Atlanta Restaurant Review: 1Kept
Guest Restaurant Entry: Caroline Ellison
Date/Time: Thursday, November 9th at 6:30pm EST
Address: 2293 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
Recently, my husband, Brian, and I moved back to Atlanta (from Boston), bought a townhome, got a new puppy, and I started a new job Monday! Needless to say, we were eager to get out of the house for a much-needed date night, and experience some great eats that Atlanta has to offer! We ultimately decided on 1Kept because we have heard good things from some friends of ours and it overall had good reviews online - I am big on what viewers and fellow restaurateurs have to say! Brian made a reservation for 6:30pm. We got there around 6:15pm and went down the winding road to get to the parking area of 1Kept. You then have to go up a set of stairs in order to get into the resetaurant. There were only two others in the restaurant when we arrived. The hostess sat us right next to them which seemed a bit odd as the entire restaurant was empty. Overall, the atmosphere of 1Kept has a laid back easy going feel with eclectic tones and interesting music (it seemed to Brian and I, however, that they were just playing the same track on repeat). It was a bit dark in the place but it went along with the feel of the place.
Our waiter, Linden, was extremely attentive and gave good advice and tips. We started with some cocktails to begin our evening. I had a the ‘Wheels Up’, a vodka drink, that was too sweet for my liking. Luckily, the waiter understood and presented me with a delicious glass of Pinot Grigio (at no charge). Brian had a ‘Sazarec’ with Bulleit Rye Bourbon that he said was satisfying.
For appetizers, we started with the ‘most popular’ item on the entire menu (according to our waiter), the Pimento Cheese Board. I completely understand why it would gain the title of most popular! Brian and I both could have had two of those and made it our meal and would have left extremely happy! The pimento was delicious, and it was paired with grain mustard, delicious buttered pickles, bacon jam (I personally do not like bacon but Brian loved it) and most importantly, the best bread we have both had in a really long time! I have always enjoyed a good charcuterie board, and the Pimento Cheese Board hit the spot! It makes a big difference if the bread is too hard/tough to bite down or it might be too crispy and crunchy and it may fall a part if you put anything on top of it! Believe me when I say, I have tried many different breads, and this tops them all! 1Kept chefs have provided the most decadent, buttery, lightly toasted, melt in your mouth bread that is out of this world! It went great with the pimento cheese and other toppers and my only complaint was they did not provide us enough!! We ordered more, don’t worry. :)
After feeling very satisfied after our appetizer round, we decided on entrees. I went with the Salmon dish ( usually always go for Salmon at restaurants) and Brian chose the Pork Chop (recommended by our Waiter). For the first few bites, I could hardly taste the Salmon flavor because of how SALTY the fish was. On top of that, they put the salmon on sort of a variety of different tomato broth and fregola that was okay but nothing to get excited about an ultimately way too salty. I would not order this again. Brian’s Pork Chop was alright, but he too mentioned that the dish was quite salty. There was also some sort of baked bean lentil component that threw him a bit with the dish.
In conclusion, if you are thinking about going to 1Kept, I would recommend going to the trendy front bar and getting a glass of wine or a fun cocktail and definitely try the Pimento Cheese Board! We were also told that the flatbreads are popular, and based on our experience with the bread, would be inclined to agree! I wouldn’t recommend staying for a full intimate dinner with your plus one only because I felt it was too loud with sitting us right next to another twosome and the music and it was not worth it to take the time there to order entrees.
For the 1Kept management, I would recommend turning up the lighting slightly, adding a couple more entree options, and taking a look at your music playlists. Overall, though, great staff, great appetizers, and good alcohol selections!
Cheers and Happy Eating!
Pics from our evening:
