Last Resort Grill
Last Resort Grill
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About Last Resort Grill
Last Resort Grill has been the anchor of downtown Athens dining since 1992. The restaurant occupies a space on W Clayton Street with real history. The original Last Resort opened as a music venue in 1966, hosting acts like Jimmy Buffett and Steve Martin before the kitchen took over. Three decades later, the food is the show, and it has earned its reputation as one of the best restaurants in Athens, GA. The cooking is southwestern inspired Southern cuisine, a combination that sounds unusual on paper but makes perfect sense on the plate. The menu changes with the seasons and leans into the quality of local ingredients. Expect bold flavors, generous portions, and a wine list that holds up against restaurants in much larger cities. Dinner service runs seven nights a week starting at 5 PM, with brunch and lunch on Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 2 PM. Kelly and Tom Call took over ownership in January 2023, and the transition has been seamless. The kitchen still delivers the standard that regulars expect, and the dining room still fills up on weekends without fail. The space itself is warm and inviting, with local artwork on the walls that rotates regularly and adds to the creative energy of the room. Reservations are strongly recommended, especially on UGA game weekends and during graduation. The restaurant sits right in the heart of downtown Athens, within walking distance of everything on Clayton Street and the surrounding blocks. Parking is available on the street and in nearby lots. At the $$$ price point, it sits at the upper end of Athens dining but delivers value that justifies every dollar.
Specialties
Athens Scoop says: The restaurant that made Athens a food city. Thirty years in, and it still sets the bar.
Soeleos Music
3 weeks ago
We've never been to Athens before so we decided to walk the town. We noticed a restaurant, just about opening time, with a line of people. We investigated and it turned out to be a jewel. Very nice atmosphere, signature dishes are a little spendy (Caramelized Scallops =$45), but otherwise ok. Also (most important) the desert case has quite a variety of cakes and cheesecake, we enjoyed German Chocolate cake. Overall, the food was excellent, check the photos, the fish is a huge piece of Trout, and the other is the pasta. Highly recommended.
Erin Rifkin
2 months ago
The food is just ok and it’s very expensive for being just ok. Fried green tomatoes were flavorless, scallops were fishy and grits watery, the salmon was decent and so were the crab cakes and the short rib but it wasn’t seasoned probably at all. In fact, we had to salt every single dish we got and that is not something I do normally. None of the foot came out hot either. Pathetic really I don’t know why people love this place. It’s insanely loud inside and the owner was there with his friends who were super obnoxious. They were in the middle of the restaurant with tons of people in and out talking to them. His friend was standing up and yelling constantly. Absolutely would not come back. The entire group I was with agreed.
Krista Korngold
a month ago
Highly recommend. Had a great experience with my dad and stepmom. The food was excellent. I got the short rib and they got the hangar steak. Our waitress was awesome. She had great suggestions, was very friendly, and checked in often for refills which I always like. The atmosphere is nice. We sat in a covered patio and there was an electric fireplace to keep it warm.
2224 reviews