Fogón and Lions Alpharetta

One of my fave new restaurants in DT Alpharetta. Julio, owner, was very accommodating on our first evening visit. He made sure that the drinks were hand delivered. The food was fresh and delicious. The empanadas as appetizer and Burger were a huge hit with our group. We can’t wait to go back!

Opened in May, Fogón and Lions is another wonderful addition to the downtown Alpharetta experience. Offering a Spanish-Latin experience, the menu has sharable tapas, Ceviche, and other appetizers. Main's include seafood, beef, lamb and chicken cooked on a wood fire grill. I enjoyed the Seasonal Fish (striped bass) served with Cilantro Rice, Chorizo Sauce, Chayote Squash-Lemon Salad and it was excellent! The space itself is made for socializing with indoor and outdoor dining.

I really wanted to like this restaurant, as I had heard good things about it and it is within walking distance of my home. But too many things went wrong. First, the service was not great. It took 30-40 minutes to get a drink or glass of wine each time we ordered -- when we could get our waitress' attention. The food we ordered arrived at random times -- some in our group were finished with their appetizers or entrees while others were still waiting for theirs. Second, we had a group of five but we had a 24 percent "large group" gratuity automatically added to our check. Seriously? 24 percent? For a group of five? Third, the restaurant is incredibly loud inside -- it has high ceilings and zero acoustic buffers. We have dined in hundreds of restaurants throughout the world and it is as loud as any place we have experienced. On the positive side, most of the food was very good, they have an excellent wine list and cocktails, and everyone is friendly. We may go back, but I hope Fogon and