Tiny Lou's

We went with long time friends to Tiny Lou's this past Friday night prior to a Georgia Tech football game weekend.  The restaurant was on my radar, and then my adult "kids" went last weekend, and it then became a "must go-to" spot.  I lean toward anything French, and I heard the food was nothing short of spectacular, so, we went...

TINY LOU'S

789 PONCE DE LEON AVENUE NE

ATLANTA, GA  30306

470-485-0085

Menu here

We entered via uber the main entrance to the Hotel Clermont (which houses Atlanta's oldest strip club, the infamous Clermont Lounge).  The name is from a dancer at the lounge from the 1950s.

We were swiftly and hospitably and directly down a wide staircase to the restaurant.  There were 4 of us, so 6:00PM was the only time that I could grab on a week's notice (other than 8:30pm, which is too late when we were going to be tailgating EARLY the next day).

Anyway, our friends met us almost immediately after we arrived and we were seated.  The place was not crowded at first but within 30 minutes the place was crowed and bustling and loud.

Our server was fantastic - he arrived promptly and took our orders.  Throughout the evening he was present but not intrusive - high energy and his excitement over the menu items was infectious.  We couldn't wait to dig in!

NOT MY HULA HOOP!
Old Fourth gin, lime cordial, St. Germain, hopped grapefruit bitters

We started with ordering drinks, and I went with this yummy concoction (but substituted vodka since I abhor gin).  It was fabulous - not too sweet and ice cold.

Rooibos-infused Bahnez mezcal, vermouths blanc & rouge, Peychaud’s bitters, Herbsaint

 The bread plates feature a dancer from the Claremont Lounge:

For starters we began with the foie gras - OMG!  Having spent time in Paris sampling foie gras, THIS one might be my favorite!  The rich creamy texture is there, but there's a twist: a blue cheese flavor that cuts through the richness.  I could've eaten the entire thing on the delicious bread all night long!

 BLACK COCOA FOIE GRAS TORCHON . . . . Rainier cherries caline, toasted brioche

MAINE DIVER SCALLOPS. Potato mousseline, charred broccolini, espelette, dark chicken jus 

I am not a scallop fan, but - the other 3 at dinner loved this dish!

 Octopus appetizer - was absolutely DELICIOUS!

Unfortunately I didn't get a description that was adequate for this dish, but it was a perfectly prepared octopus.  There wasn't a bite left. It was a special menu item.

 BLUE FIN CRAB CREPE Black corn butter, tomatoes juliette, watermelon radish, watercress

LOVED this crepe!  Wow!  The photo doesn't do it justice!  We all devoured it! I could have had this dish as my main course.

 CAROLINA POULET ROUGE 
Cèpes, aligot, haricot verts, espelette

My photo is not good, but this chicken dish was killer!  And the rich mashed potato side was off the charts good!

 BLUE RIDGE TROUT ALMONDINE Haricot vert, capers, cipollini, toasted almond, almond milk, sourdough brown butter

Two of us got the trout and loved it.  Perfectly prepared fish, and that brown butter!  So so good!

BUTTER BEAN & CORN FRICASSEE 

Fabulous side of expertly cooked butter beans!

Tiny Lou's outstanding Old Fashioned: 

 The Aligot (mashed potatoes) - unreal!  Leave your diet at home, because this rich dish is killer!

PAN ROASTED GROUPER Potato confit, beech mushrooms, leeks, rouille bread crumbs,

sauce bouillabaisse 

This grouper is new on the menu (taking the place of the sea bass) and I didn't have any, but my husband loved it!

CHARRED BROCCOLINI béarnaise 

Not meaning to sound like a broken record here, but this dish also - expertly prepared!  The broccolini was just cooked so it wasn't limp, and the béarnaise was delish!

ODE TO BLONDIE 
brown butter blondie, curried bananas flambe, buttermilk ice cream, hazelnut cremeaux

Had to try this dessert (and "ode" to the Clermont Lounge's most famous stripper, BLONDIE)!  The blondies were perfect, but the hazelnut cremeaux was what set this dessert over the top.  It tasted like salted caramel to me (my current obsession).  So wonderful!

It was such a fun dining experience.  Cannot say enough about this restaurant.  We had a ball catching up with old friends in such a delightful Atlanta establishment.

After dinner we rode the elevator to the rooftop for an after dinner drink.  The sun had set unfortunately, BUT there are killer Atlanta views.  It was a mild weather night, and it was such a fun spot to mix and mingle.

THESE two! I don't think we stopped laughing the entire night....

Can't wait to find another excuse to come back to Tiny Lou's!  Top to bottom, it has catapulted to the top of my list of favorite spots to dine in Atlanta.  Loved it!