I've lived in Atlanta for 17 years now and this is my favorite place in the entire city. The words that I always use to describe it are : intimate, loose, hip, stylish, inviting, sexy, and most of all : just plain fun.
First of all, the location is awesome. It's right in midtown - but slightly secluded in the Midtown Plaza, and literally 30 feet away from Landmark Theater. I don't even know how many times I've gone there for a drink right after a movie.
The layout of the place is just perfect. This is not a place which is easy to categorize. It's part bar, part restaurant, part outside bistro, and part lounge. So, because of that the layout of the place is very important. If the layout doesn't work then you will have an atmosphere that feels confused or cluttered. But the layout of Apres Diem allows for each different part of the place to seem independent , while still maintaining the all around atmosphere & feel of the place. The patio is bigger than you might think because not only does it extend out to the front, but it also wraps around the entire side of the place - which gives it another 8 or 10 tables. Inside the bar is long and narrow - but it doesn't feel cramped. The restaurant area is separated from the bar area with a single walldivider. The lounge is also separated from the bar & restaurant. It has a great intimate & sexy lighting to it, with low & deep couches & tables. It's perfect for private 2 person conversations - or a very social get together of about 5 friends.
You could go to this place for just about any type of social scenario spanning from an intimate drink to a large group dinner. On a couple of occasions I've seen them set up a large table for what was obviously a pre-planned get together by a large group - and it worked perfectly right in the lounge. If somebody were to tell me they were gonna do that I would think it would be intrusive to the rest of the wine sipping loungers, but it wasn't. Another night I went there they had salsa dancing within the lounge. Again, I would have thought it would be too intrusive to the rest of the loungers - but it wasn't. Some people were partaking in it - and others were just ignoring it and having their own private conversations on the couches.
Their wine selection is great. I discovered some of my favorite wines there. Their dessert bar selection is also awesome. You could go there to have a simple lunch, a large dinner, or just a dessert. The whole menu is great.
The staff is also great. I always have long conversations with my server whenever I'm chilling in the lounge - or my bartender whenever I'm having a drink. And the rest of the crowd there is very cool. I don't know exactly what it is but it's just a very inviting and hip crowd - but not with a hipster type of attitude.
They often have a DJ spinning there at night and it always works very well in bringing a very united & coherent feel to all of the individual sections of the place. And ultimately that's the thing that makes this place so great : It just seems so coherent. Each section seems to slightly bleed into one another in a very smooth way.
There are several other places in Atlanta which are comparable to Apres Diem, but none of them succeed so perfectly in each different type of section : bar ; lounge ; restaurant ; outdoor bistro ; dessert bar...whatever you want to call it.
I would give it 10 stars if I could.
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