Bistro Niko

"Love it"Never would've guessed this restaurant was a French restaurant. It was a pleasant surprise when my wife brought me here for my birthday, which also happens to be Valentine's Day. It was a set menu for the night and I had the following: 1) Starter: Escargot - my wife and I were a little disappointed that it was not there famous escargot served in puff pastry. I guess this means we shall come back to try it. Wine: Château de Sancerre, Sancerre Loire 182) Entree: Roasted Lamb Chops - always have to compare this dish to Hell's Kitchens' version. By comparison, I would give Bistro Niko a 4 out of 5 stars. Surprisingly each piece had a nice chunk of meat to enjoy. The lamb was seasoned and cooked well, a little gamey - but good. However, I didn't really enjoy the beans as its side. But overall very good. Wine: Louis Latour, A Beaune-Cote-d'or 17 3) Dessert: Crème Brulée a la Vanille. I think I would say this was the best dish of the night. I usually don't like sweets or desserts - but man this was good. Especially with the dessert wine. Wine: Sauternes, Chateau Baulac Dodyos, 2012I would definitely come back to try other dishes.

***Atmosphere***I first came here years and years ago when I was just getting into the restaurant scene, so it holds a special place in my memory as one of the first 10/10 amazing restaurant spaces I've been to. The white tiles, the red booths, the ceiling, even walking by the kitchen with the sausages hanging and the oysters on display - I love this place. Come here during Christmas time and it is effing magical.***Food***Oh. My. CHARCUTERIE!!! You'd be hard-pressed to find a bigger and better charcuterie platter than this one - I wish I could cover myself in the pate and just live in it.Same goes for the entrees - I love the duck, cassoulet, and kobe beef cheek bourguignon as if they were my children..I don't even have children but this is the love I imagine I'd have for them.(quick tip - Rose flights during happy hour are a great way to pregame your night with your pinky out)***Service***If there's one thing I'd knock them for its that occasionally the service is off. Its not so much being attentive rather than being friendly..the servers can sometimes be a little cold. Has that made me stop going here on the reg? Heck no! Inject Bistro Niko into my veins!!!

"Oh, no. Alan hates French food." -- The Trip (2002)The French know food and Bistro Niko is fast one of my favorites in the city. In the past, my friends have told me how underwhelming BN can be, but I think they have stepped up their game in the last couple of years. Part of the Buckhead Life group (one of my least favorite groups in Atlanta, because they tend to be over priced and there is too much hype), this is the crown jewel to me. I will say, they kill it at dinner and lunch is a close second, but they know how to treat people with class. Let's just say that our server, James, knocked it out of the ballpark.My recent trip was for my friend's birthday lunch (previous trip was for my Mom's birthday dinner). So I'll talk about all the food, it was all that good. By far, everything was delicious. They could put the butter dish under the warming lights to soften it up before bringing it out though - hard butter on deliciously warm soft bread... huge faux pas.We should talk about the food, n'est-ce pas?-Gougeres - choux pastry with cheese baked into little cheesy poofs. Think of the French version of what you get at Fogo. You have to ask, they aren't on the menu, but so worth getting.-French Onion soup - a classic, but done so well by BN. Full of rich beefy and oniony flavor. I had it in April and had to order it again.-Magret de Canard Roti - My mom was thrilled with her duck breast so much she asked if we could come back again. Sold!-Braised short ribs bourginone - If a short rib is on the menu, odds are I am going to order it. And this did not disappoint. Falling apart, no knife needed. Rich wine sauce that just had me savoring every morsel.--Profiteroles and ice cream - this is their complimentary dessert. For my Mom's birthday they brought it out without almonds on top so I could share it. Not so much for Tom E.'s. That's okay, I ended up with my own dessert in November.-Mushroom and fontina flatbread - You had me at mushrooms. Every Earthy bite just sang in my mouth. The funkiness of the cheese along with all those delicious mushrooms, I could have eaten this all myself.-Croque madame - so the one thing they messed up. It came out without the egg. I had to wait for James to ask him about it. By the end sandwich was cold. Also, not enough bechamel on the sandwich for me. It was still tasty, but other places make it better.-Cinnamon ice cream - My tree nut free dessert. Best cinnamon ice cream I have had yet. With my luck, it is probably hagen Daas. LOL.I have yet to really be disappointed. Sure, my sandwich was not the greatest, but I was mostly full by then anyway and everything else has been so spot-on, I can't really complain. Out of the French restaurants in Atlanta, this really is the tops. Only one other comes close and I'm fine alternating. It helps this isn't far from home and is available whenever I was some Frenchy goodness.

-The service was outstanding! -Food was delicious! -Bar was noisy (what did I expect on a Friday night@5:30) -the server Allyssa was incredible, she thought of everything! She deserves recognition...

"Thank Yelp" for having pictures. I made reservations for this restaurant at 5:30 PM and arrived at 5:50 PM. I was immediately taken to this room by the kitchen and I said "I don't want to be by the kitchen". The sitter then offered another table in the same room. My wife "elbowed" me, so I reluctantly accepted the seating assignment. The waiter was a young man and he was excellent. A few suggestions were made and we ordered. The suggested friend Soft Shell Crab was impressive. It was the largest soft-shell I have ever seen and fried to perfection. There was however no sauces to accompany this perfectly cooked crab. There was a little red tomato sauce but totally inadequate. My mussels were just okay and nothing special. My wife's duck was excellent.Will I be back? Unfortunately "no" for two reasons. Firstly I didn't get to eat in the restaurant. This to me is important. When I eat at a restaurant, I expect to be seated "in the restaurant", not outside, not by the bathrooms and not by the kitchen. Secondly, the food overall was just "okay". Had yelp not posted pictures, I would not have known where I ate.

...go here. Otis excellent in all respect! Ambience is great, food is excellent, service first rate.

...i did not really enjoy the experience this time it was a home run. I went for lunch this past week while on sales calls in Atlanta and the food was tremendous. We ordered a pizza for a appetizer, which I highly recommend, and for the main course I had the Lupe de Mare which was fantastic. If you are in Buckhead this is definitely worth the visit.

'Twas freezing in the restaurant. Next time, slightly warmer would be better

....and I felt like I took a brief trip to France. We went for a birthday lunch with a party of six and had a great time. The menu was very appealing and seemed pretty authentically French, The escargot was the best I've ever had. Salad nicoise was equally delicious. The desserts were scrumptious. I don't even like creme brulee and this one was superb. We will definitely be back to try it for dinner. We had a great booth in the main dining area. I would ask to sit in that area. There is a side room that I would not have enjoyed. Service was very attentive. A building fire alarm went off during the lunch that was quite annoying but was not the fault of the restaurant. Nevertheless, the manager lavished us with many complimentary desserts.

......not as good as the pictures people show on trip advisor... so maybe consistency is a issue for them? the scallops look amazing so I ordered them but they were dissapointingly cooked and presented. There is a disconnect between the food and the price too, as it is rather expensive. great location though and free valet parking.