Small Plates, Smaller Tables at Krog Bar

For a place without a stove, Krog Bar serves some pretty amazing food. But when they say “small plates” they aren’t kidding. Lady Steakhead and I met some friends there Saturday, and I tried to warn them this is tapas in its truest sense (meaning, don’t come hungry). Maybe I should have done a better job of warning myself, since I needed a drive-thru stop at Steak n Shake on the way home!

Krog Bar is a Kevin Rathbun creation and is literally a tin shack in the parking lot of his reknowned restaurant in the Stove Works in Inman Park. I would say Krog Bar is a wine bar first, and the wine menu is relatively easy to navigate. The wait staff was very helpful in directing us to glasses of red that satisfied our varied tastes. The seating, both inside and outside was limited. We sat outside, huddled around two tiny tables that could barely fit our glasses of wine , and maybe one or two plates. I don’t know what the word for small table is in Spanish, but that may be a better descriptor of this place than “tapas” (small plate).

As I mentioned, there is no stove at Krog Bar, despite it being located in a place called the Stove Works. Usually at tapas places, I figure two plates per person will fill you up. At Krog Bar, you’ll need to increase that. Our party of four had nine plates and two desserts, and it wasn’t nearly enough.

I would call out the plates that stood out for me, but really they all did. I liked the beef carpaccio so much, I had a second plate for dessert. We had one plate with these nuggets of tuna sashimi with a soy glaze. There was this special with pieces of smoked salmon topped with anchovy that was aces. The chorizo finger sandwiches and the hot salami were also big hits.

I doubt I will return to Krog Bar for a full meal again. Between the four of us, we spent well over $200, and still left hungry. However, the atmosphere is wonderful, and it is definitely worth a pre- or post- dinner stop for a glass of wine and a plate or two. I know I will plan on stopping by after a meal at Kevin Rathbun Steak when it opens in early May!

Steakhead Recommends: Yes (but not for a full dinner)
Cost: $$-$$$