I have always wanted to experience a fine dining experience, one of those meals that would seem cost-prohibitive to do regularly but is definitely worth it in the moment. After looking for multiple places to try this out, I along with my group settled on the chef’s table experience at Atlanta’s Local Three Kitchen & Bar.
When I say chef’s table, I mean you are seated in the kitchen. Now unfortunately for you, I have no pictures of what the set-up looks like, but use your imagination to picture my words.
You arrive at the hostess stand to give your name for your reservation, which you had to book way in advance. They take you past all of the other diners, who look at your group with curiosity as you enter the doors to the kitchen. You pass through the bright white lights and sounds as they prepare the food around you. You are seated in a booth with an opening as to continue to watch cooks and chefs joke with each other and get everything plated. When you get settled, your waiter for the night explains the process and the menu that will come your way. That should be enough of a description. Let’s get to the food.
Before I start, this was a smorgasbord. All of the plates were standard portions. This was not a tasting menu; this was a feasting menu. The selection was a mixture of seasonal favorites from the Local Three menu and recipes from other restaurants from the ownership group. In total, we were served 9 courses. Every item was also paired with an accompanying drink, as much as you wanted of it.
Everything was delicious, but some dishes were preferred to others. Half of my party, forgetting how heavy a menu we had in front of us, raved to the chef about the fried rice and gladly accepted and devoured a second bowl. Fools. We still had multiple courses to go at that point.
We started out strong, but close to the end of the experience our bellies beckoned us to stop whereas our tongues said, “Keep going. I want more flavors.” By the time we got to the steak course, we had to admit defeat and ask for some of it to be boxed up, along with the dessert.
The food was great, but the service was even better. Everyone had a good sense of humor and was incredibly helpful. Your mileage on that might vary if you don’t go with party equally respectful and pleasant to be around. I would definitely go back. I can’t wait to go back. I probably skip lunch and or do a heavy workout ahead of time to build up a stronger appetite. And take an Uber so I could enjoy everything fully without worrying about driving home. Even without partaking in the alcohol, the food coma was enough to make it undesirable to drive. And while it may be some time before I do the tasting menu again, I am eager to try Local Three’s standard dining experience. Especially that truffle popcorn.
A Wren Says 
Leave a comment