Saturday, June 19, 2010

Wahoo! Grill-Decatur, GA

Wahoo! Grill is located on College Avenue in Decatur, Georgia. It bills itself as a simple yet exquisitely well-balanced neighborhood restaurant. We heartily agree! In fact, we had dinner at Wahoo! Grill the night we were engaged! This is our first to Wahoo! Grill since that night.

Food (23 out of 25)

The menu is quite diverse. If Wahoo! can claim anything as a specialty, however, it is their seafood. After all, Wahoo is a tropical fish…

We had the crab cakes as an appetizer. They were very well prepared! Loaded with crabmeat and accented with scallions, red peppers, and herbs, the crab cakes were served alongside a finely prepared remoulade sauce. For our entrees, we had the Wahoo!, which was sautéed with spices and served atop a bed of whipped potatoes. It was garnished with a salsa of cherry tomatoes, mandarin oranges, and Vidalia onions. Steamed asparagus was served as a side. The other entrée consisted of two chicken breasts lightly breaded with parmesan cheese and baked until golden brown. Instead of the customary peas with bacon, we chose to substitute mashed potatoes. The chicken was also accompanied with five-cheese macaroni.

Both dishes were well-prepared, but the Parmesan chicken appeared bland on the plate. A more colorful plate would have been nice. The fish was served hot, but the juices from the cold salsa made the hot fish cool and a bit mushy.

Value (22 out of 25)

For our meal, including the customary 17% gratuity, we paid $55. We drank water and iced tea. We felt that this price was fair, but thought that the appetizer, which was $13, was a bit overpriced.

Ambiance (23 out of 25)

The ambiance of Wahoo! Grill was wonderful! The art was very tasteful, the exposed brick gave the restaurant a casual feeling, and the open bar and kitchen made for a wonderful atmosphere. However, the front of the restaurant was a bit cramped, especially the doorway.

It also bears mentioning that parking can be a bit awkward, as the restaurant sits very close to College Avenue, a busy four-lane street.

Service (19 out of 25)

Our service was, unfortunately, quite slow. The waiter seemed to be a bit overwhelmed and forgot several things we requested. She failed to provide us with our check and with our credit card receipt in a timely manner and became a bit of a nuisance, coming over to the table at least five times before our meal was served.
The kitchen was also very slow. We waited 45 minutes for our entrees.

Total 87/B (Very Good Experience)

All in all, Wahoo! has become one of our favorite Atlanta hotspots. The only hesitation we have going forward will be visiting on weekends—when the restaurant is quite crowded. We look forward to visiting the patio on subsequent visits.