Although Downtown Buford is not a mixed-use development, it is walkable from plenty of homes and is a short drive from Flowery Branch. I love going down there on a weeknight and just strolling the streets to see what’s new. One day when I was driving through I noticed a new restaurant name Picasso. “What a cool name” I thought. And I put it on my list of new restaurants to try out in the near future.

Well, a month or so passed by and I was on one of my favorite websites, www.restarant.com (make sure its without an ‘s’). If you’re not familiar with this website, this information alone is worth the time it takes to read this posting. restaurant.com offers $10 gift certificates for $3 and $25 gift certificates for $10. The catch is you can only use 1 at a time and 1 per table. Not bad, though. Heck you’re saving 15 bucks!  Anyway, I was browsing through the restaurants on there and wouldn’t you know it, Picasso Restaurant in downtown Buford came up! Well, if that isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is.

I purchased a gift certificate and finally used it last Friday night (you have a year to use it). Because of my experience, I thought this information would be beneficial for all you readers that live in the area and might contemplate coming to Picasso at some point. Just a note, Sperata is a well known high-end restaurant a few doors down that is the sister restaurant of Picasso. Sperata has fabulous food, but I will save that for another review.

Ambiance

The decor at Picasso Cafe Wine Bar is really cool. It’s got a relaxed, swanky sort of feel. The kind of place you get served 4 star food, but can dress casually. My favorite kind of place. The artwork was well chosen with some abstract paintings that looked to be somewhat industrial. Again, one of my favorite types of artwork. Definitely a cool lofty feel in the place with a great bar. Even if I don’t sit at the bar, it’s always nice to see a cool bar when I walk into a restaurant. There’s just something about it. All in all, I’ll give Picasso 3.5 Stars (out of 4 stars) for ambiance.

Staff

The staff at Picasso was professional and didn’t hover. No one likes a hovering wait staff. When that happens it ends up ruining the whole dining experience. They were informed on the dishes (since I asked a ton of questions about the ingredients…I know, annoying). When a question was asked that the waitress didn’t know, she promptly went to the Chef to ask him first hand. Now that’s something you don’t see often. Every staff member we came in contact with that evening was knowledgeable and courteous. Picasso gets 4 Stars for the staff.

Food

Great ambiance and courteous staff are both a plus when dining out, but obviously the food is the big draw to keep us coming back to a restaurant. Right off the bat, I liked the menu. Lots of different types of things to choose from, but not so many that your head spins around. From Butternut Squash to Scallops and Shrimp Carbonara to Gorgonzola Crusted Beef Filet, there is definitely something for every taste. My dining companian and I chose to start with the Sesame Toasted Ahi Tuna. Once you’ve had good ahi tuna, you can spot the fakes a mile away. Well, this one is definitely genuine. It was seared just right and the teriyaki wasabi glaze was a perfect match. Unfortunately, there are only 4 small pieces to this appetizer, so it was gone pretty quick. Aside from the portion size, though, the tuna was great. I will probably go back again just for that.

For our main dishes at Picasso my companion had the Butternut Squash Ravioli and I had the Beef Filet Milanese that had a side of peppers, mushrooms, gnocci, red wine paprika sauce and a dab of sour cream. I went back and forth on whether I should get the gorgonzola filet, but I wanted to taste of the gnocchi. My companion absolutely loved the Butternut Squash Ravioli and she mentioned it often during the meal. My filet was cooked absolutely perfect, which is hard to get is some places. The flavors were fantastic, too. Kind of a southwestern flare that I couldn’t get enough of. The gnocchi was cooked really well and everything just worked with this dish. I ended up eating the entire thing! Picasso gets 4 Stars for taste and presentation of the cuisine.

I made a comment to the waitress about how good the chef did at cooking the food and she was very gracious. She talked (more like raved) about Christopher Alan Hope, the Executive Chef. Obviously, there is a great amount of respect for him there. How, refreshing it was to see this admiration of someone’s boss. Very cool. Anyway, she then said the chef that was cooking tonight was trained by Christopher and had only been at Picasso for 2 weeks. Wow, either that guy can train or the chef was a quick study. My guess, is that it had to be both.

After our discussion she told the chef our comments and the chef came out to meet us personally. Are you kidding me? You rarely get this at any restaurant…well maybe McDonalds This chef’s title is Chef D’ Cuisine and his name is Danny Kistle. Danny, thanks for taking the time to meet us and thank you for a fabulous dinner. We will definitely be back.

OK, you probably want to know about pricing. Appetizers range from $3 to $9 and main dishes range from $16 to $29. My particular dish was $22 and worth every penny. That’s when you know you’re in a good restaurant….you don’t regret what you spend on the food. Drinks, are a little pricey, though, at $11 for a Mojito. I wanted to try one, but I just couldn’t justify spending that much.

Well, hopefully this gives you a little more insight on Picasso in Downtown Buford. Definitely give it a try. It’s not well known here, so you won’t have to deal with reservations and long lines. Once you try Picasso, it’ll become a family favorite.

For more information on Picasso, such as their location and their menu go to: http://www.picassocwb.com!

Bon Appetit!