The National

My wife and I as well as my sister-in-law and nephew were celebrating my wife's birthday. We have eaten here a number of times and so we were familiar with the menu. Although the food is good. It's not exceptional. If anything, the offerings are a bit to complicated. It think the food would be better if the menu was simpler. I had there vegetable plate and I found it less palatable then the last time I ordered it. The service is adequate, but the tables are a bit too close. So close in fact, that the server at the next table stood inches from our table while taking the order.

I've been to the National several times and it does not disappoint. The staff is very friendly and always willing to explain items on the menu. The lunch menu is reasonably priced though on the higher end ($10-$15). The portion sizes are smaller than chain restaurants, but you can taste the difference with the quality of the ingredients. I recommend calling in a reservation for dinner, especially if its a special occasion.

The best drink they have is their ginger turmeric tonic. Its fresh squeezed each day and incredibly refreshing.

Loved the food. The flavors were there and the presentation was great. We had the hanger steak, warm chickpea and ocra salad and anchovies bruchettas. I was impressed by the combinations of spices. A perfect crossover between southern and Mediterranean food. As dessert we had the cheese plate which was also very good. I especially enjoyed the smoked cheese. Very very good.

I brought the family here while looking for apartments for my son. Everyone just loved their meals. Everything and I mean everything was delicious. Our server, I think her name was Casey or something close to that, was incredibly nice and on top of things. I had one of their specialty drinks and it was so good. We're going to come back whenever we're in town. This place is now a family tradition.

EDIT: We went back a few days ago and had the house made bacon appetizer and that was the BEST BACON I have ever put in my mouth. We fought over the last bite and ended up ordering another one. The hummus was great too the warm fresh pita chips really made it.

Very trendy farm-to-table dining in a relaxed atmosphere. Dinner for 4 with appetizers, salads, main course, and desserts was over $110... and worth it. Food was excellent and the flavors were exciting. We were there for about 3 hours and never felt pressured to do anything but thoroughly enjoy ourselves... and so we did.

A spacious and clean area with the very BEST wait staff.

Not the price range meal I eat every week, but for very special occasions or people, where taste and time matter, you really can't do any better.

Delicious food in a delightful atmosphere. I ordered the chicken dinner, boring fare anywhere else but here it was a pleasant mix of bright and colorful flavors; citrus, carrots ,cilantro and a chickpea pancake complimented the moist chicken very nicely. Windows were open, fans and heaters were on, masks were worn.

Wow, great food and excellent atmosphere. My husband and I split the chicken special and it was the perfect size. The portions are healthy. They have a wonderful selection of appetizers. This place gets busy but it is delicious.

I’m only giving the National 2 stars instead of 1 because the food was yummy. I have lived in Athens for 4 years and have always heard rave reviews about the National. My boyfriend and I finally decided to try it for our date night dinner on Saturday. We made a reservation for 5 and showed up 10 minutes early. They sat us at a 6 top and did not even bother separating the tables even though we made a reservation in advance. When we asked for a different table they told us they were “all reserved up for the night” even though we had a reservation as well. We stuck with the 6 top table and it was so spacious and awkward for just the two of us.

We asked our server about his drink recommendations and he had absolutely no idea. He asked to see our menu - looked it over - said he hadn’t even tried 3/5 of them- and recommended the first one. Great. We ordered our drinks and mine was subpar- though my boyfriends was a pretty tasty twist on a classic Manhattan.

Next we ordered some appetizers- one of which our server came back to tell us they were out of even though they had just opened on Saturday night. Halfway through our apps I went to the bathroom. The bathroom was littered with paper towels all over the ground and had no toilet paper. Considering they had JUST opened 30 minutes before and this wasn’t after the dinner rush this is unacceptable.

We felt rushed to order entrees and when we finally did we sat staring at empty dirty appetizer plates for 20 minutes while we waited on our mains. Our server simply never cleared our table of old plates and glasses. We literally had to move our own plates and drinks out of the way so there was room to put down our main dinner plates. Our server never checked on our dinner and we actually had to end up hailing down another server to help with ordering desert and end of dinner drinks.

For a fine dining restaurant “The National” did NOT live up to
expectations. I was so excited to try it- but I will not go back. I can get good food and terrible service as well as dirty and awkward ambiance elsewhere.

We always enjoy eating at The National! The food is a delicious adventure with spices and veggies that I'm not always familiar with but am delighted to try. And the wait staff is consistently friendly and attentive. It can get a bit noisy in the dining room, but I guess that's what happens when lots of people are enjoying themselves in a not very large space.

I loved this resturaunt. The scene and atmosphere was not for me. It almost turned me away but once I tasted the food I was blown away. Everything from our appetizers, main course, and desserts was just amazing all the flavors were so good and just well balanced out. The portions were very small for the price but it definitely made up for that in flavors.