The Last Supper at Kyma

Last Friday, Lady Steakhead and I went for our last upscale dinner before the arrival of Baby Steakhead in the coming days. For our final night out as DINKs, we not only wanted some place special, but a place where you would not normally bring babies or kids. We decided upon Kyma (pronounced KEE-ma), as we had heard many great things about this upscale Greek restaurant that is part of the Buckhead Life restaurant group. Imagine both the shock and surprise on our faces when the first table we see was a large group with not one, but THREE babies! Nikos, our waiter, explains that Greeks are family-oriented people, and Kyma welcomes children at the tables in the bar area (sort of ironic, but this isn’t your typical Buckhead bar, so it’s alright).

The service at Kyma gets an A+ in my opinion. Both the waiter and the manager knew my name when they approached our table for the first time. (And for those wondering, I don’t give the name ‘Steakhead’ when making a reservation.) I know it’s a small little gesture to actually look at the reservation sheet, but it’s a touch of class that is not seen often, even at the high-end places. Nikos was also very helpful with the menu. When I asked if ordering the Retsina was a good idea, his response was a sheepish “it’s not the best idea”. Anyone who has had this Greek wine would not argue with this assessment.

We started with two appetizers, the stuffed grape leaves and the red pepper with feta spread. The grape leaves were outstanding. The spread, a bright red color, scored high on presentation and cost (only $3), but wasn’t too memorable. For the main course, I went with the lamb chops. The meat was well-seasoned and tender. The one universal truth about lamb chops, though, is that you don’t get a ton of meat. Even with four lamb chops, you really don’t get much more than two bites per chop. Someone needs to either engineer a bigger sheep for these dishes, or restaurants need to start giving more than four small chops. Lady Steakhead went with a grouper special that sounded better than it actually was.

Being a somewhat celebratory dinner, we each had dessert. I went with the rice pudding, while LS had the lava cake with cinnamon ice cream. I may sound a bit like a woman for saying this, but the lava cake was pure heaven.

Kyma hits a home run on many aspects of the fine dining experience. The service and atmosphere specifically are all top notch. The food is definitely above average, but I am not sure if I can say it’s commensurate with the cost, as it is pricy. But being the sucker for service, and the fact that we can bring the little one, I have a good feeling I will be back. Cost: $$$. Grade: B+.