The Spence

Second visit in 5 months. Menu and wine list have changed. Chef changed just prior to our first visit. The first visit was a good experience. The second visit this past Saturday… well, it wasn’t so good. Actually, we were disappointed as I vetoed another restaurant in favor of this one.
Waitress was obviously schooled in pushing appetizers. Wine pours were a scant 3 oz. Mixed drinks were good but the fantastic Midtown Mule was absent from the drink menu.
Food was ok. Large beet chunks on bruschetta were not only functionally misguided but also resulted in a lack of flavor and texture balance. Pasta dishes were average. The mushroom risotto lacked depth.
The furniture is falling apart too. If the ownership formula was to extract cash and then move on to another project, then this restaurant has been a success.
I don’t think this place will last much longer. There are just too many other good options in Midtown.

If I had spent more time reading others’ experiences at The Spence, I most definitely would not have made a reservation here for my birthday dinner. As others have stated, this restaurant is clearly more miss than hit. The best part of the meal was the complimentary rolls with a whipped orange spiced butter. Come to think of it, all of their breads were quite delicious, but that was the end of it.
For starters, the artichoke dip was meh: I was hoping for that first bite to be rich and cheesy… and got rejection. The bagel chips that accompanied the dish were super thin and crisp. The beet tartine’s flavors were barely noticeable. It was so unmemorable, I’m having such difficulty remembering what I even tasted. I believe it had hints of parmesan and a light pesto sauce, but the beets almost tasted as if they were just boiled in salted water. Again, the toasted bread was pretty tasty.
The entrée portions were disappointingly small, particularly the duck breast as well as their pastas. I noticed they used medium sized bowls and plates to give off the illusion that your meal is bigger than it really is… And while the mushroom risotto was a decent sized portion, it had a sour buttermilk flavor that I was put off by. I ordered the duck rare and received it way overcooked (well done), but did not flag down our waiter for it to be taken back. I cleaned my plate in less than 5 minutes because the portion was so lacking. Considering my dish was almost twice as expensive as their pastas/​pizzas, I was expecting… a lot. At this point in my meal, I just wanted to enjoy my company and head out to another location for dessert rather than risk my time and wallet for more.
And finally, has anyone else been slightly frustrated in trying to figure out where to find this place is? You’d think they would want to advertise the restaurant with a sign that isn’t on tinted windows. I found the parking deck behind the restaurant due to sheer luck (a right on Abercrombie Pl NW if you’re coming from Spring St), but man oh man was it a headache to communicate with the rest of my party how to find The Spence.
Food brings memories to life, both good and bad. Unfortunately, this one will always leave me with a bad taste in my mouth.

We had issues, but the manager messages us right away, and addressed the issue. Definitely cares about the customer

I guess I will just never understand the appeal of this place. The food is weird just to be weird (bone marrow and cow brains??). This prices are crazy and my food came out on plates that were literally just stones or pieces of wood… Which was really strange. Maybe it’s trendy and cool but as a college kid I would think I was too!

My friend and I fly to Atlanta once a year just to eat at The Spence. In January 2015 we were pleased with the food, but in January 2016 something changed. Under Chef Kyle, The Spence has seemingly reverted back to its roots and taken a great leap toward finding the essence of the ingredients. Previous Chefs made diversions from this effort, which is a great turn off. The symbiotic relationship between the locally source ingredients and Chef Kyle’s «Southern French» flavors are a thing of beauty. So much so that we’ve decided to fly back at the end of January. Vino and proteins a bounty at The Spence.

The roasted beef shin bone with toasted crustini is an absolute must on the appetizer list. The marrow was extremely flavorful.
I had the Bronzino which I found to be perfectly cooked and spot on. The wait staff seemed a little puzzled at times and confused the drink orders but other than that I look forward to returning to see what else I can try there.

Great food with locally sourced ingredients, great service, awesome atmosphere… Best Brussel sprouts ever!

God the spence is so hit or miss! The steak was great, and their appetizers are always good, but some of their entrees need work! Bland tasting burger and the tomato bisque was pure yuck. There was also a rude hostess my most recent visit. Only 4 stars because great ambience, wine selection, and steak.

This is a difficult review to write. Normally, I’ll research places to go and so at least I’m expecting to review a business that I’d selected. In the case of The Spence, it was selected for me. I wound up hosting an informal ‘happy hour’ for a group in advance of some meetings planned for the following day. The arrangements were done by a corporate group, and I was a last-​minute replacement host. Hence, I had no real input into this selection.
The Spence is certainly a classy place. It was appropriate for the type of event we were holding. Service was good. Our large party was handled efficiently. Prices were on the high side, but not out of line for similar tier places in midtown. Parking was not effortless, but about as expected for the area — in a multi-​level parking garage about a block and a half away. I think The Spence validated the parking (it has been several months so I’m not certain anymore).
My disadvantage in the review is the food. We mostly got sets of appetizers and small plates in line with the informal gathering, so I don’t have a specific dish to review. Of the apps that I tried, none were bad. However, the menu here just wasn’t really to my taste. I don’t think I personally would opt to dine here. That’s not a slam, it just isn’t tailored to my tastes. For example — one appetizer was something like ‘marrow’. To me, that suggests images of hunter-​gatherers bringing down mammoths or buffaloes. Sure, if that was my lifestyle, I’d probably be a marrow-​fan. And for all I know, it’s fantastic even today. But I’m not really interested in finding out.
So my advice is: if the menu intrigues you, check this place out.

UPDATE: The Spence has changed menus and the restaurant isn’t associated with Richard Blais anymore. It was taken over by his sous chef. Menu is completely different. No bone marrow, oysters with pearls or anything mentioned in the previous reviews. The only thing I found that was the same were the buns served with lavender and mint butter and the brussel sprouts with thai vin. I was completely surprised when I arrived so I would like to convey the message «things have changed.»
The menu is more «tapas» style and has a wide variety of different flavors to offer. My boyfriend and I are big on sharing and selected the wings, smoked salmon salad, calamari, and blackened catfish tacos. Everything was generally good but I expected more for the great atmosphere and $$$ menu. I do have to say the calamari was terrible and I was raised on Cape Cod and know my seafood. It lacked flavor but maybe I’m used to the spicier version we have up north. It didn’t have the kick I was looking for.
As a tourist from out of town I was expecting to be wowed by a highly rated restaurant and enjoy a truly culinary experience. Unfortunately, I ended up leaving with a feeling that I over paid for mediocre appetizers from a fancy bar.
Of course I was only able to try a few things from the menu and there may be more to offer from the Spence. I don’t usually leave reviews and wanted to inform others about the management and menu update before you make your decision. Happy eating!

First off, this place is adorable. I love the feel of the restaurant.
95% of the food was strait up amazing. Some of the best I’ve had in while– brussel sprouts, creamed kale, aranchini stood out. The chicken was also amazing. So, so good! The drinks were excellent– I had something with whiskey, egg whites, lemon, it was delicious.
The only negative comments I have are– the short rib was not really a short rib. It wasn’t at all what I expected. It was good, don’t get me wrong, just not a traditional short rib. Also, the service was a little slow. There were hardly any tables sat, so it could have been a little quicker.
Last comment was that their open table clearly wasn’t working. Our reservation was originally for 4 people, tried to change it to 5 on open table and it said none available– which was obviously incorrect once we arrived.

I am a Top Chef nerd, so being in Atlanta I had to try Richard Blaise’s place. There were pros and cons, but on balance I’m very glad I went.
From good to bad, the pork belly and brussels sprouts were awesome, the steak tartare with chili oil was very good, the beef cheeks were tough, and the pasta with corned beef had too much pickle for my taste.
The hits here were well worth the misses. Even the misses were interesting. The unevenness is not surprising given both Blaise’s experimentalism and the fact that he seems to be rarely in the kitchen.

Overall 4.5÷5 (rounded up due to spectacular service)
Food 4.5÷5
Price ⁴⁄₅
Service ⁵⁄₅
Atmosphere ⁵⁄₅
Nutshell: A modern trendy slightly hipster vibed restaurant perfect for a date or nicer gathering event. They serve modern American food.
Food:
The warm brioche with lavender mint butter was unexpectedly delightful. Opened up our pallets. I just wish they gave you more bread. 1 bread = 1 person. Its a must try.
The Branzino (?) = seabass came with lightly dressed thai salad and cilantro. Keep in mind its a whole fish so there are bones in it so it can get messy. The fish was perfectly cooked and lightly simply seasoned with salt/​black pepper allowing the natural flavor of the fish to take over. The addition of a thai salad provided some acidity and earthy greens that compliments the dish well. Only critique is they should have a small portion of carbs as it feels too light for an entrée.
Price: Keep in mind this is more of a $$$ restaurant. Apps range 10 – 15, entrée 22 – 30. Given the price I expected the portions to be a bit bigger and not have to rely on getting a side for 7.
Service: Our server was professional and friendly. Did not feel that they were hovering. Water was always topped off. Plates were cleaned immediately. Cloth/​napkins were refolded. Manger even made rounds to make sure we were enjoying ourselves.
Atmosphere: Intimate, trendy, hipster, open kitchen bar, and tables well spaced. As a whole, this place is somewhat small and not located facing the street making it bit hard to find.

As an avid Richard Blais fan, I was so excited to see our hotel was right next to The Spence.
Service was disappointing. The restaurant appeared swamped despite being a little more than ½ full. We had 8pm reservations. It took about 10 mins to receive menus and water. Our waiter came by around 8:37 to take drink orders and appetizers. Then a gentleman who appeared to be the GM came by 8:47, seeing we still had our menus and took our entrée order. Though the little interaction we did have with the staff was pleasant and attentive. I think upping the frequency of check-​in would’ve made a world of difference; at times it felt like we were forgotten. The GM apologized that they ran out of gnocchi and offered a complimentary dessert.
We ordered:
Baked Georgia peaches with goat cheese and toast — omg so good. Comes in a little ramekin and you top it upon toast slathered with goat cheese and radish. It worked so well together. Really blended, one element didn’t over power any others.
Bone marrow with sweet potato and veg ceviche — unlike the peaches, the veg ceviche totally overpowered the bone marrow. It’s served as more of a relish on top of the bone marrow. Too acidic and killed the unctuousness of the bone marrow. Wished I didn’t waste the calories on this.
Branzino — Wow, really spectacular. Crispy, salty skin with well cooked fish. I was stuffed after this. Had a wonderful salad with peach and tomato on top. This has blown my previous whole fish experience out of the water.
Burger — Partner ordered this after we were told they ran out of gnocchi. Really thick patty, about 1 ¾ inches. It was a little overseasoned for me, leaning towards overly salty. Fries are more on the thick cut side, also a lot of salt (which I happen to like)
Korean creamed corn — nice bite to it! Topped on squash with ricotta, I think. Wish I didn’t order this with my main, just too full from the fish! It’s good as its own dish.
Butter cake — topped with stone fruit and goat cheese ice cream. Not bad. It was a fairly dense butter cake, served cold. They had run out of profiteroles that we originally wanted.
While I greatly appreciated the small gestures made by staff to accommodate the delay in service, some of the food did not meet expectations and combined with long waits just resulted in a disappointing experience. In summary, get the Branzino and anything with peaches in it.

Mindy Kaling came here when she was in town, so you know it’s not a bad spot to try.
Menu changes daily depending on what they’re feeling that day, which I can dig — keeps things fresh and different. Since it’s peak peach season, that was a prominent ingredient of the dishes we got. I think some items are regulars though — such as the bone marrow which I was told they are known for — and it did not disappoint. We also got their burger which was a little too salty.
We came here for a birthday dinner and brought a cake — and found out they charge an $ 18 cake cutting fee — a bit excessive in the opinion of everyone at my table, especially without even providing candles. They did do a nice job of slicing though. Maybe I should learn this as a skill.

First meal in Atlanta! This place is right across the street from Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. Opentable reservations, but wasn’t necessary as it wasn’t very busy on a Sunday night.
Place looks great. Service was very attentive and our server was pleasant and professional.
This is def that New American cuisine. Sharing plates. Small plates were around mid teens, big plates were upper 20s/​low 30s in price. Between two people, we ordered 1) gnocchi — small plate, it was ok/​good, but not a must try. The gnocchi was softer than what I am used to. It was presented in a bowl, but all the contents were shifted to one side, leaving half the bowl empty. I thought this was a pretty interesting way to present a dish. Turns out, they do that for other items too! Like where did the other half of my food go? Needless to say, portions are on the smaller end here. 2) lamb tartare — small plate, not very gamey which was good. There’s an Indian spice/​yogurt type of sauce on the side that I didn’t think complemented the lamb too well. I enjoyed the cucumbers in this dish though. Light. Very small portion. 3) Pork belly — small plate, this was good, except it was fried and some parts were a bit dry. Also the plate was adorned with beets! Love beets! Presentationally this was the best dish. There’s a beet/​yogurt paste on it that ends up being hot pink like it got splashed with paint. 3) Monkfish, big plate, sooo there are mussels in it which i love. The fish itself was too firm for my liking. Had it been a different fish that was less dense I would’ve enjoyed this more. 5) roasted cauliflower, side, pretty standard. Just trying to get some veggies in. 6) coffee and brown butter ice cream, coffee was good! But the brown butter one was too sweet and heavy, though it is a little more unique. Overall, food was all nicely presented, but nothing was particularly wowing. Check was ~$ 110 w/​tax and tip. Not the cheapest of meals, but not super expensive, not sure it was worth it for alright food.

My friend and I dined here for lunch on a Tuesday. I made a same-​day reservation just to be safe, but it probably wasn’t necessary as the restaurant was relatively quiet during our meal. We enjoyed very attentive, fantastic service. I think outside of their sandwich selections, there isn’t much variety for lunch choices, so I opted for «A simple green w a bunch of vegetables» and a bowl of their featured soup, tomato. The salad arrives on a beautiful plate, and really turns out to be a bunch of vegetables, but included a few surprises such as jalapenos and crispy fried onions. The dressing that the salad was tossed in was a bit salty for my preference, but the fresh, crisp variety of vegetables easily distracted me from the dressing. The tomato soup is poured into a large bowl at the table and ends up in a pool of croutons, radish, and other pickled vegetable surprises. The tomato purée is fresh and at times chunky, which is a great reminder that this bowl didn’t come out of a can. Again, the soup was a bit salty for my preference, but not overwhelming so. Overall, a quiet, charming lunch experience with delightful quick service. Can’t wait to come back!

Shout out to good friend Alex P of the Atlanta Unilocal Elite Squad, and Sasha, for a fantastic meal! Delicious food, assiduously attentive service, and wonderful company!
We started off with complimentary rolls of bread with coconut butter. The bread was soft and warm, and the coconut butter was creamy and tasty. We decided to order a number of small plates to share. Here’s a quick rundown:
— The sweet potato crème brûlée had a crunchy top layer that shielded a smooth, velvety mass, which would have been perfectly enjoyable as dessert, but also did well as a side in the main course.
— The brussel sprouts were among the most delicious I have ever had. They were quick fried, which gave them a nicely charred exterior, and drenched in a Thai chili vinaigrette with sliced onions, which struck a nice balance of sweet and spicy.

— The beef tartare was seasoned with chilaquiles sauce and crema, and topped with thinly sliced jalapenos and radish. It was served with tortilla chips rather than bread, which was delightfully unique.
— The endive tartine had a complex flavor profile lent to it by a combination of shortrib mousse, blue cheese, crushed pistachios, and citrus (segments of orange and lemon).
— The bone marrow was so tasty that I did not even need the bread to spread it on; just scooped it up with a spoon and ate it by itself. It was topped with tuna tartare and quail eggs.
After an outstanding meal, I am always wary that the dessert might be anticlimactic. The Spence proved me wrong in this instance. The desserts were just as splendid as the main meal. The blondie cake was paired with scoops of coffee ice cream and frozen caramel, and topped with pecans. The crispy choux, which was my favorite of the two desserts, consisted of creampuffs filled with choux cream, with light rose petal cream and a scoop of ice cream.
As I walked out of The Spence, I wondered if this was what true love felt like.

Had a great opportunity to visit The Spence this weekend with a fellow Unilocaler, Kashif, who suggested this spot. Absolutely amazing experience ranging from fantastic dish preparations to perfect service.
— BONE MARROW was prepared so well! Typically, bone marrow tends to be extremely fatty and even when the best oils are added, it tends to be overwhelming. Not the case here, tender, delicious and one of the highlights of the menu for me.
— SERVERS THAT MOVE LIKE A NINJAS. Unfortunately, I cannot recall her name, but our server was attentive, and very fast. When we were missing a plate for just a second, she noticed it, grabbed a plate in the blink of an eye and slid the plate into perfect position before we even noticed it’s missing. It was a also a great touch for her to check the cleanliness of wine glasses visually under lighting before putting on the table. Some of the best service I’ve ever received.
— BRUSSELS SPROUTS were also the best I’ve had. Such a great preparation, just the right amount of spice and salted very lightly.
— BEEF TARTARE was served in a very unusual fashion, on top of tortilla chips, with eggs, sliced jalapeños and cilantro. If you’ve read my reviews, you will know that anything with jalapeños and cilantro in the description will probably get an extra star just because I like them so much. However, this creative combination gets an easy five stars.
— DESSERTS were also spectacular and really wrapped up this whole experience. I am now convinced that you can’t go wrong with anything on their menu. Excellent, all around.

I’ve been to The Spence several times, both with friends and with colleagues. Each and every time, I have an amazing meal. The restaurant is always able to accommodate any size group and it has a really cool «feel» to it.
While I’ve tried many of the dishes, my tried and true selection is «mussels with brussels». I usually order the steamed mussels with red sauce from the small plates menu and pair it with a side of fried brussels sprouts. These sprouts are by far my favorite in Atlanta (and I try them at pretty much every restaurant where they are offered). I love the Asian influence with the Thain vinaigrette. The mussels are served in a broth that is to die for – I order extra bread just so I can sop it all up! These two dishes together are enough for a full meal. (Side note: the fries are delicious too!)
The waitstaff is always courteous and knowledgeable. I’d highly recommend The Spence to anyone considering the restaurant.

Excelente lugar, la comida, los tragos y el servicio. Definitivamente la proxima vez en Atlanta volveria a comer aqui.