The General Muir’s New Location in Sandy Springs – Audra’s review

By Audra H Anders for The Aha! Connection

My oldest and I decided to head towards Sandy Springs for a date night dinner chatting along the way about where to go.   When I suggested we try the new location of The General Muir (TGM), he was immediately all in.   Both of us have been to the Emory location and to their West Egg Cafe in Westside and love their food.    We are so glad we popped in!

Speaking of “popping in”…turns out that is not really a great idea.    They have limited seating due to Covid and are taking reservations via Resy.   Lucky for me, I already have a Resy account so quickly requested a wait list reservation and they let us in right away since we were early birds, and the restaurant was not crowded yet.   However, I recommend making an advance reservation to make sure you will get a seat.

The atmosphere and decor are very similar to the original location.   It is clean, modern, with high ceilings and white tiles.   The hostess greeted us enthusiastically and explained the ordering system.   She handed us a cube that is green on one side and red on the other and topped with a giant QR code linked to the electronic menu.  The wait staff will not approach your table unless you signal for additional service using the red (no service) and green (service please!) wooden service cube. Need a drink refill?   Ready for the check?   Flip the block from red to green! The goal is to keep person-to-person interactions limited and controlled for everyone’s safety and comfort. 

After perusing the menu on our phones, my son opted for the soup and salad combo and ordered a Reuben (corn beef, sauerkraut, Russian, Gruyere on griddled rye) with Matzoh Ball Soup.   Finding gluten free options at a deli famous for their bread actually wasn’t too difficult because I immediately spotted the trout salad on the menu.    The trout salad was served with arugula, smoked beets, pickled red onions with horseradish vinaigrette.  One of the owners (Shelley Sweet) later told me this is one of her favorite dishes.   I mean, where else have you seen trout salad on a menu?   It was DIVINE and I had to slap my 22-year-old’s hand to stop him from eating all my beets and onions!   It was sooooo good.   He RAVED about his Reuben and next time will opt for a full Reuben sandwich instead of just a half!

My hubby was working late so we wanted to surprise him with some yummy TGM food and ordered him deviled eggs and corn beef to go.    He is still talking about those eggs this morning using the word “fantastic” every time.   All of us had corn beef for breakfast and reluctantly shared some with George (our furry family member).

To top this all off…since we were dining in the evening and they only serve FRESH bread daily, they were walking around to every table giving away loaves of sourdough bread.   My boy got up early this morning to pack himself a sour dough corned beef sandwich!

When I asked one of the owners (Shelley Sweet) if I could take a few pictures to share she of course said yes, and then thanked me with a bag of bagels to take home.  I thanked her profusely although she had no idea that I must eat Gluten free which precludes me from eating the sourdough or the bagels.   However, my family always makes fun of me because I insist on taking ginormous whiffs of any bread they eat because with good bread you can almost taste it when smelling.    My car still smells like those bagels and I was tempted to sit and work in my car today because it smells so good!   The boys in my house are glad to eat all the bread for me.

Following is my small gallery of photos of the new TGM in Sandy Springs…

A few final notes….

• The restaurant is BEAUTIFUL.
• The outdoor heated patio will be an option soon.
• The General Muir has a full coffee bar serving espresso drinks and drip coffee.
• TGM has a full bar, with selections of beer, wine, and craft cocktails.
• Reservations are required on Saturdays and Sundays and highly recommended other days. 
• Tipping is not necessary for dine-in guests. Instead, there will be a 20 percent service charge added to your bill. The entirety of the service charge, minus any third-party processing fees, will be divided among all non-management employees working at that time, including employees who otherwise would not share in tips under a traditional tipping system.
• You must always wear a mask when you are not seated at your table.
• Still not comfortable eating in a restaurant?   You can order via DoorDash or order for pick up.
• City Springs now has all parking available for FREE for the first two hours.   Read more about parking here.
• The story of the experience of all the owners, how they came together, what other restaurants they own and why the name “General Muir” is fascinating.  Read about it here and/or watch the Atlanta Magazine video below.  I’ll give you a hint… The restaurant is named for the refugee transport ship that brought co-owner Jennifer Johnson’s mother and grandparents, Holocaust survivors, to New York in 1949.
• We’ll be back again and again and again….