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.
