My fiancee and I had a really great time at Buckhead Club. Thanks to Michelle K for the invite. The food and service were excellent.
Buckhead Club is a private business and social club located on the 26th floor of the Sovereign building in Buckhead (the tallest building in Buckhead, same building as Bistro Niko). Complimentary valet is located on-site. You can also self-park in the attached deck and Buckhead Club will validate.
Buckhead Club is part of the ClubCorp network of clubs which consists of over 230 clubs worldwide. Nearly 30 of those clubs are right here in metro Atlanta. Unlike most of ClubCorp's clubs, Buckhead Club only offers business, event, and dining/catering services; no golf, tennis, swimming, gym, etc. As a Buckhead Club member, you do have access to other clubs in the ClubCorp network, though the specifics differ depending on each club. As far as food and service go, I found Buckhead Club to be at or near the top of my ClubCorp dining experiences.
We took a tour of the club. It has great panoramic views of the city. You can take in the views from the club's bar (Char, named after whiskey barrel char) and lounge (Lounge 26), dining room (Peachtree Dining Room), and various banquet and conference rooms. They have workspaces if you want to work remote and you can book rooms for events and functions such as business meetings and weddings. The club looks and feels formal, modern, and elegant. It's got that traditional club flair, but with updated, contemporary touches in terms of furniture, design, and decor. The sophisticated atmosphere is classy and fun.
Like other clubs worldwide which have aging memberships, in order to attract new and younger members, Buckhead Club offers affordable memberships to people under 40. I asked the lady at the front desk, Cardiah, how big the membership is and she told me about 1,300 to 1,400 members. Being in the middle of a big city, Buckhead Club is in a strong position. Other clubs haven't been so lucky and have had to find ways to adapt and survive, whether it's by waiving initiation fees and slashing member dues to relaxing dress codes and decorum. Buckhead Club requires men to wear jackets (blazers) in the dining room and keep them on at all times during the fall and winter.
The club serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily with complimentary food (e.g. self-serve platters) available during certain times of day. Like other clubs, Buckhead Club offers a calendar of activities every month. Examples include speaking engagements, networking opportunities, food-related events, holiday gatherings, and fun stuff like trivia.
The night of our visit, the club happened to be offering a special three-course prime rib dinner which was perfect because my fiancee and I love prime rib. It cost only $30 per person, a terrific price. Of course, that's not counting membership dues in order to have the privilege to eat here and pay that price. I noticed the prices of the drinks were reasonable too. My fiancee ordered a Pineapple Mojito at the bar and it cost only $7.50. I thought it tasted like lemon candy, but she liked it. It was made with Bacardi rum, pineapple, lime, club soda, and mint.
Here's what was on the menu:
* Choice of Caesar Salad or Soup du Jour (Bacon and Potato Soup)
* River Farm Grass-Fed Prime Rib with creamy maple horseradish, skillet herb-roasted fingerling potatoes, and chef's vegetables
* Cherries Jubilee, prepared tableside, served with chocolate gelato
In addition to the above, there was an amuse-bouche, compliments of Executive Chef Daniel Andre (who came to visit with us before our meal), and bread service. The amuse-bouche consisted of octopus, mango, jicama, ginger, and celery. All of the food was high quality and delicious, presented beautifully, and the portion sizes were generous.
I tried both the Caesar salad and the bacon and potato soup and enjoyed them both. Both the soup and salad were filling, each sized almost like an entree. I love salad so I appreciated that. The prime rib was superb. I had mine cooked medium rare. The chef's vegetables included fresh, crisp watercress and yummy pattypan squash. A pleasant surprise, served with the prime rib, was Yorkshire pudding. It was wonderful; light, soft, and eggy.
Because the kitchen was missing an ingredient for the cherries jubilee, we had the following desserts instead:
* Chocolate Moelleux Cake - warm molten dulce de leche cake, homemade sweet corn and vanilla sorbet, orange blossom flower creme anglaise
* Seasonal Berries and Georgia Peach Sorbet - infused with spiced red wine, armagnac, and mint
* Bananas Foster - prepared tableside, flambe with banana liquor, served over vanilla ice cream
Each one of the desserts was fantastic. I liked them equally. Again, generous portion sizes, especially on the berries. If I could only pick one, I'd recommend the Bananas Foster. Its tableside preparation was dramatic and it tasted magnificent too. Smooth, creamy, and luscious. read more