Toulouse

I went to Toulouse because it was one of the highest-​ranked restaurants in Atlanta on Unilocal.I don’t know what y’all are talking about, because this was pathetic. I really hope we went on an off night, because it was a pretty terrible meal.
The restaurant is a little hard to find. It’s in the back of what looks like a strip mall, and it was hard for us to figure out where we were supposed to park — we accidentally ended up in a valet lot. Whups. I’d been warned about this by other reviews, but being there it was still hard to figure out where we were supposed to go.
The staff were very friendly and it seemed like they wanted to be helpful, but service was just off. We were surprised that the restaurant was almost completely empty on a Saturday night, and the host basically told us that we could sit wherever struck our fancy. The restaurant had a casual, homey feel — until you went to the bathrooms downstairs, where it felt like someone’s old crappy basement. I seriously considered whether I’d accidentally ended up somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be.
The food was very underwhelming. I started with the baked goat cheese, which came wrapped in phyllo dough with a tapenade. The dough-​to-​cheese ratio was way too high, there was an odd spire of crunchy phyllo sticking out of the top of my cheese that there really was no good use for. The tapenade was good with the cheese, but there was WAY too much of it. For an entrée, I had the sauteed pork loin with apple caramel sauce. This turned out to taste like a pork chop with ice cream topping. The caramel was seriously that sweet. It was disgusting. I thought «apple caramel» would mean there would be apple flavors and some sweetness, maybe some glaze or apple cider vinegar marinade, but I never imagined my food would taste like someone had mistaken my meat for an ice cream sundae. Luckily the mashed potatoes were good, because the sauce rendered the pork literally inedible.
Another thing we noticed while we were dining was that the staff kept using a microwave in the kitchen. My cousin, who is a professional chef, was appalled. Every time we heard the beeping go off, she looked like she was about to have a heart attack. Seriously, dudes in the kitchen, if you’re going to use a microwave — at least turn off the sound! By the end of our meal, we were laughing hysterically every time the timer went off.

I took a friend’s suggestion and had my birthday dinner at Toulouse. I couldn’t have been happier.
Everyone’s meals were delicious. My braised lamb shank was melt-​in-​your-​mouth good, and the vegetables somehow bridged the gap between upscale cuisine and a homestyle comfort food stew.
The restaurant was very accommodating of my one-​year-​old nephew and a last-​minute change to our party. Our server was thorough, professional, and kind. I could barely eat the slice of dessert they brought at the end for my birthday, but I couldn’t resist. You will not go home hungry here.
As diners, we’re usually very good at finding the hottest, newest spots. This place has been here for years, and there’s a reason — yet I’d driven by dozens of times (often to newer, less worthy restaurants) without giving it a thought. This is Atlanta dining at its best — casual quality in a beautiful, if unconventional, space. I will definitely return.

Was in Atlanta for a weekend and wanted a nice dinner. Place was very nice! Food was Excellent!!! My only issue was that the Portions were MASSIVE! Maybe I’m not used to «Southern» portions, but I could barely finish my soup and the entrée had filled me up after a few bites.
Definitely a place to go when you want HUNGRY-​MAN-​GOURMET-​COMFORT-​FOOD. The Pork was EXCELLENT!

I went here tonight and took out a group of customers to celebrate a good year. It was a Monday night, so it was pretty empty, but it was a great experience.
Starting off, the décor was cozy (great first date place), and the walls were covered with paintings by Steve Penley (vibrant, pop-​artish sort of guy). Wines are very reasonably priced, especially for such a classy place. Tons of great bottles around $ 27 – 35.
For appetizers, we had the goat cheese baked in filo dough, served with green apples and kalamata olive spread. Risky, but it was perfect. For dinner, I had the crawfish/​andouille sausage crêpe, drizzled with some type of cajun sauce. Again, great. We skipped dessert because we were stuffed, but the waitress brought each of us a little to-​go baggie of their homemade apple-​cinnamon mini-​muffins, which gave her major points.
I didn’t order it, but everyone who had the wild mushroom ravioli went nuts over them, so I guess I would recommend it. In short: great restaurant that I think gets overlooked among the latest hip, flash-​in-​the-​pan restaurants that open daily in ATL.
Recommended for: first dates, celebration dinners, birthdays.

I returned with a few friends since they had heard Heather B. and I rave about this place from Unilocal Eats week.
We sat down and little did we know ALL BOTTLES of wine were $ 16. We ended up getting a $ 60 bottle of wine for only $ 16. That alone is worth five stars! Kidding!
The food was delicious! I got another dish that did not disappoint. We also started with lettuce wraps that were better than any Thai place around. Once again, we got top notch service and top notch food!

YES YES YES! I absolutely love this place with all my heart and soul! First went here during Unilocal eats week. Finally made it back a few months later and all I can say is OMG! Everything is perfect I have now had the pleasure of trying a few things on the menu and with each thing I try I am not disappointed.
My favorite dish is the Wild Mushroom Ravioli, I have a craving for that dish at least once a week. It is one of the best things I have ever tasted. The wine list is super extensive and there is bound to be something to please everyone at the table. They also give each person at the table a dogie bag after the meal of AMAZING mini carrot muffins!
The atmosphere is absolutely amazing and both times I went it felt like I was in a whole different world. I have never seen the place packed (which is a-​okay with me) and it is very dimly lit and romantic! Perfect date night spot. Or even a great place to put back a few glasses of wine with your friends.
I can’t wait to take my husband here! I also can’t wait to go back. Toulouse, I don’t know what it is but you are always on my mind!

A constant gourmet delight. Somehow Toulouse knows how to keep the place cozy as if you are dining at someone’s house. Only better because no one needs to clean up the dishes, just enjoy desert!
Sundays they have their wine tasting nights where they do an amazing job in presenting the wines and the people are fun.
My only critique is that they really need to update their light fixtures. It would make all the difference!
Last thing is that the waitstaff hands you a yummy bag of fresh muffins for the morning after.

Almost 4 stars, but not quite. I would say it’s a definite 4 stars if you’re only counting the décor (loveeeee the paintings!) and overflowing wine wine wine wine. The food, in my «professional» opinion, was alright, not terrible but not spectacular either. For the price tag, I’ve had better. Had the pouched salmon (about $ 19). However, I will say that in comparison to other similarly priced restaurants, Toulouse by far provided extremely generous portions. I was actually really surprised by how much food came out! Needless to say, I certainly failed to clean my plate.
Bread is hot and yummy and chewy… Kind of like the homemade bread my mom made when I was a kid.
Incredible wine selection, almost overwhelming, but there are a lot of wines that were just plain icky (sorry, I don’t know what the proper wine adjectives are… lol). Or, maybe our server just wasn’t much of a wine connoisseur. Speaking of the server, I’d say he did a decent job of handling 13 girls, all there for a 21^st birthday party (you can imagine there were some moments of obnoxious-​ness in this classy place — oops).
Plenty of back parking.
Might try again if the opportunity presents itself.

My boyfriend and I came here for Valentines day dinner. The setting was very romantic and peaceful. There were wines everywhere (they have a great wine collection).
The service was awesome. Our waitress was very attentive.
As for the food, it was just okay. The appetizer was the best part of the meal. We ordered the Potato & Gorgonzola Fritters with horseradish dipping sauce. I ordered the Buffalo Meatloaf Served Over Mashed Potatoes with a Veal Jus, Roasted Tomatoes and Wild Mushrooms. This dish was rich with flavor. The tomatoes were a bit spicy, to my favor. I loved my dish. My boyfriend ordered the Sautéed Pork Loin with Apple-​Caramel Sauce, Rosemary Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Squash. This dish was too sweet. The two thin strips of pork were not filling. The squash didn’t look very appetizing.
Good things about this place are:
–a lot of free parking spaces in the back
–great service
–not that expensive for an upscale restaurant
–good food :)

I had some pretty good food recently at Toulouse, but I was in the unfortunate position of having ordering envy for every course — in other words, I thought what I ordered was okay while what my date ordered was much better.
For appetizers, I ordered the «eggless» caesar salad, and my date ordered the tomato & basil soup. The caesar was nothing special, while I really enjoyed the soup. My entrée was the Lamb Shank and his was the Wild Mushroom Ravioli with chicken. My lamb was good but I thought it had a somewhat one-​dimensional savory flavor profile. Again, I thought the ravioli would have been better (although the added chicken seemed to be kind of a throwaway just to have a protein option).
For dessert, I wanted to order the Cherry Walnut Crunch, but they were out. He ordered the Crème Brulee, and I unenthusiastically ordered the Flourless Chocolate Cake. I wasn’t so enthusiastic because every place tends to have it and it’s often too rich after dinner for me, but nothing else they had that day appealed to me. Anyway, the cake wasn’t as rich as some — which I definitely appreciated — but it wasn’t particularly memorable either, while the Crème Brulee was just excellent.
Also, on that night, their billing system was haywire for some reason and each bill was taking 20+ minutes to come out. They comped us our desserts for the trouble. So, somewhat of a frustrating experience from my perspective, but I’m giving this place a 4 because I really liked some of their food, just not what I ordered. Besides the food, the place has a great wine selection, the service was good and they were gracious to comp our desserts without asking. Also, their prices are quite reasonable (their most expensive entrée is less than $ 25) and the atmosphere is relaxed and upscale without being too fancy.

First came here for Unilocal Eats Week last summer. I thought it was delicious and loved the atmosphere– loft-​y, great lighting, and cool paintings on the walls. Open kitchen and giant bar area where you can see all the wines– they are known for their reasonably priced but amazing selection.
I visited again last night with my boyfriend and dad, who was in town for the weekend. Here is the roundup of my 4-​star review:
–4 stars for the beginning of our Toulouse experience:
We made reservations for 7 at
earlier in the day. We called at 6:40 and said we were running slightly late. Person on phone said «Well we have a packed restaurant tonight.» We said, ok, we’ll hurry. We get there— no hostess to speak of, no people in the restaurant. I finally have to find the bartender to ask where she is. No explanations. He just leads us to our table (terrible poorly lit corner table). My dad and I request a better table in the corner of the restaurant, we move. I calm down slightly when seated. Still bizzaro start to dinner!
+1 star for good bread that came pretty quickly
+2 stars for nice waitress
+5 stars for GREAT food and wine.
We had the pork rollotini on special, my fave wild mushroom ravioli, and the fresh trout., and the Lockwood chardonnay. All the entrees were spot on, perfect serving sizes, great presentation, all in all adding up to a party in my mouth. I remembered finally why I loved this place to begin with. Got the dessert sampler and coffee to finish up– not a huge fan of the bread pudding but the flourless chocolate cake and crème brûlée were decent. We were sent off with little goodie bags of muffins as well. very cute touch!
I walked away pretty happy with the experience– just need selective memory in the future to erase that disastrous beginning (Talk about bad customer experience, Toulouse!).
P. S. For being an upscale restaurant, it really is NOT that expensive. Promise.

I would never have stopped at Toulouse if a friend of mine hadn’t taken me there. The street facing side of the building (next to Imperial Fez, between Midtown and Buckhead) looks pretty ghetto, especially for the north side of town. But if you follow the directions and drive around to the back, there is a delightful little balcony (think Babbette’s) and a cozy and delicious restaurant. It feels homey, french-​ish, and artsy.
The seasonal menu was delicious and I will remember the andouille and craw-​fish crêpe I ate last night for the rest of my life. The owner is an avid wine enthusiast and they have a wine committee which tastes and selects all the wines before they make it to the menu. Each item on the menu also has a suggested wine, making a tasty choice easy even for the discerning guest of limited wine study.
The prices are also very reasonable… certainly nothing shocking and the portions were the right size, not overwhelming… but still plenty of food. I am a major fan and will become a regular!

I have lived in Atlanta for five years, and I would have never stopped at Toulouse except for a personal recommendation. It’s amazing how much parking out front gets folks in the door.
Even so, once you found the place on Peachtree Rd, it was a piece of cake. A drive around back to the parking lot, up the stairs, and you walk into a very nice well lit restaurant. The service was prompt and attentive, and the food was very good.
I liked that the wine pairings made sense for the meal and were tasty, yet didn’t force you to order the most expensive bottle on the list.
The dining room was a little quiet for a Wednesday night, but I think there was a wine tasting in one of the private rooms. The hardwood floors carry sound, so my date and I did feel our voices carry a bit.
I think the walls were a little bright to earn a spot in any top five Romantic places in ATL list, but it was very cute and I had a wonderful evening there.

I’m really surprised that this place wasn’t more crowded on a Saturday night. I guess it really is an undiscovered gem in Atlanta. It does look unassuming from the road, but it’s definitely worth the trip.
They apparently have really great wine tastings here and the wine list is impressive (on the back they even list the people on their wine list committee!). I had an Italian pinot grigio and was very pleased with its crisp flavor.
I started my meal off with a plain, field greens salad (just tomatoes and lettuce). My date had the goat cheese pocket — it had goat cheese in the center and was baked in filo dough with apples on the side. There was also an olive tapenade on the apples. It was a lot of cheese, but tasted good and was nice to add to the salad.
We both ordered off the seasonal menu for the entrees. I had the pork rolls served atop spinach with a rich & creamy butter sauce. It was delicious, decadent and very filling. My date had the pot roast with cheddar & rosemary mashed potatoes. The pot roast was a touch dry, but still very tasty. The rosemary gave the potatoes a really unique and pleasant flavor.
Unfortunately we ran out of room for dessert, but maybe next time. Overall, the price was reasonable. The patio seating is something I’d like to try in warmer temps, so yet another reason to return. Service was pleasant as well. Probably the only complaint would be the noisy people next to us, but that wasn’t the restaurant’s fault.

Able-​bodied people will rate Toulouse higher, as they should. However, my wife uses a wheelchair, and we had several problems related to accessibility.
FIRST, although there is a ramp and door leading to a lift, the door is not marked as being related to Toulouse (there’s just a wheelchair icon). I had to holler up at the balcony to learn there was a lift at all.
SECOND, the wheelchair-​accessible door was padlocked. Oddly, this didn’t present much of a problem for me because I didn’t know it was padlocked. I opened it with a tug, looked in, and headed back to the car to assure my wife that yes, there was a lift. As I walked to the car, a man appeared in the doorway and demanded to know who had broken into his restaurant. Apparently the padlock was attached to a wooden door with half-​inch-​long screws, and I’d mistaken a badly secured door for a sticky door. I told him it had felt a bit sticky, and he went on about the screws.
For the record: I exert more force closing my bathroom door, which certainly is sticky, than I did in opening that door. Also, no locked door is accessible, and it’s surely an exit important to the fire marshal, so I was totally reasonable in assuming the door was unlocked. It SHOULD have been unlocked.
THIRD, the lift is slower than ass, barely large enough for one person, and would make anyone feel claustrophobic. We were told that OSHA regulations forbade them from making the lift any faster. I’ve got to wonder how the elevators at Lenox Square Mall are permitted to go so quickly; in the time it takes to go up or down one floor, you could go from the top of the mall to the bottom of the food court, and back again, twice. I’m totally not kidding. Clearly it’s POSSIBLE to have an elevator that doesn’t suck – Toulouse just hasn’t installed one.
[I’ve chosen to remove comments about a special event, focusing only on what I think is likely to be an issue for any disabled patron of Toulouse on any night.]

Absolutely perfect.
It seems a few people were turned off by the sort of secretive back entrance, I found that to be endearing!
The service was phenomenal. I took my girlfriend there for Valentine’s dinner and there couldn’t have been a more romantic place to dine. They have a side nook with two and four person tables if you want some quiet and a larger main dining area for the bistro/​restaurant feel.
The food was delicious and had good sized portions. My soup was very rich, I’m not sure how great of an appetizer it would be since it more than adequately filled me. Being that it was Valentines and we’re a couple of students, the server gave us a delicious chocolate cake. So very rich and scrumptious.
I’ll definitely be recommending this place to my friends and recommending it to you!

Wow, for as long as the place has been around, I would have expected more reviews.
I went last night for a special wine tasting event. They have them about once a month (always on a Sunday) and we had a great time! For $ 30 we had 15 wines and some appetizers. We had so much fun that we decided to stay and have dinner, afterward. The food was very good and so reasonably priced! We had the potato soup, which was excellent and they even split in into two bowls for us. We also shared the Buffalo meatloaf. It was so tender and had so much flavor!
I think this is a cozy little restaurant. The servers were all so friendly and helpful. The chef even came and sat at our table for a bit. I can’t wait to come back!

Not a very inviting restaraunt from the street but the looks are deceiving. I can’t imagine someone driving in off of the sign
The food is very good and prices make sense. Good wait staff and ambiance. I wouldn’t say it’s a must try but it’s a solid spot in Buckhead.

An absolutely gorgeous space that doesn’t look like much from the road, Toulouse is a very welcome spot to share some fantastic wine and decadent food.
The floorplan is very open, with one main expansive room that highlights the local art on the walls, all painted by Steve Penley. In fact, he has a work in progress on one of the back walls. The wine list is the real highlight here, and tastes are offered if you can’t decide on just one. I sampled a few of the appetizers, including the crawfish and vegetable tower (truly impressive), baked goat cheese (yum!), steamed mussels (good, but not the best I’ve had), and potato and gorgonzola fritters (aka fried heaven). While I’ve never eaten an entrée here, based on the quality of the appetizers I’m pretty sure you’d be in for a treat.
Other great benefits of Toulouse include the incredibly friendly and attentive service, private parking lot in the back (don’t use next-door’s valet!), and apparently fantastic wine tasting events.

After a good two hours or so gorging on appetizers, definitely was pleased with the experience. This is for sure a hidden spot, and there’s actually a big ‘olé parking lot behind it, which is fabulous + rare for this area!
George, the owner, is adorable, and made a quick cameo at our table. The space is very light and open, with walls covered with colorful paintings by an Athens native artist. A very comfortable vibe, and tasty apps like a tower of fried goodness, goat cheese, and mussels.
They do indeed like their wine ’round these parts, and truly, what’s not to like about wine? A lovely list and also a sizable bar to do your sipping.
So glad to have experienced this hidden spot, and lookin’ forward to a return visit for one of their wine tastings!