Paces 88

The St. Regis Atlanta is one of my favorite holiday stops. The decor is stunning:

At any time of year, the place is gorgeous. But this hotel / restaurant / bar is starting to show some wear and tear as it ages not-so-gracefully. For example, it's time to replace the carpeting on the staircases that have been repeatedly snagged by stilettos.

It had been quite awhile since we'd dined at Paces 88, so on a recent Friday evening we dressed up in our best Buckhead chic for dinner.

The dining room was essentially vacant, with no more than four tables occupied throughout the evening. Most other diners were families, not couples. Nothing degrades an upscale ambiance faster than a whiny, fidgeting child. We felt over-dressed. Since this place allows children, which is understandable since it is located in a hotel, it's impossible to know what you'll find when you arrive. It's thus a challenge to classify the place: While the prices and general ambiance put it in an upscale realm, if you plan on it for a date-night special-occasion sort of affair it may or may not deliver the sort of vibe that you seek.

At the outset of our meal, the service was attentively pampering.

First course, oysters:

The menu changes seasonally, but the French Onion Soup with Gruyere cheese and baguette crostini ($9) is a year-round standard. It's fantastic--you may find yourself craving it for lunch the next day (and routinely):

Another menu standard is the goat cheese tart ($15) with roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, arugula, truffle and lemon vinaigrette. One bite is all you'll need to understand why this dish has many fans:

Seared sea scallops served atop a squash puree:

Black trumpet mushroom ravioli with corn and asparagus spears:

Our entrees were tasty, but served at a much cooler temperature than we would have preferred. The server, who had been attentive at the beginning of our meal, vanished once the entree plates were set in front of us. Thus, while we would have liked to ask for things to be heated up, we had to content ourselves with chilly food that tasted good but might have been great if served hot. The restaurant manager showed up once our plates were empty, which was too late to make amends. He was apologetic and said that we weren't the only ones to complain about cool food, which was perhaps meant to make us feel better but had the opposite effect.

For dessert we opted for sweet potato cheesecake:

It was tasty, but Dean said that if he was a judge on Top Chef and was presented with this dish for commentary, he'd have to say that it had too much going on and would benefit from editing.


Bottom Line: Inconsistent.