ENO by Zaza

Sad Anniversary Dinner:
My husband and I decided to go to ENO for our 10^th wedding anniversary. We came here after our wedding reception 10 years ago (so it seemed appropriate given the occasion) and we remember it being a cool wine bar with lots of fun wine selections. We were seated inside — all other tables around us were empty. Our server comes and asks us what kind of water we want and gives us 3 menus. One is a drink menu with a few wines by the glass… all very basic and limited… so where’s the complex and fun wine list I saw on the website? Is this place not a wine bar anymore? I probably should have asked our server what the deal was, but decided to order a glass off this list and move on. Our server delivers our water and scurries away without taking our drink order. And we wait… She came back finally and says «ready to order». Um yeah, I’m ready to order a drink. I order a glass of wine. My husband orders a non-​alcoholic beer and she says «sir you don’t want that, it’s non-​alcoholic.» Um, yeah actually he does want that. It was awkward. She seemed clueless. Drink order needs to come first, before food order and don’t make a scene if your customer orders an NA beer. It’s on your menu, so? Drinks come (not quickly) and she asks again if we’re ready to order. I am vegetarian and ask if they have any entrée options (none listed on the menu). The food menu also puzzled us because it was much smaller than online, no cheese, no «warm tastes,» nothing veg. Also missing are the recommended wine parings that are on the menu shown on the website? She says they have a wonderful veggie plate – not listed on the menu, and since that’s my only option, I order it. Husband gets mussels to start and a pork entrée. Mussels come about 15 minutes later. Wine glass empty, start to request another, but server walks away. Sat with empty glass until husband was almost done… no server asking how everything is, nothing. Had to flag her down. Plate with broth and shells sits on our table for 20 minutes! Hate that. You’ve got to clear the plates out of the way, not let them sit forever. Another 30 minutes go by. Server while walking by says «your food will be out in a minute.» Another 15 minutes later our entrees come out. Veg plate was: One half of a small onion that looked grilled (um? an onion?), some green sauce sitting on a corner of the plate, a small drop of mashed potatoes on some leaks with two tiny carrots on top, a few pieces of broccoli and cauliflower. Seriously, like maybe 8 small bites of food total. I take a bite of the broccoli, COLD, seriously freezing. I take a bite of the potatoes same thing COLD. Husband takes a bite of his pork and reports that it’s barely warm. So I have to flag down our server again. I tell her that it’s cold and she puts her hand near the plate. I say «no really, touch it» she does and says «I believe you» ummm, odd reaction. She seemed mad and snatches away my plate and my empty wine glass at the same time. Husband says his meat is cold and seems more like ham than roasted pork. Same animal, I know, but it was congealed in texture. We regret not sending that back too, but we’re trying to salvage the night. She brings back my veggie plate, and it’s the same plate of food… I know that I asked her to touch the food, but ummmm thinking you might remake it… nope. The plate was hot and burned my hand, food was slightly warmer, but still cold. Still no wine… was I being cut off after 2 glasses? Manager (Vini) comes over to our table to ask how everything is. I tell him «not good». Food cold, service colder and odd, I also tell him that our server took my wine glass away, has not asked me if I want another or even come back to the table. I also tell him that it’s our 10^th anniversary so he would understand our disappointment. Nope. He was nice, but clueless about what he should do. Hey Vini, here’s what you do. You comp my meal — tell us that you’re doing it, then have a glass of wine brought to the table to smooth things over. That’s what you do when the service and food have been as seriously lacking as this. He mumbles something and leaves. Server comes back several minutes later. She tells us that the manager had «made an adjustment to the check». I’m thinking that he at least comped my meal… um, nope. He took a random $ 13 off the check… the total bill was still almost $ 100. Oh yeah, our server said this to us when she dropped off the check «I’m sorry tonight didn’t go as you had planned,» wtf… ummm here’s what I had planned: 1. Great (or at least good) wine menu from a restaurant that specializes in wine 2. Good (or at least adequate) service 3. Food that was hot, or at least warm. No, Nope and Nah. UGH! Horrible meal, horrible service AND it took 2 hours for the whole ordeal! One positive note… LOVED the valet guys. They asked us how dinner was and we told them the truth. They were so funny and nice… made us laugh which we needed.

First, let me make it clear that I am a big Atlanta Hawks fan and also a top chef watcher, so there is no way I could pass this place up. I ate here for new years. Every course was unique and well prepared. The GT basketball team was there eating as well. Eli came out and had a convo with us. I’d recommend it.

My dad was in town and he’s somewhat of a wine connoiseur so i wanted to see what he thought about the wine list at eno. he was impressed and he chose an amazing bottle for us.
I’ve been to the bar in the past for desserts and wine flights but never had a full meal.
The portions are small so just go ahead and order more than you think you need. the prices are reasonable so go ahead and order whatever looks good.
We split the oysters and the «belly and eggs» for appetizer. The oysters were so fresh, perfectly sized and delish. The belly and eggs was amazing also. it’s hard to describe because there were a lot of ingredients and it just tasted so good and so perfect together.
then we had the bibb salad which had almonds, goat cheese, pears, and bacon. yum
we split 2 entrees: the salmon and then italian sausage with homemade penne.
everything was perfect. i’d go back again and again.
our waiter, JR is a true professional and he knew so much about each dish and all the wines.
the weather happened to be beautiful so they had all the big windows and doors opened to the patio. it was light and breezy. perfecto.

We headed to their weekly wine tasting on Wednesday this week, and were pretty impressed with what we experienced!
$ 10 gets you a wine glass, and that night there were 8 wines to try. The pours are very small (read: wine *tasting*), probably enough for 3 good sips. However the selection that evening was a beautiful array of wines with a perfect variation of tastes from dry and bitter to full bodied, 4 whites and 4 reds. I could feel my level of wine snobbery increasing throughout the tasting– or was that the alcohol? Who knows.
The wine tasting also includes free tapas, which from what we could infer, really means «we’ll make something awesome out of whatever we have left over». Truly, they did make awesome plates! We had a beet something or other with an apple crisp and walnuts on top, a creamy bean thing in a spoon, salmon tartar, fried little pickles, etc. We were really impressed with the level of quality of these FREE tapas. On top of everything else, the staff was very friendly. The bartender was happy to make small talk, and the manager was around welcoming guests.
The only downside to our visit was that the place got crowded and very quickly! After the first taste or two, it was almost impossible to get back over to the table because so many people were around as the bar area is very narrow. Also, the free tapas were gone the second the bartender set it down — lucky for us, we were there early and had bar seats, and were able to try everything.
I could definitely see myself returning to ENO for full-​service dinner or just to hang out at the bar again. Not sure I’d return for the wine tasting but $ 10 for 8 wines is a steal, definitely worth it for wine lovers to try.

One of our party arrived early and was seated, the rest arrived ten minutes later and the reservation was removed from the electronic system so it showed that we did not have one, so we it was suggested that we walk to Enoteca down the street ti see if our party was their! Well she wasn’t and she called and wondered where we were, we explained and she said she’s been at Eno the entire time, so we walked back.
They did apologize and said the employee is new and was from another country (I don’t get that part or its relevance) but none the less they did apologize and I’m happy.
Appetizers were over the top creative and small, Chicken and Dumplings were interesting but did not work we couldn’t finish them. The meat plate was good but not enough meat. The plate was huge and took up the entire table so the portions looked painfully small. The gnocchi was excellent the best app of them all.
2 of us had the Thai pepper steak and it was excellent, I had the pasta with sausage it was very good. The wine great don’t remember the name.
The manager walked around the restaurant and asked everyone how was everything but not our table interesting…
Overall I’m going to give this place another try, I really like the atmosphere and the server was very polite and accommodating.

I had a very solid dinner at Eno last night with a friend visiting from out of town.
The bread service, as others have noted, was somewhat disappointing. We were served small cubes of focaccia at room temperature. Meh. Not much to react to positively or negatively here.
But, I was hardly at Eno for the bread. And things only improved from there.
Unlike others who have reviewed Eno, I don’t believe that I have the right to march into a restaurant and drink on a free wine card without ordering food.
C’mon folks. This is a business they’re running here. Not a free wine charity for cheap people. Quit being so chintzy and then writing bad reviews when you’re rerprimanded by the house for soaking them at the bar on a free wine card without ordering any food.
I started dinner with the house made charcuterie plate which had three very well cured and flavored types of pork. My dining partner had a wonderfully tender sous vide octopus appetizer.
Our server mentioned to us as we ordered that the kitchen had obtained a wonderful organic, naturally fed pig from Berkshire Farms that was being presented in three forms. We each opted for this dish which consisted of a wonderfully unctious piece of slow braised pork belly, a garlicky house made sausage, and a roasted piece of loan sliced moderately thin with an ample layer of fat to protect its delicate moisture from the cooking process.
Apparently only three restaurants in the country were the beneficiaries of this porcine prince that we were offered, so I felt quite lucky to have partaken of him.
All I can say is that Chef Eli really knows how to cook his pork. Everything on the plate, from the pork to the accompanying greens to the slightly sweet reduction dotted around the plate was a wonderful combination of ric and complementary textures and flavors.
For dessert, while I was inclined to see if I could convince the Chef to recreate that popcorn dusted raspberry circus disaster from his next to last show on Top Chef (thank God Robin was still around for that one), I decided to behave and settled for a light as a feather white espresso cake served with ann incredibly rich Mascarpone ice cream. My friend had a perfect little pistachio cake pyramid served with an excellent and equally rich Saybayon.
A three course for two, with a couple of beers each and coffee with dessert, including tip, was $ 150. Not a cheap dinner. But based on the technical skill of the kitchen and the quality of products used in our dinner, it seemed a good value to me.
Service was just right. Engaging and attentive, but not overbearing, allowing us to let him know when we needed something rather than hovering over our table in anticipation of our needs.
As others have noted, Eno is not about large portions. It is about outstanding preparations of extremely high quality food. In that regard, our dinner was a great success.

Unique food combinations.
Portions are small, no vegetable side-​dishes.
Servers are somewhat attentive.
Chef Eli will visit your table if you ask.
Good décor, wasn’t too loud.
Try the Beet Parfait for dessert. Amazing.

A business related guest and I just completed a disappointing lunch at Eno.
There were, including ourselves, 6 people in the restaurant during peak noon time service on a Friday. This lacking patronage should have been a glaring tip-​off of what lied ahead…
20 minutes to receive our absurdly large bowls of soup
30 minutes to receive our entrees.
The soup needed salt. None was served.
My guest ordered a reuben sandwich. The «meat» was mostly big ribbons of rope-​like fat. We alerted the waiter who did nothing.
My grilled trout consisted of, perhaps, 3 ounces of greasy fish and ¼ of a potato.
The meal lasted 1.5 hours. We will not return.

The food here is mediocre, and the overall experience lacking especially considering price point. I’ve been here a few times, once with a couple of friends and two other times with big groups. On the menu, the food sounds enticing, so when we actually ate the pasta/​chicken/​steak/​whatever, we were very disappointed. The food was dry, overcooked, and you could tell the ingredients weren’t that fresh. The only saving grace (if you can call it that) was the dessert, and even then, it was a «At least the dessert was decent» comment.
You know, it’s pretty sad that Eno was so disappointing, since I’ve heard from others that it used to be pretty good, most notably in the customer service department. Maybe they’ve changed ownership recently? I haven’t heard anything but horrible things about how the manager and the staff are either rude, incompetent, or both. They don’t honor their marketing materials, they don’t care if they offend their customers, occasionally spill wine and don’t apologize, and one time I heard a story of discrimination coming from this place.
I hope Eno gets good again, but I won’t be back for a very long while. A friend hypothesized that this place was just a front for some shady criminal organization; that’s why they don’t care how they treat their customers. Good luck Eno. Please get well soon. And change management.

Had THE absolute worst experience there a few weeks ago. Since its walking distance from my house, I would always frequent there for a glass of wine or their wine tastings on Wednesday nights.
It all started when a picked up a couple of complimentary wine cards at Harvest Midtown. On the card it states, «Complimentary Wine at the bar Tues-​Thursdays — limit to one». When I went to use it, the bartender didn’t know what the heck it was. He asked his manager, and stated that this promotion didn’t actually start til the next day (Wednesday), but he’ll let us have a glass that night. We also invited a couple of friends to stop by and got a cheese plate to share.
Skip to the next week when I tried to go again. I wanted to use another card again and was told that I would have to buy food to get my free glass of wine. «Ummm…ok…it doesn’t say anything about that on card.» I said. I went ahead a tried to order a cheese plate and the manager stated that we had to buy actual dinner (appetizer, entrée, and dessert) to get the free wine. Can you say false advertising!?!
I will not go to Eno ever again. The manager was rude and condescending. I do still love Eli… even though his manager is a douche.

4.5
Came to Eno last night with my wife, parents and my sister. The waiter was extremely knowledgeable, not pushy, and was very excited to explain the menu to us. He intricately described the food’s preparation and where it was from in a way that wasn’t smarmy, but moreso in the way that a nerd describes the nuances of Scully and Mulder’s relationship in X-​files.
I had the Lamb, bone out, which was amazing. It was so tender, most of the fat had been removed, and had a thick sauce on the top, and it was phenomenal. I was in heaven.
My mom had the quail which was very nice, and she had the foie gras which was my first experience with foie gras. It was good, but I have no frame of reference as to how good. My mom thought it was phenomenal.
Everyone enjoyed their dishes but those were the standouts.
So service and food were great except for one thing: The Salad.
Four of us ordered caesar salads at $ 7.00 a pop. The caesar salad was basically four leaves from a romaine head ripped off, turned on the side and had just a small amount of cheese shavings. It was just, boring. They could’ve made something about it seem exciting, but we were all dissapointed in the salad. I mean, there’s a cheese shop right next store, get crazy with it!
Either way, its a great restaurant, a great experience, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an excellent evening.

Full Disclosure: I brought a big group (14 of the finest colleagues this side of the Mississippi) to Eno during Midtown Restaurant Week, and partook only in the $ 25 prixe fixe menu.
We sat in the private room and were treated to some fabulous service by our waiter J.R. Props, J.R., props. You handled all of us, all of our cash, and picked out fantastic wine for us to drink 6 bottles of.
Everyone in our group had a different option from the Midtown Restaurant Week menu; the first course choices included a cold melon soup w/​prosciutto foam (sounds cool, overall comment: «not so great») or a salad of market fresh fruits and veggies (very good, got rave reviews). Second course options included – and I’m simplifying here – steak w/​beets and mushrooms (very good, but there could have been more steak), a full quail (the most interesting choice and also good), or buccatini pasta. The pasta was quite good and there was a ton of it. Dessert options were a chocolate tatin (very, very awesomely good) or a grilled peach w/​rosemary ice cream (rosemary ice cream was a party in mine and many others’ mouths).
Our meal was capped off w/​a visit from Chef Eli himself, he graciously stopped by our table to thank us for coming out. A Top Chef-​testant thanked us for the meal?! Amazing. It made the night. Eno was certainly an amazing meal, even if we did only enjoy the prixe fixe options. The concensus of our group was that they’d come back again for a real meal.
Well done!

DISCLAIMER: This review is based on my experience of dining at Eno during Midtown Restaurant week and selections from their prixe fixe menu.
Restaurant week is always a mixed bag. On the one hand, it is a great opportunity for people to try a few of the many great restaurants we have in Atlanta, and is also a chance for restaurants to get a bit more business they might not otherwise have. I’m sure some might have the temptation to throw together a cheap and quick menu to satisfy the masses for the promotion, but I didn’t get that feeling at Eno, at least not from the menu.
Overall, I liked the experience. I was a bit worried at first since it took our server about 20 minutes to acknowledge our table once all the parties had arrived (there were four of us) and then we were handed a basket of dried out bread. But things did get better. The company was great and the wine was great so the slow pace of the meal didn’t seem to matter.
From the prixe fixe menu, I started with their melon soup garnished with prosciutto foam. This soup was fresh and refreshing. Wasn’t sure what to expect with the foam garnish, but the flavor was very subtle and matched the melon well. For my entrée I ordered the bucatini pasta with marchesi sausage in a tomato-​based sauce. Think long, hollow speghetti-​like tubes. This dish was just so so. The flavors were a bit thin, the sausage was sparse and the pasta seemed a bit over cooked. Finally, for dessert I had the chocolate terrine with wild berry broth. Fantastic! Super rich, deep chocolate terrine but with the perfect serving size so you aren’t sent into a sugar high.
The best part of the meal however was from a couple of complimentary dishes Chef Eli sent out: house-​cured prosciutto with a small scoop of melon sorbet, and some octopus slices (pickled, maybe?) on a slice of watermelon. Fantastic!
I need to return to try their broader menu at some point in the near future.

This place was a little more formal than I was expecting. I’m trying not to let that factor into my review since I was expecting something a little more boisterous and relaxed. This was definitely fine dining.
I came here with coworkers on a business trip and the food and service were excellent.
It was truly amazing how much our server knew about each entrée, and he was quick to share recommendations and information.
As I mentioned, I thought this place was small plates, tapas, etc. I was a little disappointed in how stiff everything was. Plus, they do have select small plates, but they’re really set up as just appetizers with a large entrée selection as well. The prices were high, but they seemed to back up the price with quality in my meal at least. I had the homemade pasta with the housemade sausage. It was extremely tasty and paired perfectly with a wine reco’d by the server (not the suggested wine on the menu).
I would possibly go back, but again, I was looking for a place with a little more relaxed atmosphere and just a tad lower prices. The food was good, the service was phenomenal, but I still left a bit unsatisfied. It was also very cold in the restaurant and I spent a bit of time shivering even though it was very nice outside.
I might try it again, but despite the good food, I wasn’t really feeling it.

For the two times I’ve been to Eno, it was strictly for the wine tasting events they have every Wednesday from 6−8pm. For only $ 10, which is a steal compared to other tastings, you get to sample 8 – 10 wines, as well as a few free, delicious tapas, which they replenish quickly when it runs out.
The crowd doesn’t get very big, which I like because it’s easy to get friendly with fellow tasters. I love its location right on Peachtree. I guess during the summer, they take the tasting outside on their patio, where you can people– and dog-​watch.
You can find me at future tastings here at Eno. It’s quite addicting.

Ignore any reviews that are over 6 months old because the chef has changed since then. Chef Eli is incredibly talented and is taking ENO in new directions. I went last week and tried their pork belly and a dish of lobster «noodles». They’ve also got a bar menu with a number of items including fritto misto which is a longtime favorite, and (you guessed it) a burger. You really can’t beat the wine list here. Check it out.

Simple review.
SOUS-​VIDE FOIE GRAS TORCHON BRULÉE, MUTSU APPLE PUREE, VANILLA PUFFED RICE 17
suggested wine: 2005 Laurent Chatenay, Montlouis, «La Vallee,» Chenin Blanc, Loire 11.8
This was very good. Wine Pairing was a very good choice but served a little to cold for my liking.
WHITE BEAN SOUP, FENNEL SALAMI-​ARUGULA SALAD — 8
Very good soup but difficult to eat. The arugula was to big for a spoon. It kept slopping off to the side. Micro arugula would have worked so much better.
PERSIMMON SALAD, PROSCIUTTO, ARUGULA, MARCONA ALMONDS 11
Very good salad. The persimmon was fabulous however had to dig through the arugula to get to it. Seemed more like an arugula salad than the persimmon salad as described.
Wine list is FANTASTIC by the bottle be was not presented by the glass list which seemed a little strange at a bar table.
Overall had a great time. Saw 4 chefs and former chefs I use to work with there so may be a good sign of things to come.
Cost
Cocktails $ 21
Wine $ 22
Food $ 45
Total $ 95.04
Gratuity $ 19.00
Total$ 114
$ 57 per person

I’ve only been to Eno twice, and both times I was in the bar area, so I can’t speak to the full dining experience, but I’ve enjoyed the time I have spent there.
The first time I just had a drink and tried a few bites of some small plates, including a gnocchi with abalone that was very good and unique, and last night I attended their Wednesday wine tasting from 6−8PM. For $ 10 I tried 8 wines, and near the end of the event I was able to taste a couple of them again.
They also served a variety of free appetizers including lightly fried olives, polenta/​cheese rounds, spare ribs, pine nut tapenade, and muscles.
Parking can be a hassle, so I think the $ 3 valet (+ tip) is worth it to not have to deal.
The chef Eli is very passionate and creative and I think will help elevate this restaurant.

Ugh. This place looked nice, so we decided to give it a try before going to a show at the Fox at 7:30 (note the time).
We arrived at 6pm and were pretty much the first to arrive in the restaurant. The server asked if we were headed to the Fox, we said «yes» and he said «Don’t worry, we’ll have you out in plenty of time.»
At 7:05 our food arrived. Underwhelming would be a good word for it.
My duck breast with potatoes was more like some slivers of duck with (what amounted to) two small yellow potatoes. By that point, we were in such a rush that I was more concerned with shoveling it in to make it down the street in 20 minutes.
Getting it down quick was a chore, seeing as how it was overcooked. That’s the first duck I’ve had that had no fat on it. Wtf?
Duck + 2 diet cokes + some tip = $ 40.
The server was apologetic, telling us our food was coming «right out» (after 45 minutes), but paying full price after that was obnoxious.
Next time we’ll just go to Quiznos.

I go to Eno fairly often (usually eat at the bar) and I can’t say that I have ever had anything to eat that was not very good. However, I do agree that it is an expensive place to eat, even at the bar. What makes this factor even worse is that, when ordering the small plates/​appetizers at the bar, the sizes can really vary and it’s hard to be sure how much food you are going to get. For example, they have a pizza you can order at the bar which is very good and is a good size for a snack/​light meal for two or a slightly heartier meal if you add another small plate to go with it. However, when I ordered the butternut squash tortelloni, it was a tiny portion and we felt ridiculous trying to share it as part of our light meal (we needed two more small plates to make that meal substantial). Everything is great and very flavorful but you should probably ask about the portion sizes if you are eating a meal at the bar so you are not surprised when it comes out.
When I have eaten at a table in the restaurant, there were no issues with the entrée sizes for me. I have stuck with seafood options on the seasonally changing menu and have always been very impressed. Again, they are expensive, but I sort of feel that if I am going to pay a lot for it, I want it to be something very good, creative and impressive. The seafood did not disappoint.
Eno’s desserts are delicious. This would be a great place for a glass of wine and dessert later in the evening. I have tried several of the desserts and enjoyed them all: the warm apple crostata, date and espresso cake, and dark chocolate cake.
Since Eno is short for Enoteca which translates to «wine cellar», you would expect Eno to have excellent wine and focus on it, and they do. They have a very extensive wine selection with many, many interesting and unique options. I have read reviews here that talk about inexperienced staff but I have to say that my experience has been exactly the opposite. There is one bartender there who has been serving me wine for seven years and always makes terrific recommendations. And, the waiters I’ve had always have given me spot-​on suggestions for wines to go with my meals, based on what I say I am looking for. This is truly one of my favorite things about going to Eno — I always end up trying new wines that I like. And, I have never had a waiter or bartender who was less than very friendly, pleasant and helpful.
One last point about Eno is that it is in a very pleasant space — it is modern yet it has a warm, earthy feel to it. My friend and I once decided (after a few glasses of wine) that we would like to live there (if it was not a restaurant, obviously).