New Dunwoody restaurant Steak and Grace is still searching for itself. According to owner Barry Mills, who also owns Big B’s Fish Joint in Sandy Springs, his philosophy involves constant refinement based on his customers’ feedback.
Adapting your restaurant to its neighborhood is a good business strategy. But it’s a strategy that leads a business to be comfortable, rather than distinctive.
Restaurants can be good when they give diners what they want, but they become great by giving people something they never knew they wanted in the first place.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Steak and Grace is starting from a position of strength, with an attractive space and excellent service. The menu might not be breaking new ground, but the food is high-quality.
The restaurant is not meant to be a traditional steakhouse, and the decor reflects a more modern ethos, with tile floors, abstract contemporary art and no tablecloths. The menu features two steaks (a filet and a New York strip) but soon will gain a rib-eye, Mills said.
Both of the steaks were cooked to a nice medium-rare, as requested, and showed off their best characteristics — extreme tenderness in the case of the filet and beefier flavor with the strip. The dry-aged steak burger was hearty and well-constructed, as well as a change of pace from the smashburgers that seem to have become standard fare everywhere else.
The first dish on the Steak and Grace menu might be the most creative: broiled asparagus with hollandaise, speck and a crispy 6-minute egg. The classic brunch combination of thinly sliced ham and asparagus was elevated by a whole egg that had been breaded and deep-fried, giving the exterior a slight crunch while the runny, golden yolk mixed with the rich hollandaise.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
The goat cheese-stuffed sweet peppers were another solid appetizer, although their presentation left something to be desired. The complementary flavors of tangy goat cheese and sweet, vegetal pepper were good together, but it looked like the soft cheese had been stuffed hastily into the hollowed-out peppers.
There were a few other cases of questionable execution. The shoestring fries were tasty but nowhere near thin enough to deserve the name. The butter lettuce salad with fresh mandarin wedges and green goddess dressing looked like it had been tossed in a bowl and dumped on the plate. Black grouper was served over an interesting green cardamom broth with pieces of African squash, but the squash segments seemed too large to have the rind still on, which added an unwanted texture.
Questionable presentation aside, the only truly bad item I tried was the crab fritter, a largely flavorless lump in a pool of green cucumber gazpacho.
At the other end of the spectrum, the braised short-rib mac and cheese was a decadent treat. The dish was served in a huge portion, including elephantine macaroni elbows. The Faroe Island salmon also was excellent — tender and well-seasoned, outshining the grouper dish, which was $10 more expensive.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Mills said the introduction of weekday lunch and weekend brunch might inform eventual changes to the dinner menu.
It likely is no coincidence that a restaurant so focused on understanding its customers has excellent service. Each of our visits featured top-notch servers who knew the menu well, visited the table just often enough and moved the experience along at a pleasant pace.
Steak and Grace is a good restaurant on an admirable journey of self-improvement. The high level of service and generally solid cooking make up for the occasional stumbles in execution.
The restaurant might not have ambitions of transforming Dunwoody into a dining destination, but its focus on its regular customers likely will win it loyalty and longevity. Steak and Grace doesn’t aspire to be a one-of-a-kind restaurant, but it might become a great business.
STEAK AND GRACE
2 out of 4 stars (very good)
Food: steak and eclectic American
Service: excellent
Noise level: moderate to loud
Recommended dishes: asparagus, goat cheese-stuffed peppers, beef tartare, shoestring fries, dry-aged steak burger, mac and cheese, prime filet, Faroe Island salmon, prime New York strip, Yukon Gold potato puree, roasted carrots, Meyer lemon tart, chocolate hazelnut crunch
Vegetarian dishes: goat cheese-stuffed peppers, cheese board, shoestring fries, roasted squash soup, Caesar salad, mixed greens salad, sautéed mushrooms, sautéed green beans, Yukon Gold potato puree, roasted new potatoes, roasted broccolini, roasted carrots, bread and butter
Alcohol: full bar
Price range: $50-$75 per person, excluding drinks
Hours: 4-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sundays
Accessibility: fully ADA-compliant, with a ramp to the main entry
Parking: free lot
Nearest MARTA station: none
Reservations: recommended
Outdoor dining: yes
Takeout: no
Address, phone: 1317 Dunwoody Village Parkway, Dunwoody. 470-657-5827
Website: steakandgrace.com
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critics conduct reviews anonymously. Reservations are not made in their name, nor do they provide restaurants with advance notice about their visits. Our critics always make multiple visits, sample the full range of the menu and pay for all of their meals. AJC dining critics wait at least one month after a new restaurant has opened before visiting.
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