Little Bacch

I am literally here for my birthday and the experience SUCKS! We ordered the fish which took 40 minutes or so and it was lukewarmat best. I would write a longer review but it is literally my birthday. Hopefully the quality at Bacchanalia is still top notch.

Went with my wife and friends for new years eve dinner and certainly had a memorable experience. The menu is quite small compared to Star Pro’s other restaurants, about 10 items total (including appetizers and desserts). The place is pretty small, seats maybe 20 – 25. The décor has a nice homey feel to it. Also, the wait staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the menu.
We had the cheese soufflé, the oysters rockefeller, the lobster bisque, the roast whole chicken, a vegetable plate, and the aged bone in rib-​eye. The cheese soufflé was excellent. Light, fluffy, and bursting with flavor. We were also impressed by the lobster bisque. It had a deep lobster flavor, nice big chunks of lobster, and didn’t rely on cream for richness. Unfortunately, everything else was not that great.
First, the oysters rockefeller were not traditionally prepared. I have eaten oysters quite a few times before, both raw and cooked. I have never seen a preparation like this. Instead of broiling them, the oysters are left raw but served warm. This was not disclosed on the menu or by our server. Additionally, these were the most intense oysters I have ever had. They were super creamy but extreme briny. It was over powering. None of us could eat more than one. The flavor stuck in my mouth for the entire rest of the meal. Nothing is capable of cleansing your pallet after putting that in your mouth. I feel like I can still taste them now. It was such a negative experience, I can’t see myself ever eating oysters again. Just too afraid of getting one that strong.
Second, when I made the reservation I asked if they could accommodate a vegetarian. I was assured that they could. The upstairs restaurant is capable of tailoring an entire tasting menu around various dietary restrictions, so I did not think bringing a vegetarian would be a problem if I provided advanced notice. They had zero vegetarian entrees. All they were able to do was prepare a vegetable plate with side items. It was a real let down considering I gave them two weeks notice. I was expecting at least one decent vegetarian entrée.
Third, the chicken, which is their specialty, was both underwhelming and highly disturbing. Before coming, I read the Atlanta Magazine article about their famous roast chicken. I have included a picture from that article. We were not served that dish. Our chicken arrived in a hacked up manner with the head and feet still attached. Pic included. I don’t know why on earth they would advertise it one way and serve in such a radically different manner. The flavor and texture of the chicken was just meh. This was much worse than the whole roast chicken experience at Woodfire Grill. In truth, the roast chicken at Eats and Roasters is much better. Here, the skin was mushy, the meat was under seasoned, and it was not even carved well. Such a disappointment.
Finally, the aged steak was just ok. Putting aged steak on the menu with so many great steakhouses in Atlanta is a bit of gamble in my opinion. This was just not as good as anything you can get at Hal’s, Bones, Chops, McKendricks, or even STK. I would say the steak was about as good as what you typically get at King & Duke or Capital Grill. I was expecting something more impressive.
Overall, I just don’t see any reason to come back here. Shame.

The menu is very limited and overpriced for what you get. You are encouraged to share the small plates and entrees. The entrees were not very good. After receiving our small plates, our table of 4 had to wait 45 minutes to get our entrees. We received one and then had to wait an additional 20 minutes for our friends to receive theirs. Ours was OK… you can find better dry aged beef in the city, our friends had the whole chicken which was a total disaster! In fact, it was so bad they complained to the manager who acted insulted that they voiced their opinion. The disaster chicken was taken off the bill and they did comp our drinks but it did not make up for this terrible dining experience. The Atlanta dining scene has many outstanding choices, save your time and money and go elsewhere.

My sweetie and I dined here for out seven year anniversary. It’s small and quaint and almost feels like you’re in someone’s kitchen. The menu is small, less than 20 items among appetizer, entrée, and dessert. We chose the lobster bisque which was creamy and delicious. We moved onto the cheese soufflé which is basically a small quiche and finished with the oysters Rockefeller which are rather fantastic. We ordered drinks which were somewhat overpriced. This place offers great ambiance but the prices are not welcoming. Service could have been a bit more prompt but our server was very nice and made good suggestions. The price and the service time downgraded my review to 2 stars versus 4.

Food:
As the little sister to «Bacchanalia» the restaurant has a lot to live up to, but thankfully the food met all of my expectations. The menu is designed to be shared «family style,» so we ordered a few appetizers and mains to share. The escargots and accompanying toast were light but flavorful. The Summerland Farm Salad is also a must-​try. I especially enjoyed the gulf red snapper baked in parchment with a lovely lobster and caper sauce.
Service:
Service was impeccable — helpful with suggestions but not at all overbearing, present and timely but unobtrusive. I was impressed.
Ambiance:
The restaurant is located below Bacchanalia and Star Provisions with access through a breezeway into between Star Provisions and Jeni’s Ice Cream. The dining room itself has an intimate (almost speakeasy like) feel with dark woods and leather seating, though the lightning was a bit too dark and dimly lit for my tastes. The restaurant was half empty (in comparison to completely full JCT Kitchen and Cooks & Soldiers nearby), so I wonder if the location detracts from the crowds.
Price:
Pricey but not terribly so (cough*Marcel*cough). Considering that the dishes are meant to be shared «family style» and not as singular entrees, the prices seemed fair. For us, dinner for three with drinks, appetizers, shared mains, tax, and tip came out to around $ 160.
Parking:
There’s plenty of parking in the Star Provisions paved lot outside the restaurant.

Intimate atmosphere with very knowledgable, helpful and friendly servers. Ranks as some of the best food I’ve had in Atlanta. Highly recommend the red snapper in parchment paper, steak tartare with oysters and Alabama buttermilk tart with figs. Great choice for our 5-​year anniversary.

I don’t know what the effff other people are talking about… This place is a gem. Thank you Star Provisions; yet again I am impressed. Everything they do is perfection… Everything. Get the squab. The escargot is deadly good. And of course, get dessert and live a little.

Insanely good. Had the Oysters which were one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, salad was great, NY strip with mushrooms and potatoes was to die, and choc soufflé was good but could have been more chocolatey. Wine was on point. Y’all, I never write these reviews. This was just too good not to. Also, impeccable service. Only complaint was that the lighting was a little weird. It was dimly lit but felt bright at the same time. Also weird music. But this place is so good!

I though Little Bacch served very solid fare, but it seems like it’s not going to be long for this joint…
Stopped by on Wednesday relatively early for dinner with colleagues
Restaurant is tapas style French fare — Plates are meant for sharing and priced at about 15 dollars each
From mentors we got a terrine, escargot, a large salad, lamb and fish en papillote.
The restaurant was basically completely empty the entire time we were there.
Ambiance is speakeasy style, taking pets of the liquor menu from its big brother upstairs. Having been to both I would go to Bacchanalia heads down anytime over Little Bacch

I dined here Tuesday night and would give it 4.5 points. We arrived a bit late for our 8:00 reservation but everyone was delighted to see us. I like the space and unique décor a lot, the feel is definitely intimate and cozy. I would, however, welcome the addition of small candles on the table to add a little bit of warm light throughout the room. There were about 6 other tables seated that evening and the noise level was very low. I love the fact that Little Bacch shares the wine list with its big sister restaurant upstairs. We started with a half bottle of French chardonnay which went well with the oysters and the snapper crudo. Both were delicious and well balanced. I also appreciated that the bread was served warm. It always amazes me how many up-​scale restaurants don’t do this. Next we shared the shrimp cocktail and the salad for two. The shrimp was served in a massive, cooled soapstone bowl and while this was a unique touch, as was the composition of the cocktail, it turned the ingredients too cold which reduced the subtle flavors. The salad for two was good, very fresh and clean flavors that could, however, have benefited from a bit more seasoning, like the addition of a touch of tarragon or something equally distinctive. The addition of a small pepper grinder and a small dish of sea salt After I had ordered a bottle of the Calera Pinot Noir from California, the sommelier from upstairs came down to suggest a Burgundy. It was nice that he recalled my visit to Bacchanalia about 2 ½ months ago and that the french Pinot that he suggested was actually 18 dollars less (at $ 72) than the Calera which was no longer available. While I generally stay away from red Burgundies because I often find them too acidic, this one was lush and smooth, very similar to the Calera Pinot. The wine glasses at little Bacch are of a more casual, stemless style, however, upon my request, the server was nice enough to run upstairs and fetch us a pair of proper Burgundy glasses. We concluded our meal with the escargot and the country pork terrine. Both were hardy and very tasty, although the snail shells were massive compared to their content. Well, at least the flavor if not the size of the snails matched! I often try a grouping of smaller courses on my first visit to a restaurant to check out the range. Although the menu is indeed small, it certainly offers a lot of variety and might change more frequently than one would find at other restaurants. Since I tend to check out a restaurant’s menu online before dining there, the small menu wasn’t a surprise and I look forward to trying some of the entrees next time around, as well as a cocktail. I have to say that the service was excellent and very attentive. I like everyone who came to our table, our waiter, the sommelier from upstairs, two servers bringing the dishes to the table and clueing them as well as the chef who came by at the end of our meal to see how we liked the food. There’s a lot of personality here and I imagine I’ll feel welcomed upon my return.

Tried this last night. Fairly slow service where we received wine before cocktails. Two orders of fish that were fishy. My steak was very tough, unflavorful and stringy. Very limited menu. Can’t imagine this will last without significant improvements.

Incredibly loud and very slow. 8:15pm reservation and we left at 10:45. Not too bad except that it was only three courses. Lots of sitting around with no food or drinks. Very very loud room thanks to two 6 tops in the middle of the small room that compete. Too bad.
If you luck into a considerate group sitting at the 6 tops the dinner would be better.
That said, dinner itself was excellent. We had the shared salad for two and the grilled whole chicken for two (we were warned that this would take 45 minutes to prepare). Both were very good. The chocolate soufflé again was very good.

I have to provide a counterpoint to the previous review. My husband and I visited Little Bacch on a whim last Thursday. We were one of only four tables at the no-​reservations restaurant. The dining room has been re-​decorated and it is an elegant and intimate space.
We adored the small menu, as we eat pretty much everything and love it when a chef edits his dishes to showcase the best items. We also appreciated the wine list with interesting bottles at a variety of prices. We settled on a French Chardonnay and ordered all of the small plates on the menu.
The cheese soufflé and pork terrine were both very classic and delicious, but our favorite dishes were the shrimp cocktail (which involved a fun twist of a half-​frozen tomato gazpacho) and the oysters Rockefeller, which used Kumamoto oysters in a subtle preparation that really highlighted the quality of the oysters. The salad included bitter mustard greens, house made croutons, and fromage blanc artfully brushed around the rim of the bowl.
We finished with the canneles, which were utter perfection. Nicely carmelized on the outside and chewy on the inside, they came with an espresso crème anglaise for dipping.
Summary: this is a thoughtful and intimate restaurant where you will truly feel that the staff and the kitchen are taking care of you.

The worlds smallest menu that is pretentious and poorly executed… lovely Kumamotos with a flavor less spinach concoction… cheese soufflé was raw in the middle… we opted not to eat entrees… they sent out complimentary cannels that were beyond tough and nearly impossible to chew… the place will not last long if they keep this up.