A couple of weeks ago I had the honor and pleasure of attending a Friends and Family event at Marcus Samuelsson’s new restaurant in Atlanta called Marcus Bar & Grill. He was not open yet so he invited people in on 2 separate occasions before he opened so the kitchen could have some practice with different dinner services.

I was so excited because I’ve been to his restaurant in NYC called the Red Rooster and I love him on the Food Network. The friends who invited me along are actual friends of his and we were delighted when he came over and said hello. He told us that he had been wanting to come to Atlanta for a long time. He really tried to learn the culture of the South and Atlanta in particular so he could set up the restaurant just right. He learned about the music, the culture, the food and the different neighborhoods before setting up in an area called the Old Fourth Ward, near the Martin Luther King Center.

He said he spoke with Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin to find out what was popular and of course they told him about the skating rink. That’s a big cultural thing in Atlanta. I remember being in high school and going to the skating rink to meet cute guys and pretend we were at the “club”. Haha

Of course music is top of the list for Atlanta and we have so many musicians and artists that are from Atlanta. It’s almost like the Motown of the South. 

We were given two different menus so that we could choose different items and really let the kitchen practice. There were standard items that were Southern with a twist  like the A-Town Deviled Eggs with cracklin’ and hot sauce, Wings with a brown butter sauce, Collard Greens, Macaroni and Cheese and of course Chicken and Cornbread Waffles. Everything was spectacular, but the lamb chops and the chicken and waffles were my favorite. A shout-out also goes out the grilled ribeye with a chimichurri sauce. Ahhh, I love a good chimichurri. We ate family style but I definitely want my own orders of these three the next time. There’s also great craft cocktails and a good wine selection. We were so hungry, the food was gone by the time I remembered that I was supposed to take pictures, but I did get photos from their website of the Roller Skate Ribs and the Chicken & Waffles. The only picture I had was of a new item that they were trying out which was a Seafood Boil with Cornbread. There was a surprise of grits on the bottom which soaked up the wonderful sauce and was “Chef’s Kiss”!

As the restaurant filled up, there was an electric energy in the restaurant, not only because Marcus was running around the restaurant talking to people. The people were diverse, which I love, and they were genuinely excited to meet him and taste his food.

There’s a Chef’s Dining Counter where you could sit and see some of the kitchen, as well as another bar with televisions next to an outside seating area with garage doors that would open if weather permitted. It was pouring down rain the night we attended so we weren’t able to experience it with the doors open, but I definitely will be back.

For those of you who would want a private seating area, he even has that. It’s a long narrow room with a long table down the middle and a lounge at the back of the room. With 

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I will definitely be back. Let me know in the comments if you have been yet and what you thought.