last resort grill

fantastic. there is a reason last resort grill is no. 1 on urbanspoon. there is also a reason why i am so fond of reading reviews on restaurants before i try them.

my girlfriend and i went to last resort for the firsttimewith very high hopes. we'd heard great things, and the occasion was special, so we wanted to celebrate.

for starters, our server - i really wish i remembered his name - was spectacular. he was prompt, friendly, courteous and extremely knowledgeable on the menu.

i ordered the firecracker filet mignon with mashed potatoes and my girlfriend ordered a pasta (though i don't remember which.)

when our server brought out the bread before the meal, i was floored. this wasn't a few rolls or a small loaf of bread to be cut into two pieces - it was an overflowing basket of bread. and did i mention it was absolutely delicious?

when our meals came out - in a very reasonable amount of time, might i add - i was very impressed, to say the least. it is still the best steak i've had in athens, hands down.

the prices are what you'd expect - $15-$25 - but you get exactly what you pay for.

like i said, there's a reason this place is no. 1.

our firsttimeusing urbanspoon, didn't disappoint. delicious food, affordable priced, sat outside and loved the atmosphere

i have always enjoyed their fantastic food, devine handmade deserts, and a top place in athens for sunday brunch. i rate for the food. who cares if a server was having a toughtimeor you had to wait. great places stay busy. if you want complaints. worse parking lot ever. parking has never affected our meal.

it's pretty good, but it doesn't live up to the hype. the tables are really close together so it gets really crowded. lasttimewe were there it got really smokey inside and they need to check their ventilation system.  it's a solid restaurant but nothing really stood out except for their cheesecake.

we had two salads, gorgonzola dressing and vidalia onion bacon dressings. small salads which were greens and shredded carrot straws. fresh veggies, but nothing special. the homemade dressings were good, as well as being a different taste than the normal vinaigrette.

pictured were the small plate crab cakes and the last resort’s praline which is a "plump double chicken breast stuffed with a medley of cheeses, topped with walnut-honey drizzle & served with veggies & creamy grits." this was my first taste of chicken with sweet, and it was interesting. good flavors and extremely rich. green beans done al dente - just the way my spouse loves them. they did come dripping with oil or clarified butter, but i think it was more likely vegetable oil. i don't particularly like green beans, but these were good enough that i ate half of them (spouse finishing them off).

the crab cakes were filled with crab! they had a very crisp outside which was a pleasure to crunch. my wife, who eats crab cakes at least half thetimeshe sees them on the menu said, "this is the way all crab cakes should be done." they were served with a mayonnaise tasting remoulade and a darker spicy (almost too much for me) aioli (see picture).

server was very pleasant, attentive, and guided us in making our selections. her by the glass wine suggestion was the less expensive cabernet sauvignon (2013 aviary cabernet- $9.75) was extremely pleasant. 2013 was a great year for napa cabernets !

we ate at the last resort grill on sunday nov 1. the food from the appetizer (fried green tomatoes) to the bread to the main dish (praline chicken) was all excellent! the waiter, although very nice and friendly, virtually forgot about us. we had to wait for everything! we would have stayed for dessert and coffee (because the dessert display looked amazing!!) but we just didn't have another hour to waste. will definitely return to this gem nexttimei'm in town, however.

pretty good. i've been onetimeand my experience was good. i wouldn't say it was a knock-out, but it wasn't bad, to be sure. i had their black bean burger and it was very good. the prices were a touch high, but i didn't pay, so i'm not sure how the total bill turned out.
i would suggest their cakes though, as they are from cecilia's and they are wonderful.

smaller to-go cake slices. one of the good thing about last resort is that they carry cakes from cecilia's. whenever i go there i'll always order a slice of cake after my meal. i usually just go for the cake, actually. however, i've been noticing that whenever i order a slice of cake to go, they're always much thinner than the slices i would get at the restaurant. sometimes it's just ridiculous. it's not a onetimeoccurrence, it's an everytimetype of situation. i don't appreciate getting smaller portions just because i don't see it until i get home. i feel cheated. it's the principle of the situation, not just the cake.

great food & service. food was great, service was great, greattimehad by our group of four. would recommend and will return on next visit to athens

6/8/13. my husband and i went on a saturday night at 5:30. we have lived in athens for 6 years, but this was our firsttimeeating there. we've always heard for tourists to go and we've seen lines out the door so we figured we should try it. we both enjoyed our meals- crab cakes and pecan crusted trout. i am from the lowcountry of sc where seafood is infamous. the crab cakes did not have a lot of fillers (bread) so you could really taste the sweatness of the crab meat. that was my favorite part of the meal. that and the cecilia's cake we took to-go. the only negative is that it took us 2-hours to eat there and we were seated immediately. we parked in a two-hour parking spot and we still went over ourtimelimit. thankfully, no ticket!

always worth the wait.... everytimei go to last resort i have an incredibly long wait, but i never mind. people watching outside is great, especially on a sunday, and on occasion when i have had extreme waits, the manager has sent over free appetizers to keep us happy! the food here is inventive and exceptional. i love the atmosphere and style of the restaurant. this is one of my favorite brunch spots in athens and i love their grits. unforgettable! you really can't go wrong with anything you choose here so if you're not a sourpuss and don't mind the wait, you won't be disappointed.

a favorite. one of my favorites, but be prepared to be there early or wait a longtimefor a table. if the weather is nice, it's worth the wait.

decent.. i won't deny that i regular this place once a month. i like the place for their efficiency and convenience to my location. the service is usually good. however, the space is a bit cramped - coming from a petite girl.

as for the food, it's good, but it's nothing spectacular. a few pasta dishes here and there. a random burrito type dish and other miscellaneous items. again, it's good, but it's just pasta. a solid complaint that i have about the food is their inconsistency in the preparation. my "regular" dish is different everytimei go there. i would have to tell my waitress how i want it, but even then it's up to the chef to do it for me or not.
it's just one of those places where you have to go to because everyone tells you to, but then you realize that it's just hype.

food's ok, but.... i've dined at this restaurant on and off over the years and it used to be one of my favorites. the food's ok but the lasttimewe took friends there i was just over the place. maybe it is my age...no tolerance anymore for overcrowded, elbow to elbow dining where you have to scream to have a conversation, then still can't be heard. can't stand the parking issues down town and hate standing in line, but i'm over 50 and fussy!!

good meal, slow service. a friend and i dined here last night, and i was surprised to see that this restaurant, which i had passed by for years thinking it was a sports bar, was actually one of the best restaurants in the area. we arrived at 6:10 and only had a 10 minute wait, but the house was already packed, and by thetimewe left, there were tons of people standing around waiting for tables. we started with the southwestern roll, which was basically a small burrito cut in thirds. it had chicken and jalapenos, cheese, sour cream and salsa. it was delicious. he then ordered the rockville pasta, which he said was delicious and had shrimp and fettucine with vegetables. i chose the salmon and grits, which had a generous filet on top of delicious grits with a caper cream sauce. both entrees came with a small house salad. my entree wasn't mind blowing or anything but still a good choice. nearly everything passing by our table looked extremely appetizing. we had a very nice server, who appeared to be attentive to us, but it still took probably 30 minutes to get our food. even with the wait, i still say this is probably one of the best restaurants in athens, and i would love to return and try other menu items or sunday brunch. their prices were very reasonable ($10-15 for an entree except for the specials), and their tea was excellent, not often the case in more upscale restaurants where it's not sweet enough if they offer sweet tea at all.