Someone recently asked me if I ever write a bad review. I responded that I indeed do write bad reviews sometimes, but lately the culinary gods have blessed me with delicious food while dining out. And let’s face it, I love anything fatty, buttery, creamy and all around not good for me, so it doesn’t take much to please me. Just fry some grease and add some cheese and I have a complete meal.
But despite the greasy bar food menu, I have yet to be pleased with the offerings at Buckhead Bar and Grill. Maybe I’m bitter because this establishment now occupies the space that once housed my beloved Loco’s.
Nowhere in Buckhead was there a better place to watch a Georgia game then sitting in a booth at Loco’s with grown-up frat boys and pearl clad sorority chicks. Maybe I’m biased because the management of Loco’s gave me my first job when I moved to the big city over six years ago. But I loved the burgers, the appetizers and I even threw a salad in there every now and then.
I have visited Buckhead Bar and Grill four times now, simply expecting a decent meal at a reasonable price, but have had a lackluster experience each time. Being a stickler for service, it cannot go without mentioning that theirs is awful. Servers have forgotten to ring in my drink order, messed up my food and taken over 30 minutes to bring me my bill after I requested it.
While I do prefer the sleek, classier décor of Buckhead Bar and Grill as opposed to the lime green paint and drunken photos (I was probably in some) that filled the walls of Loco’s, the food isn’t worth a visit.
The menu is comprised of typical bar fare—wings, potato skins, sandwiches, burgers and salads. They also serve chili, and at one point offered hot dogs, which appear to have been nixed.
For my first visit I chose the Classic Cheese Burger, which was decent but undercooked to my specifications. On another trip I chose the Chicken Caesar Wrap, which I thought would be pretty difficult to mess up. But alas, I was wrong. Disgustingly dry strips of “grilled” chicken were stuffed into a wrap with romaine, soggy tomatoes, parmesan and hours-old bacon crumbles. The caesar dressing accompanying the dish tasted as if had been in the cooler for days.
Even after these two disappointing trips, I gave Buckhead Bar and Grill a third and fourth chance. I tried the burger, yet again, and found it quite tastier than before, and well worth the $7.99 price tag. The fourth trip was basically a culinary disaster though.
I tried the Turkey Bacon Cheddar melt, a rip-off of my favorite Loco’s dish, The Gobbler. I found Buckhead Bar and Grill’s version to be seriously lacking. The turkey was dry and flavorless, the bacon was standard Buckhead Bar and Girll bacon— chewy and probably prepared eight hours earlier—and the sauce that they claim is barbecue sauce is blasphemy to southern barbecue lovers everywhere. It was runny and bland and didn’t add anything to the already-awful sandwich. I’ve never been one to not clean my plate, but even after dipping the sandwich in barbecue sauce, ketchup and casesar dressing, there was just no saving it.
With such a prime location and built-in clientele, Buckhead Bar and Grill has all the potential to become a go-to spot for a football game or dinner before a night out. But if the food and service don’t improve drastically, the future of this place is as ill-fated as its predecessor’s.
~Blair Branch
Buckhead Bar and Grill is open daily for lunch and dinner.
Buckhead Bar and Grill is located at 3167 Peachtree Road in Buckhead.
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