We had an excellent dinner at Saints + Council on Saturday. The food, service, and atmosphere were great. I recommend this place for a nice date or group dinner. They're open for brunch and lunch too.
Saints + Council is keeping the 2010s trend of "[insert word here] and [insert word here]" restaurant names going in the 2020s. Examples: Cooks & Soldiers, Bread & Butterfly, The Deer and The Dove. Saints + Council opened at Colony Square in Midtown Atlanta on December 10, 2021.
Park in the Colony Square underground garage. You can enter via either Peachtree St NE or 14th St NE. Take your parking ticket with you. Saints + Council validates for two hours. Once they validate, you have 20 minutes to leave the garage or the validation is no good. If you want to stroll around or go elsewhere (e.g., at Colony Square) afterwards, you can return to the host stand later for validation.
The Colony Square parking rate was $6 per 30 minutes. We were in and out in 2 hours 31 minutes. Parking cost $30 less $21 with validation. I was charged $9.
Now almost four years old, the restaurant still looks new, fresh, and beautiful. Inside and out, it's clean and sophisticated. The design is classy and not overdone. There's a spacious outdoor patio with both covered and uncovered seating. Several dining room doors can open, facing the patio and Colony Square, creating a cool, airy vibe. During our visit, the executive chef stood on a platform by the kitchen, finishing dishes while overlooking the interior with an intimidating presence.
Book reservations using OpenTable. Saints + Council awards 100 points per reservation. The restaurant was busy, but not completely full, when we were there.
The business describes its cuisine/menu as "Modern-American offerings with an emphasis on smoked, braised and confit meats."
Here's what my wife and I had:
Mindful Pours (mocktails)
* Spring Talbot ($13) - Lyre's non-alcoholic agave liqueur, lavender, honey, lemon, bubbles (spirit-free)
Shared Plates
* Hand-Tied Burrata ($18) - fresh burrata, marinated asparagus ribbons, chili-basil oil, crispy toasted crostini
* Spicy Mussels ($19) - Prince Edward Island mussels, arbol chili, roasted tomato, cream, focaccia
* Oysters on the Half Shell (12 for $42) - Bosc pear, peppered honey mignonette
Salads
* Little Gem Caesar ($14) - white anchovy dressing, Parmesan, bacon migas, fried capers, cured egg
Slow-Cooked
* Duck Confit ($35) - duck legs, braised red cabbage, roasted acorn squash, dark cherry molasses
Main
* Lemon Miso Salmon ($32) - miso-glazed Atlantic salmon, crispy potatoes, blistered asparagus, miso lemon compound butter
Desserts
* Bick's Famous Peanut Butter Pie ($15) - creamy and whipped peanut butter pie, peanut butter cups, cookies + cream crust
First, the drink. The Spring Talbot mocktail was a little too sweet. Something as simple as a poppi would've actually been better.
As for the food, everything was delicious. There wasn't a single bad dish. Why four stars instead of five? While everything was solid, nothing was mind-blowing. Gut says four instead of five. A strong four, 4.5. Regardless, the food was very good.
We love burrata and a lot of places serve it. Saints + Council's Burrata was different in the way it was tied (presentation), and the asparagus ribbons were creative and original.
The Spicy Mussels impressed me the most. This is another dish a lot of places do, but Saints + Council had one of the best I've tasted in recent years (and it was nice and spicy).
The oysters were Blue Points. They were pre-dressed (you don't see that often and I appreciated it), super fresh, cleanly shucked, and flavorful. The honey mignonette added a distinct sweet flavor, which I admittedly wasn't the biggest fan of. I prefer my oysters more plain and briny, but these are still worth ordering.
The Little Gem Caesar had some extra salty and sour to it because of the fried capers and chopped cured egg. Not bad at all.
Of the entrees, the Lemon Miso Salmon outshined the slow-cooked Duck Confit. Our server suggested the salmon. Salmon is one of the last dishes we order, especially at a nicer place like this. But wow, it was incredible. Something you can't make at home, from the texture of the salmon to the balance of flavors. It was very nuanced. Compared to the salmon, the Duck Confit was not as impactful flavorwise, but it was still tasty and satisfying. Portions were generous.
The Peanut Butter Pie was amazing and probably my favorite dish. I highly recommend it. It was light, creamy, and fluffy, yet also rich and delectably sweet. Even my wife, who doesn't like peanut butter desserts, found it irresistible.
Our server Emma Kate was friendly and efficient. She made thoughtful recommendations and carefully packed our leftovers.
Something interesting at the end: We were handed Saints + Council postcards with our check. Emma Kate said we could write postcards and the restaurant would mail them for free. Unique and fun marketing. read more