe is upbeat and fun.

• Pros: food, atmosphere, vibe,

12/01/08

Tell all it is great! Open one in Birmingham!

by bigeater9999 at Citysearch

Went to this restaurant the next night. I dined at the steakhouse the first night in town. Full bar, and packed restaurant along with a full patio area. Started at the bar and had two great specialty drinks with mint that the bartender made for us. MOved into the wine room? and although it was a more quiet area, it was more romantic for my wife and I. We had the trout and scallops for entrees. We also had the appetizer called Ya Ya which is a eggplant fried and powdered in sugar. WE also tried the appetizer of ahi tuna crudo? which was a little spicy, but it was like eating candy.

Save room for the four desserts. Peanut Butter pie, toffee cake, candy bar and the donut!

This place was great and I wish I had stayed a few more nights.

• Pros: very busy with a great scene
• Cons: still busy so we asked for the wine room

10/22/08

The most salty food Ive EVER HAD

by lulu2222 at Citysearch

My Mom was in town and I wanted to take her somewhere special, so I chose Rathbun's. From the start of the night things went from bad to worse. It took 15 min to get a drink after the waiter had scoffed at our request to taste 2 wines before buying a bottle. After that we rarely saw him. The menu was a little tacky. The salmon app was good but very small. Our main courses were both over $30 and the presentation left a lot to be desired. I had the elk which was pretty good but the broccoli and potatoes were inedible they were so salty. After politely complaining to the management, who seemed more put out than concerned, our rarely seen waitor dumped a bananna dessert off at our table with no explanation. Over all I was disappointed in the service and the meal. I wont be going back.