Nikolai's Roof Restaurant

We walked in twenty minutes before our reservation but were promptly seated. So far so good. Our waiter came by to greet us and handed over the wine list. We pick our bottle of wine and we handed off the menus. After deciding our selection for dinner the waiter stepped back over to the table and asked, ?What can you afford?? I was in a bit of shock that this was the way that we were addressed but even with being shocked, I moved on to inform the waiter on our choices. We went with the four-course meal and made our selections. While we drank our wine we looked around the room. My close friend informed me to slowly look over my shoulder. I turned slowly and saw some candelabras with?fake ivy. On this fake ivy seemed to be an inch of dust. Again, I was flabbergasted to see this in such a fancy restaurant when they can clearly afford fresh flowers. We shrugged it off and moved forward. I kept seeing the food coming out being presented under a silver Hershey kiss shape formation. The waiters would simultaneously ?with a bang sound? remove the covers and present the dish. I thought to myself, with such a presentation the food must be outstanding. We had our first two appetizers come out without the ?kiss?. They were average and nothing to write home to mom about. Side note: I did order the borscht soup, which I was very excited about because I have been to Moscow and it was one of the most memorable parts of the trip. This was nothing close to what I remembered. It brought back one memory. I think me and my friend simultaneously looked at each other and whispered two words?Chef Boyardee. We sat with our empty plates in front of us for just a bit of time. I looked up to see our waiter giving a snarling glace at another waiter to remove our plates and refill our wine. I didn?t expect much less from a man that formulated a question of ?what can you afford? and I tried to not let him continue ruining my dinner experience. Our ?kisses? came out and we got the same presentat

This restaurant is very nice indeed - both the ambiance and the view.
The food is good across the board, and the 8-course prix fixe Chef’s menu is enormous in size. The flavored vodkas are excellent, especially the lime variety.
The service was friendly and efficient, but as the room filled up, the waiters became scarce. The Dining Room (R.I.P.) it certainly is not - but then nothing is.
Prices are not exactly in the "economy' class, however overall this is one of the best places in town.

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There's a lot of pomp and circumstance about this place, but ultimately I wasn't that impressed. We went here for our anniversary and while the service was impeccable, the food was just average (very fru-fru, hoity-toity, "progressive" dishes; my fish actually had a fishy, three-days-old taste to it) and the decor was also just average. It's also a really small restaurant. The view of downtown was okay, but not spectacular (the hotel roof as I recall blocked part of the view). For the $200 price tag for a dinner for 2, I expected a lot more in the way of flavorful food, decor, and overall experience.

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Nikolais takes you back to old times Russia with the decor which is mirrored and brass and very warm and old-fashioned. They are famous for clinking the silver plate warmers together in unison when revealing your courses. Try the homeade vodka and you won't be dissapointed.

My husband and I live in Charleston SC, and our wedding planner took us to Nikolai's when we were in Atlanta, and we were extremely impressed. The Cuisine is was phenomenal and the atmosphere was incredibly romantic. We have recommended Nikolai's to all of our family that lives in the Atlanta area.