Quinones

Food is great just make sure you come hungry. There were 19 courses when I went and man was a full when I left. Great service as usual with both restaurants!

My stupendously scrumptious studmuffin surprised me with dinner at Quinones for our anniversary. It was basically the pinnacle of my culinary experience in life, thus far. I adore STAR Provisions and can now gloat (sorry! I’m a total braggart) on the fact that I have dined at all of its unique restaurants.
When my bf called Quinones to make reservations for us, he found out that it may not be opened next year. He was also told they are pretty much booked in December??? I am uncertain of these statement’s verity, but I really hope that they remain opened because they really provide an exceptional dining experience. I had a wonderful time at Bacchanalia for my birthday one year. That experience made me want to try Quinones badly. Based on conversations I’ve had with others, I perceived Quinones to be (maybe half) an echelon higher than Bacchanalia, lol. I made the assumption mainly based on the fact that others have commented on the price differences.
I had always assumed Quinones is located in the basement area of STAR Provisions, but it’s not. There’s a separate entrance for it. It’s located down the stairs behind Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. We arrived on a chilly Halloween evening but there were heat lamps to abate the cold. A long, rustic table decorated with autumn flora and candles made the outside area of the restaurant more welcoming on the cold night.
Like Bacchanalia, Quinones has a very intimate dining space. It maybe seats ten small parties. However, there seems to be a larger, separate dining space to accommodate larger parties on the other side of the restaurant. The restrooms are located outside of the restaurant. It did not really have the same ambiance as the dining space. It seems like it’s shared with other retails in the complex.
For my birthday, Bacchanalia included a birthday greeting for me on their menu. I appreciated the nice gesture. Quinones did not prepare a personalized greeting on the menu for us, but it obviously did not deter us from the dining experience. We both opted for the pre-​fixe menu. It’s $ 125 pp and $ 195 pp w/​wine pairing. It is more expensive than Bacchanalia, but the discrepancy isn’t as crazy as I had imagined. There are five courses and each course includes several small dishes. I posted our menu and pictures of the courses for your viewing pleasure, lol.
Dinner was a 3 hours and 40 minutes engagement. It’s not for the faint of the hearts, lol. The service was exceptionally and perfectly timely and attentive. Even though the dinner was long, the wait for the food was not. Unlike, Bacchanalia, we did not receive any amuse-​bouche from the kitchen. Honestly, I was a little bummed, but I know it’s probably because our menu was already very extensive. However, like Bacchanalia, we did receive parting gifts from the Pastry Chef. We also received tiered cupcakes with a candle to celebrate our anniversary.
What I believe elevates Quinones from other restaurants in Atlanta is their incredibly novel, skillful, and creative execution of traditional ingredients. I feel like they have added another dimension to the dining experience for me. The presentation was just the bomb diggity. I appreciate the attention to details; clearly carefully selected ingredients that pays homage to their origins, wines selected for the pairings, plates and utensils used for certain dishes. You should consult the menu I posted for the dishes because there were a lot of them. However, I have to mention some really outstanding dishes. The pear-​foam Kumamoto oyster was incredible. It was super delightful to enjoy the complementing fragrance of the pear and texture of the oyster. The foam felt like an allusion to the ocean, but it was playfully sweet. Similarly, the Maine Lobster was treat. I love light and sweet sauce that accompanied the dish. The Summerland egg dish was also fun to eat. There were savory bits of crab inside the eggshell. I loved the playful presentation of the foie gras dish. The foie gras were made to look like cherries. I liked how the savory item was made to appear like a sweet item and vice versa. So whimsical! I can only imagine the effort it requires to create delicious and artful food that demonstrates appreciation and keen understanding of the ingredients. High five Quinones!

Great start, but a mediocre finish.
I was pretty excited for Quinones since Atlanta has very few fine dining institutions like this, and for the most part it lived up to what I expected based on Bacchanalia. The first half of the meal was superb, with some very clean small bites, but as the mains started coming out, though I was still very hungry, I was a bit underwhelmed. It was a pretty good deal for the price, but fuck, give me more than 1 flake of truffle… what a tease. T_​_​T I’ll have to come again to see what else these guys cook up.

The Quinones Room was good, but I was disappointed that it wasn’t spectacular. For the price, it should have been.
When my girlfriend and I heard about this exclusive, 24 seat, one night per week, Star Provisions hidden gem, we knew we had to try it. Given those restrictions, and still recovering from battling for high end dinner reservations living in Manhattan, we booked three months out.
Walking into the restaurant in the courtyard of the Star Provisions building, we were met with interesting sculptures made wet by the evening’s rain. The place is very industrial chic from the outside. You pass a beautiful wood paneled private dining room on the way to the main space. In the entry way we were treated to wonderful décor, almost like a Jonathan Adler store had emptied into it, but very well done. This is where the effusive praise sort of tapers off.
We were led into the main dining room which was largely unspectacular. Mostly bare walls, some pieces of interesting seating, but that was it. I was also immediately struck by how few tables were occupied, about half. For a 7:00 PM reservation on a Saturday two weeks before Christmas, I was a little perplexed. I also noted to my girlfriend that a lot of the chairs and tables had chipped paint, dents, scrapes, etc. It was like they bought new furniture for Bacchanalia upstairs, and brought the B-​Team down to Quinones. Other touches seemed odd. The water glasses were these college-​dorm inspired swirly pink things that felt cheap and probably were from Target. The music was also bizarre. It was a random mix of cheesy Christmas rock and monk’s chant. I’d recommend getting a new playlist. Enough with the lack of ambiance, onto the dining.
We ordered the prix fixe (which is the only thing you can order, and what we came for) with the wine pairings, which aren’t listed, but our server provided them without skipping a beat. From there it was a hit or miss hodgepodge of 20 bite– size (one-​bite) courses. Also, getting bread was like pulling teeth. Not having the menu in front of me (at this time they still hadn’t posted it to their site yet) I can’t remember much, but there were a few standouts. The Kumamoto oyster with caviar was awesome, but how could it not be? The clam (s) dish was good, but I can’t remember all of the details of it. The sweetbread was amazing and the preparation process was lovingly executed. The pork belly was texturally perfect, unctuous, and smoky. The scallops were nice and crisp and the broth was out of this world. The trout crudo was also good. Aside from those dishes, the meal itself was over-​executed and slightly underwhelming. Some dishes were too salty (lamb tongue) or not salty enough (loup de mer). Some were small even for a bite-​sized meal (E.g. I left hungry). I was very disappointed in desert. The cranberry gelée tasted like cough medicine and the chocolate pot with buttermilk was one-​dimensional and a bit chalky.
Two bright spots were the wine choices and the staff. Several wines we had had before and were happy to see them included in the pairings, namely the Soléna from Oregon. The Gigondas needed to be decanted (something Atlanta restaurants don’t do!). The last pairing, a French fortified desert wine was not that good, and should have been a Port or Sauternes (I still believed this even after the sommelier preemptively explained why he did not choose a Port or Sauternes). The staff was sweet and poised, even while having to execute 20 flatware change outs over the course of the meal. I feel sorry for the dishwashers.
Overall, the meal was good, a bit quirky and fun, but not worth $ 500. I heard a waiter commenting that the space is pretty much used just for private events now due to decreasing demand (used to be Tuesday through Saturday, instead of just Saturday) which doesn’t surprise me unfortunately. Bacchanalia was a better experience and a better value for dollar. Just go there.

We dined here for our anniversary and it was the finest dining experience we ever had.
When we got there at 6:30, it was only me and my husband since it was a bit early to have a dinner. I felt like we reserved the whole restaurant by ourselves, because it was only US served by entire staff and every wine bottle my husband had for wine paring was opened right in front of us. (I noticed that other parties got wine from already opened ones because my husband was the first one. lol)
I won’t go over all courses because there were all freakin delicious and melt-​in-​your-​mouth good! Even their rolls and Pão de Queijo was super good.
I also loooooved their interior decoration. Super cozy, but yet very elegant. They have mini stools for ladies purses. How cute is that. :)
Well, If i can afford coming here, I would come every month.
I hope you guys will treat yourself or your significant other on very special day at Quinones soon.

imagine bacchanalia.
now make it smaller, cozier, and quieter. now imagine with those changes, service is that much more attentive. it still remains formal but relaxed. then change the menu. instead of choosing one dish from five columns, imagine that there is no choice to be made. it’s a true tasting menu. those are the small details and luxuries that quinones has over bacchanalia. and it’s magnificent.
our menu for 09÷08÷12:
— hawaiian ahi tuna crudo, hand melon, young ginger, edamame, radish
— foie gras terrine, peach, cocoa, shiso
— kumamoto oyster, sea urchin, fennel, horseradish, caviar, sorrel
— atlantic red snapper, lobster bubbles, preserved summerland farm green tomato
— moulard breast of duck, small tomatoes, corn, squash, field peas
— jamison farm lamb, farro, chanterelle mushrooms, young roots, preserved truffle
— looking glass creamery pack square, georgia muscadines, watercress, sourdough
— lemon buttermilk panna cotta, georgia blueberries
— valrhona chocolate, toasted meringue, coffee ice cream
the food is as good as it gets in atlanta. simple, beautiful, and utterly delicious.
bacchanalia is special occasion. quinones at bacchanalia is really, really special occasion. it’s more extensive and more expensive, but not without reason.
call to make a reservation and keep in mind it’s open for business only on saturday nights.
quinones, alongside bacchanalia, is one of atlanta’s best.

Our meal at Quinones exceeded our expectations at every turn. Its reputation preceded it, so our expectations were high.
Service: Impeccable. And not overbearing, as high-​end restaurants often are.
Food choices: Intriguing when described and delightfully fresh and original on execution
Atmosphere: Subdued elegance, as if in someone’s fine home
Wine pairings: A luxury that shouldn’t be missed
You feel welcome at Quinones, and while your wallet may be considerably lighter, the pep in your spirit more than makes up for it.
If you like the idea of a «tasting menu», they don’t get better than this one.

Went here for a special occasion – while it was spectacular – It wasn’t that much better than my beloved Bacchanalia. Some people say this place is Baccha on steroids, but I didn’t have any more food orgasms here than I usually do at Baccha – but it is still 5 stars – but after it’s all said and done, I’d rather spend far less money at Baccha for practically the same experience, plus I don’t have to walk outside to go to the bathroom when at Baccha…

Just special. The food, the wine, the experience it all makes you feel special. It’s good to have a place that really means special occasion. Quinones has definitely become a memory maker.
Oh! what happened to the old maitre d’?

The Quinones Room at Bacchanalia is bar far my favorite restaurant to visit while in Atlanta. While I have so many great things to say, I was wondering if anyone knows what happened to the wonderful maitre d’, Robert Payne? He is no longer with the restaurant and when I called to inquire, no one would give me any information. He was the highlight of every trip! If anyone has any insight, I would love to know!

One of my favorite splurges… incredible food and even better service!

The food was great but it is expected since we are paying quite some money for it. The service was also good but did not exceed my expectation. I have been to both Bacchanalia and Quinones at Bacchanalia a few times and I think overall, Baccahanalia is better just because you get more bang for your bucks.

When the maitre’d shakes your hand upon entering the restaurant. you know it’s gonna be good :)
My friend and I sat at the rear table which has a partition wall hiding you from the rest of the dining room. One surprize after another… this is the best Atlanta has to offer. Yes, it is expensive even if you do not get the wine pairings… but premium cuisine with no attitude is rare and you walk out of there feeling high.

Just a quick review to agree with all the other top-​rating reviews. The food is just as good as the other Unilocal reviews say. In addition, every time we asked a question about the food or preparation we got a complete and thorough answer, once from someone who came out of the kitchen to explain it to us.
In addition, we arrived late and without a reservation, and after they started us on a bottle of wine they graciously found us a table and took care of us – lots of points from my date (my wife :-).
Was it the most innovative food ever? Prolly not, but was perfectly prepared, nicely presented, with A+ service and attitude. We’ll definitely go back next time we’re in Atlanta.
One very minor quibble: when you’re going to sit for 3+ hours for dinner, the chairs could be a bit more comfortable.

At $ 125 a head, I would expect this place to get a 5 star review, so I’m happy to say that it definitely delivers. I would consider this cuisine New American, of course with a bit of a French influence for many of its dishes. However, the food is prepared with fresh materials, many coming from the chef’s personal farm, which is really impressive. There are obviously some dishes with a bit of Southern influence in it, but this is a meal that you would expect to get in big cities like NYC and LA.
The meal I had was about 10 courses, with a few additional courses added on by the chef («gifts» as they so affectionately call it.) I was impressed with most of the dishes, but just remember that this is a tasting menu, so you get a sample of everything basically. However, 3.5 hours later and 9 courses in, you’ll most likely be full, so don’t worry about that.
Service was phenomenal as expected, and the price is relatively cheap compared to dining elsewhere (a meal like this in LA would have been $ 175 a head probably. The one drawback about this place is the location– it’s hidden in this plaza area and is pretty confusing in general. I’m not sure what the landscape of Atlanta is yet, but I would expect a place like this to be somewhere more popping. I would come back here again– either for a family dinner, or a 1-​year anniversary. This meal will definitely take the entire night, so go early if you actually plan on going out afterwards.

Uh-​Oh. I’m a worried that this sucky economy is getting to my Favorite Restaurant In The Whole Wide World.
You know this right– that Quinones is expensive; off the Atlanta chart expensive? So what now? They raise their prices. Thirty percent. Yes, I spelled it out so you wouldn’t think I’d misplaced a decimal.
So while lots of people are cutting back on their spending, taking pay cuts, losing their jobs or at a minimum not getting raises and/​or the bonuses they’d hoped for, these guys raise their prices.
What the ?
Now that said, it’s still an awesome experience and the food is still beyond good. Service is remains impeccable. And it’s still my favorite.
What bothers me most is that with every price increase, they shrink their potential market. They’ve now hit a threshold that will make much of Atlanta feel like the price is just excessive, even if they can easily afford it.
I hope they make a change to expand rather than eliminate their potential customer pool. How about 1 or 2 fewer courses if costs are the issue, or maybe a less expensive 5-​course option for typically slower nights?.
We don’t want to see them go away, but we’re worried it could happen.

Wow — this place is completely amazing. Of course, any restaurant I walk into with a nice Kudu rack on a pedastal is going ot get 3 stars out of the gate. Between Maitre D’ Rob and the great Sommelier, you can’t go wrong with ‘N’ number of courses — who can keep track. Crispy sweetbreads were delicious, and this is my wife’s FAVORITE place. I love it and it is great for a special occasion, Rob really makes the place. Bacchanlia is spectacular of course, but this place makes you feel like a million bucks (they will call you a car if you get to friendly with the sommelier!).
Words that come to mind are delicate, and comfortable; with Seeger’s gone, Bacchanalia has no equal in Atlanta.

Quinones is a must for any foodie worth his or her salt. The food is simply amazing. The local vegetables are so scrumptious, they nearly outshine the protein they are paired with!
If you’re lucky, you will go on a night when maitre d’ Rob Payne is working. He’ll make you feel as if you’re having dinner at a good friend’s house. (A good friend who is also a five star chef.)
I’m surprised that one reviewer felt that the environment was stuffy; the impeccable staff is so friendly and welcoming. If you’ve never been before and feel a little hesitant, I suggest checking it out one evening when you are in the neighborhood so you know what it is like before making a reservation. If Rob is there, he’ll surely let you take a peak inside and make you feel eager to make a reservation!

Went here last year to celebrate a birthday. Felt a little too stuffy and formal for my taste when we went in, and it was surprisingly slow that night (they had more cancellations than usual). Although, we did get a glimpse of Donald Trump having a large dinner party in the private dining room.
Due to the number of courses on the menu, we were there for a while. I don’t remember all the different dishes, but there were definitely several that we enjoyed and stood out.
It’s very pricey and can’t say it’s completely worth it, but I like that they use local ingredients and change their menu based on what they get in for the day.

Quinones at Bacchanalia is award-​winning, five star restaurant that specializes in Modern Southern cuisine. If you have been reading my review, you probably realized that I go out to eat 21 times a week, mainly because I simply don’t know how to cook. So one day, my boyfriend wanted to try a totally new restaurant, so he made a reservation and took me to Quinones at Bacchanalia.
Let me just say, Quinones at Bacchanalia is a dream come true. They have a cozy, yet sophisticated interior décor that I wish I had such decoration in my house. You can only expect the best service in a place like this, and you do get only the best. They only offer prix-​fixe multi-​course menus. You can order one with truffles, or one without. Both of them are exquisite. Sadly, the price of magic does not come cheap: usually it costs around $ 100 per person, if you don’t do wine pairing.
After my experience, I cannot help but find myself going back to Quinones at Bacchanalia on a regular basis. Every time I go, the menu has changed, according to the seasonal goods. So next time you are visiting Bacchanalia, which is in the same building, why not splurge a little and visit Quinones at Bacchanalia? You will be hooked, like I am