Dante's Down the Hatch

Dante's Down the Hatch was simply the worst restaurant experience I have ever had. Upon walking in I could understand the visual appeal that drew people in. The pirate ship and the music were interesting, but the good experience ended there. I went into Dante's expecting bad service because I was with a prom group, and no server expects a good tip from teenagers, but I wasn't expecting it to be this bad. It took nearly an hour for us to get our food (which seems interesting because none of it is cooked, just raw meat on a plate). The food was awful and overpriced. The meat was bad, the fondue cheese tasted like a boot, and we all left hungry because the portions were tiny. After waiting some time to get our checks, then waiting for the server to collect our checks we had to wait over an hour to get our change. By this time our night was ruined and we had missed three quarters of the dance. I fully understand why Dante's is now closed, and if they reopen in the future I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone

I might give this place a higher rating if I actually liked chocolate fondue. Chocolate fondue might be a nice end to dinner but as the main course leaves much to be desired and leaves you feeling over-sugared. Service is very good in a Georgian kind of way. Waitresses, and owners will stop by and chat which seems to be normal based on my two Atlanta dining experiences. People from other parts of the country may find this behavior odd. What would be the polite signal you give if you don't want to chat or bothered? The place is decorated like a pirate ship and very dark, and with real alligators. Some might like this but I'm not fond of this. If you come to this place make sure you're with a large group who likes lots of sweets and chocolates. I didn't try the cheese fondue so maybe that's better.

Absolutely fantastic experience! The manager really went out of her way to give my wife and I special treatment. It's easy to see why they have a great reputation here in Atlanta. If you enjoy upscale dining, live jazz music, and a unique atmosphere... visit Dantes! I kind of felt like a big kid expecting to find buried treasure near the pirate ship. Cool place.

Dante's has the coolest server ever, Lindsay Wise. She is extremely polite and hilarious and helped make my dining experience a most enjoyable one! I haven't had fondue since I was a child, growing up in France and I forgot how much I loved it! Now I go every chance I get when I'm in town on business.

I will compare this restaurant to The Melting Pot. Price: Same - about $100 for two people. While-you-wait: Dante's gives you very delicious bread/butter for free while you wait. Nothing at Melting Pot is free. Drinks; Dante's has a pretty extensive collection, so does Melting Pot. I don't drink alcohol, so this wasn't a big deal for me. Dante's has won a ton of awards for their wine selection, so I assume it's very good. Found it strange that in Atlanta, they didn't brew their own sweet iced tea. Cheese fondue: Melting pot has more variety, although Dante's minimal selections were excellent. Hard to chose here, but variety wins out for me. Salad: Dante's has more variety, and their dressings are all hand made and delicious. Soup: No soup option at Melting Pot. Dante's had one flavor of soup and it was outstanding. Dinner: Dante serves slightly less food, but you can order more a'la carte. For example, when you're done you can ask for, say, another half pound of chicken or whatever you like. Not terribly expensive to add more meats. I will say that the flavor of Dante's meats and fish far surpass those of Melting Pot. Each type of meat was tender and flavorful. Melting Pot gives you more sauces to dip your items, more vegetables to dip, and more cooking fluid selections. You get only four sauces at Dante's but they were all excellent. Melting Pot sauces are OK, not as good, but you get more variety. Desert: Melting Pot has much more selections of chocolate fondue. Dante's only has one chocolate "feast" that is not meant as a desert and requires 2-days notice to order (parties of six minimum, at 28 bucks a head). We may go back to try this, as it does sound delicious. We had to pick from a small list of regular deserts. We chose the pecan pie with a side of vanilla ice cream, and it was heavenly. Overall, I would say Melting pot wins in the desert category simply by virtue of having more to chose from, but damn that pecan pie at Dante's was GOOD! Ambiance: Hands down - Dante's wins here. Compared to the minimalist and rather cold decor at a typical Melting Pot, Dante's was warm and interesting. Service: Dante's has better service. We sat at the Jazz bar and were glad we did. Band was excellent. Yeah, we paid the extra cash, but it was our choice. We could have sat outside the "boat" and heard the music, but then you don't get the full experience. Overall, we liked it better than Melting Pot, and will definitely be going back. Will not keep us from going back to Melting Pot, but will be added to the Fondue rotation.

Everything was beyond overpriced and the service was terrible. My wife and I spent well over $100 and I still had to stop at McDonald's (which I hate) on the way home because I was still hungry. And I'm not a fatty (weigh 185). The portions are ridiculously small. Hardly any choices and the food had no taste, unless oil is a flavor. I really wish I could give them 1/2 stars. And who the hell charges for you to sit closer to the band? It is a jazz bar, duh, of course I want to hear the music. The place was almost completely empty on a Friday night. Do NOT go here! It is a waste of money

The minute I sat down, a cockroach scurried across the top of the table. The appetizers weren't bad, but there wasn't enough of the Swiss fondue. It ran out quickly, and then a lot of it burned to the sides of the pot (servers aren't chefs; our pot was far too hot for fondue cheese. I think he was trying to put on a show with a big fire. We weren't impressed). I ordered a 16$ entree which was vegetarian. I got a side plate portion of raw vegetables that I had to fry in pots of oil. It was annoying cuz I was so hungry and my friend next to me kept losing the food off his skewer while he dipped it out of the frying oil so we had to "go fishing" for it in the pot of oil. I had four dipping sauces which weren't very good. After a couple bites I lost interest. In fact my side plate size serving of raw veggies is sitting in the refrigerator currently. All ten if us literally hit up McDonald's on the way home. The jazz band was rather boring and all but inaudible. Why would I go back? Step up your game, Dante. Atlanta has far too much to offer to deal with this crap.

I live in Utah. Every time I go to Atlanta, I go to Dantes. It has been a tradition since 1985.. and the quality has always been good, and the staff terrific. If you go to Atlanta, and you like Fondue, this is a must stop.