Hilltop Grille

Very limited vegan options. Extremely over priced. I don’t recommend this place. Many other better options in town.

If I could rate it a negative star, I would! DO NOT GO and DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR CREDIT CARD! The food was HORRIBLE. Both steaks that were ordered were well under cooked. They were both sent back and still came back under cooked. One of the steaks was inedible. I understand that they did not make the meat. However, they did not offer to replace the steak or allow me to choose something else. I ate one bite of the steak. It was clear that the meat was not edible. The service was the poorest service I have ever received. After the initial food was dropped off, the waitress did not stick around to ask if the steaks were cooked properly or if we needed anything else. It was a full 15 minutes before we were ever able to get someone back to our table. By the time the food that was sent back to be cooked more was returned, the other two people in my party were almost finished with their food. Again, the waitress did not stick around to see if the food was cooked properly the second time. It was not. In the mean time, drink glasses were not refilled and no one else checked on our table. At the end of the meal, I asked for the manager. The manager was just as horrible. I can see why this restaurant is as bad as it is. If this manager is the leader, the rest is going to be junk!!! He had a horrible attitude and was not willing to do anything to make it right. On top of that, when I received my bill, they had added an 18% gratuity to my bill. WHAT??? (1) The service was HORRIBLE! I always leave at least a 10% tip. Even if the service is bad. I feel that they brought me my food and drink. That is worth 10% I guess. I tip 18% for average service. I tip 20% and up for phenomenal service. This service was so bad that I was playing with the idea of not leaving a tip at all! That has never happened before. (2) The policy states that an automatic gratuity is added for parties of seven or more. I had four people on my check. What??? THIS PLACE IS A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE place to go. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY. I wish I had read the reviews before I went. Apparently I am the norm and not the exception. This place needs to go out of business. Or fire their manager and clean house!

Sat at bar as usual… no draft beer and somewhat limited beer menu, but they did have Blue Moon, Newcastle, Sam lager and, of course, all the Bud’s.
Not an inexpensive place, but not ridiculous either. I had sautéed shrimp with grits…10 (!) good sized, well cooked shrimp, 4 large asparagus spears and creamy grits…$ 19 + tax.
The meal was very good and the young college student working the bar was very friendly and efficient.
definitely would go back! happy trails

For the price, best Steaks in Athens. The NY Strip is cooked and seasoned perfectly, runs about $ 30. Sides are pretty good. It is pretty dark inside. Service is slow but friendly. Always seems to have reservations available at the last minute.

Not sure what has changed, but the Hilltop Grill I went to was much better than the reviews. I was quickly seated, served, with pleasant enjoyable staff. Drinks were quick, soup within a few minutes, and my entrée delivered before the soup was done. No wait, and the food was excellent. Yes, a little white space on the plate, but for my money, 4 scallops well cooked and seasoned, sweet potatoes and grits were a good portion. Top it off with the tasty brownie and I certainly did not leave feeling shorted. Definitely a return spot. This place is an easy 4.5 stars.

We get to the Hilltop at least twice a month and generally for lunch. We’ve been going there for at least 7 years and in all that time I was only disappointed once. The Tuesday and Friday lunch specials are exceptional. They have sliced roast pork on Tuesday with an absolutely outstanding sauce. Friday is always pulled pork and coleslaw with french fries (and the fries actually have taste unlike McDonalds) I wish I had the recipe for the dressing they use on the coleslaw because it can’t be beat.

I’ve been here many times, and last night will be the last. Out of respect for the waiter, I won’t state his name. Our family was seated and our waiter came to our table once to take our order. He then came back one more time with our drinks. Then we did not see him until our dinner came out, which was a good 25 minutes later. He wasn’t even one of the two servers that brought out our meals. We sat with empty glasses the entire time while waiting for our meal. Once we got our meal, our waiter never even came to our table to ask us how the food was. We finally got refills on our drinks halfway through our dinner. I’ve never seen such horrible wait service before. The kicker is that there was probably about 5 tables in the whole restaurant, so it’s not that they were even busy. The food was mediocre this time. The asparagus was as thin as straw, and way overcooked. My $ 26 steak was half gristle. I’ve always enjoyed this restaurant in the past, but after last night I’ll never dine here again.

It was pretty good. I got the crab cakes with sweet potatoes and green beans. The meal was good. The dinner rolls are good. The service was a bit slow that night. They had live music… it was Thursday. The décor was very nice. I’d go back. Other folks in my party got the prime rib and shrimp. I would get that next time.

The Hilltop Grille has pretty decent steaks, killer artichoke crab dip and great service. The Sunday brunch changes up weekly, which is nice. Their signature crawfish gumbo isn’t bad, unless you’re from Louisiana. My favorite thing on the menu is their crab cakes. If you are a crab cake lover, you might want to give these a try… best ones I’ve had in Athens.

It is better that it appears from the outside… Not a bad pork chop.

First, I’d like to say that I love the food, it’s excellent. I love the menu selection. I have visited twice: once for lunch, and once for Saturday evening dinner. Both occasions I had the same server, Sarah, who is superb. The food tasted wonderful, and the ambience was perfect. Lovely music, fireplace with a roaring fire, the tables are nicely decorated, and the waiting area is lovely. Here is the only reason I am giving four stars instead of five: as soon as we finished eating, the manager asked my mother to leave because «they needed the table.» (I was in the ladies room). When I came out, my mom told me what happened. Well, our table was re-​set, but no one was sitting there, and there were many other empty tables. Considering the price we pay here, and the fact that they are supposed to be geared towards upscale clientele, I thought that was out of line and rude. This happened at lunch time around noon on Wed. 2÷29÷12, if anyone at the restaurant is reading this review, you need to tell that manager that he’s very lucky I came back, and if it happens again, I won’t. As it is, now it’s on Unilocal that you treated a client so rudely, and for no reason at all (i.e. they did NOT need that table).

A nice menu and consistently good food. Spotty service, but a reliable place for a business lunch or nice dinner. Expect a somewhat more refined crowd.

Great restaurant. Great steaks. Perfect atmosphere for a slightly upscale evening. Great service. I will definitely be back.

First off, for all you STARVING people out there… DO NOT GO HERE! Not only are the portions miniscule (definitely not the bang for your buck) but the wait for the FOOD was excruciating.
I ordered the pork trio appetizer. It came like 20 minutes later (not exaggerating the time). There it was, 3 mini pork buns, one with onions, one with pickles, and one with coleslaw. It also came with a trio of sauces, one spicy, one sour/​sweet, and one typical bbq flavored one. For $ 9, it just tasted like your typical BBQ sandwich, except mini size… NOTHING to brag about.
For the entrée, I ordered the 7oz filet mignon with the sweet potatoes and leeks. When the entrée FINALLY came out I was somewhat surprised. $ 24 for a BARE white plate? Sure the meat was there and a small scoop of the side dish… but there was so much WHITE EMPTY SPACE on the plate I was blinded.
By the time dessert came (we ordered the fried cheesecake) I was ready to leave. We ordered the dessert to go.
I’m not saying this place has awful food. I’m just saying if you do decide to dine here, it’s wayyyy overpriced for the amount of food you get and the food takes a LONG time to get out of the kitchen.

Really good steaks — they used to be the best ever, when the place first opened — they were handcut by the house butcher, I think they said, but they are a teensy bit intermittent now — still usually excellent. Salad and dressing is great. I love sitting outside in the spring/​fall when a band is playing and having a burger or salad and wine.

Yup, yup, the Hilltop Grille is indeed A-​OK.
My mom and I stopped by for a weekday birthday lunch (mine). This place packs out for lunch, and as Janet G. mentioned, the average customer was about three times my age. The décor is sort of corporate casual, like something you would expect from an upscale chain, except Hilltop makes sure that touches of the owner are all over with the Athens and UGA memorabilia. In fact, I think that it might have been the owner that sat us.
The fried green tomato appetizer was competent, but my mom declared that my homemade ones are better. My mom had the crabcake entrée, which contrary to menu description comes with not one but two crabcakes. They were quite good, and came with fries and vinegary coleslaw, but our waiter said she could sub out for any other side she liked. She kept the original sides, and the coleslaw was really a standout, so I’m glad she did! For $ 12, it wasn’t exactly a cheap lunch, but considering that it came with two large crabcakes, I think it was still a good value. I had the house salad with grilled steak. It was a large salad of mostly romaine, with bacon, avocado, tomatoes, cheese, and perfectly medium rare and VERY tender steak on top. Their blue cheese dressing is definitely not homemade, but it was good enough, and for $ 10 I thought I got our moneys worth.
Overall, the Hilltop Grille was… nice. Good. A-​Ok. Will I come back? Probably, but the nicer restaurants downtown with a little more menu flair will probably get the best chance at my business.

The Old Establishment-​type restaurant in a very popular college town. Guests & menu are old school, but everything on the menu is good, if overpriced. Decent bar, good mixed drinks.
For y’all value-​minded folks, use this strategy:
–Thursday Night Prime RIb & Shrimp special ($ 18)
— Daily Blue Plate Special (Lunch $ 9)
— Sundays Free Kid’s Meal with each dinner entrée (Sundays)
— Weeknight Early Bird Entrée for $ 10 (4PM-​6PM)

One thing about the clientele at the Hilltop Grille: not the people I usually surround myself with, either on accident or as luck would have it. This week I went and found that everyone inside, with the exception of the people at our table, was at least 63 years old. The place was perhaps ¹⁄₅ full on a Sunday at 3 PM, but that was a bigger crowd than the last time I’d been.
On Sunday, we sat in a HUGE booth and ordered overpriced food that was, to my surprise, pretty good. Uninspired but good. The crab-​artichoke dip was yummy but probably not crabby enough for seafood experts; probably not a big enough serving for those who just spent $ 8 on it. I got the chicken fingers, which was a nice, reliable pre-​teen-​style choice. But oh! They were DELICIOUS! The waiter told me that every day the kitchen staff slices high-​quality chicken breast and doesn’t overbread the stuff. All white meat, juicy, well-​cooked. Yum. My meal came with two sides, so I ordered the garlic & mushroom green beans (pretty good) and grits (cheesy and good, but plasticy when re-​heated, of course).
The environment is weird for me. As I mentioned, there were lots of older folks last time, hardly any folks the time before that. The only other visit I’ve made to the Hilltop Grille was on a game day, and I’m not really a football fan. That being said, the red-​clad guests did not get on my nerves at all. Imagine one of the classier tailgate stations on North Campus and you’ll know what the customers looked and acted like. (No frat-​tastic, wasted student section antics here.)
To sum up, let me say one more thing: the moment I was walking in the front door, I realized why the place felt strange to me. It is a remarkable mock-​up of any given restaurant any suburban teen would go to for a pre-​prom dinner. I’m quite sure you’ll see what I mean.