Things started out so nicely when I was planning my first experience at Bone's Steakhouse (in Buckhead, on Piedmont, just a few doors down from the intersection with Peachtree). The woman who took my reservation (I called them directly) was lots of fun and really set the mood for the visit. Unfortunately that's where it all ended. Though the place was almost empty (and we had had reservations for almost a week), we were seated at a much-too-small table right by the front entrance to the dining room, jammed-in next to a server station where the waiters loudly threw menus and dirty dishes. All that, plus a panoramic view of the posterior of each and every patron waited to be seated. There shouldn't have been a table there to begin with. Are they that desperate?
Regular visitors to this site know that I have no issues with money in a restaurant. But I do insist on getting value for what I spend. So, in anticipation of a check easily in the $200 range, I asked for a better table. That's when the attitude really began. The “better” table ended up being next to the kitchen door. Service went from off-handed to downright rude. I ordered the Porterhouse, medium (that generally means warm/hot pink inside). It arrived raw and cold in the center–and about 2 minutes after our salads were delivered. I understand that steakhouses will purposely err toward the rarer preparation so they can finish the expensive steak to the proper doneness if asked to do so, and that's OK. So I asked them to please do that. The entire experience went to hell from there. The steak was returned on the same plate already smeared with blood from the rare version, and it was dry, since the juice had cooked out of the cut I had already made. Their “famous” Grit Fritters arrived cold, and the “fresh” asparagus arrived sadly shriveled (too long languishing under the heat lamps while the waiter was doing who-knows-what).
At that point, they could have put anything in front of us and we would have hated it. The good news is that I was fortunate to find another Steakhouse in Atlanta (just a few blocks away) that was the polar opposite of this place. (I have written about it separately.) If this had been a regular RehobothFoodie.com review with ratings, I would have certainly gone back several times to see if this was an aberration. You can use this article to govern yourself accordingly. I hope your experience is better than ours. Bone's is at 3130 Piedmont Rd. Reservations can be had at (404) 237-2663. Click here for a look at their menu. (L., D., Bar) Price range: Expensive +.
