 |
 |
 |
|
||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IRIS ~ upscale casual ****1/2 1314 Glenwood Avenue Atlanta, GA 30316 (404) 221-1300 www.irisatlanta.com Lunch: Tues - Sat, 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Brunch: Sun, 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Dinner: Tues - Thurs, 5:30 - 10:00 p.m. Fri - Sat, 5:00 - 11:00 p.m. An unexpectedly chic bistro in boho East Atlanta, Iris is a delightful find for either a casual lunch or sophisticated dinner. Open since October 2002, the restaurant is off to a strong start and, hopefully, a long life. MENU: ***** The menu offers a creative and broad-ranging selection of both simple and complex dishes, from a daytime “sandwich board” to dinner items such as duck leg confit, cold water lobster risotto and braised lamb shank. Reflecting the international backgrounds of executive chef Nicolas Bour from France, chef de cuisine Lein Schoe from the Netherlands and sous chef Walter Saenz from Costa Rica, the dishes at Iris present an eclectic mix of tastes. Dinner entrée prices range from $9.50 - $17; At lunch, prices range from $5.50 - $10.50. FOOD QUALITY: ***** Bour and Schoe use high-end ingredients, including diver scallops, Niman Ranch pork, Angus beef and locally-grown organic products whenever possible. “Nick and Liam both are just fanatical [about quality],” says co-owner and manager Alan Raines. “They don’t want anything less than excellent.” It shows. FOOD PRESENTATION: ***** The same care and attention to detail that go into the food preparation are also given to its presentation. The dishes are as much a treat to look at as they are to eat. The butternut squash soup is presented with particular fanfare. After placing a large, flat bowl before you with a design of roasted pepita seeds, finely diced squash and a roasted pumpkin seed oil reduction, the server then pours in the soup from a pitcher. ATMOSPHERE: *** The ambiance at Iris is hard to pin down. While the restaurant bills itself as a family-friendly, neighborhood bistro, its sleek interior conjures more of a sophisticated mood than a chummy hang-out feeling. The design is industrial-chic: polished concrete floors, exposed overhead pipes painted black, and a muted palette of ochres, purples and taupes. Original artwork and an expanse of burnished copper adorn the walls. The restaurant has a sharper edge at night. In the daytime, its sophistication softens into something more casual – the natural light pours in from the floor-to-ceiling windows (holdovers from the building’s former life as a gas station), creating an open and bright feel. A patio garden is in the making – It promises to reduce the stark element of the restaurant significantly. And on the child-friendly subject, the restaurant provides crayons, high chairs and booster seats, changing tables in the men’s and women’s restrooms, and a larger-than-usual children’s menu. CLEANLINESS: **** The public areas are clean and tidy, with everything in its place and no mess in sight. A peek behind the scenes reveals a small, orderly kitchen with the hubbub expected of a busy cook staff. SERVICE: ***** In addition to being very child-friendly, servers are knowledgeable about the menu and prompt in taking and delivering orders. MENU RECOMMENDATIONS: The butternut squash soup and the grilled tuna nicoise salad – the best version of this Provencal specialty I have had outside of France – are highly recommended. Of the entrees, the whole crispy scored flounder is a standout. Served with ginger snap peas and a spiced apricot and shallot glaze, its delicate crispness wraps around the melt-in-your mouth freshness of the fish, with a sweet pique of apricot-ginger. For dessert, the pistachio crème brulee is delicious, although the selection of Jake’s ice cream is hard to pass up. OVERALL RATING: ***** The quality and creativity of food, its breadth of menu and top-notch service make Iris a superb addition to the East Atlanta area. review by Laurel Ann Dooley |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| from top: Grilled portobello mushroom “short stack”; Iris Salad; Whole crispy “scored” Flounder; Chefs Nicolas Bour & Lein Schoe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
