1856 – A Southern Stage Worthy of the World’s Finest Tables
Dining at 1856 is akin to discovering a perfectly pitched note in a symphony of culinary legends. As seasoned patrons of the world’s most exalted establishments—from the pristine precision of Le Bernardin to the architectural elegance of Per Se, the emotive balance of Jean-Georges, and the exquisite minimalism of Masa—our standards are drawn from the apex of global gastronomy.
Yet within the heart of Auburn, 1856 delivered an experience as moving and masterful as any we’ve encountered. Led by Reese, whose quiet confidence and command—refined by her Fort Benning background—infused the evening with poised excellence, we encountered not only technical brilliance but a depth of service that was both intentional and human.
From the first pour of butterfly pea tea, presented with poetic flourish and expert insight, we were drawn into a progression of courses that paid reverent homage to the greats. The plates echoed the style and soul of Michelin’s finest—without mimicry, but with inspired interpretation. Each dish spoke with a culinary fluency that suggested years of mentorship under master chefs, though here, it is student hands—guided by vision and discipline—that execute with such clarity and heart.
Our table included a Forbes and Michelin-certified trainer and a luxury marketing consultant, individuals who’ve dined in rare air—where a seat commands $1,000. And yet, nowhere—at any price—have we experienced such comfortable perfection. The coffee service, a final act in this well-scored performance, was as refined and intentional as anything we’ve seen at Masa or Atelier Crenn.
This is Auburn hospitality elevated to a global standard. It recalled that pivotal moment in The Bear when Ritchie steps into his own, not through ego but through empathy, realizing that true excellence lies in making someone’s night—because it might make their day. That ethos lives here.
I gain a teary eye of pride as I write this, because—“I believe in Auburn and love it.” This is one more reason, as an Auburn man, that those words in our creed ring more true than ever.
And so, with great pride in my alma mater, and in brotherhood with my fellow and future alumni, I implore you: take the journey. Experience what Auburn is offering the world through 1856. Support these rising stars—our future leaders of industry—who are quietly mastering the art of luxury service with soul. As Jerry Inzerillo has so often declared from the stage at Forbes award after Forbes award: “They are doing great things—absolutely great things.” Auburn is no longer just part of the conversation. It is shaping it.
Frank Hillyard
1856 was by far the most personalized, and incredible meal we have ever had. (I chose this for my celebration lunch for my graduation) From the personal card, to the natural blue tea, the little dessert and to top it all off, their gift (new this year for graduates who celebrate there) a descendant from the oak trees at Toomer's corner. They used one of the acorns to start this tree and I can grow it at home now. I was totally blown away. 1856, you blew me away! I loved everything! I chose Auburn for my dual Master's degrees, because of the feeling like you are family and this truly made me feel a part of the Auburn Family! Auburn for life! War Eagle!
D. Claire Burns
The food, atmosphere and service were incredible! Every dish was a work of art! Indah and Sarah were excellent in their service and drink recommendations. I cannot recommend 1856 enough. If you are celebrating a special occasion in Auburn or just want a an incredible experience check them out! Everyone who works there has a bright future in the culinary arts and hospitality world!
Tracy Snoddy
Thursday’s Valentine seating was excellent. Service was superb and the whole crew were on point. I highly recommend and give them 5 stars.
J
Listen, there's nothing wrong with hiring or training aspiring culinary art Majors in your restaurant. However, charging the prices you charge for the food and drinks to come out wrong... CONSISTENTLY.. because the staff (students in training) don't have any experience, is ridiculous and wrong. Every single thing we orded came out with some issue of its own. Again, it's admirable that you're employing students. It's a disgrace you're charging $30 a cocktail and $80 a plate for them both to be messed up. The only silver lining is that the students were very polite and professional even though they didn't really know what they were doing.
James VanderWier
We have been fortunate enough to have tasting menus around the US and the world. Several at Michelin star restaurants. To date, our experience at 1856 has been the best. Both service and food quality were on point! This was the first tasting that my wife actually ate everything from every course! Well done.
Emily Church
There is a lot of potential here, but the food needs help. I would like to see improvement on the dishes temperature wise, taste wise, and presentation wise. The soup came out nearly cold. It had minimum flavor and did not offer a true coconut taste despite being called a coconut soup. The salad did not have much flavor either despite all of the toppings. The Strawberry Sundae was not terrible, but I felt the appearance could have been way better. The presentation was overwhelming. I did enjoy watching the team cook the dishes, but I didn’t see much communication nor inspiration, and that affected the outcome of the dishes. I did like the flower drink. It was quite nice and refreshing!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Igor Rubinshteyn
My recent visit to 1856 - Culinary Residence Restaurant was, in a word, abysmal. This unforgivably pretentious and inhospitable “fine dining” establishment. Is nothing more than a mediocre dining experience draped in self-importance.
We were well aware that this was a fine dining prix fixe restaurant and that it might not be ideal for children, but having traveled extensively with the family, including dining at top-tier restaurants/ Michelin star restaurants across the US and Europe, we assumed there would be some modicum of flexibility. We were gravely mistaken.
From the moment we sat down, it became clear that the management's inflexibility was not just a policy but a point of pride. Despite our polite requests for a simple substitution or even just a small plate of something basic for our 8-year-old daughter, we were met with a stone-cold refusal. The audacity of this place knows no bounds—they wouldn’t even let us bring in outside food for her! Our daughter sat there, visibly upset and hungry crying while we endured course after course of bland uninspired, pretentious food that she couldn’t eat. They even suggested we go outside in the middle of our meal, feed our daughter with outside food and then come back to finish our meal.
This restaurant has the pretense of a Michelin star establishment without anything to show for it. The food definitely wasn't worth the discomfort and frustration of staying any longer. Ultimately, we couldn’t endure it any longer. We left in the middle of the meal to find somewhere else where we could feed our child, who was understandably distressed.
The only saving grace was our waitress- she was great very welcoming. She really tried to help.
In all our years of dining out with our child, we’ve never encountered such a lack of empathy or hospitality. A restaurant that values its ego over the comfort and satisfaction of its patrons, especially a child, is not one worth visiting. Avoid 1856- Culinary Residence restaurant at all costs unless you enjoy paying exorbitant prices for mediocre food and being treated like an inconvenience. This place is nothing more than a hollow shell of pretension, with no substance to back it up.
Auburn has so many great restaurants- skip this one - your palate and your wallet will thank you.
Kid-friendliness: The most kid UNfriendly restaurant I’ve ever been to.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Julia Giyaur, MD
Food is so so , pretentious without being great. Wine pairings are also mediocre. Not worth the price honestly. The nice thing is that Auburn students work there. But the management is poor.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Gary Zolle Stone
A fabulous dining experience from the first moment on. Great ambiance, with attention to detail from the whole staff, to delicious and creative offerings that Sarah presented for each course on the tasting menu. It is also such a wonderful concept to have a teaching restaurant with renowned chefs in residence to teach their craft to students. A unique dining experience that is on par with any Michelin star restaurant I have visited, with great wine pairings from Sommelier Thomas Price (as well as an extensive wine list), and a truly welcoming staff that from the front to the back deserve accolades for a job well done!
High tea at the 1856 culinary residence is a master class in modern elegance, expertly supported by the best staff I have possibly ever encountered in a restaurant setting. Anna and Anggi were delightful to interact with, making sure every detail was perfect for my wife's birthday celebration. We came away stuffed with creative twists on classic accoutrements, already planning our next visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A96 Productions
If there were a sixth star for possibly the best restaurant you’ve ever experienced this would be it. Unbelievable creativity. Unbelievable taste. The price tag is actually a bargain considering the areas of the globe you will be sampling from. Truly an fantastic experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dylan Barr
Thank you to Eli and Shiva for a great bar experience. Fantastic cocktail menu and spirit selection. Cannot wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Charles Adams
It is a teaching restaurant. However, it is overpriced. The chefs lack imagination. The food was disappointing particularly for the cost. I had the hamburger at $29. Simple entree, right? Worst in Auburn. Wait staff was the high water mark. No draft beer so the management decided to pour a 12 oz can of beer into a 15oz class. The funny part of this is in the same building there is a very good brewery the restaurant could contract to supply draft beer. 1856 is exactly the reason institutions should not own businesses. An entrepreneur will have his business on the cutting edge and it will be done their way. I grow organic local vegetables, I sell to several chefs in Auburn. My suggestion to 1856, go to acre, Lucy's, Vintage, ZaZu, Hound, learn how to compete.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Valeri White
Such an incredible experience! Watching students and professors and chefs and sommeliers all working together to create a culinary experience!
1856 – A Southern Stage Worthy of the World’s Finest Tables
Dining at 1856 is akin to discovering a perfectly pitched note in a symphony of culinary legends. As seasoned patrons of the world’s most exalted establishments—from the pristine precision of Le Bernardin to the architectural elegance of Per Se, the emotive balance of Jean-Georges, and the exquisite minimalism of Masa—our standards are drawn from the apex of global gastronomy.
Yet within the heart of Auburn, 1856 delivered an experience as moving and masterful as any we’ve encountered. Led by Reese, whose quiet confidence and command—refined by her Fort Benning background—infused the evening with poised excellence, we encountered not only technical brilliance but a depth of service that was both intentional and human.
From the first pour of butterfly pea tea, presented with poetic flourish and expert insight, we were drawn into a progression of courses that paid reverent homage to the greats. The plates echoed the style and soul of Michelin’s finest—without mimicry, but with inspired interpretation. Each dish spoke with a culinary fluency that suggested years of mentorship under master chefs, though here, it is student hands—guided by vision and discipline—that execute with such clarity and heart.
Our table included a Forbes and Michelin-certified trainer and a luxury marketing consultant, individuals who’ve dined in rare air—where a seat commands $1,000. And yet, nowhere—at any price—have we experienced such comfortable perfection. The coffee service, a final act in this well-scored performance, was as refined and intentional as anything we’ve seen at Masa or Atelier Crenn.
This is Auburn hospitality elevated to a global standard. It recalled that pivotal moment in The Bear when Ritchie steps into his own, not through ego but through empathy, realizing that true excellence lies in making someone’s night—because it might make their day. That ethos lives here.
I gain a teary eye of pride as I write this, because—“I believe in Auburn and love it.” This is one more reason, as an Auburn man, that those words in our creed ring more true than ever.
And so, with great pride in my alma mater, and in brotherhood with my fellow and future alumni, I implore you: take the journey. Experience what Auburn is offering the world through 1856. Support these rising stars—our future leaders of industry—who are quietly mastering the art of luxury service with soul. As Jerry Inzerillo has so often declared from the stage at Forbes award after Forbes award: “They are doing great things—absolutely great things.” Auburn is no longer just part of the conversation. It is shaping it.
1856 was by far the most personalized, and incredible meal we have ever had. (I chose this for my celebration lunch for my graduation) From the personal card, to the natural blue tea, the little dessert and to top it all off, their gift (new this year for graduates who celebrate there) a descendant from the oak trees at Toomer's corner. They used one of the acorns to start this tree and I can grow it at home now. I was totally blown away. 1856, you blew me away! I loved everything! I chose Auburn for my dual Master's degrees, because of the feeling like you are family and this truly made me feel a part of the Auburn Family! Auburn for life! War Eagle!
The food, atmosphere and service were incredible! Every dish was a work of art! Indah and Sarah were excellent in their service and drink recommendations. I cannot recommend 1856 enough. If you are celebrating a special occasion in Auburn or just want a an incredible experience check them out! Everyone who works there has a bright future in the culinary arts and hospitality world!
Thursday’s Valentine seating was excellent. Service was superb and the whole crew were on point. I highly recommend and give them 5 stars.
Listen, there's nothing wrong with hiring or training aspiring culinary art Majors in your restaurant. However, charging the prices you charge for the food and drinks to come out wrong... CONSISTENTLY.. because the staff (students in training) don't have any experience, is ridiculous and wrong. Every single thing we orded came out with some issue of its own. Again, it's admirable that you're employing students. It's a disgrace you're charging $30 a cocktail and $80 a plate for them both to be messed up. The only silver lining is that the students were very polite and professional even though they didn't really know what they were doing.
We have been fortunate enough to have tasting menus around the US and the world. Several at Michelin star restaurants. To date, our experience at 1856 has been the best. Both service and food quality were on point! This was the first tasting that my wife actually ate everything from every course! Well done.
There is a lot of potential here, but the food needs help. I would like to see improvement on the dishes temperature wise, taste wise, and presentation wise. The soup came out nearly cold. It had minimum flavor and did not offer a true coconut taste despite being called a coconut soup. The salad did not have much flavor either despite all of the toppings. The Strawberry Sundae was not terrible, but I felt the appearance could have been way better. The presentation was overwhelming. I did enjoy watching the team cook the dishes, but I didn’t see much communication nor inspiration, and that affected the outcome of the dishes. I did like the flower drink. It was quite nice and refreshing!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
My recent visit to 1856 - Culinary Residence Restaurant was, in a word, abysmal. This unforgivably pretentious and inhospitable “fine dining” establishment. Is nothing more than a mediocre dining experience draped in self-importance.
We were well aware that this was a fine dining prix fixe restaurant and that it might not be ideal for children, but having traveled extensively with the family, including dining at top-tier restaurants/ Michelin star restaurants across the US and Europe, we assumed there would be some modicum of flexibility. We were gravely mistaken.
From the moment we sat down, it became clear that the management's inflexibility was not just a policy but a point of pride. Despite our polite requests for a simple substitution or even just a small plate of something basic for our 8-year-old daughter, we were met with a stone-cold refusal. The audacity of this place knows no bounds—they wouldn’t even let us bring in outside food for her! Our daughter sat there, visibly upset and hungry crying while we endured course after course of bland uninspired, pretentious food that she couldn’t eat. They even suggested we go outside in the middle of our meal, feed our daughter with outside food and then come back to finish our meal.
This restaurant has the pretense of a Michelin star establishment without anything to show for it. The food definitely wasn't worth the discomfort and frustration of staying any longer. Ultimately, we couldn’t endure it any longer. We left in the middle of the meal to find somewhere else where we could feed our child, who was understandably distressed.
The only saving grace was our waitress- she was great very welcoming. She really tried to help.
In all our years of dining out with our child, we’ve never encountered such a lack of empathy or hospitality. A restaurant that values its ego over the comfort and satisfaction of its patrons, especially a child, is not one worth visiting. Avoid 1856- Culinary Residence restaurant at all costs unless you enjoy paying exorbitant prices for mediocre food and being treated like an inconvenience. This place is nothing more than a hollow shell of pretension, with no substance to back it up.
Auburn has so many great restaurants- skip this one - your palate and your wallet will thank you.
Kid-friendliness: The most kid UNfriendly restaurant I’ve ever been to.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Food is so so , pretentious without being great. Wine pairings are also mediocre. Not worth the price honestly. The nice thing is that Auburn students work there. But the management is poor.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
A fabulous dining experience from the first moment on. Great ambiance, with attention to detail from the whole staff, to delicious and creative offerings that Sarah presented for each course on the tasting menu.
It is also such a wonderful concept to have a teaching restaurant with renowned chefs in residence to teach their craft to students. A unique dining experience that is on par with any Michelin star restaurant I have visited, with great wine pairings from Sommelier Thomas Price (as well as an extensive wine list), and a truly welcoming staff that from the front to the back deserve accolades for a job well done!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
High tea at the 1856 culinary residence is a master class in modern elegance, expertly supported by the best staff I have possibly ever encountered in a restaurant setting. Anna and Anggi were delightful to interact with, making sure every detail was perfect for my wife's birthday celebration. We came away stuffed with creative twists on classic accoutrements, already planning our next visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If there were a sixth star for possibly the best restaurant you’ve ever experienced this would be it. Unbelievable creativity. Unbelievable taste. The price tag is actually a bargain considering the areas of the globe you will be sampling from. Truly an fantastic experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Thank you to Eli and Shiva for a great bar experience. Fantastic cocktail menu and spirit selection. Cannot wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
It is a teaching restaurant. However, it is overpriced. The chefs lack imagination. The food was disappointing particularly for the cost. I had the hamburger at $29. Simple entree, right? Worst in Auburn. Wait staff was the high water mark. No draft beer so the management decided to pour a 12 oz can of beer into a 15oz class. The funny part of this is in the same building there is a very good brewery the restaurant could contract to supply draft beer. 1856 is exactly the reason institutions should not own businesses. An entrepreneur will have his business on the cutting edge and it will be done their way. I grow organic local vegetables, I sell to several chefs in Auburn. My suggestion to 1856, go to acre, Lucy's, Vintage, ZaZu, Hound, learn how to compete.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Such an incredible experience! Watching students and professors and chefs and sommeliers all working together to create a culinary experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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