Review Summary
I love rooftop dining and every time I visit a new city, I seek out any rooftop venues in the area. I like a good view. In Atlanta, I have done the Sun Dial, Nikolai's Roof, and finally added Polaris to the list.
The restaurant checked all 3 of my key areas: service, food, and atmosphere. Got to give mega points for the view - super cool. It’s definitely more date friendly … or business friendly than kid friendly. If you are looking for a quiet atmosphere to talk business and impress your out of town guests, or looking for a romantic evening for two, Polaris is not a bad choice.
With an appetizer, entree, and dessert, our dining experience was a little over an hour.
The Service
First, I’ll draw a key distinction between Sun Dial, Nikolai's Roof, and Polaris -- Sun Dial and Nikolai's Roof are more on the conservative side. They are slightly higher on the pretentious meter. There is this clear line on delineation between servers and patrons. You will be cared for efficiently -- but, from the school of seen, but not heard. Don’t get me wrong, I swing from culinary stuffiness to dive bar relaxed -- depending on the mood du jour.
So, our server at Polaris was awesome. I apologize, I believe her name was Dannielle. She was 200 pounds of bubbly fun packed into a 100 pound body. So incredibly engaging.
She was a true representative of the restaurant, presenting the specials, making recommendations, and giving a short tour of the restaurant. I had no idea that Polaris made their own honey and the hives are clearly visible on the building rooftop or that Polaris had their own Patron labeled tequila -- now I do.
Dannielle was affable. The type of person that you instantly like and feel comfortable engaging with. Wow - it really made the evening fun. I think so many restaurants fail to realize how important front of the house staff are. They are the kitchen’s ambassadors to the patrons, and exceptional staff can transcend a great meal (even a good meal) into an exceptional evening. That keeps people coming back.
The Atmosphere
Two things really stand out when I think about the Atmosphere: the View and the Decor.
Ok, it’s a rooftop restaurant in the heart of downtown Atlanta, so the city view was incredible. The restaurant does rotate … and to the best of my estimates, takes an hour to make an entire revolution. On my Friday night visit, I started watching the traffic brake lights on 75/85 connector. As I completed my 1 hour mark, traffic had abated. Super, time to leave back for the ‘burbs.
Is the revolving top additive? It’s hard to answer. Personally, I found that the floor revolved so slowly that I could not feel it. In the beginning, I was more like an optical illusion. I could catch movement with my peripheral vision, but when staring at landmarks trying to consciously track the moment, I could not (until I became acclimated to it). My friend on the other hand seemed to be fighting a little bit of motion sickness. Take it as a warning, if you are really, really, really sensitive to motion issues, consider taking some dramamine before going. (Notice I said really, really, really sensitive)
Being a people watcher, watching the city life from Polarius was incredible. I noticed at my table, all the seats were oriented to look out the window. Clearly, Polaris is rightfully proud of their city view.
Being a foodie, equally fun for me was rotating by (ease on by, ease on by) the kitchen. The kitchen area and pass are out in the open as you rotate around. I love watching meals being assembled on the pass for pickup. Plays right into my people watching.
For a restaurant that has been around the 1960’s, the restaurant does not feel dated at all. It feels more modern classical with its black trim off set with dark wood and aluminum trim. Polaris is divided into a dining area and a lounge area, both with the same modern feel and excellent service.
The patrons were divided among what I would guess to be couples enjoying date night, a birthday party, and what I would guess to be a business meal. The restaurant recommends business casual attire, though on my visit, most of the men wore jackets and women sported dresses. In general, people were dressed to impress.
The Food
My meal was not exactly something you would find at a Waffle House, starting with the Escargot Poutine, the Polaris Steak Oscar, finished off with the Polaris Blue Dome. I was hitting all their signature dishes for the evening.
I started with a pre-meal cocktail. I selected Solomon's Revenge to try the restaurant’s barrel select Patron Anejo. The drink was balanced with a hit of grapefruit and rimmed with a salted candy. The drink hit all the right notes - perfect balance. I quickly switched to a cabernet to avoid the temptation of ordering 5 or 6.
Escargot - personally, it’s not something I typically order. It’s a snail -- at best, it's more of an amuse-bouche. Pop 4 in your mouth a minute and be done. With the appetizer, the sauce was the true highlight. I confess that even after the escargot’s were finished, I wanted to borrow the bread from a near-by couple to finish off the sauce. Don’t get me wrong, the escargot fan were fine -- I am just not a huge escargot fan, so it’s hard to sing praises. But the sauce? Wow is the only word that comes to mind.
I went with the Polaris Steak Oscar -- the 5 major food groups: steak, crab, asparagus, and hollandaise sauce sitting on a bed of whipped potatoes. The platting was nice and the steak was well prepared. I felt the dish was a little dated - my fault, ordering a 1960ish signature dish, I should have expected a 1960ish dish. Competent and great tasting, but was not awe inspiring. I’ll chalk that one up to my ordering.
The dessert was a visual feast. The Blue Dome is a play on the restaurant dome. Blue coated ice cream hollowed out for honey, a flourless cake/torte, with a chocolate arch. It paired well with my cognac.
Review Highlights
Great place to impress your guests for a mouth gaping experience. Great atmosphere, superior services, and food equal to the experience.
This is definitely a date night experience -- place to go if you really want to impress your date. There seems to be a transition from business dining to dating around 7pm.
There are several notable rooftop restaurants in Atlanta, what set this one apart for me was the service. They really went the extra mile and it made the experience that much better.
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