A Tale of Trois Toi-Lettes
August 23, 2008
The kitchen at Trois before the frenzy began.
Sure, we like to dine, and we like to share our opinions about places we eat, but we are not really “foodies” or snobs about this stuff. Case in point, it took us almost a year to finally make it to Atlanta Magazine’s “Best Restaurant for 2007 - Trois. Before I give my opinions about this experience, I feel I should say that we do not enjoy giving a negative review. We feel a little guilty. Ok - down to business. This place is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, the “best” restaurant in Atlanta. And I feel a little sorry for them for having the burden of this label. But even if my expectations had not been raised by the various acclaims for this trendy spot, I would have noticed the failures of this place. A few small nit-picky things: place-settings were incomplete (missing a glass and some essential utensils, failure to give replacement utensils); failure to keep water glass full.
All can be overlooked by otherwise good service and/or excellent food. Alas, neither of these were present tonight. The appetizers were nice, a lump crabmeat thingy and a sampler for mid-town restaurant week, but then we waited almost an hour for our entrees. And they got them wrong. After waiting for them to get it right, we dug in. They were fine. No problems. But nothing to write about.
Our mediocre dining experience was nothing compared to what we witnessed around us. It was like watching the restaurant crumble before us. Every table around us had some problem. First, the solo guy in the booth on his cell phone complained that his Brandy was sour and headed for the door. Then, the guys next to us proceeded to have such an awful experience that they just gave up after an hour and left. Their entrees arrived before their appetizers then, after they sent back the entrees and waited 30 minutes for their appetizers, they got the wrong ones. It was a bad scene and the management was slow to respond. They wisely did not charge them for their drinks, but all they offered them was a weak offer for a future discount. No way those guys were ever coming back. The 4-top of elderly rich folk were also served their meals hours after they ordered it and without the necessary utensils. Really? Our seat near the open kitchen allowed us to listen as the wait staff reach a fever-pitch. All were clearly “in the weeds” and reeling from a poorly run machine.
Ok - and the moment you have all been waiting for - the toilet. The fancy toilet at Trois requires an engineering degree to flush. The sign on the door warns the ladies to “flush button on right” - but it took me 10 minutes to realize it was on the side of the toilet itself. Just stop trying so hard people. Give me a toilet I can flush, the food I ordered, and the fork I need to eat it. Seriously. My only positive recommendation - cool space, great cocktails. Get a drink at the bar then head to one of the many other far superior dining establishments in this fine city.
The un-flushable toilet at Trois.
Brutus gives it a mere one paw…
Technorati Tags: Atlanta Magazine’s “Best Restaurant for 2007
Posted in Restaurants by alison
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August 23rd, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Yes, I always have comments about toilets, having had so much experience that I even know every single one in the city of Oxford! Even in England (where the plumbing is 50’s at best overall) they have a CHAIN to flush the potty. Pooh - on this supposedly elegant restaurant! MOM
August 26th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Yeah…this is a Concentrics group restaurant…they never showed me much…a lot of hype, but they never fully deliver. Though I will say that Murphy’s which was previously a solo venture is now a Concetrics team member and it still seems to serve up quality food, wine (especially wine), and service. So my point is I am not surprised.
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:34 pm
You’ll love this
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/omnivore/2008/08/29/cashing-in-on-midtown-restaurant-week/
September 10th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
[…] Alison and I just got back from a fabulous vacation in California. A few days were spent sipping wine in the Russian River Valley where we enjoyed meeting people while “tasting wines.” Our favorite winery, Lambert Bridge, has a connection to Atlanta. Not only does Andy, the proprietor (true title: National Sales Manager) of Lambert Bridge, have a girlfriend who lives here (although of course she wants to move there!) but he also knows a number of folks here - including members of the Concentrics Group. So, at some point in the near future, I am hopeful that I can get a bottle of Lambert Bridge wine from One Midtown Kitchen (since it is doubtful we will ever go back to Trois.) […]
September 23rd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
You have convinced me not to go here upon consideration. If I can’t flush the toilet (and the basic ones are difficult enough in a dark room after a bottle of wine) and have to sheepishly sneak out looking like a slob and or an idiot, I prefer to go to cheap mexican. You can just pee any old place there.
October 13th, 2009 at 12:57 am
Your review of Trois was spot on and apparently prophetic as I have read Concentrics is now out of business there, although I hear Tap is going strong.
As a former (and hopefully again, as we are planning a move back next summer) A-Town resident, I worked for Concentrics as a trainer to help open this place. Style over substance is right. When they debuted the uniforms for the servers, there were no pockets. Not a place to put as much as a pen or a crumber. And the service station was about a hundred yards away from the tables, way back in an almost inaccessible corner; on the floor there wasn’t even a table to put a water pitcher or the bottles of Evian they planned to “free pour” because it would spoil the designer’s “look”. This probably explains the missing flatware and glasses as they were probably poached off of un-occupied tables in lieu of the long walk back to the waiter station.
I worked for them for about two weeks until a plumbing faux-pas flooded all three floors of the restaurant a few days before the scheduled opening day. I took it as a sign and quit before I had to drink any more Concentrics Kool-Aid. We had done a couple of “dry runs” before the flood, and it was like one of those old electric vibrating football games we had as kids years ago: position all the players carefully pointing them where you want them to go, then plug it in and watch all hell break loose as they randomly go everywhere except where you want them to.
So it was no surprise to me when I heard they had finally closed. How do you go from “Best New Restaurant of 2007″ (they also made Playboy’s “Top 50″ List that year) to empty shell in 2009? You spend thousands of dollars on toilets that people can’t flush and uniforms with no pockets because they were cool, while ignoring obvious issues with food and service quality.
I like your blog. Glad I found it.