Daniel B.
Yelp
Under the Cork Tree rates somewhere between three and four stars for me. I thought the food was fine, the atmosphere was nice, and service was good (friendly staff). It's not bad for a nice night out in Sandy Springs. They serve Mediterranean and New American cuisine, tapas, and wine. There's nothing wrong with this place; it's just in a market with lots of great dining options and I may not return for that reason. If you haven't been here, I do think it's worth checking out. My friends have said good things about Under the Cork Tree for a few years now.
The restaurant opened in January 2016 in the old Joli Kobe space (RIP: http://bit.ly/2QVZ2qG) at the Prado on busy Roswell Road near I-285. It's just inside the perimeter. Limited parking is available directly outside the restaurant, but plenty of parking is available in the Prado garage (free). Under the Cork Tree is by the same people who own another Sandy Springs Roswell Road restaurant: Hammocks Trading Company (http://bit.ly/2DlGxUI). The two restaurants are completely different.
Under the Cork Tree is more in the "fine" dining category. We visited at night. The restaurant was dimly lit and had an intimate, romantic feel to it. Seating in the main dining room is snug and cozy. Servers kept bumping into our chairs as they worked the room. There's a small bar, a private dining/wine room, and an enclosed patio decorated with string lights (heat lamps available in the wintertime). Seating for a few of the tables consists of tufted button leather couches. The kitchen is open and the main interior light fixtures - candle-style circle chandeliers - are cool-looking.
At dinnertime, the menu consisted of soups and salads (starting at $7-12 each), wood oven pizzas ($15-19), entrees ($28-40), paella ($28-34; 30-minute prep time), pastas ($19-25), dips ($8-13), tapas ($7-13), cured meats ($15) and cheeses ($11) (combo boards $21 or $26), and Iberian ham ($24). Each category was decently sized with tapas being, by far, the biggest at 21 items. However, the tapas selection didn't really wow us. When dining here, it's recommended to order a bunch of stuff and share.
Additionally, a brunch buffet is offered Sundays, 11am-3pm, and costs $24.95 per adult and $12.95 for kids 12 and under.
Three of us shared the following:
Wine
* Bodega Piedra Negra Malbec Reserve 2017 (bottle, $44)
Tapas
* Patatas Bravas ($7) - crispy fried potatoes with Romesco
* Albondigas ($9) - veal and pork meatballs simmered in spicy tomato sauce
* Ciccioli ($9) - spicy pulled pork pate, crostini, whole grain mustard, pickled red onion
* Octopus a la Plancha ($15) - fingerling potatoes, chorizo, salsa verde
* Grilled Prime Hanger Steak ($14) - crispy mushrooms, arugula, spicy chermoula sauce
* Wood Oven Roasted Bone Marrow ($8) - charred persimmon jam parsley salad
Entree
* 10-hour Braised Lamb Shank ($34) - creamy feta cheese, ras el hanout spice, pomegranate-walnut tabbouleh
Dip
* Hummus bi Tahini ($13) - traditional-style with warm pita and spiced lamb
The Piedra Negra was delicious, though it needed to breathe a bit. I'm not a wine connoisseur, but I enjoyed it. Like some other restaurants, Under the Cork Tree's wine lists are presented on tablets.
In general, the tapas were OK. I can't say I had favorites. They were all equally good. The Patatas Bravas were served in sizable portions. The Romesco was smooth and had an appetizing, nutty flavor to it. The Albondigas were yummy. Jumbo meatballs that were soft, tender, and nicely seasoned. The tomato sauce was full of umami. The Ciccioli didn't look appetizing, nor was its texture great. It was relatively dry and clumpy. However, the flavor was there. Rich and savory. All of the ingredients went well together. The Octopus was par for the course. Not bad. I especially liked the chewy, flavorful bites of chorizo that accompanied it. The Hanger Steak was also fine. Cooked to a mouthwatering medium rare, the slices of steak were tender, juicy, and tasty.
The Bone Marrow was disappointing. Inherently, the portions on bone marrow are already small, but these were truly minuscule. We sent it back and got a new bone with portions no better. One serving at $8 yielded what seemed like trace amounts of marrow. If you order the marrow, order one per person.
The Lamb Shank was mediocre. Not bad, nothing exceptional about it, just unmemorable. The Hummus bi Tahini with lamb fared better. In fact, it may have been the best thing we had. The pita was fresh, warm, and pillowy. The hummus was relatively rich, smooth, and creamy with distinct, succulent bits of charred lamb.
Our server, Craig, and the rest of the staff were great.
When we ate here, Under the Cork Tree was available on both OpenTable and Seated. I was able to book our reservation for free using OpenTable and got 100 points *and* I was able to get 21% back using Seated after uploading a picture of our receipt. I immediately redeemed the latter for $40 worth of Amazon discount codes.