Monday, June 15, 2009

Supper Club- and Livingston Review

Upon reading Courtney's (StyleCourt) announcement of the Atlanta Community Food Bank's Supper Club at Livingston, I knew we had to go.
I had driven by Livingston Restaurant, at the Georgian Terrace Hotel recently on my tour of Atlanta. Given an opportunity to check out the restaurant, have a date with Mr. Southern, and give 20% of our dinner proceeds to charity- it was the trifecta of goodness.


The Georgian Terrace hotel, now on the list of the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1911 as "a Southern version of a Parisian hotel."


The hotel has recently undergone an $11 million renovation and the grand reopening party of the Livingston Restuarant and Bar, which we clearly missed, was April 23.

One word- Divine. Or maybe perfection. Walking through the hotel, I almost felt like we were in downtown Washington D.C.- and that's a good thing. Perhaps a stretch, but given the French influence in designing Washington D.C. (Pierre Charles L'Enfant), the connection makes sense to me.

Researching the design for this post, I realized the Puccini Group designed this space. Note that they also designed the AltoRex Lounge, where Mr. Southern took me for my birthday. Aha- no wonder I love this space.

Entering the restaurant, I was smitten by the grandeur. So much so that I broke my own rule about dining outside (always dine outside when given the chance) and we sat inside. The architectural details are magnificent and made me wish I remembered more from my Historic Preservation class in undergrad so that I could appropriately define all those details.

Marble columns, carved moldings, coffered ceiling, beautiful light fixtures, and remakes of black and white photos from Gone With the Wind's opening night. (Note: the 1939 opening night party of GWTW was held at the hotel.)


The back of the bar (above), which served as the waitstaff station, featured a collection of old glassware on the top shelf (I wish you could see the details!). Beautiful. Needless to say, my expectations were quite high. Unrealistically so, perhaps.

Our waitress was slightly awkward, which could be understandable in some settings, but this space screamed for suave waitstaff.



Chef Gary Mennie (formerly of Taurus and co-founder of Canoe) has created an interesting menu- slight Southern influence but not overly so. The food was good, but in a town of great restaurants, not fabulous enough to make us rush back. And as ridiculous or petty as this sounds, I was slightly bothered by the 3 $40 wines in the "wines under $40" list and the $32 wine in the "wines under $30" section.


The bar area was as delicious-looking as the rest of the building and featured great lounge-y spaces as well as a patio overlooking Ponce de Leon (I think?).

I adored the modern cocktail tables, use of sheer fabrics, and lighting. And the windows!



In short, a very swanky place- glad that we checked it out- and we'll definitely return for drinks.

PS- all photos from The Livingston or Georgia Terrace website. I once again forgot my camera. But, honestly, these photos are better than the ones I would have taken.


Livingston Restaurant + Bar on Urbanspoon

6 comments:

  1. Beautiful hotel, and one of my favorites! Nice to know where Gary Mennie is now.

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  2. Thanks for the in-depth review. It's always great to get candid, objective commentary. Sounds like the surroundings were the highlight. You did a terrific job describing everything!

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  3. The Georgian Terrace is the best renovation of an older (historic) building in Atlanta. It's wonderful to read your review.

    It's so elegant inside and out, yet it's very approachable and human scaled from the sidewalk. Did you know there is a pool on the roof? I liked the pre-reno slightly sleazy version too when Alex Cooley's Electic Ballroom was there. The building is good enough and flexible enough to hang in during the down times.

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  4. Beautiful article!
    thanks for your comment - I am the same - a terrible photographer, I know nothing! hahah!!!

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  5. Ohh i love that bar area.... Beautiful AND glamourous!! x

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  6. I did not know that there was a pool! I must investigate that!

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