Interior & Location: They’ve completely overhauled the interior space. It’s opened up nicely, flows well and is designed to create a calming atmosphere. It’s a much more pleasant interior than the former restaurant (the globe) that occupied the space.
Food: As expected on a soft opening, the kitchen is still working out it’s kinks. The fried green tomato appetizer was good. It featured goat cheese, roasted red peppers and a sunflower seed pesto. Subtle flavors, but good. The tomato soup was rich and had a good kick of spice. The soup was probably the most pronounced flavor we tasted all night. The trout entrée was a bit disappointing. It was a beautiful fillet of Georgia trout with a bacon topper, but didn’t live up to it’s appearance. Amazingly it needed more seasoning, particularly more salt, as the bacon was very mild. Some sort of acid, lemon perhaps, would’ve helped as well.
The side of mushroom lasagna was very rich. Overall the dish had potential, but it could’ve used a contrast in texture to go with the mushroom lasagna and stronger flavors for the trout (in my humble opinion). The side of macaroni and cheese had great texture, but was once again a bit bland. It used the same bacon as the trout, so I think the kitchen was afraid to add additional salt to any of the dishes containing this amazingly mild bacon. The halibut was well executed. It was perfectly cooked and featured subtle flavors. It was served with cannellini beans in a mild broth with capers and roasted peppers.
The first dessert was a medley of fresh berries with liquor and whipped cream. Deliciously simple. The other dessert was a classic crème brûlée. The custard was a bit runny and the flavors a bit off.
Service: Overall the service was top notch. The kitchen was a bit slow, but that was to be expected on a soft opening. The server was really knowledgeable and truly excited about the restaurant concept (farm to table with dash of environmental friendliness).
Overall: The menu plays it pretty safe. It’s features contemporary takes on classic and trendy dishes. The combinations aren’t new (beet salad with goat cheese for example), but the ingredients are fresh and the execution mostly on par. For a soft opening they handled themselves incredibly well and all the dishes showed potential for improvement as they have a chance to refine. This restaurant should do well. It reminds me of JCT or Dogwood in terms of type and quality of food. It’s a welcome addition to Technology Square and should turn into a good option for midtown diners.
WaterHaven Restaurant Address & Information
75 Fifth Street, Suite 170, Atlanta, GA 30308 // P: 404.214.6740 // WaterHaven Website // WaterHaven Menus
About The Author
This guest post was written by Adam Harrell, a local foodie and interactive marketer. You can find him at www.neboweb.com/blog/
