BeetleCat

I’m now at the beetle cat pub and am seriously disappointed with the degree of service and professionalism. In the past hour, I Have viewed bartenders float torch each other, poke each other with tongs, and one female bartender scratch her naked belly with both her hands and not wash them. All of the while, I was watching and waiting for service. When I did receive service, I was billed for more cocktails than I ordered for one order. I ‘m more than willing to give a brand new organization an opportunity to work out their procedure and routine however in regards to a ford fry company, these should not be conducts a customer witnesses or has to remark on. I really like the space, music, and offering to the area but expect that standards are addressed so that beetle cat is on level together with the other eateries in the region and in ford frys portfolio.

Everything was delicious! Started with the octopus dip and sweet potatoes both were served quickly and tasted amazing. After that, tried the lobster roll (must say one of my all time favorites) and the tostones. Just when I thought it couldn’t get better ordered the brownie sundae and coconut pie and WOW great way to end a perfect meal. I thought i didn’t like pie before but the Coconut pie is a MUST TRY!!!

Decent food, decent drinks, sub-​par service. My boyfriend and I dropped by fairly late on a Sunday evening, so not much of a crowd to contend with. We seated ourselves downstairs in the «den» at a four top table (two tables pushed together before we arrived). We didn’t see an issue with this, as we wanted to sit beside each other and spotted at least 5 open two tops around us. Our waitress came over to drop off menus, and started moving one of the tables away from us, saying it was restaurant policy to keep tables open for other guests. We protested a bit, saying that we saw many other open tables, and it was an hour before closing. We would not have objected to consolidating had the restaurant been at all busy, or if she had even asked nicely. She relented, and then never returned to our table.
We were ultimately served by another waitress, who took our oyster order, only to return and say she’d given us yesterday’s menu. Everything was different, and we had to re-​select our oysters. We also ordered salt and pepper squid and the moqueca stew. The squid and the stew arrived first. Both were tasty — squid’s texture was spot-​on and the spicy coconut flavors complimented the perfectly cook seafood in the stew. However, both dishes are quite spicy and essentially killed our palates before the oysters arrived. I would have expected oysters to be served first.
With so many other excellent options in Atlanta, decent food just isn’t enough to gain my repeat business. BeetleCat does not seem customer focused. Their no reservations policy and the requirement to start a tab in a fairly relaxed, sit-​down environment reek of manufactured exclusivity. It was as if we were lucky to be allowed to eat there.

Oh god! Here comes another Concept.
You know things aren’t going to go well when the first thing the waiter does is announce that this is a Tasting Experience so don’t expect entrees to be, you know, dinner. And he’s right. You’ll spend stacks of money and walk away hungry. Our waiter may have been special, but he had to make three separate trips before he successfully retrieved menus. I had the lobster roll, mediocre, and Korean Wings, bizarrely soy heavy. My wife and stepson had the swordfish, which was comically tiny. Good luck parking. No lot and no valet.
Oh, and also, EXTREMELY LOUD and designed to be so with nothing but hard surfaces everywhere in sight.

Food is good here, but I’m not sure I would say it was fully worth the (insane) wait. Skip the shosito peppers, get the cabbage salad (yum!). Beau got the flounder (eh, dry), I got branzino (very, very good). As per other reviews, skip the squid (very oily). Beau likes the shrimp and rice — though the rice was a little dry for me (sensing a theme here? Lol). I also got baked oysters which were delightful.
It would be awesome if this place would take reservations! I kinda think they purposely don’t do they have the illusion of exclusivity. After being told there was a 45 min wait, we decided to hang out at the open seating, first come, first serve bar area downstairs. Thankfully we got seated. Service was good… tho u could tell our server was slammed. Downstairs is pretty dang loud… but overall. okay experience center.

I loooove everything about BeetleCat! The food, the drinks, the atmosphere. Everything is on point at this place. I’m so glad to have a restaurant in Inman Park that I can get stoked about.
You must try the late night menu. After a few drinks at Victory you can pop over and refuel with the late night menu. Order one of everything. My favorites are the wings and the salt and pepper squid. We also tried the «painkiller punch» not sure if thats the right name. But it tasted like a tropical beach.
When I found out Andrew Isabella the executive chef was going to be here, I knew we were going to have a new favorite spot. He has nailed everything.
I’m going to go next week for my anniversary, I know there is no way we will be disappointed.

BeetleCat! BeetleCat! BeetleCat! (All I could think of when I heard the name)
After a walk down the belt line, my boyfriend and I stopped in around 7pm on a Thursday. The weather was perfect so we sat at the communal table on the upstairs patio. BeetleCat offers two patio sections, a full bar area («The Den»), and a sizable in doors, restaurant space all of which are perfectly decorated with a vintage, nautical look.
I started with the Fish House punch, which was refreshing, interesting, and delicious. I would absolutely order it again. We were curious about several options on the menu and our waiter, Jameson, could not have been more helpful. He sold the salt and pepper squid to us as «how calamari should be» and he was right. Probably the best I’ve ever had. I ordered the lobster roll, which seems to be a very popular item… and for good reason. The bun was filled to the brim with delicious lobster and served with an aioli and lemon wedge. John had the lupe de mer, which was small, but packed with flavor. If you are especially hungry, I’d recommend ordering a side with the fish.
BeetleCat is another win for Inman Park and I can’t wait to try more things on the menu.

Late Night Review: I’m a big fan of Ford Fry and the different late night menus that he offers in the city, so I came to try his new seafood joint. The late night service happens in the bottom floor, complete with its own bar and DJ. Given the location and the time we came, it was a packed house with its limited seating. However, it was a easy to grab drinks from the bar and we were eventually able to get a table. Once seated, our server quickly hooked us up with our drinks and food. I ordered the punch and also the chicken sandwich, both of which blew my expectations.

Came here with a friend for drinks and dinner. The place was very crowded on a Thursday night. Atmosphere was very cozy and cute.
We sat at the bar. The bartender was very friendly and helpful. The menu has a very limited selection. I thought the food was a bit overpriced for the serving size that you get. The food was very good. The wings

I love the patio in the back! It’s a great place to catch up with friends. We had a fairly large group and the servers were quite attentive, which we appreciated.
As for food, I had the lobster roll which came on a buttered toasted bun, lots of lobster, and some aioli sauce. It was good though not as delicious as some of the other lobster rolls Ive had in the past!
I cant wait to go back and try the beef tartare!

Yummy salt and pepper shrimp, conch fritters and now to the Oysters! Great service from Tim, too

Oysters
Beef tartare
Kale salad
Korean wings
NY strip & escargots
Lobster roll
All were excellent!
The service was excellent as well. The only thing I wish I could change is that they had an actual bar upstairs. The downstairs bar had a «frat» feel to it. It was getting late on a Saturday night so that kinda makes sense. We got there around 930 so we didn’t sit til around 10.
We will definitely be back!

I’ll make this quick and simple.
SERVICE: FLAWLESS
ATMOSPHERE: FLAWLESS
FOOD: very very delicious. Though the portion is that of a baby, but hey… it’s buckhead and it’s a high class restaurant or whatever, besides, it’s seafood. Try the dessert too!

I have been a bit loco over Kale Me Crazy acai bowls lately and got to stare at BeetleCat and wonder what the hell it was. The outside logo reminds me of a retro bowling alley.
I would like to start by saying I think I would’ve enjoyed my experience much more upstairs, at the raw bar perhaps. Downstairs had a strange vibe.
No one was there to seat you so we assumed you seat yourself. However I’m more of a bar person so we waited for a couple seats to open up.
The food was really good.
We had two different kinds of oysters, they give you a sheet with a little pencil to write it in. I didn’t realize that so when I went to order the bartender told me to write it down.
Kind of felt like a waste, getting four of two different kinds seemed like an easy order to me. No worries
We also ordered the clams. They had a very Asian twist. Spicy, saucy, soy etc. very tasty.
Honestly the biggest turn off here wasn’t the food or even the ‘yacht boat from the 70’s décor & vibe.
The bar staff just was off.
Three or four bartenders and only one acknowledged us.
We had to ask if we could order because they weren’t going to ask if we wanted anything else.
I wanted to get a different vodka for my martinis maybe something I’d never had before.
I was directed to the display of vodka bottles behind him with a finger and a ‘those are what we’ve got.‘
Er, ok. Kettle it is I guess?
I’m a bar person, even on an anniversary or birthday.
I would not come back to this one.
It’s not like we wanted special attention. Just something, anything.
A sense of welcome?
Some banter?
Helpfulness?
A desire to possibly up sell?
I’m a total sucker. All you have to do is suggest something and I’ll probably get it. Nothing here. Kinda disappointing.
I wanted to like this place so much…

This is a great small plate restaurant. Let’s start from the beginning. When you first walk in, you are greeted by a hostess that asks you if you’d like to sit upstairs or downstairs. If you enter through the main entrance, you may think there’s an upstairs, but actually your already there, so keep that in mind when you choose. If you pick downstairs, you are led to an area called the den and that’s exactly what it looks like. To get to the point, upstairs is more dressy and the Den is very chill. The best part is, both sections share the same menu.
My experience: We decided to visit this place on valentines day! It was a great choice because its low key and it wasn’t super busy. We ordered couple of oysters as our starters. The oysters were served with crackers and three sauces (tasty!). However, they charge you per oyster. For the entrée, I chose the curry shrimp and it was delicious! Just the right amount of curry, shrimp and rice. FYI, the shrimp tails are left on in this dish. My boyfriend got the New York Strip,…that melted in my mouth, along with escargot that was very flavorful.
The food was really good and worth every penny. Just remember, they’re small portions so you will need to order alot if you want get full.

A couple friends and I went here for dinner before a show at the Variety Playhouse. I was the first to arrive and ordered the Tostones «snack» for an appetizer. This was a good choice, and I think I couldn’t eaten the whole thing by myself… but maybe I was just really hungry.
Because of traffic we ended up being a little rushed, but our server was able to get our food to us very quickly, and we still made our show on time. I had the shrimp which was served over rice with some peppers in an asian-​inspired stir fry sauce. It was good but very full of garlic, and I sadly did not bring a mint. So, that was kind of sad for afterward.
The interior of this restaurant is pretty cool, with an upstairs and downstairs dining room as well as an oyster bar. The walls are lined with long booths with small tables and wooden chairs for booth-​sitters’ companions. The tables have little paper menus that are cleanly nautical and I’d say vintage-​inspired.
While over all my experience here was a good one, I will say there are a few cons. Firstly, the waitstaff was so attentive that it was hard for my dining companions and I to carry on a cohesive conversation. Secondly, they are pretty serious about the «sharing menu» idea, so if you order something just for yourself (which each of us did because one of us wanted a sandwich), then you get the feeling you’re doing it wrong. Lastly, they really seem to want you to order their cocktails. That’s great if you’re in the mood, if not, then… you know. It’s not great.
Three Stars for BeetleCat. The food is good. Go ready to share and have a cocktail.

WOW; that’s all I have to say.
But that’s not acceptable on Unilocal,so I’ll elaborate. :)
My friend and I decided to try out this new edition in Inman Park, right across the street from Pure and Barcelona. The décor is not really my «thing» (I prefer a more modern/​industrial feel), but the retro 70’s boat interior works for an oyster bar. The dining room is pretty spacious and the seating is first come, first served. This worked well for a rainy Thursday evening because we immediately got a table, but I can imagine the wait might not be so conducive on the weekend. The tables are pretty close to one another, but not to the level of Barcelona or most sushi restaurants, where you’re uncomfortably close.
The frequently updated menu was not extensive and there was only a very minimal selection of wine, but the food was amazing. The dishes are tapas style – small plates intended for sharing. I went with the kale salad and tuna crudo, while my friend opted for the sweet potato and salt & pepper squid.
I cannot say enough about the kale salad – I could eat it all day long. All of the flavors just kept building on each other and I couldn’t eat it fast enough. The combination of kale, roasted squash, pepita brittle and marinated feta was outstanding. This dish was, in my mind, the standout of the night.
The tuna was also delicious. I’m a huge fan of Thai food and was not disappointed with this Thai-​inspired dish. The thinly-​sliced raw tuna was served with a Thai herb salsa verde, green papaya, peanuts, jalapeño and crispy shallots. The dish was light, fresh and full of flavor.
I didn’t try my friend’s squid, but I did sample the sweet potato – again, very rich in flavors and something I would order on my own.
I can’t wait to visit again and try some other dishes, mainly the oysters.

I went once about a week after it opened. The scene for now is for sure the subterranean Trader Vic style which is downstairs. the 8 Track player plays, and some of the familiar Ford Fry staff are working the Bar. By the time I left to catch my 8PM Knicks game, the downstairs was jammed packed, all tables and bar seats full. Upstairs, just had two of their roughly twenty tables occupied.
Props to the bar for having a great assortment of craft beer at resonable prices ($ 5 – 6 for 12 – 14 oz pours), the cocktail menu was nice as well. We also tried the House Punch, which was stiff! Food wise, it was Stone Crab Claws, Shrimp over Sticky Rice, The raw Hamachi, and the Kale Salad. Hands down the Shrimp over Sticky rice was the star here. Next time, likely this upcoming week, I will be going and trying the Moqueca Soup.
As I have said many times, in person and on my reviews. Ford Fry is the guy who gets it. A compelling mix of new and old on menus, coupled with alluring atmospheres makes his joints winners. I am amazed, or shall I say troubled, as to why so many other Atlanta Restaurateurs can’t seem to get this formula. Props to Ford Fry for getting it right.

Great space! Love the décor here.
I highly recommend:
MOQUECA SOUP day boat fish, coconut, plantains, yucca, sticky rice, jalapeño, cilantro, cashews
SALMON lightly smoked roe, yogurt cheese, rye bread crumbles, dill
TUNA Thai herb salsa verde, green papaya, peanuts, jalapeño, crispy shallots
And of course the oysters!

Beetle Cat, Beetle Cat, Beetle Cat!
A group of us food crawled over here upon the curiosity of a friend. Upon entering, you’re hit with a retro interior fashioned to mimic a boat with your cozy below deck quarters and a stunning and airy upper deck dining room.
Impressed as we were of such fine things, but feeling anti-​social, we walked back downstairs into a quirky nook hiding halfway between floors on the stairway.
BC’s menu is compact, but covers a lot of ground. We were instructed that there wasn’t an hierarchy in which the food came out, and the plates were favorably to be shared, but you could totally go ham on some salt & pepper squid all to yourself. No judgement.
Our order: Tostones, baked oysters, (raw section) salmon, salt & pepper squid, (shellfish section) Shrimp, (raw section) tuna.
Those menu item names aren’t terribly imaginative, but the flavors were composed well.
The tostones came with a lightly spicy mayo and the plantains themselves had a dash of salt & vinegar applied. Baked oysters were one of the favorites we had. Really packed with flavor. The count is 3 oysters per plate. Salt & pepper squid was really good. Squid was tender & not chewy, amazing flavor, and all around good! Definite recommend. Also good portion.
Salmon from the raw section of the menu: Salmon was so-​so, but overall good. Very reminiscent of a deconstructed lox bagel.
Shrimp bowl: Rice plus a sweet stir fry of shrimp with peppers. Had a little fire to it. Amazing flavor, but nothing particularly unique to it.
If you like oyster bars with a nautical, but retro flavor then do try it out. Beetlecat is an imaginative, uniquely designed restaurant with good eats and chill atmosphere.