Nowak’s Cafe

1397 North Highland Avenue Northeast, Atlanta
(678) 705-4231

Recent Reviews

Bryan Cascarano

Ordered their chicken club and I couldn’t be more disappointed for the $17 price. Therefore this post is to deter any one from ever ordering it from Nowak’s. This is at best a $10 and it comes with NOTHING. No fries, nothing. Check out what you get for $17.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Jose Brea

Delicious food and a great atmosphere. The steaks are amazing!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Filet Mignon 8 Oz, French Onion Soup

DeeAnna Sova

We googled best steaks in Atlanta and we won!!! One of us has the steak and best steak ever, did not even need additional seasoning of any type. One of us has the chicken pillema and it was also delicious. The staff were great, bartender and the owner. Everyone was the right amount of chatty and it was a great experience. We will be back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: French Onion

Scott Geller

I ordered a $37 steak frites and it was 6 oz of steak. What little steak was there was tasty but we split one entree and had 5 drinks for $167. The "salad" was more like a garnish of 5 pieces of lettuce. Don't waste your money.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 4

Greg Phillips

My wife and I who live close by decided to head to Nowak’s this evening. We sat at the bar and at the beginning everything was going well. The bar tender was great and so were the drinks. Then, over the next 20 minutes, about 40 people showed up for a Christmas party, which was fine but they were all at the bar.So, suddenly we are overwhelmed with people beside us and behind us ordering drinks.What started as chill night turned into alot of people in a small space. I’m not sure if they were having dinners but it was way too crowded. We ordered food then cancelled our order because it would have been impossible to eat at the bar with people standing behind you and beside you. So, we left without dinner.A total mismanagement from my perspective. If you are going to have that many people show up, have them in a separate room not invading the space of existing dinners. Will definitely not be back…

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 3

WileyS

Four disappointments: (1) - after watching the next table enjoy a steak with asparagus when I order the same was told - sorry we don't have any asparagus. (2)- Food was delivered to 3 of us but final dish did not come out at same time. It took many minutes before final dish was served. Whether it was the wait or how it came out one of our party had to have their entre warmed up. (3). One of our party ordered the Branzino. ($37) What was served was a single thin filet of fish on a puddle of mashed potatoes. Fish portion couldn't have been more than a couple of ounces. The picture of the dish on Open Table showed two healthy filets. (4) When we complained about the disparity the waiter got the chef/manager/owner and he claimed that food costs have gone up so they had to cut back. He even admitted that he was the one that took the picture that is on their website. Made me wonder if my 16oz steak was really 16oz. No sincere apology but did say "what can we do?" We said for starters not falsely depict your food on the website. Nothing much was said after that point and they walked away. Only when we paid the check did the waiter say the fish had been removed from the bill. As noted this was a disappointing experience. My wife and I have enjoyed many evenings there dining or having wine at the bar. This was the first time our friends had been to Nowak's so not a great first impression. We will likely return but with some reservation.

RushS

Nowak's midtown location has more than a great neighborhood vibe, it's focused its menu to emphasize consistent classics with a nice dusting of New Orleans magic. (BBQ shrimp for example) It looks like the prices have reduced a little from the post-covid price escalation across the Atlanta restaurant scene. It feels like the value is back in high-end dining at least at this restaurant. Favorites include the Chicken Paillard, always crisp to perfection and the right mix of arugula and vinaigrette and the Steak Frites with a double order of chimichurri. The steak quality in this classic bistro dish is not compromised. It might have been tempting to choose second shelf beef that can hide behind the chimi but the cut was tender, no strings, nice char and medium rare in between. Nowak's is a high quality, high skill restaurant and fills an empty spot for neighborhood fine dining in midtown.

Wontbback

Very good service. Very limited side dish options. No bread with salad or before/during dinner. Underwhelming atmosphere. Photos online don't reflect what's actually on the menu.

We are fans of nowak's fans and we are there a lot! Last night was super busy when we came in to dinner...my pasta dish came out not hot and my husband's steak was undercooked..the chef, manger and server fixed the issue immediately! The service is always top tier and we'll be back soon!

Don Lee

Had a very pricey but mediocre steak at Chops last night which reminded me of what a great steak I had at Nowak's!!! Best steak in Atlanta and great service too.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Jim Mallory

Janice, our servicer, was excellent and very helpful. The tuna was

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: French Onion Soup

Janice Brown

If you havent tried this hidden gem you are missing out. Nowak's boasts a warm inviting atmosphere, craft cocktails, an extensive wine list, and the best steaks Atlanta has to offer.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Dan Balser

Excellent food. Perfect cook on the filet. Solid showing all-around. Relaxing, laid back neighborhood vibe.I’ll be back. 100%

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

DrewP

We chose Nowak's for our 22nd anniversary dinner and were really pleased we chose an earlyish time (6:30) on a weeknight, as things were quieter & not rushed. Great staff, esp our server Jesus. Great menu choices - enough but not too many. We started with the blue cheese chips appetizer (yum! +next time we wanna try the artichoke app), wedge salads (yum!), pesto chicken entree + salmon entree - both terrific; I made a side substitution w no issue. Shared lemon ice box pie for dessert - out of this world - it's homemade! One request: Add an NA (non-alcoholic) beer to the menu; just keep one kind on hand. Mocktails are not the same, as they are super caloric. We non-drinkers would really appreciate it. We'll be back - thanks for a nice evening!

Tara P.

I would leave three stars due to service, but the food was so delicious that I'm bumping to four. When someone in our party asked how pink the medium steak is, our server could not describe it. On top of that, it took forever for our order to be taken so we ended up being late to the concert we were going to. That being said, I ordered a medium-rare filet which was delicious and reasonably priced - I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to let the phone eat first. If you like red wine, be advised that the least expensive glass costs $17. I probably won't be coming back for a while, but it's worth checking out at least once if you aren't in a rush.

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