Blackstone

Well, it appears that Blackstone’s has now officially closed its doors.
I always used to like coming here, but for the location the prices were just too high and I fault the owner for not wanting to budge and develop a menu that was compatible with his audience. He was unfortunately trying to force a upscale menu with upscale pricing in an area that just didn’t support it.
They’ve been trying for a while now to keep things going with Groupons and other incentives, but it just didn’t work. Too bad! I hope the next place in this location will take that to heart!

Limited menu… Super pricey ! $ 6 broccoli side had 6 florets??? WTF? Was is gold plated? About as good as a Houston’s without much selection… Not an impressive place in greater Atlanta …

For the Smyrna Area this is a great dinner spot. As for the City of Atlanta its just ok. Blackstone is a steakhouse ducked off in a plaza that not very noticeable from the street. We decided to try this restaurant on a Friday night because they provided live music which is perfect to start the evening. The steaks are just ok, nothing to write home about. One thing that made me laugh was they had Valet Parking outside when the parking lot isn’t that big. Its definitely not a spot worthy of having valet parking.

Bugs. Bugs came crawling out from under our plate. I’m never one to write a review but this is something I wish I’d been warned of before we went there. First we had issues with our drinks, carbonation on a vodka soda and a gin and sprite were both off, they tried to fix it but were strangely and sadly clueless. Oysters on the half shell never came because the kitchen accidentally cooked them? Idk. But then a caprese salad brought the bugs. Their «house made mozzarella» was tough and not great but the main problem was obviously the bugs. We freaked and left and the bartender and manager did their best, no tab for our miserable experience and a gift card we’ll never use, but just heads up y’all. Things are bad.

I met a friend for dinner and drinks. The atmosphere was very nice. Not to loud and not to quiet. Get there early because the bar area fills up quickly.

Once a great steakhouse, now a cut above a Sizzler. Dinner for two, 16oz rib-​eyes, grocery store bottle of wine, and a desert. $ 149.00 plus tip. My steak was a quarter fat, the other was better, optional sauce was severed in tiny baby food sized cups. There is an obvious attempt to cut costs but not prices. To add insult to the meal, the service was well below average. And a box of toothpicks open for all to touch when leaving was a laugh… really?! Even Sizzler has a dispenser!
My guess is that this once great steakhouse has less than 12 months to live. Too bad.

I came here for dinner and had the north carolina trout, french fries, and spinach. The interior of the restaurant was nice however the presentation of the menu was tacky. The menu consists of 2 pieces of paper on a clipboard. For a place that refers to themselves as fine dining I was not impressed.
The trout was good-​perfectly cooked but still had the skin on the bottom of the filets. The spinach was ok. The parmesan french fries were very stale and luke warm. It didn’t taste like they were made fresh.
Overall it was a decent experience but I will not be returning.

We had dinner at Blackstone after having taken an extended break from this restaurant due to a bad experience several months ago. Sadly things have not improved, but have actually gotten worse. My wife ordered Salmon medium well, and received something very close to sushi, almost raw. The steak I ordered was advertised as a tenderloin, and it was anything but tender, and also undercooked. Dressing on the side of a salad apparently means drowned in dressing, and a $ 6 order of green beans gets you a portion less than generous. All of this combined with poor service, having to go to the bar to ask for refills on our drinks, and never getting a water refill is a bit much at the pricing levels that are among the highest in the area. All this topped off by the fact that you have to tip a valet to park your car 15 feet from the front door.
My advice, diner beware. If you like to pay a lot of money for bad food and mediocre service, Blackstone’s is the place to go.

Blackstone ran out of tuna, lamb, snapper, slaw, fries, and broccoli. Are you kidding? My wife ordered the surf and turf, and I ordered the strip steak. We added sides of mashed potatoes and spinnach. Everything was ho hum. The steaks, as said in other reviews are tremendously inferior to what can be had at half the price at many other restaurants — Copeland’s has them beat hands down any day. The potatoes were less flavorful that what comes out of a bag, and I’ve made tastier spinach. The waiter was distracted, a bit rude, and unconcerned with our level of happiness (maybe it’s because he was sick of all the groupon customers), and was generally unapologetic for the shortened menu. All in all, I can’t understand why anyone would be willing to spend $ 100 for such mediocre food and poor service.

I’ve been to Blackstone twice and both times the food was divine. I, originally, found this place through a halfoffdepot deal and it was definitely worth the purchase. Mouthwatering and very flavorful food. Definitely a more upscale kind of place… i would recommend this being ideal if you’re looking for a more intimate setting, but it’s worth a try, you will not be disappointed.

Blackstone looks like your traditional, good, old-​fashioned, American steakhouse. This place looks high end. It has a dark, romantic, vintage atmosphere. On the weekends, they have live music where they sing classic tunes. If I wore a suit here, I would feel like I would be on Mad Men.
I tried some of their leftovers and they tasted amazing. So I decided to dine in. I think one of their problems is consistency. The food wasn’t as good as the leftovers I had. Don’t get me wrong, it still tasted decent, but not as good as I remembered.
For appetizer, we ordered the tuna tar tar. It is actually made at the table by the waiter. They ask you for the spiciness level. We said spicy. And it wasn’t very spicy. It had a distinct Asian flavor to it because of the soy sauce and wasabi. The tuna didn’t seem too fresh though. I liked the pita bread it came with.
For the main entrée, I got the rack of lamb. Let me tell you, this is a real-​deal American restaurant. Sure the prices look high, but they give you a lot of food. I never seen so many lamb medallions in my life. It came with a huge mound of creamy mashed potatoes and gigantic asparagus spears. It was also cooked to temp at Medium Rare.
The lamb came with a sauce. However, the sauce didn’t provide much flavor. In fact, the lamb didn’t have much flavor at all. They could’ve used a bit more salt. I did like the mashed potatoes. It was good and creamy and tasty. The asparagus tasted okay.
We also ordered a side of mushrooms. Man they were drenched in wine. All I could taste was wine. It didn’t taste very good because of the strong wine taste.
I also tried some of the griilled trout. That tasted pretty good. It also came on a mountain of mashed potatoes and asparagus. Maybe that’s the standard garnishes for Blackstone’s dishes. The trout was grilled perfectly and tasted good.
They cook their meals well, but they need to take care of the flavors. Maybe I eat too much high-​sodium foods or something. Or maybe I’m too used to bold flavors. I think this place is a decent restaurant though. If you like classic, American fine dining, try this place. I give it about 3.5 stars.

As someone else said, the GPS will lead you astray when it comes to this restaurant. Not sure why. Anyhow, if you’re looking at the building from Atlanta Road and see the plain words «Blackstone» at the top of the building, you’re probably not in the right spot. Swing around to the left of the building, and you’ll see valet running around, and the name «Blackstone» is written a little fancier on this side.
I came here with a friend who was visiting from SC. I had no idea this restaurant had valet, so I did not have a «tip» for the kid running to and fro. At first he had his hand out waiting to grab my keys, but once I lightheartedly mentioned that I didn’t know about the valet service, he quickly put his hand down and said «Ok, well, you can self-​park over there» AKA «I’m not doing this shit for free. There’s some spaces down the street.» Eh, lol.
I liked the ambiance of the restaurant. They had live jazz, and it’s not extremely bright inside like a lot of restaurants with those harsh lights. It’s actually a tad bit darker than what you might expect, but not complaint-​worthy. Lots of dark wood all around. I saw a bar area inside, as well.
Our server was awesome and extremely attentive. I ordered the free range chicken meal: baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, mushroom & chive sauce. Mmmm. I’m drooling just thinking about it. The first bite of chicken & potatoes was just out of control; it was so good. The green beans were great, and the mushroom & chive sauce complimented the meal perfectly, not salty– but full of flavor.
We were too full for dessert, but I’m sure it would have been great. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the bread we received before our entrees came out. It was too tough, and it wasn’t as good as bread & butter I’ve gotten at other places. Otherwise, almost perfect.

I cannot give 5 Stars because its been over a year since I’ve had dinner here. I love Blackstone’s! I have for years! Stopped in tonight for a glass of wine before heading home. The live music was fantastic and the bartender so helpful & professional! I just wish they had a more updated wine list. Some nice French unoaked Chardonnays would be so appealing.

Pristine service, an intimately romantic atmosphere, and cleanliness with a hint of peppermint are what awaits one at this restaurant. Though the prices on the menu are not the lowest around, one can surely expect great service from this place. I know my husband and I did.

Upon having made reservations to this place, we were warmly welcomed and even received a personal greeting from our waiter called by name at the time of seating. I instantly noticed the seclusive lighting that was just perfect for a peaceful, delectable meal with that special someone with colorful paintings on the wall very finely lit in the background. Our waiter (Paul) was very hospitable and tentative, but not over-​eager to serve (I would recommend asking for this gentleman when making your reservation). He was also courteous enough to ask if my husband had a food allergy when he asked for not tomatoes on the salad, which we felt was very thoughtful!
The food in itself was delicious. The menu was a not very wide, but the food speaks better for itself in taste than what it can do in its description on the pages. I appreciated the extra cleaning we got in between courses as well and feel that it was an extra step above and beyond when it comes to serving and dining. I was left never doubting the care for the table and my comfort as well as my enjoyment of the food.
Very nice.
Another fantastic touch is the fine desserts, that are in-​house made and as delicious as you might hope to imagine; my husband and I shared a delightful chocolate cake with raspberry topping with a fudge that was very pleasant!
The valets are very nice there and have a great since of humor. We left feeling very well taken care of and shall remember it for future special events. Would I recommend it to friends and family? I would say ”Yes” if I’d not done so already.
In short, if you’re needing a very nice place to treat out that special someone or just want to try something a little different where you can feel appreciated and finely catered to, this is the place for you. They also have some very nice specials during the week that are worth looking into!

Been curious about this place for years. Finally an opportunity to try & Unilocal about it. My thoughts are was very well ran, served and delicious. I will break down each item that I had one by one. Décor is dim lit. Very cozy and comfortable inside. Real intimate setting. Very nice bar area. Live band on Thursdays & Fridays. Now to the meat & potatoes of this review: First off, the service/​waitress was phenomenal. Made sure everything was in place, upbeat attitude, provided recommendations. Grade A on her part. Had the Asian Fried Calamari. The calamari part of it was ok. Not the best that I had, not the worse. What made it stand out was the sauce & seasoning placed on it. Magnificent! Blackstone was not stingy on its appetizer portions so boost for them. Chased that down with their good bread & caesar salad. Really not too much to write about on caesar salad — it was good. Had the tenderoin & shrimp with mashed potatoes. I’m very judgmental on steaks because if you pay good price for good steak, it better be on point. My analysis on the steak — it was ok. Not great, not bad. I may reconsider an update on this review trying a different type of steak. The mashed potatoes were alright. Needed pepper to give it some ummppphhhhh. Plus they were a little stingy with shrimp. All in all this venue is somewhere between three & four stars. Unilocal needs to implement half stars on these ratings but anyway, they treated me well, the food went down well so keeping this at four stars for now until further notice.
Grade: B

Excellent Service
Perfectly cooked and very tender filet
Good salad
Hostess was a little ditzy, but she was nice.
Nice early dinner specials and other specials throughout the week.
i will return.

We really enjoyed this restaurant. We made a last minute weeknight reservation for 6 people and it was no problem at all to find the space. We ordered the tuna tartar appetizer, and to my surprise they prepared it table-​side, customized to our preferences, which I had never seen before and loved. The spinach and artichoke dip was also delicious. For entrees, we tried a bit of everything and it was all very good. I personally had the scallops and mushroom & pea risotto — I found it to be flavorful and perfectly prepared. Service was excellent all night.
I’m subtracting a star for price and atmosphere. The food is really, really expensive. Kind of too expensive for Smyrna, in my honest opinion. For those kind of prices, I would be expecting a trendier or at least more crowded restaurant, and we were practically the only people in there. I also thought the upcharges on the wine were a little extreme ($ 110 upcharge on a bottle of Cakebread, for example).
Those minor things aside, I would recommend Blackstone and would definitely come again next time we’re in the area.

My co-​worker told me about this place so last night we made our way over to the Vinings area, arriving late for our 830 reservation because the GPS was a little off on where Blackstone is located. FYI — it’s in the back of the little shopping plaza and thankfully it’s NOT the place you see from the front with the Xmas-​like lights hanging about.
I had the herb crusted rack of lamb with whipped potatoes and asparagus, with a wedge to start. The Feller had the gulf shrimp, bacon mac and cheese and nothing green (booo!). My wedge was good — nice and crisp with plenty of bacon and not too much dressing. Continuing on with my love of bacon, I wasted no time digging my fork into The Feller’s mac n cheese, but not before he told me to make sure to get some of the bacony cheese on top… ummm DUH — have ya met me? It was pretty darn good, but the best part was that top crust. The mac n cheese itself was a little runnier than I like mine, but ok.
The asparagus was grilled and pretty good, but nothing stood out about it — same for the potatoes. They were good, but I didn’t feel a WOW when I put them in my mouth. I like to be WOWed. The Feller was certainly WOWed by his shrimp… and I don’t think I could come up with a single time we’ve been out to dinner and he hasn’t ordered shrimp, so I take that as a good sign. They looked really good and I should have snatched one up when he wasn’t looking.
Ok, the lamb — I had been looking forward to this all day, so I may have built it up in my head a little too much, but it just wasn’t spectacular. One piece was seared properly, but the rest was a little… eh. It also came medium when I ordered medium rare. I felt like I was missing something the entire time I was eating and it was a big disappointment.
Our server was awesome — never once were our glasses empty and she seemed to anticipate our every need.
I’d go back if in the area. Overall it was pretty good and I’d really like to try the rack of lamb again to see if maybe I hit an off night or something.
My suggestion to Blackstone to improve ‘pretty good’ to ‘great’: Better bread on the table — this is an absolute must in my book.

I am so happy my girl Khadija suggested we go to this place while I was in town visiting. I felt bad because we had a reservation for 7pm but didn’t get there until 7:30 due to traffic. WOW!
When we arrived the manager and hostess were both standing there and we apologized for being late, no worries they both said, we have a table waiting for you. Whew! We got situated and I ordered the seafood special which was a 4oz fillet topped with crab cake stuffed in a crab shell. My friend ordered a Caesar salad with salmon. Well unfortunately when my steak arrived, it was cold. I am always weary regarding sending my food back but our fabulous server Liza insisted that she get a new steak for me. Bless her heart because this one came out piping hot and cooked to perfection. YUMMO!
We couldn’t leave without dessert and my friend had ordered a Key Lime pie as her appetizer so I just had to order it for my dessert because it was that good. The manager comped my dessert for me because of what had happened with my steak, major kudos!
So why only 4 stars if the hostess, manager, server and food were great? Parking SUCKS! lol. So technically this place gets 4.5 stars out of 5 and yes I would go back anytime.

I went to this restaurant a few weeks ago with a friend and judging from the valet parking, I thought I was going to be extremely under-​dressed, as I was wearing jeans, a tank top with a cardigan of sorts.
Anyway, upon entering I was struck as to how dark the restaurant itself was, but it kind of worked for a nice steakhouse.
We started off ordering calamari with this sweet chili sauce which was delicious, but a little too spicy for me after a few bites, the calamari was well cooked and not chewy and crispy on the outside… yummy!
I ordered the fillet which came in with veggies and delicious sautéed mushrooms which I believe were portobello, could be wrong though.
The fillet I ordered was medium rare, and was delicious, loved the way that it was cooked and the meat just melted in my mouth! Probably one of the best steaks I have had in a while.
Our waiter was very attentive and was always there if we needed refills of wine or water and to clear up the table.
Overall I give it 2 thumbs up, I was extremely satisfied with the food, service and ambiance. Great place for a nice date!