Previously located in an old house on Monroe Drive, Agnes & Muriel’s has recently moved from Midtown to the heart of Buckhead, near the intersection of Piedmont & Peachtree. When the restaurant had a change in ownership a while back, Agnes & Muriel’s had lost some of its appeal. What does this move bring?

I used to love this restaurant–located in Midtown right around Ansley Mall–all the retro decor: barbie dolls, spaghetti lamps, retro colors, mix ‘n match dishes (you know, those 70’s plastic unbreakable things), yarn wine-bottle covers, 70’s game boxes, and more. Their food had a great southern flair, from shrimp ‘n grits to fried chicken, with a twist, like fried green tomatoes with goat cheese and a roasted red pepper sauce. They never had a liquor license, so no Martini’s, but did have beer and wine, including their tasty Sangria.

Ownership changed some time ago–2007 or 2008, I don’t recall exactly, and things changed a bit. Some of the food was made differently, and the decor underwent a noticeable change, too. The menu, while still offering some of the same fare, looked different. The place just wasn’t as cool as before.

Now, Agnes & Muriel’s is in a new location. The decor is no longer the same; still a slight retro look, but there’s little left of the previous decor. Granted, they’ve only been in the new location for a month or two. We’re told that there are display shelves coming in the near future that will bring back some of the old stuff–that should help. But the paper menu is very boring–it’s plain print and format is far from visually appealing or interesting, and instead of a set of tables in a big house, it’s a mix of a booths and tables, giving it a slight fast food restaurant look.

The food I had with friends tonight was good: fried macaroni ‘n cheese, fried green tomatoes, burgers, and fried chicken. The ambience has certainly changed. There was no beer/wine license yet, so Diet Coke was the beverage of choice :-(. But, the place just isn’t the same.