Winchester Woodfire Grill

I actually found this place on the Internet and read some good and bad reviews and decided to give it a shot, we live in the buckhead area of Atlanta and were meeting another party from north Georgia and were trying to find something a little closer for them.
We had a great table right in front of the fireplace, our waitress was very attentive to our needs (we had 8 people in our group plus 2 small children) and the rest of the staff was very friendly.
We had the Sunday Brunch Buffet and everything was very flavorful and fresh. and let me tell you, even if you do not care for grits (as I do not eat them, EVER) you must try the Green Chili Cheese Grits.... Out of this World, my 2 year old loved them as did everyone in our party including a 12 year old who is by far the most finicky eater on this planet.

I love the Winchester. They were a bit more pricey than most places around Canton, but not anymore!
On the weeknights they have specially priced dinners. I had a three course meal for only $20!
The service was excellent and even the chef, a new woman since I was last there, came by to check on us!

I was treated to this restaurant on 3 occasions now. There was one time when the Spinach/cheese with chip Appet. came out later than the meal, but they removed it from our tab, so that didn't turn out so bad. The food is pricey, but I think it's pretty good. However, i think the best part is the atmosphere. It's very relaxing being there, like in a lodge in wyoming or colorado. We call it the "mini-vacation" I had the same server on 2 occasions and he was great, big guy, brown hair and glasses, about 27 years old or so, i don't remember his name (james??) anyhow, he was really great, not too pushy, not too slack, just right. I recommend this place to anyone who's got the dough to spend.

Where do I begin. I've worked in the restaurant industry for 10 years and I would have to say, this takes the cake for the absolute WORST restaurant experience I have ever had/seen. A mixture of mismanagement, poor service, poor quality food, unbelievably long waiting times, lack of urgency or hustle and the list goes on!

Our reservation was set at 7:30 pm so we arrived at 7:15 pm for a drink at the bar. We were told our table would be ready at 7:45. Checked the time numerous times and we weren't seated until 8:30!

Finally, we are seated and the server comes to greet us promptly (that was the highlight of our dining experience). We order drinks and receive them... 20 minutes later. Then the food order is taken. Soup, appetizers, entree.... 30 minutes later we get our soup with a nice skin on the top (it's been sitting there for a while). After another 45 minutes, our appetizers come out. One of the appetizers was guacamole (looked out of a bag) served on a round corn chip and topped with the smallest shrimp I have ever seen. The other was fried goat cheese with a sauce that had hints of balsamic vinigar and hersheys syrup. AWFUL!

Now it is almost 3 hours after our set reservation time and dinner is nowhere in sight. I glimpse at the kitchen since it is in plain view and there were 4 tickets in the window. No reason not to have our food to us yet, in other words. We are finally fed up (and still hungry) at this point of time . A member of our group went to speak to a manager who was rude to her. So, when he came back to the table he said loud and gruffly, "how should we expect to have a 3 course dinner to your table right now when you get here at 9:45". I began to laugh, more dumbfounded than anything. And then he said our entrees were ready and in the window, which I might say is miraculous considering I have been watching the kitchen and they weren't in the window. We were told (also gruffly) "we can eat 'em or we can go". He took care of the bill except for the bar tab, which is fine. Since we couldn't eat the meal. We tipped our server extremely well.

Might I add, we were not the only table dealing with this issue. We actually knew others that were there and they were complaining of the same things. Tables that were seated before us still didn't have their food when we left. We were going up to the bar to order drinks because of the time it took to get them.

And for the icing on the cake, at a restroom stop on the way out the door, the waitstaff was actually in there (except for our server) saying mighty unexceptable things about our table.

Finally, at last! We get out that door never to return.

Must note: We have eaten here previously when it first opened and the menu was bland and service slow but it was lunch. The only reason we returned was for friends that made the reservation. We figured we'd give it another shot (unfortunately).

We love Winchesters. With 3 small children, getting out for dinner isn't easy. When we do, it's great to know that we don't have to go too far from home to have a nice dinner.