Canoe

Canoe
4199 Paces Ferry Road SE
Atlanta, GA 30339

Phone
770-432-2663

Hours
Lunch
Monday – Friday
11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Dinner
Monday – Thursday
5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Friday – Saturday
5:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Sunday
5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Brunch
Sunday
10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Reservations
Yes

Parking
Free valet (but tip generously!)

I’m not a person who is convinced that a high price on a menu ensures that the food will be phenomenal. I signed on to Yelp and before I could search for a restaurant Canoe was at the top of the list, with a 4.5 star rating and glowing reviews.

I made reservations and was shocked to see on a Monday evening the available times were almost non-existent. I was lucky to get what I did! Good timing…maybe this was a sign?

We were sat right away and our waitress promptly greeted us with “Good evening Ms. Pratas, how are you?”

Excuse you? She knew my name. They took the time to look at my name from my reservation and pass it a long to the waiter. I knew right off the bat that we weren’t going to be just paying for the food but paying for the service. It might seem like a small detail, but they’re no fools. When you’re paying between $30-$40 a dish, it’s the little details that matter the most, not just the food.

Since it was our first time there, she took the time to go through the menu, highlighting dishes that Canoe is known for. She pointed out the House Smoked Salmon, Crispy Potato Cake, Vermont Goat’s Cheese under the appetizers and the Slow Roasted Carolina Rabbit, which has been on the menu since the restaurant opened over 20 years ago. Our waitress set the mood for the rest of the evening…it was simply lovely.

Now – to the best part!

We started our meal off with the oysters on the half shell with a cucumber champagne mignonette. There were six in the order, and the cucumber mignonette was already on the oysters instead of on the side. I was hesitant about that…it’s always disappointing when a sauce or condiment is slathered all over food that would have been better with out it! But Canoe has these reviews for a reason…they know what they’re doing. It was a perfect compliment. Sweet and crisp thanks to the cucumber but not so strong that you couldn’t taste the oysters, which were tender and buttery. Yum.

For our entries we got the slow roasted Carolina rabbit with swiss chard on bacon ravioli, sweet potato and a candied garlic sauce ($29) and the venison served with sweet potato and blueberry compote ($32).

The rabbit was tender and moist (which is a feat when it comes to rabbit) and the ravioli was ALL bacon. It was delicious because, I mean c’mon bacon is king. Although by the end of the meal the rabbit was gone and half the ravioli’s were left. The bacon was overwhelming.

The venison was cooked a perfect medium rare and the outside had a charred crust to it.  The sweet potato was mashed and under the meat, with a small dollop of the blueberry compote. The sweetness was a nice compliment to the gaminess of the meat, but I’m glad they were conservative with it. I’m not a huge fan of fruit with my dinner, but it was perfect.

Sure, the prices might be steep but the charming ambiance, the phenomenal service and stand up food makes Canoe a “must try” in Atlanta. It was worth every penny. I can’t wait to get back there to try their brunch and hopefully get a seat outside over looking that beautiful Chattahoochee River.